The Tuesday Coffee Break posts were started a few weeks ago, in an effort to share findings that have caught my eye in the world of art, film, food and fun.

So it's Tuesday again -- and I'm thinking we deserve a little coffee break, hey?

Hard to believe that another Share DDB has come and gone. Our annual agency art auction / fundraiser was held last Thursday at Granville Island to raise money for the James Lee Foundation and Covenant House -- and I'm thrilled to say that I am now the proud owner of this Chairman Ting x Company Policy painting, which was created as part of a live exhibition at the event.

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Let's talk about Share DDB.

Share DDB is DDB Canada's annual art crawl and auction. It is a private event that was created by Zara Thomas and our former colleague Blaine Pearson six years ago.

2011 marks the second year that Zara and I will be co-chairing this function. It will be held at Granville Island, with proceeds going to the James Lee Foundation and Covenant House. The James Lee Foundation is a scholarship fund created in memory of a very special DDB-er who continues to inspire countless people in our industry, and Covenant House provides much-needed shelter, food, clothing, counseling and outreach to street youth in Vancouver.

Every individual at the DDB Canada office in Vancouver is encouraged to create an auction item -- with the emphasis on art and creative pursuits. Over the years, we've been extremely fortunate to also receive donated auction items from friends, partners, clients and vendors (this year, I've got my eye on this photo from New York by Maurice Li Photography).

We also have a special set of framed canvases that will be auctioned off as part of the collaborative ART ALL OVER ME series. These canvases were set up in various spots around Vancouver this week -- and any art that was created on them will be included in our auction items.

Curious about where these canvases were set up? Here's a hint. And here's another.

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The Tuesday Coffee Break series was created a month ago in my nerdy attempt to celebrate things outside of the digital realm -- where I spend my working hours. I'm two days late for our weekly date, but I hope you'll enjoy these picks here as they include some of my favorite items in the world of art, film, food and fun.

Erica Kirkpatrick is a painter based out of the UK, whose Impressionist inspired work focuses heavily on landscape pieces. I first stumbled upon her paintings online (ah, the joys of Tumblr).

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It's been one of those weeks. It's only 8am on Tuesday and I am already counting down the minutes til the weekend. </Negative Nancy>

Let's take a breather, shall we? Nothing like a quick coffee break to find our bearings again.

Last week, I raved about Takao Tanabe -- who once opened at the Vancouver Art Gallery with Brian Jungen.

Brian Jungen is a Canadian artist who studied at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in the early 90s. I was first introduced to his Prototypes of New Understanding collection in 2006, and have followed his career since.

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I started my Tuesday Coffee Break series last week, with the hope that you'll enjoy taking an afternoon break with me to talk about things that don't involve summary reports and statistics. Given the fact that it's now past 8pm, I'm thinking we might have to trade that latte in for a drink instead.

So grab that bottle of wine, cozy up.. and let's chat about some art, film, food and fun.

Takao Tanabe is a Japanese-Canadian artist born in British Columbia. To this day, his 2006 exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery is one of my favorite shows.

Tanabe received his earlier education in Canada, but it was in New York where he really hit Abstract Expressionism in stride -- working under the influence of artists such as Hans Hofmann and Franz Kline.

He is most celebrated for his landscape paintings -- which capture the province's beauty and sometimes haunting vastness. I am certainly taken with these landscape pieces, but I also enjoy his earlier more abstract work a great deal.

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Here is what I love: art, film, food and fun.

Starting this week, I will aim to share a weekly list of items that I enjoy in each category. It's time I stopped hogging all of these great finds and share the love.

Look out for new posts every Tuesday; my hope is that you'll join me here for a quick coffee break every week.

Switcheroo is an ongoing photography project started by Hana Pesut in 2010. The whimsical series features subjects wearing swapped clothes in two near-identical images.

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