All Posts

Drawing is more than just a pastime; it's an adventure into creativity and self-expression. For kids, drawing can be an exciting...

So many people have fallen into the arms of MAGA in North America and around the world. This hasn’t happened in Japan. Could the Japanese cultural practice of Ikigai be partially responsible? How is Ikigai linked to artistic expression on this island nation?      The practice of Ikigai originated during the Heian period (794-1185) in Japan. It was a rare time of political quiet in Japan. The influence of China was diminishing so Emperor Kanmu moved the capital North to Kyoto.

Current American President aside, has there ever been a more perplexing leader of the free world other than G.W. Bush? George W. Bush, the 41 st  president of the United States of America, was put in place by Big Oil to further their agenda because his brother Jeb just couldn’t win. George W. was cocky and his decisions were impulsive, cruel, over dramatic and maybe not even his own. By the end of his presidency he was dodging protesters and flying shoes. However, George W. d

When I was in university the absolute joy of my existence was my weekly 3 hour sculpture class, specifically sculpture 101. Some of the other students were engineers taking the class for an elective credit and of the students was even a retired inventor. They were all very competitive, sharp as knives and had the extra shop skills to execute the most elaborate sculptural ideas with smoke, lights, propane, welded joints, wood frames and panelling and moving parts. I couldn’t b

When I was twenty I usually had my 35 mm Nikon camera with me hanging around my neck like a permanent necktie. When it rained I wrapped it in a plastic bag and hung it around my neck. When it was too hot I wore a wide brimmed hat to give it shade as it hung from my neck. It was always there, I was always ready to shoot my shot and I was always in the way!  One day, it was a beautiful day in Vancouver in Vanier Park but it was completely wasted on me as I cursed the fact that

Dictators like to build a cult of personality around them. They do this with art, partly by posing for official painted portraits to make themselves look legitimate and creating their own art to build a mythical story based on their egotistical fantasies to invite the masses to follow along. They also manufacture easily reproducible images to put on every public surface for future intimidation and raise money for their regime with themed merchandise. They use art to try to se

https://www.drawhoorah.com/blog      When I was 13 I wanted to be a writer. I was going to be like one of the Bronte sisters and pen out a novel or a set of deeply romantic poems or sonnets and change literature forever.      “That’s so ambitious!” my first boss exclaimed, “But today I need you to take out the trash and clean off the tables.”      Other people thought it was cute or maybe even a bit stupid.      My Dad laughed “If you want to do that you’ll need to find a ric

We were all standing in the mud. My runners were sinking in deep and cold, dirty water was rising up inside, soaking my socks. I should have worn my trekking sandals. My ever prepared Scout brother would have been laughing at my stupid choice of footwear. He lived in trekking sandals.      But my trail guide wasn’t here anymore. Just five of us, standing on a muddy beach of a small lake, thinking about him, spreading his ashes from a Sports Pal canoe, one that my Dad had been

I was tired. I had slept on the floor in a corner of a Greyhound bus depot with my head in my knees waiting for my connection. I slugged back a coffee from the hissing, vending machine to have enough energy to climb the steep bus steps. The bus was full but dark and sleepy as the last Winnipeg lights whipped by through the window. Gradually, the lights stopped as we hit the open Canadian prairie and the bus windows went black. The only sounds were the hum of the bus and the o

Back in the early 1990’s, when the world was much more do-it-yourself, I used to put on my raggedy vintage clothes, safety pins and my docs and jump on the ferry to Vancouver to meet up with my post punk friends on Granville Street in Vancouver. We would wander in and out of the small clubs and music venues to watch the garage bands trying to make it big before all the property developers could flip the whole area into condos. After seeing the Evaporators or the Cramps or som

Pencil crayons. The hard, waxy, scribbly scholastic tool in pastel colours for colouring maps, graphs and event posters. They were a memory aid and a way to keep organised. Drawing with pencil crayons required elbow grease to deepen the tone and this usually risked in shredding the whole page. They were difficult to control and usually ended up at the bottom of my tool kit covered in vine charcoal dust. This is why my brain did back flips when I saw “Skeletoned Caribou” a dra

“To hold, as t’were, the mirror up to nature” -William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act III, Scene 2, 17-24        Shakespeare felt art was a...

In art school we used to grapple with this question: Is there such a thing as originality?  There is, but it is very rare. What might...

Max Ernst and the Avant-Guarde      What do we mean when we say an artist is avant-guarde? The French phrase literally means advance...

What is the purpose of art? Why is it presented in galleries? How are we supposed to engage with the art pieces and then with each other?...

Music is a life long skill that helps children develop discipline and patience. Art is a passion that will help your child develop...

Drawhoorah is a division of Mark’s Music Lessons and it is brand new! It is easy & convenient online drawing lesson instruction in the...