Winter Solstice

On this day when the world might end, I'd thought I'd check in over here and do a little tribute post to my Grandmother.  

I love these pictures of her with one of her Maine coon cats.  She is probably only 14 or so here, and much more glamorous than any photo of myself at that age!  I've posted over the years about my favorite Christmas decoration, that she handed down to me almost 6 years ago.  This little tree:  

It holds a little bit more magic than even a real tree with lights for some reason.  Maybe just because I grew up being fascinated by it.  

Anyway happy end of the world to you and yours!  Let's all try to stay alive!

peekaboo

I was thrilled to find out that one of my card designs for Smudge Ink is being highlighted in Stationery Trends Magazine's upcoming issue.  

A new wind

Here in New England, a new kind of air has taken over and it is cool and windy.  I've been thinking in yellows and oranges and prunes in anticipation of the new season.  

I'm busy as a bee lately with a poster design, a book design and a round of promotional mailings...all of which I hope to share soon.  Happy apple picking!

Home

I'm very excited to have finished the third installment in my summer in the city series.  This is a portrait of my own home, where our bikes live under a painting that my great grandfather did in the 1940's.  

*****

flora

Some doodles from my little porch garden. 

City Garden

The past few weeks I have been squeezing in little vacations here and there in between the normal work work work.  I've been camping at Lake Sebago, body surfing at Scarborough beach and swimming in Province Lake.

I just finished printing this piece, one more in my series of city in the summer.

I just love it when the colors don't quite register together and you can see the different parts of an image revealing themselves.

Happy gardening in these dog days :)

Bikes

It's summer and bikes are everywhere!

Happy riding :)

a step back in time

Lucky me made a getaway out of the city and up to Maine this past weekend.  Every turn was like visiting a different time in history.  Before heading to a cabin in the woods, we stayed in Portland for a night in an old old inn by the railroad tracks with a tiny sink right next to a twin bed, visited the studio of a friend who is a luthier, and found many treasures tucked away in the second hand shops....

including this lithograph of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands by Paul Berthon.  This was quite a little splurge, but I just couldn't leave this behind.  I've always adored the art nouveau style and so to find an original lithograph from 1901 was a real treat.  Just look at that bonnet and tulips!

Summer in the city

Feeling good about this recently finished piece of some little ones drawing a world around them.  This is part of a series I'm working on about summer in the city.

This, and the forthcoming illustrations in the series are inspired by real little scenes around my neighborhood.  

Keep cool, fools :)

Monoprinting bliss

Lately I've been craving a new way of creating imagery.  I feel like I need a big old gust of fresh air into my work.  So I've spent some time toiling away and staring into space at my desk and finally decided to try a technique that I haven't used since my art school days...Monoprinting.

Monoprinting is a method of printmaking where only one impression is made, rather than multiple.  There are many ways of doing this, but I used a piece of plexiglass, Dr. PH Martin's super saturated ink, and acrylic black ink with a paintbrush.

I found a piece of plexiglass lying around in my cabinet and I was ready to go!  Once I go started I wondered what had taken me so long to use this method!  Especially for texture and controlled, yet unpredictable, swaths of color.

I even tried printing on top of some existing etchings I had lying around.  I love the way these little blobby moths turned out.

Happy printing happy days

the lonely night

So thrilled to share this completed commission.  I've been waiting for an excuse to draw a whale, and then this opportunity presented itself.  Also got to use one of my favorite little printmaking techniques:  dusting magnesium carbonate powder over a freshly inked plate to prevent the ink from transferring in those spots.  Dusty stars!

"the mountain thinks it's left the earth"

A doodle inspired by a quote from poet, Mark Leidner.  This phrase has followed me ever since I first read it in Mark's book, "the angel in the dream of our hangover" published by Sator Press 2011.  I hope to develop this into something finished when I have the time.

<3

True Story

leafy leaves leave

I'm currently reviving a little book project that I put on hold over a year ago.  I decided just too much effort had gone in already to let it die.  Looking back at all my old sketches, it is fun to redo, and refurbish them in ways that feel fresh to me now.

Thought I'd just share a couple little details of weird scans and sketches as I play around.

April Shower

I'm not sure I officially announced it here on the blog, but I'm thrilled to have a line of holiday card designs and 2013 calendars coming out this year via Smudge Ink!  I know it seems early for holiday, but in the world of wholesale this is right on time.  I will be able to share more details later, but for now the production is finally done and here they are in a splatter!



Also, check out my freshly updated website, where you can view these in more detail.
Enjoy the April showers!

Study for a Whale

A sketch for an etching I will be working on over the next couple weeks. 

Hopefully I will finish this before my trip to Italy!! (more on that later)
In the meantime Happy Friday!

Settling into the studio just in time for Spring

Just wanted to share some photos of my new workspace. I'm loving the open airy feeling I have here, where there is a home for all my little things that inspire me.

Happy spring!

Warm thoughts

The beautiful 68 degree weather that we got in Boston today made me start looking forward to the spring and summer days ahead. Here is a little glimpse of a project I'm working on right now

I'll have more to share soon! Happy warm weather everyone!

surprise visitor

This little person showed up while I was practicing my script.

Sweet dreams...

Life in motion

Well my feelings of claustrophobia were short lived and here I find myself in a much, much bigger apartment only a month later! Things are sure moving fast around here, and I'm busily trying to get all my things in their places so that I can keep plugging away on projects. Here is a little photo tour of the new studio:

lil books in lil box

all the Brave Men books in a row

book press ready for squishin

oh, hello Moomin!

more soon....

Channelling Vera

A current project has dictated the need to depict flowers. Botanicals are a subject I've always wanted to explore, but haven't much, until now. I pretty much stick to little gnarly flowers and weed-like grass when it comes to landscapes of any kind. For inspiration, I've been turning to the work of Vera Neumann, who depicted wonderful loose graphic flowers, mostly on textiles through out the mid 20th century. Here is one I especially love:

And here is a tiny little snippet of a design I'm working on now:

I hope to be able to share the full image later this spring! Until then, many more flowers, washes and doodles must happen.

Thank you Julia for teaching me about Vera! What a valuable resource she's been!

looking closely

Lately I must admit, I've felt as though the walls are closing in on me a little in my teeny apartment. I'm trying to stay motivated and positive amongst the cabin fever tendencies of the winter. I took the (smallest) spin around my place to take pictures of the things that surround me...and to try to appreciate the details of my everyday scenery.

Some dribbles and drabs from a recent painting:

Sharp and dirty things that are my precious tools:

My weird little stovetop that I try to display artwork on. (shows what a cook I am!)

Some discarded doodles of birds:

My pencil cup that a long long time ago once had cookies in it:

Some drawings with intentions:

And my Great-Grandmother's crewel embroidery:

Stay warm everyone!

chill in the air

ouch it is cold out round here! Seems appropriate to share a little sample of a series illustrations I've been working on for a project that won't be released to the public until late 2012.



Happy New Year to all!

Also thrilled to announce that I was able to make a nice donation to the Black Cat Rescue of Boston due to all the purchases made in December of my black cat prints. These prints are still up for sale and the profits will still benefit kitties if you missed them during the holiday rush.

Thanks to all you contributed!