Inky Renaissance

I've been doing some doodling over here. I've recently rediscovered ink! A technique so basic, I used to use it all the time in college, but quickly abandoned it when I discovered etching. Well I've dragged out all my old nibs and have completed a new illustration that will be doned on the main page of SIR! this upcoming week. Here it is in all it's piggy glory:



This morning I was also experimenting with some Dr. Ph. Martin's intense watercolor. This has been recommended to me by Julia many times, but it is only recently I splurged on a bottle. Here are my little creepy doodles:



Hopefully more to share soon. Happy snowy days!

Rainy day in the Studio

Goodmorning from a rainy fall day here in Happy Valley! This is what I saw this morning from my studio window. There are so many colors out right now. Life is moving fast and I can barely keep track of the time it seems lately.

I'm honored to be working on a book cover illustration for Keyhole books! (due out December 09) as well as a few books for my own press (Brave Men) as well as trying to keep on top of other ideas for my personal work. Out of all the projects I have going on right now, I have none that are finished, but I thought I would share a few little sketches.






I also just read a great blog post by Julia about her trip to the Original Art Show at the Society of Ilustrators in New York. Very moving. Go read it!

Fall has fallen

Just delivered my most recent little commission! This was done from a poem and was framed along with the poem letterpressed with handset type. It is intended as a wedding gift from my client. I hope the recipients love it.



It is also the first image completed from my new little studio! How appropriate, the leaves are already turning out here.



Task of the day: finish hanging pictures and carefully placing tiny things in their places...

New Apartment, Old Film

So we (myself, Brian and Christopher) have all arrived in our new little home in the valley. We are still partially living out of boxes, but have set things up for the most part. I am especially excited for my new little studio that has a door out to the yard and a window that looks into the ferns. I hope this will be a wonderful place for me to create. I'm working on a little commission that I will hopefully be posting sometime next week.

For the time being, here are some pictures of our new home taken with 15 year old Polaroid film:

yard:

bikes on the deck:

kitchen:

Christopher in a sunbeam:

Sun Room

It's official...this is the 101th post!

July might go down as my busiest month yet, although August is becoming a close runner up, which is why I have been neglectful in posting here. Here is a little piece that I'm working on, called Sun Room.



I'm also sad/happy to announce that in a few weeks I will be moving to Happy Valley (aka Northampton, ma) and saying goodbye to my life long home of the Boston area...and my little short livingroom :(

Midsummer madness

Wow. It's been a long time since I checked in over here. Life has been a big ball of busy. I have been putting most of my efforts lately into my Brave Men Press work, as we just released our first book:



and have still been churning out little CoinSides for the Deep Moat Reading Series:



Even though I love this work, it will be great to get a few minutes and just paint or draw soon. I do have a new painting in the works right now, but until then, I will just show you my nephew George's head:



toodeloo

Print Fair

I've been insanely busy over here lately...I have some new work on my desk and have been chugging away at projects for Brave Men. Sunday, though, I had enough free time to attend the Print Fair at the Museum of Printing in North Andover. There was a great turn out despite the rainy weather and the steam roller printing went on as planned. It was a lot of fun to participate in such a great community event. Twenty seven artists all carved a 10" square of linoleum with a different letter of the alphabet and we put them all together to create one gigantic print.

Here is Sanya and me inking that bad boy up:


Here comes the steamroller:



And here we are pulling up the print:



Yay!!!



(mine's the Q)

Also, I seized the opportunity to buy an old copy press for good price. I've been wanting one of these ever since I took my first bookmaking class in college.


Just one more peice of cast iron I'll be putting to good use!

City Hawk

This is my most recent completion. The past year, I have seen at least one hawk everyday. Prior to that, I'm not sure I had ever seen one. There must be lots of little foods to eat.



This might be the beginning of a series of city bird prints inspired by my favorite little poem from Leonard Baskin's Hosie's Aviary :



The sparrow tells city skies
about nature



Where can I get the rights to this poem?...

My obsession is real

Two weekends ago, I was fortunate enough to attend (thanks to my lovely bosses) the Vandercook workshop at the Museum of Printing in North Andover, where we learned from the expert, Paul Moxon, how to dis- and re- assemble as well as care for this wonderful machine. Being around all the beautiful machines at the museum just fueled my desire for my own (larger than little Kelsey) press. I run this equipment at work, but somehow it is not enough. ugh. Someday, when my apartment is bigger than a postage stamp...

In the meantime, if anyone has one of these beautiful little Pearls kicking around their basement, I'll come running. Seriously.

Tiny words on tiny peices of paper

I just finished up my newest series of CoinSides for the Deep Moat Reading Series tonight. The reading is at 7pm in the Pierre Menard Gallery in Harvard Square. I've whipped up these little broadsides (one for each poet at the reading) in commemoration of the event.



They will be for sale at the reading and also online at Brave Men Press.



Each CoinSide is printed with a transfer image and printed in 8pt hand set type. The actual size is 2 3/8 by 4 inches. Limited edition of 23 each.

I'm busy busy busy and will update with more soon!

tiny yellow flowers

Here is a little snippet of the portrait commission that has been keeping me busy lately. I just finished it up and I'm ready to start lots of new little projects for the spring.

Also for those of you that live in locally, the Allston Brighton Art Expo is only up for another week, so if you are checking out a book at the library, wander back to their little gallery and have a look.

Happy warm weather!

Special Delivery

Busy busy busy. Go here to see my latest little (literally) venture. It is the first in a series of miniature broadsides that I am printing tiny lithographs on along with my tiny 8 (or 6!) point handset font.

The first is a poem by Brian Foley, but other poets are to come...

Each one comes in a coin envelope (2 1/2 x 4 1/4). These were only printed in an edition of 24, so if you would like to buy one...do it fast.

Cleaning your desk is worth it...

...because now I can actually work there! Every now and then I let things pile up a little too much on my desk. I cleaned it this morning and sorted through the prints I've done in the past few months and found this one, "Night Goat", that I never quite finished, but finished it's companion "Day Goat", which you can see to the right. Well I finished it up today and feel like there is one less thing in the back of my mind. Ahhh...

Scaring the cat

I have lots going on right now. A large (physically) portrait commission, the upstart of my new poetry chapbook press, and this little ongoing project that I'm plugging away at...



Thought I would share another little morsel as I keep on working. I hope everyone is enjoying the first whiffs of spring!! Julia wrote a lovely little post on that subject. Enjoy!!

SIR! part duex

The new issue of SIR! (an online literary journal that I inadvertently became the designer for) is now up for viewing. The cover is taken from my illustration Seraphim.

Enjoy!

Bourzwa

Here is a print I did yesterday of a Borzoi (my mind always wants to pronounce it Bor-zwa, but I guess it is really Bor-zoy). The idea of drawing this particular breed of dog came entirely from Jess, who emailed me in a frenzy telling me I should draw this weird dog. So I did.



It made me realize that I don't draw many dogs. I've got a little one in a commission I'm working on currently, so maybe my dog-drawing days are just beginning...

Moving the cat

Here's a hint of a new little project.

In the field behind the water

Ugh.

These long (short) days of winter have left me practicing my cursive,



rehabilitating 100 year old presses,



and working on the same old....

Here is a new print that is probably the biggest and loosest print I've ever done. It measures at 20x24" and was done as a monoprint. The image itself was inspired by a drive through the New Hampshire country side last weekend and seeing an enormous long horned bull out in the field. This guy seemed so out of place amongst the normal sight of the horses in their winter jackets.


In the field behind the water

Highway Willows