Art, Ideas & Inspiration

A few random photos from my road trip to Maine

2009-10-09T09:23:00.011-05:00

If the thought of visiting Maine doesn't immediately
appeal to you, maybe these photos will help.

Finally, another post

2009-10-09T09:11:00.005-05:00

I created a poster for Grand Street Gardens here in Chicago. We're pushing the D.I.Y. aspect of the place, so I felt a poster reflecting that was appropriate, naturally.
The pig rocks, but check out that freakin sweet-ass gourd.

Webber/Grand Street Gardens Ad

2009-05-07T12:16:00.006-05:00

I put a rush on an ad we decided to do for the Tribune (House & Homes section). While I wasn't able to spend quite as much time on refining everything, I think it's still a really nice ad. This ad was created from an ad I did earlier in the week based on old vacation postcards. Obviously the dimentions for this ad are no where near that of a postcard's, but at only 3 inches tall, the long grandstreet sits nicely within the ad. If we go with this layout/ad again, I'd like to spend a little time weathering the ad.
The bee is pretty sweet too.
Link to large image

2009-01-20T18:39:00.003-06:00

I painted this a little while back, but felt it should be posted. I really like this one. I thought about going back in and deepening the shadows on the sign, but I suppose that's me being my own critic. Makes me want to do something similar, but with a larger wood sign. Not sure if I want to use the space for a poem, or perhaps as a promotional piece.

I forgot to post an update

2009-01-18T23:17:00.005-06:00

I totally forgot to put the artwork up here for the Fox Valley Philharmonic Symphony poster. The final poster wasn't bad, I just want to show off the painting. I went back in with Illustrator to add in the strings and some other small details.

Painting update

2009-01-18T22:43:00.003-06:00

After trying to take a picture of my work, I realized I reaaalllly need a new camera.
Anyways, this where it's at right now. So far, it seems like it was a good idea to sketch out the painting with Burnt Sienna. It's far from done, but I think I'm starting to like it.

Logo for Federation of Women Contractors (FWC)

2009-01-13T19:26:00.004-06:00

On top of trying to get ads, brochures, and biz cards done, I've been spending time here and there working on a logo for the FWC. Not to rip on the previous design (lie), but it was pretty bad. 'Though a valiant effort, it failed to convey any idea of the industry it was representing, which is a shame given that this is an awesome group of dedicated women. It's not completely finished yet, but the image above gives a pretty good idea of what they wanted and what I was able to do with it. I'm a little worried it might be a little busy, but so far it looks like it's reproducing well when scaled down. The skyline reads as Chicago (for those who know it) and the cranes look like cranes. I may be mocking a different version, so I'll post that if it materializes.

A poem about summer, made in winter

2009-01-10T21:46:00.007-06:00

It's rare to see a winter storm roll through Chicago for well over 24 hours, non stop at that, but that's exactly what happened this Friday/Saturday. With the exception of a coffee run, most of my time was spent at the computer or staring out the window. Seeing all that snow made me wish for warmer weather, and that seemed to be reflected in a poem I wrote (well, poem might be an inappropriate word seeing as it's certainly not a strength of mine). Nonetheless, I had fun wracking my brain for the right words. It's about time spent at a lake in Crivitz, WI. Sounds like a disease, but it's a wonderful, small lake that I go to with friends for the 4th of July. If you'd like to see a hi res version, click here.

2009-01-10T15:47:00.004-06:00

So it's been way too long since I last wrote, but I'm trying my best to consistently throw my art up here. I've started an under painting for an oil painting I randomly felt like doing. In addition to this, I'm currently working on a watercolor for my cousin, and I have an ad due the 26th, some place cards for our new store Grand Street Gardens, and some tri-fold brochure pieces that may or may not be placed in a nice folder (budget willing). Hopefully all of these will get placed on here. Seeing as it's been snowing for the last 20+ hours and doesn't seem to be nearing its end, I should have plenty of time to get more done. Time to layer some paint.

Finally

2008-08-21T16:37:00.002-05:00

Hey, looks who's finally got another shirt. We'll eventually be selling them from our online CWL store.

2008-01-24T16:54:00.000-06:00

I was contacted by a symphony organizer for the second year in a row to produce a poster for their philharmonic and youth symphonies. Last year I painted sections of various instruments, so this year I felt like I wanted concentrate on just one - in this case a violin. I had painted the instruments in a very representational realistic manner, which, while nothing wrong with that, I realized I was more excited about getting to paint than about what I was actually painting. This time around I incorporated elements that I always love drawing - nature and hand drawn type. Working with these elements helps to keep the piece looking/feeling like something I did, and keeps me interested. I'll be posting the finished piece when it's done.

2008-01-08T15:46:00.000-06:00

OK, so now that the holidays are over (read: I got xbox 360 and couldn't stop playing dead rising), I think it might be a little easier to find time to not only draw, but get some of those drawing posted.

For starters, I've been getting into fonts, type . .design, etc. lately and was inclined to design my own font:

I laugh a little cause I started with my name, more or less just doodling, but the more I did, the more serious I became- hence no real rhyme or reason to the letters or order, but an increase in correction and adjustments. There's still a lot to figure out, including glyphs and uppercase, but I'm pleased with how it's coming along. I tried scanning and vectorizing the type in Illustrator (no steamline or Ill. 11.0), but honestly, it's just not the same. Granted, I still have work to do with the paths/line weight, but nothing beats a hand made font. I might go back and redraw using black ink. It'll be easier to scan and vectorize with a truly defined line.

It's not done yet either, but there's the next p.s. illustration.

I still have a lot of work to do on the ship and 'spider boi', but I suppose you get the idea of how it'll look when I'm finished. I have no idea if I'll create a story line for these two, but if nothing else, they've been fun to draw.

First Sketch

2007-12-19T09:19:00.000-06:00

Initially, I thought I'd be able to embed larger files, but I guess this is as big as it gets, so, I'll just include details:) At any rate, this is my first sketch entry.

A few weeks again, Moon, my brother, asked me to sketch up a few different trees for a tattoo. Although I really like this tree, I don't think I'm going to ink this in for his tattoo. From what Moon described, the tree should bend a little more to the right - a lil' bonsai-y. Despite not using it for the tattoo, I think I might still use this for either my ABC book (hence the Tt), or a silk screen poster/tshirt - which I've already gotten a request for. I suppose if nothing else, I enjoyed drawing a kick ass tree, wrought from the depths of my imagination.

First blog - w00t!

2007-12-18T12:36:00.001-06:00

For starters, I hate all of these fonts. They're killin' me. No Bodoni, Garamond, Goudy Old Style. I'll get over it once I start posting illustrations or design work.

Secondly, I noticed a spell check. I'll probably never use this.

Thirdly, for as much as I hope this blog is popular with friends and/or the internet, I really hope that it keeps me occupied with sketching, searching for new ideas/techniques, and actually finishing some paintings. Well, we'll see what happens.