Here’s the latest project for the Dream Love event coming up on the 11th at the Meeker Street Market. Another nice unfolding process from this one. I got wicked sick in the middle of its creation which it made it an extra bit of a challenge but challenges are always a welcome experience in my book. It was funny how the original style wound up getting resurrected after I thought it was completely shot down during the first round of revisions. It just goes to show that you never really know how things will turn out. Enjoy!

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For those of you who have been checking things out with Golden Drum, you might have noticed some posters that I’ve been creating. Its a nice quick turn around type of thing for an organization that’s obviously near and dear to my heart. It makes it a lot more like fun and a lot less like work. These two are posters for our community events that we host once a month. We invite the most talented chefs, musicians, yogis, speakers, and artists to create some really special events. I’ll be shifting gears to create more posters for dream collective as things get started up again. For now enjoy these! Here’s the invite to the facebook event page.

We’d love to see you! Peace.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1929 -1968

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Because it may never see the light of day anywhere else I thought that I would share. This was a great lesson in communication with clients for me and others involved. It was also a test of my own skills as a designer to try to create something that needs to change a lot very quickly. I don’t think that I’ve ever had to shift styles so fast for a project. Although it was frustrating at the time I think the progression is fun to see. Enjoy!

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This is an album cover that I recently completed. I had great time with this project. My friend AJ is one of the members of Didge Project and asked me if I would design the cover. After several revisions we were getting closer but it wasn’t quite there. Eventually we decided to meet up so we could get it done together. I don’t usually sit down with someone to work on a design project but I really enjoyed the process. AJ was great at communicating what it was that he wanted and I was able to translate that into a design pretty quickly. It was a great example of how two heads really are better than one when the channels of communication are open and people know what they want. Thanks to AJ and Didge Project for the opportunity to work on this project. Below are some other earlier designs that I thought I would throw in there.

For more information about Didge Project, visit their site at Didgeproject.com. Peace!

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The new batch of shirts are ready! Good news is that I’ll have a site up for the shirts up this weekend. Until then you can contact me at
matthew.canale@gmail.com. I am also printing all of the shirts on American Apparel. Made in the USA. So that’s good. All of the proceeds go to Golden Drum a community center that helped create in Brooklyn.

I was at Occupy Wall Street the other day with some friends. They were helping facilitate a Meditation Flash Mob. It is an event where people come together at a specific time and place to sit and meditate in public. It was the first time that I had attended one. It became obvious to me why what we were doing was so important. People need to see peace. It is not so often that people can be seen in a state of peace. Sometimes, just seeing people meditating is enough for others to be more calm. It is from that place of stillness that we can connect to the heart. We will not win over anyone through anger and aggression. If we are to proceed, we must come from a place of love and compassion. This is not a call to passivity. This is an invitation to connect to the space from within. If we are firmly rooted in peace and truth we will create the change that we wish to see in the world by first emodying that change. This shirt is a symbol of that spirit that I invite more people to represent in this great time of change.

Below are some photos of a test print that I made in the print lab the other day and the other is of my screen that I’ve been using. Enjoy!

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The Occupy Wall St movement is gaining momentum day by day and its hard to say where it will go. However, with groups sprouting across the U.S. and countries around the world, it certainly seems like an end is not in the near future. The other night I hosted a meeting at Golden Drum for people involved in Occupy Wall Street that are dedicated to creating change by peaceful means. At the meeting we discussed how a small group of people can help influence the vibration of an entire movement. Some of the suggestions involved creating an altar at the plaza so that a sacred presence could be felt. Leaders from Meditation Flash Mob were also present talking about their project and why its so important to demonstrate that stillness to protesters. Another thing we talked about was having a simple image that could resonate with a large amount of people that could capture the feeling that we are trying to cultivate in others. At first it was going to be a Buddha sitting but I didn’t want to invoke religion, especially a specific religion. Instead I decided to use the assistance of the big green lady to help get the message across. I couldn’t help but think about Ghostbusters 2 as I was creating it. Once again we call upon her to change form so that she may take on the powers that wish to take advantage of others for their own personal gain. May we shift the tides simply by means of holding the space of peace and compassion. We’ll be making this a tshirt soon! A link will be up in the next couple days. Peace!

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. . .
I had a headache today. So I did what heals my headaches. Food, harmonica, and drawing with no goal or image in mind. I only found out about this remedy recently but I stand by it completely. What’s your medicine?

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Today I thought that I would do something novel by doing something that I use to do all the time. As you might have guessed that thing is drawing. I use to do it a lot but for reasons not consciously known or acknowledged in writing at the moment, I’m giving it another whirl to see what happens. If I had to take a guess I would say that part of it is the fear of spending time on something and not having it be any good. Command + Z also has a certain forgiveness that I’ve grown fond of.

The other sad part of the story is that as I peruse through job listings not once have I ever found anything about being able to draw. Maybe its suppose to be a given but I am more inclined to think that most studios don’t really give a damn any more. I can already hear myself sounding like an old man saying things like, “Back when I was a young man we use to draw things!” Then I would be met with a blank stare from my grand child as he turns back to his space age lap top that hovers in that air, creates and projects 3D holographic realities in seconds, and toasts bagels. I’m really banking on the bagels part.

As a graphic artist I know that there are certain things that I can only do inside a computer. On the other side of the coin is that a computer will never be a sketchbook. It will never account for the fine graphite haze over my drawings that my right hand always seems to create. Or how a pencil tip breaks unevenly and yet still seems to make a mark that still sings. There is a middle in there somewhere.

Most importantly, I just want to create. To sit down and then get back up with something to share with people. Even if its just a few lines on a napkin and not have it be a masterpiece. I invite you to do the same. Sometimes its just the simple intention to want to create something for others that makes something worthwhile. I feel deep inside that we are all here to create and share as a celebration of the ability that we’ve been given to do just that. I hope to do that a little bit more often!

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Matt Canale – Animation Reel – 2011 from Matthew Canale on Vimeo.

As the search for some more freelance heats up, I decided to put together a new reel to highlight some of the work that I’ve created over the past five years. Its crazy to think that I’ve put hundreds of hours into creating all of the animation that I’ve created. Yet, when it comes to making a reel, all of those hours are squeezed into 2 minutes. Kinda boggles my mind to think about. That’s my piece. Enjoy.

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