the short livingroom

Channelling Vera

2012-01-26T17:53:00.002-08:00

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

2012-01-12T17:15:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-03T18:13:00.000-08:00

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!

It's that time again...

2011-12-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

...to bring out the little old spinning tree. This little tree is one of the only things that makes me truly enjoy the Christmas season. When I was little I used to stare at this tree in my Grandmother's den and felt like it was a little bit magical.

Merry everything to all of you!

On a side note, the Hearts in the Dark black cat charity has been going great! If you've been eyeing some prints, now is the time!

Visit the shop to get some.

Hearts in the Dark: A Black Cat Initiative

2011-12-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy and proud to announce that starting today you can buy prints in my shop OR in Julia Denos' shop that will benefit local animal shelters. We are calling this effort "Hearts in the Dark", in reference to the plight of the black cat in shelters. Black cats are almost 50% less likely to be adopted than other cats!

Why?

Partially because they don't photograph well, because people don't see them as well in a cage, and believe or not, because of superstition. This is in spite of the fact that (I believe) black cats are especially loving, doting and affectionate animals. Anyone who has ever owned a black cat I'm sure would agree.

Julia's prints

Many of you may already know that this subject is dear to my heart... and I have posted about it on numerous occasions.

My prints

I have owned and loved many cats, but one black cat in particular was a special presence in my life.

Read Julia's post on Hearts in the Dark over at the Cinnamon Rabbit

Read more about our cause on Facebook

Thinking of Christopher

2011-12-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

Windows

2011-11-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

I've always coveted the curtains in my Grandmother's den, and decided to paint one of her windows. It was fun to just paint, and to not worry about line AT ALL. Line is my constant obsession, and so a little break was nice, even just as an exercise.

I have always been fascinated by windows. I have a collection of photos of every window of every room or studio I've had since I was 18. I will share just a few of my favorites.

the world is wild

2011-08-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Finally ready to share this commission for a bride who wanted a pair of etchings for her groom as a gift. I came up with these etchings that sit next to one another to create one pond scene.

Also just finished up one of my many foxes. There's been a little theme going on over here (along with more goats as well!) This guy is leaping through the brush.

I enjoyed some time this weekend to literally just PAINT. Something I haven't done in a long time. I'll have a little sneak of that as soon as it's ready.

Happy summer rain...

summer news

2011-06-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

I'm proud to say that "The Gift"

and The Brave Men Press Coin Library

are now on display in the "Flourish: Alumni Works on Paper" show at MassArt in the Bakalar Gallery until July 9th. It's really a beautiful collection of work, I'm honored to have my work amongst the bounty.

This is also the second exhibition that the Coin Library has been a part of. It was on display at Pace University back in February and March. I'm hoping to get some of these into the hands of rare book libraries coming this fall!

Here is more info

I'll have some peeks as to whats been on my desk soon...a pair of commissions and a lot a lot of foxes. Til then happy summer!

The Gift

2011-03-28T17:35:00.000-07:00

I write now from a new little apartment of my own in Somerville, MA. I'm proud that I possibly might have the biggest tree in Somerville right outside my window:

And all my messy little things have found their way home in my new little studio:

I've recently finished a new etching entitled, "The Gift"

This was inspired by the gifts of dead mice my little Mexican kitty brought to me in the fall. Here is a poor little mousie detail:

I hope to have more prints to share soon. Brave Men work has been keeping me busy beyond belief, so I'm working my way up to a little hiatus in order to work more on personal work.

HYAH!!!

Exciting Delivery

2010-10-25T11:43:00.001-07:00

YAY! Just received my copy of How to Predict the Weather and it looks great! I'm thrilled with the beautiful matte finish on the cover.

The real deal is for sale here.

Talking Horse

2010-10-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Wow certainly a lot has happened since little Maggie. Much work has been postponed while dealing with "real life." Anyway here is my latest etching, Talking Horse:

This image has been essentially haunting my mind for the past few months. Finally finally able to get it down in physical form.

a detail:

AND I am so happy with the result on this brand new beautiful dark gray paper I stumbled across in the art supply store. Eeek I can't remember what it's called...will update later.

Maggie in love with the world

2010-07-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's safe now to post this commission I finished a few weeks ago, which was a lot of fun. I'm starting to feel looser and looser with composition and painting. This is called "The Flying Object" or "Maggie in love with the world"

zoom:

You can also view this and some other new work/sketches on my newly designed website!

bits and pieces

2010-07-08T12:06:00.001-07:00

So I can't wait to share the most recent commission I've been working on this past week, but unfortunately it is still in the top secret stage. Until then, I will share some snippets of my color/texture planning for my final manuscript illustrations. I've been fooling around with patterns and printing them using a lithographic process which yields a somewhat inconsistent product.

The inconsistency can be a wonderful thing and also a very annoying thing. So for now, I'm just playing at peicing together my favorite parts.

More on this in the coming weeks...for now I'll leave you with some photos from Christopher's garden:

I love yellow

2010-06-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

A new etching inspired by the loads of pollen that can be seen in a pond or lake in the spring time. Finally finished this up...just in time for summer.

Goats and Flowers

2010-06-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

What a busy, busy time of traveling, friends, ideas and life changes! For the last two weeks I've been on the Cape, in Boston, on the Cape again, in Boston again and now finally back home with plenty to do.

While up in Danvers, a trip to a little barn with chickens and goats resulted in more goat etchings:

The top one, named, "Goat in the Snow" is a tribute to friend Emily Pettit, whose poem of the same name inspired the image. I gave her this print as thanks for taking care of my little garden while I was bouncing around. How nice to come home to my tiny yard lush with life!

All These Things are Good...

2010-05-16T04:53:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy and full since I last wrote. Some of the things I have been doing since then are:

Printing in a barn,

planting things in my own yard for the first time in my life,

designing books,

making books,

representing Brave Men Press at the AWP conference in Denver:

and speaking on a panel on bookmaking at the Chapbook Festival in NY:

All these things are good...

except that in the midst of all this we also lost Christopher, the fluffy love of our lives, to a terminal kitty disease.

The only thing to do now is to keep moving forward with this little project to remember him the way he was:

Sweet, Sweet Color Separation ~or~ A World of Orange and Green

2010-02-27T06:29:00.001-08:00

In my search for color inspiration for an ongoing personal dummy project- I have inadvertently found myself drawn to several old books that use just two colors (orange and green), plus black.

I found this old early reader book in a used bookstore last week. What an unassuming treasure:

There are so many reasons I love this title page:

Why is this cat so tiny? I love it!:

Another one that I've been looking at is an old favorite, No More Monsters for Me!, with the subtly stunning illustrations by Marc Simont:

The gesture of this little girl makes this one of my all time favorite illustrations:

I also found this old copy of short stories by one of my favorite russians, with a cover by Milton Glaser. Maybe I was drawn to it for the color:

I'm not quite ready to post what all this inspiration has led to. Some solid ideas that I hope to have presentable soon. Farewell for now from my little orange and green filled studio!

Predicting the Weather

2010-02-21T04:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished up this illustration for the cover of the book, How to Predict the Weather by Aaron Burch (Keyhole Press). This shows the full illustration which I completed as an etching. I was also asked to send samples of hand-written fonts to complement the "look" of the image. I had never done this before, but it was kind of fun (although my real life handwriting is awful!)

Anyway, they ended up using one of my handwritten fonts for the cover and I was thrilled to receive an email last night showing me the final layout of the cover:

I am so excited about how this came out and I can't wait to see it in print with it's beautiful matte finish!

Keyhole recently became an imprint of Dzanc Books, and you can read more about this and other releases on their news website.

Inky Renaissance

2009-12-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T08:43:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-17T05:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-18T04:50:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

...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

2009-03-20T05:48:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a hint of a new little project.

In the field behind the water

2009-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-02T10:27:00.001-08:00

Slowly but surely...

2008-12-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

I'm getting there. I'm still fussing with my little press to get it printing the way I want it. Remember this:

...the type that was set by the previous owner in the 50's? Well I got it to print evenly, although not quite as perfectly as I would have liked:

It's a labor of love. I will update with my beautiful results when I have them.

2008-12-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how quickly Christmas always goes by! I hope everyone had a wonderful day. This is a little snippit of a commissioned portrait I did before Christmas. In the rush of trying to get it done in time, I actually forgot to scan the finished product, so all I have is the sketch. Oh well. I hope the recipient was pleased.

Jess and I also did a gift swap. A bun for a bun. I gave her my Jack Rabbit for her to give to her mother, and I got one of her little fat bunny paintings to give to my little fat nephew.

Seraphim...

2008-12-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

...is a good word. This is one of my most recent prints that was inspired by a poem by Charles Simic.

Painters of Angels and Seraphim

After a long lunch of roast lamb
And many heavy glasses of heavy red wine,
I fell asleep in a rowboat
That I never got around to untie
From its mooring under the willows
That went on fussing over my head
As if to make my shade even deeper.

I woke once to pull my shirt off,
And once when I heard my name
Called by a woman, distant and worried,
Since it was past sundown,
The water reflecting the dark hills,
And the sky of that chill blue
That used to signify a state of grace.

-Charles Simic

Where did the time go?

2008-12-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

Hello and thank you to everyone who went to the Massart sale. I had a good turnover of artwork that will definitely help me through the holiday season, so thanks!

I have a few different projects going on right now and some new artwork piling up on my desk, but for now I will just share another sketch from my ongoing little series:

...and also the newest little addition in my family as of December 6th, my new nephew George:

and...........GO!!!

2008-12-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of the MassArt Holiday Sale. To your right you will see some samples of work I have there. The sale is up through the end of the week and is open everyday from 10-7 in the Tower Building Lobby.

It's always a great place to get unique gifts and see some great artwork at reasonable prices. You can read a little more about it in the Weekly Dig

K. Thanks.

Meet Kelsey

2008-11-28T06:44:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I made a trip up to Madison, NH to visit a woman who was selling her Kelsey Excelsior 5x8 press after over 50 years. She had an enormous beautiful barn filled with lots of ancient treasures. I've been toying with the idea of purchasing my own letterpress for a while now (one much smaller than the ones I operate at work) and needless to say, when I saw what beautiful condition this little press was in, I couldn't turn it away.

This particular model is from 1893, so the fact that it still has all it's accessories is pretty amazing. It also came with 6 full drawers of type and one of the chases was still set up from the last thing that was printed in the 50's.

I'm just waiting on new rollers to be able to put her to full use.....Lastly, here is a photo of my little shop with it's newest addition:

Cats go to Market

2008-11-14T04:55:00.001-08:00

I recently picked up an old picture book called The Cats go to Market, by Joan Cass and illustrated by William Stobbs. I've pretty much been obsessed by the illustrations in this book since I first saw it in the store 6 months ago. I believe it is circa 1969, which falls right into my favorite era of picture books.

The color separation is to die for!!!

My favorite part of the whole book is this black cat, which bears a striking resemblance to Julia's cat, Serif.

fish heads, fish heads, roly poly fish heads...

Bless their patient little hearts...

2008-11-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

I couldn't stop laughing the whole time I was drawing this. I'm thinking of a series based on these little guys. Who knows what will come of it.

I have never seen a fox...

2008-10-26T09:34:00.001-07:00

...but if someday I do, I hope he looks like this little guy. It's not that I haven't tried. I guess I've just never been at the right place in the right time.

Birds of prey in the livingroom

2008-10-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

So unlike my friend Jess, who's been creating the most unbearably adorable images lately, I've been unable to stop myself from doing these slightly creepy, ugly animal paintings. Below are my demented little chunklet owls who are scared of the night.

And here is my ode to the hawk, who scare the crap out of me. I have been seeing them everywhere lately eating their tiny brethren, which just seems cold.

I promised more autumnal artwork, and I will have it soon, predators and all.

Morning Goose

2008-10-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

A new little edition called "Morning Goose." This guy was inspired by the white geese on the Charles river that I pass by in the mornings. It's a tiny edition of 3, each being slightly variable. Above is my favorite. Below is all three in a line.

boop bop beepooboo bop.

Just wait

2008-10-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I felt the need to create this image, that basically ignores fall and goes straight to winter.

Anyway, this is one of my newest prints. These two are actually a pretty good representation of the way I feel about winter. Miserable.

Hopefully I will have some autumnal artwork to show shortly...

Slow days of October

2008-10-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, Christopher is the only other living creature in my apartment. I have been taking advantage of this recently by sketching him when I have nothing better to do. Here is one of my favorites.

I adopted a black animal

2008-09-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

So remember the days of longing for an animal? Well they are over (for now) for me. Yesterday I adopted a black fluffy cat from the MSPCA.

His name is Christopher.

Lots of artwork in production, but nothing to share yet. Soon...

Baby horses, Baskin and Birthday cake...

2008-09-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy and chaotic past few weeks. I had a wonderful birthday thanks to Brian and all my friends. I walked home from one of the worst days I've ever had into a surprise party filled with friends, presents and a friendly birthday cake.

I got many thoughtful presents including a ton of tiny my melodies, a Pony-the-Hat necklace, records, and a crap load of Leonard Baskin books. Thanks to a gift certificate to the Artists & Craftsmen Supply, I bought my self some little expensive things like a diamond tip etching needle! and a little tube of cadmium yellow goauche!

My latest little prints look like this:

baby horses make the world go round...

Bull in the Heather

2008-08-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

This is one of my newest paintings and is now the opening image on my website. I made some other much-needed updates also, so maybe it's time to take a visit.

Ghost boy

2008-08-14T18:21:00.001-07:00

Just a small detail from one of my latest prints entitled, "Waiting in the Green Room". It's not quite finished yet. I'll post the finish asap. I have a lot of catching up to do...

giant bird, little head

2008-08-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. More about Leonard Baskin. I'm newly obsessed with this image I found of his. It's a lithograph from 1978. One more of his giant deformed birds. Just imagine gazing into the sky and seeing this thing come down on you.

My birthday is coming up soon. Just think about it. It's only $4000. No biggie.

postcards from summer

2008-07-31T12:09:00.000-07:00

These long summer days have been packed lately. I have finally (with the help of Julia) solidified my picture book dummy and it is almost ready for me to put it into the hands of (hopefully) eager art directors. Please everyone cross their fingers for me!!

Because this has been taking up my life recently, I have been lagging on producing any new work so I have nothing to share yet. Check out Julia's blog to see a little highlight on Jess and myself all hanging out on a recent hot summer night.

A relic was sent to me from my aunt in Maine: an old copper plated block for printing a postcard or a photo in a newspaper. It seems to be a picture of a fairly desolate roadside motel or lakeside cottages. Maybe someday I'll try to print it and see what it really is.

In the meantime, I'm going to try to spend as much time as possible floating in water until the weather turns cold...

From the depths of a bookstore...

2008-07-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

...i found two old books by illustrators that I love. The World of Horses by Dahlov Ipcar.

and Fierce the Lion by Evaline Ness.

Also, when in NH, I found a little (literally) trove of tiny Golden Books. All written by Dorothy Kundhart and illustrated by Garth Williams. More tiny books for the tiny shelves! They are all only about 2 inches. Naturally, I almost had a heart attack when I found them.

Other than that, I've been plugging away at my picture book sketches and working at my new job at the letterpress. I'm still trying to learn how to operate this thing:

yeah. I know.

Bears, Blimps and Books

2008-07-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week in New Hampshire where I had every intention of doing a lot of drawing, but instead ended up doing a lot of reading, swimming and nothing. The hood blimp made a mysterious and disorienting appearance over my nap one afternoon. I opened my eyes to this:

Also, lots of thunderstorms:

***

Recently (just last night), another one of my illustrations sold with it's matching bear figure made by Marylou Foley. This is my most favorite one she has done yet.

Just look at that butt!!!

***
Lastly, Brian's book, The Tornado is Not a Surrealist was released this week on a small press called Greying Ghost. It looks fantastic. The cover is very old fashioned and classy looking. It almost looks like hand-set type with ornaments:

Go read a sample poem here.

Go buy it here.

Congratulations Brian <3

Everyone should adopt a black animal

2008-06-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today was my first day off in what seems like an excruciatingly long time. I have started a new job as an assistant printer at a letterpress which is replacing my former part time job at a children's bookstore. In the overlap, I have been working both jobs and been trying to squeeze in my freelance work in the night time. Basically, today was the end of the overlap and back my normal part-time life.

I told myself I would do nothing but read today. Instead I suddenly was struck with the urge to do a small triptych I'm now referring to my "Domestic Trio". I was thinking about black animals in shelters. They are less likely to get adopted because they are more likely to blend in and people have a hard time seeing them. So I created some homely little black animals that I now love.

Can you tell that I am painfully lacking both a cat and a dog...

soon, soon I tell myself.

The Parting

2008-06-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

This is my newest illustration for a short story by Evelyn Hampton. It will be in the new issue of Smokelong Quarterly.

On a different note, this is my favorite new (old) book by Bob Gill. The drawings and the design of this book are extremely thoughtful and, I think, brilliant. I've recently found some other favorite books but I will save them for later because they are all by Marc Simont. Maybe I will do a highlight on him next...

Poets, Literary Journals and Me

2008-06-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

The newest issue of Oranges and Sardines is out and there is an interview with me along with some of my artwork. Oranges and Sardines is a new literary magazine put out by Didi Menendez and is available for purchase here.

Here is the full list of all the contributers:

Featuring Artists: Ethan Diehl, Marcia Molnar, Holly Picano, Cheryl Kelley, Jennifer Wildermuth, L.D. Grant, Niel Hollingsworth, Steph Chard, Jeremy Baum, Jeff Filipski and E.B. Goodale. Poems by Blake Butler, Dana King, J.P. Dancing Bear, Josh Olsen, Steffi Drewes, Matthew Hittinger, Patrick Leonard, Diana Adams and Greame Mullen. Short story by Kirk Curnutt. Reviews by Miguel Murphy, Michael Parker, Cheryl Townsend, Courtney Campbell and Jim Knowles. Columns by Talia Reed and Caridad McCormick. Grace Cavalieri interviews Mark Doty.

Also, this weekend is a reading at Brookline Booksmith with Zachary Schomburg, Rauan Klassnik, Chad Reynolds and Carl Annarummo where I will go and meet Rauan Klassnik who has so kindly purchased the print "Don't Be Afraid" which was based on one of his poems. Above is the framed print in all it's glory.

Also, I was just asked to illustrate a short story for the lit magazine Smokelong Quarterly by a lovely woman named Evelyn Hampton. I will update on that when it's out!!!

God bless bunnies

2008-06-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

Those of us that live in the neighborhood adjacent to Harvard tend to have a love-hate relationship with Harvard. The one undeniable goodness that Harvard hosts is the abundance of bunnies that live on the grounds. Almost every time I'm out walking at night, I see their mysterious little silhouettes in the shadows. This was the inspiration for my little painting "night rabbit" (see right.)

Tonight (just now) I was out walking and saw a little bunny running across the street. I involuntarily shouted "No, bunny, no!!" but then watched as it safely reached the other side. Then I walked in the door, sat down at my desk and did this:

the end.

I have been busy with the birth of Summer

2008-06-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Smelling flowers, rowing boats, and designing wedding invitations have all been part of what has been keeping me busy lately. Appropriately enough, I am also reading The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, a recent reissue of one of her adult novels. (of course she is most famous for her invention of the Moomins...)
So far I have enjoyed reading this book, with it's bizarre relationship between a disgruntled grandmother and her even more disgruntled granddaughter living on a mostly uninhabited island in the gulf of Finland. I can't help but feel though, that there is something a little awry with the translation. oh well. The nature descriptions alone are worth it.

I guess I've also been taking a lot of photos. Once upon a time, that was all I did.

I've also been hanging out with friends:

And looking at babies with potato-sack-legs:

And drawing little potato-sack girls:

ps. I've also been mourning the death of Polaroid. To see some more beautiful Polaroids, go here and here.

Owls make the world go round...

2008-05-23T07:59:00.001-07:00

To my delight, spring cleaning has found me some new surface space to display some of my favorite books and little thingies. This is a very rare occurance in our midget-apartment.

The men outside are yelling about giant fish they've caught while paving our driveway. I'm finding this a distraction to my work. As soon as I've finished writing this, I will blast music to drown out their machines and voices. Just look at how well my little owl figure matches the Baskin owl illustration. It's like somehow, they were always meant to be together...

Don't be afraid...

2008-05-16T09:07:00.001-07:00

This is my most recent print entitled "Don't be afraid." I was enspired one sunny afternoon by reading a book of poetry: Holy Land by Rauan Klassnik.

I really enjoyed most of the poems in the book, which are mostly short little prose paragraphs. The one in particular that ensipired this image was this one:

Two girls are carrying a cage full of kittens down to the
river. Don't be afraid! This is the world's beauty. Look!--
with the cage between them still they're stepping care-
fully from rock to rock.

-Rauan Klassnik

This now proudly displayed as the opening image on my website. If you haven't visited in a while, maybe now is the time.

Lack of Translation

2008-05-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

So a friend and co-worker of mine asked me if I would illustrate one of her favorite poems from her childhood, which is a poem called "Cantec" by George Cosbuc. Apparently this poem has never been translated into english from the Romanian, so she wrote her own basic translation for me and the rest was guess work. Here is the finished product.

They are all lithographs from pronto plates including the text.

news from the livingroom and beyond...

2008-05-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

The past month I have been jet-setting around New England but it has finally come to an end with my return from New Hampshire a few days ago. I have been lugging around my little safe box of paints to try and keep myself working.

Since I've been back, I finally got my Gehenna Press poster in a frame (see above) and also made a mini bookshelf for my collections of miniature books. I used all scrap wood I found in my parents basement and didn't bother to finish it. I'm hoping it will fit in with the rest of my shabby things just fine.

One of the things that I used my Bush-buys-our-love-check on was the Christmas Nutshell Library by Hilary Knight. Only one edition was published in 1963 along with the Bunny Nutshell by Robert Kraus, and of course the famous Nutshell Library by Maurice Sendak. Sendak's was the only one that they continued to print. So now I have all three!

And of course I couldn't go one post without mentioning Leonard Baskin. His Miniature Library of Natural History has it's own little place on the shelf. OK, enough nerdy miniature collectible book talk for now.

While in New Hampshire, Brian and I hiked a mountain but didn't make it all the way up because I found out that I'm out of shape. Here is the closest we got to the probably magnificent views at the top.

Here is Brian disappointed with me:

Here is the lake, finally free of ice:

Now back to work! I've got a wedding invitation to design, piggies to paint and paper to trim...

Illustrator buddies

2008-05-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Ok. I swear this will be my last post about the cape. Here is a photo of Jess and Julia when they came down to hang out with Boomer and me. Inevitably whenever we get together we end up talking about books and complain about bad design.

Look at that clean floor...

country woman on the cape

2008-05-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Well as promised (or vaguely mentioned) I've painted the skirt on my country woman print. I did this out of solitary confinement on the cape. This is how it looks now:

beebedeee...

SOS success

2008-05-04T18:35:00.001-07:00

So yesterday was a lot of fun. I got to talk to a lot of new people and managed to sell a generous portion of my prints. Here is a photo-walk-through of the day:

Yay. Thanks to Shelley and Melissa and everyone who came!

SOS!!

2008-05-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

This Saturday (tomorrow) I will be at Albertine Press selling my prints as part of Somerville Open Studios. Shelley has graciously donated some space in her letterpress studio for my work as well as Pressbound, and Beck Wasilewski. There will be a beautiful variety of paper goods for viewing or purchasing so please bring your wallets! In the past these events have always been a lot of fun so I'm thrilled to participate again. I will have a selection of my most recent prints, such as chickens, bunnies, ladies and deers.

Hours and Location:

May 3 from 12-6

Albertine Press
561 Windsor St.
Somerville, MA 02143

(right outside Inman Square)

ok, see you there!

books, books, books and baskin

2008-04-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

The past week has been one of sun, spring and books. I'm still down here on the cape and have had the opportunity to visit some great bookstores. As I had hoped in one of my previous posts, I did in fact procure a copy of The Owl Papers illustrated by Leonard Baskin.

I also found (!) a copy of the Graphic Work of Leonard Baskin,

and a copy of the Auguries of Innocence by William Blake, illustrated by Baskin. (It also happens to be an advanced reading copy from 1968!

I also found some other interesting children's books like The Shy Little Girl illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

and Zoo by Bruno Munari.

wow, I just noticed that the little girl and the giraffe kind of look the same.

***

Also I have been looking at herring,

playing with Boomer,

and working on a commission as well as preparing for Somerville Open Studios this weekend. More on that later!!!

work? what?

2008-04-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

I am on the cape where I am lying around with a fat dog and scary cat and I'm trying to convince myself to get back to work. I have a lot of stuff to get done, but somehow it becomes more difficult with the beautiful weather, screaming birds and lazy animals surrounding me. argh...

Meet Sarah

2008-04-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

Just a little sneak of what I've been working on...

More later.

The obsession continues...

2008-04-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Brian brought me another one for my collection the other night. Baskin certainly loved birds, especially crows. I bet he painted hundreds of crows over his lifetime. Baskin and Ted Hughes were buddies since the very beginning of Hughes career, therefore Baskin illustrated most of the early editions of his books. This is one of them.

Soon I hope to also own a book about owls illustrated by Baskin. Soon I will have no more room in my house for books on owls illustrated by Baskin. Soon I will have no more money for books on owls illustrated by Baskin. Soon this blog will be called "I love Leonard Baskin."

Seriously

2008-04-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to think their might be too many books around here...

I'm not kidding. These photos only show about a quarter of them. I think there's a new ceiling height bookshelf on the horizon...

Spring in the livingroom

2008-04-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Two more commissions on the desk right now. Another one of two munchkins. I haven't started sketching for it yet, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun because their mother wants a very casual portrait of them in their little wild garden. So, basically like something I would do anyway.

Also I'm illustrating a classic Romanian poem that hasn't even been translated into English. I know the gist of it, but it's kind of weird and fun to be printing words I don't understand. This one I'm doing as a series of small lithographs, so it's taking a little longer than usual. I've been plugging away at preparing the plates for a week and a half now. Hopefully the results will be worth it.

doo dee doo dee doo.

Oh and this is the thing that has been keeping me going for the past few days.

Country Woman

2008-04-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Spent all day on Saturday streamlining my website. This is an etching I printed last week. It is now the first thing you see when you go to my website. I might go back and paint her skirt but I'm pretty into it this way as well.

I came to the realization that I feel most awesome when I am working in my little etching studio. Go me.

Baskin shop-therapy

2008-03-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

The other day a coworker of mine wrote me a funny little story about my recent theft problems. I thought that the story was so pleasant to look at that I have provided a scan of the piece of paper itself.

Also on that note....I have taken the negative money that I received for my stolen artwork and have put myself even more in the negative by purchasing another Leonard Baskin print. I guess it's my version of shop-therapy. Most people would go out and buy a pair of shoes. Not me. I feel the need to buy expensive artwork. So now I have one of his lithographs of Captain Ahab, which matches the other print I have that is also part of his Moby Dick series. I bought it from the Freeman Bull Gallery, which has a beautiful selection of his artwork at fair prices.

In other news I have been chugging along on my picture book project. This process is rather tedious and sometimes lonely. I have been developing this for almost a year now and I'm just starting to get somewhere. Here are some little teaser sketches. Hopefully soon I will have some finished illustrations to share...

bye bye lambie

2008-03-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well I'm officially not-flattered. Another one of my paintings was stolen last week at Curious George. It was a small framed watercolor of a lamb. Whoever has taken these (and I'm almost sure it was the same person) you owe me a lot of money. Money that I actually really could use. Money that I would have gotten from the other people that voiced interest in the pieces you took.

I'm disgusted and depressed. As of tomorrow, I will not have my work at Curious George. I hate to do it, but I just can't afford to lose another piece.

Let's all wave bye-bye to lambie.

ps. to read an angrier account of these events go here.

"If you mess with my bike one more time, I'll never talk to you again, got that?"

2008-03-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here it is! The final showdown between Julia and I. We have both finished our versions of Pony the Hat from Emil and the Detectives and oddly enough, without discussing it at all, we both used the same color palette for her. I guess there is just something yellow-y about her.

Here is a little "Pony-moment" to give you a taste of her style:

"...Pony the Hat stayed behind, a little miffed. Then she swung herself up on her little nickel-plated bicycle, murmuring, just like her grandmother, 'I don't like the looks of it. I just don't like the looks of it!' and pedaled off after the boys."

-Erich Kastner

Now that you've taken in an eyeful of my Pony, go see Julia's.

Remember Christmas?

2008-03-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite ready to post what I'm working on right now, so in the mean time, I came across this portrait that was a Christmas commission for Meghan and thought I'd share it. I forgot to write about it at the time because I was so snowed under with the other commissions for Christmas.

Out to look at tiny things with Jess now...

goodbye

2008-03-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't know if I should be flattered or furious...but I've officially become a victim of theft. My framed print, "The Violet" was stolen off the wall at Curious George Bookstore this weekend, where it has been on display for a few months. With the departure of this print, I can officially say that my poetry series is all gone except for 2 prints.

Well, at least I was paid for most of them...

Get out of here

2008-02-25T09:50:00.000-08:00

Finally feeling better enough to be sitting upright after a long week of flu. After staring at the ceiling in a state of delirium for a week, I'm dying to get back to normal. My first attempt at work is assembling my samples so I can get them out of here and into the loving hands of art directors. Here is an array of what I'm sending, accompanied by the beautiful x-large chartreuse envelopes.

Fronts:

Backs:

bleh.

I heart Moomin

2008-02-16T13:20:00.001-08:00

I know I tend to go on and on about Moomin, but I can't help it. Yesterday I received my Moomin totebag that I ordered from Finland on Etsy. Not only do I love the bag, but it came with many Moomin adornments like stamps, postcards and stickers.

Almost too much to handle.

For anyone who has no idea who or what Moomins are, educate yourself.

Gyspsies in Paris part two

2008-02-15T11:47:00.001-08:00

Just taking a little break as I'm finishing up my character series and getting ready to send them out. This is a little detail of my finished gypsy illustration. I'm about ready to move onto something else for a while.

I'm starting to churn ideas for a limited edition artist book with original etchings and letter pressed pages. I just need to come up with a theme. I've done a lot of animals already, I might like to do a series of portraits, or maybe a narrative. Any suggestions are welcome.

OK back to work.

Ginger kids

2008-02-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here is my latest illustration for The Family under the Bridge. It's much looser than my usual style, but I was just trying to have some fun with it and I like the muted colors and bleedy watercolor. I don't know if I'll end up using as part of the finished series, but it's nice to do something a little different every now and then.

bam.

After the Goldrush

2008-02-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

So Paper & Chocolate was a lot of fun and a huge success all around. I nearly sold out of all my prints! Here is a photo (courtesy of Shelley) of a few of the things I had there before the crowds came:

I was joined by the lovely company of Kelly from May Day Studio, Beck Wasilewsky, Melissa Gruntkosky of Pressbound, and of course (the host) Shelley and Jacob of Albertine Press. It was fun to just hang around and chat. Kelly told me a story about finding an old Leonard Baskin magnesium block, possibly a leftover from Gehenna Press and I had a mini-heart attack.

Okay that's enough nerdy print-talk for now.

Paper & Chocolate

2008-02-08T07:09:00.000-08:00

So even though I haven't been working regularly at the press for about two months now, Shelley graciously asked me if I would like to come sell my prints at the pre-Valentine Paper & Chocolate. The pre-Christmas one was a lot of fun, so of course I'm happy to participate. I will have a selection of small prints for sale (including chickenheart in the corner) at an affordable price. For more info, read this write up of the event from the Bostonist.

Here are a few examples of the prints that will be there:

The Family Under the Bridge

2008-02-07T11:27:00.001-08:00

I'm about to pass out from my masking fluid fumes, so I thought I'd take a little break and post the illustration I just finished from my character series. This is another one based on the characters in The Family Under the Bridge by Nancy Carlson.

busy, busy busy...

Illustrators are dark creatures

2008-02-05T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today was a day of learning interesting/strange things about a few different illustrators that I love.

Number 1

I can't believe I have never heard of Chihiro Iwasaki before. Julia just clued me in on this amazing Japanese illustrator who has illustrated dozens of books and even has two museums dedicated to her in Japan.

I feel like I've been missing out on inspiration.

Number 2

I just found out that one of my favorite illustrators, Evaline Ness, was married to the legendary Eliot Ness, leader of the Untouchables and adversary of Al Capone and prohibition in Chicago in the 20's and 30's.

OK. I realize they have the same last name, but still.

Number 3

So I didn't realize that Harry Horse died last year. He's been coming out with more books than ever, so I never would have guessed. The details surrounding his death shocked and horrified me and left me with a feeling-not-well-placed. I can't even write it here, so I'll just link it.

I realize that by writing this, I'm showing how out of date I am. So be it.

North Country

2008-02-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't gotten any work done in the past few days because I've been here:

But, now that I'm not there anymore (sigh) I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm working on a few new little things for Paper & Chocolate next weekend.

It's amazing how difficult it is to find a picture of a chicken on the internet that is not "chicken parmesan" or "chicken teragon". Something to think about.

Gypsies in Paris...

2008-01-28T17:29:00.001-08:00

Here is my newest sketch for my character series. These figures are based on characters from The Family Under the Bridge by Nancy Carlson. I'll post the color version when it is done but I really enjoy the way this sketch looks in black and white also.

Emil, alone in the city

2008-01-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

Okay I just finished Emil from my new series of illustrations from Emil and the Detectives, and I couldn't wait to put it out there. This is actually the second in the series (the first being Pony the Hat) but will post her later when Julia finishes her version of her (no pressure Julia!)

He is such a dignified little man.

Green in the livingroom

2008-01-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

I have compiled here for no particular reason a collage of all the green things in the livingroom. It just donned on me this morning what a wonderful array of green there was around me. Enjoy.

Also on that subject, I happen to be working on a etching that will be called "Waiting in the Green Room" I'll post it as soon as it's done maybe along with more green objects.

basement fun: printing with monsters

2008-01-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

So yesterday Brian and I went down to the basement so that I could teach him how to print. I will tell the story through pictures.

Here's my trusty little guy:

Here's the plate we started with (drypoint on aluminum):

Ink ink ink:

Squeeze that guy through the press:

Presto chango:

Here is what we got: jackrabbit in a field

And then we did it all over again with pet monster:

THE END

Everyone loves ice cream

2008-01-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

I've been working on several "secret projects" lately that I can't broadcast over the internet just yet. So in lieu of writing about what I've been working on, I'll just share this little scene that I came across in my house yesterday. I find some solace in the fact that these little guys are forever enjoying their ice cream.

Remember spring?

2008-01-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

Here is an old sketch that I just found and thought I'd put it out there in remembrance of warmer days...

Printing, printing, printing...

2008-01-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting back into the groovey..

I spent the day at Albertine Press today where Shelley so kindly presented me with my very own letterpress merit badges!!! I can't wait to sew these on my apron.

Also, Friday I will be bringing Brian on a field trip to my little etching studio to show him a thing or two...