SHOW & TELL.

An old piece (was that last year?) I did for Cloudy Collection,...

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:11:14 -0400

An old piece (was that last year?) I did for Cloudy Collection, though it wasn’t in this colorway. Forgot how much I liked it this way so I wanted to show it again! I really need to keep experimenting with holding back on color/texture. More with less! Looking at my good pal Ping Zhu’s Swan Lake concertina really inspired me, as did my experiences at TCAF and seeing my friends work. Still so inspired.

Couple random things:

Comment on here if there’s any pieces of mine you’d like seen turned into a giclee print. (Within reason. I’m not sure about former screenprints, though I could do a limited Zelda run if the demand is high). I may place an order for some in the near future, but I want to get things that people like!
I’m batting about some narrative ideas. Not sure when I’ll get to them, but I’m kind of excited.
Since I’m done with teaching until fall (not counting awesome workshop! which I’m going to be taking the train back to Portland from! and try my hand at archery!), I’m thinking about doing something start to finish on Mondays (though maybe updated Tuesdays). I’m thinking about patterns, but it may just be portfolio pieces. I think I’ll start this week, so keep your eyes peeled!

Hi all, I opened my shop back up (it’s pretty small now...

Thu, 10 May 2012 14:08:00 -0400

Hi all,

I opened my shop back up (it’s pretty small now post-Stumptown and TCAF!) and with that placed my newest print, Messrs. Owl, online for purchase! It’s 8x10” on cream paper and a pretty big edition (200!) and I’d love them to fly into your home so please spread the word!

Sales from this print will go into making my next print, which I’m hoping will be gold foil, although the subject has yet to be determined…

Hi all, I got back from TCAF and I wanted to start sharing some...

Tue, 08 May 2012 17:30:00 -0400

Hi all, I got back from TCAF and I wanted to start sharing some new things on my portfolio; so I uploaded all the drawings I made for the art zine I debuted there! It was a lot of fun.

Today is a sad day though, as I discovered when I woke up Maurice Sendak had passed on. He was definitely a defining illustrator for me as a child and one of those who I think spurred me on as an illustrator (as he did with so many of my friends). I remember poring over his detailed illustrations and loving how smart and sometimes dark they were; I’m infinitely grateful he had a talk at my college one year and I got to meet him ever so briefly. I teared up when I found he was gone; the last famous person I think I’d done that for was Phil Hartman. But I want to work even harder and have a rich life filled with illustrating fantastic things in his memory. What a fantastic loss for children and the creative community alike.

TCAF was pretty brilliant though— I met so many fantastic people I knew from online, and picked up a great haul of comics and prints. So many great fans. So many inspiring pieces of work. Now I’ve got the urge to make stories and books and concertinas and all sorts of printed objects. I don’t know where that will go; but I will be sure to let you know!

Hey Toronto! I’m hopping a plane tonight and I’ll be...

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:54:39 -0400

Hey Toronto! I’m hopping a plane tonight and I’ll be at TCAF (I’m an easter egg— not officially listed on the exhibitor list, but I’m tabling with Angie Wang, table 117!) this weekend! Come say hi! I’ll have new prints to debut as well as a new 16pg art zine, Florid Fauna.

Working away.

Tue, 01 May 2012 21:59:24 -0400

Working away.

hi meg! love your work its so fun and makes me smile. im wondering where you got your promo stuff printed? i love those envelopes they're great.

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 22:31:47 -0400

The mailers were printed myself! The cards were printed by Psprint and the postcards were Print Pinball, and the business card/stickers were Moo.

I’ve been a crazy big ball of stress lately. I’m...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:51:24 -0400

I’ve been a crazy big ball of stress lately. I’m sure it will pass, but in the meantime I’ve been drawing and inking a lot of fashion ladies for the zine I’m making for TCAF. Which I will be doing tomorrow and Sunday at Stumptown Comics Fest (I’m sitting with the ever-lovely Angie Wang, table A-10, say hi!) I kind of wish I’d designed a simpler zine, but alas, it is how it is.

Just need to get to Toronto! Whew.

Inking party. This week I’m making a lot of lady/fashion...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:22:04 -0400

Inking party. This week I’m making a lot of lady/fashion drawings that I’ll be compiling into an art zine for TCAF. Drybrushing, collage, and other fun stuff that way!

Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:48:08 -0400

Thanks everybody who entered my giveaway! The lucky winners are:

Emily Skaer and moreteawesley!

I’ll be emailing you both soon. Keep your eyes peeled for future giveaways; I might be giving away that owl print sometime after TCAF!

DONE! Guys, I can’t tell you how satisfying and...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:15:00 -0400

DONE!

Guys, I can’t tell you how satisfying and nervewracking it is to build a promo pack. But, here it is. 200 of these (printed with love!) will be trickling out to select publishers, animation studios, editorial, packaging, and design firms. The awesomest of the awesome. And I hope they (and you too) will want to work with me.

Contains a handwritten notecard, sticker, handprinted mailer, two sizes of postcards, a business card, and an awesome 2 color limited edition screenprint (with belly band to hold everything all together. Whew!

It’s been a little slow on the illustration route (quality over quantity right now!), so let’s make some awesome things together, world. I’m ready!

Well hello, Messrs. Owl. Might tweak a little more and I’m...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:46:00 -0400

Well hello, Messrs. Owl. Might tweak a little more and I’m flipflopping about the colors… but with luck I’ll have this print ready for TCAF!

And yes, I’ll have copies to sell online too. A lot of them!

I got some copies of books I’ve done recently in the mail,...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:53:18 -0400

I got some copies of books I’ve done recently in the mail, so I’m hosting a little giveaway! Two lucky winners will get a package with Barnheart (whose cover I illustrated) and the Mark Twain story I got to illustrate for Scout Books!

Rules: comment on this post using a valid email address between now and Friday at noon Pacific. I’ll pick the winners out of a hat and announce later that afternoon!

While flipping through my files, I came upon a dead promotional...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:02:16 -0400

While flipping through my files, I came upon a dead promotional project, I think from 2010. I had a plan to design a square book and have it printed through Blurb that showcased my work. I chickened out because it would’ve been expensive and I felt less confident about my design and illustration skills. A lot’s changed since then, but I still am kind of fond of these little pages. Maybe I’ll resurrect the idea sometime in a more cost-effective route. I want to reuse that llama though!

How do you add texture to your photoshop work (I was interested in the owl one you recently put up)? Do you do an overlay of texture or is that a brush? Would you ever be willing to do a tutorial?

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:56:35 -0400

It’s a bit complicated to do a definitive tutorial since my process flipflops a lot, but I’ll see what I can do!

Not done yet, but they’re slowly looking like owls….

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:47:39 -0400

Not done yet, but they’re slowly looking like owls….

Artist Book Club

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:24:49 -0400

Yeah! I bought this book today. Let’s set it up, PDX!

crystaldayala:

Today on my outdoor adventures with Meg Hunt we stumbled across this amazing book, 642 Things to Draw and it got me to thinking about how it would be fun to see how other artists draw the same things. So, if you are up to it I’d like to introduce an Artist Book Club to Portland. We could meet, drink, and gradually draw 642 Things together. Sound good? Let me know, I was thinking of starting it up near the end of May (after the crafy madness I’ll be apart of).

Sometimes the cuteness overwhelms. Inking some owls (on hanshi...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 01:31:31 -0400

Sometimes the cuteness overwhelms.

Inking some owls (on hanshi paper, thanks Angie!) that I’m turning into my next screenprint. Aiming to have it debut at TCAF next month!

I’m debating doing a series of screenprints like this, all different variants of the same kind of animal. It’s so much fun distilling these animals into different shape combinations. What do you think?

So the lovely times a thousand Lindsay Nohl of Paper Bicycle and...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:19:00 -0400

So the lovely times a thousand Lindsay Nohl of Paper Bicycle and Light Grey Art Labs sent me a message a few weeks ago and just like that we started developing a special event! And now it’s official: June 16 and 17th (with some optional networking events Jun 15) I’ll be hosting an intensive workshop at LGAL in Minneapolis called ILLUSTRATION BOOTCAMP. It’s going to be really exciting, geared towards current illustrators and curious creative folk alike; I’m going to share my knowledge as an illustrator, get the creative energy flowing with some fun exercises, and then there’ll be awesome networking and collaboration activities. We’re working on getting some great guest speakers too. It’s going to be pretty amazing and reinvigorating for all who attend.

Lots of details on the website: the workshop costs $160 for locals, but we’re offering it as a travel opportunity too with a hotel package. Please spread the word; I hope you can attend it and make this an awesome experience!

Messing about in Photoshop tonight trying to learn some new...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 23:47:31 -0400

Messing about in Photoshop tonight trying to learn some new things—playing with channels and masks. I need to do more Photoshop doodles!

Messing about with linocut ink today while prepping a little...

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:37:24 -0400

Messing about with linocut ink today while prepping a little demo to share with my students (and to have some new textures to incorporate digitally), I did a little bit of exploring trace monotypes. Which I haven’t done myself since high school! (My first foray into printmaking, in fact) It’s pretty fun although I need to practice some more and get a handle on the ink/positioning. Might do some more and see if I can incorporate it digitally, or overlay multiple colors. We shall see!