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 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!

Working away.

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!

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!

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!

Ribbit!

Planning to make some more things, just for the heck of it. Expect a bunch more soon.

Canines! I’m gonna make some more. Been trying to paint more lately. I’m thinking I might pull out the collage again sometime soon.

Despite waking up with a headache today (too much work! rush project! whew!), I was happily surprised to notice a little something on my Tumblr dashboard. Seems that they’ve teamed up with Olympus to give cameras to a hundred bloggers and also some people on the street, and they were gracious enough to think of me. I was just chatting with some local folks about cameras (specifically the micro 4:3 cameras— perfect timing!) and I can’t wait to play with photo and video and how I can incorporate my work into the world beyond flat imagery on a screen— moving into set environments and the real world.

A nice way to make my day. Today’s an enforced day off— time to chop my hair short, listen to some comedy, and maybe even draw something for me. I think it’ll involve girls. Or horses. I’ll be sure to share soon. Happy Friday, everyone!