I just got done laying out a much larger version of the Warbirds wall stickers sized to be room decorations.  This was the original intended size and they look great.  They’re huge!  Not so much for play though.  The bomber in this set is 4′ tip to tip so while it looks awesome above a bed, it’s pretty cumbersome for a kid to play with.  I’m picturing a kid wrapped up in a sticker like a mummy.  Anyways they’ll be for sale soon on Etsy and elsewhere.

Warbirds, large room decoration layout

Here’s a new commissioned piece I’m working on for a family member.  I deviated off the script a bit with this one.  Anyways I’ve still got work to do on it.

Rose Vine, acrylic on 12"x48" canvas

Last night Henry wanted to come out to the studio and paint with me for a little bit.   I told him I was getting organized for a project and wasn’t planning on doing any painting, but he could hang out if he wanted to “But don’t expect any painting.”  ”Okay!” he said as he burst through the door.  Within minutes of him sitting down he of course asked again, “Dad, are you going to paint?”  ”No”  ”Hey dad, can I paint?”  Sigh…   I looked around and saw a stack of illustrated canvas boards done for an old job.  They served no purpose any more so I had figured one day when I had time I’d prime and reuse them. “Hey Henry… do you like to paint white?” I asked him.  ”YEAH!”   Next thing I know he’s dancing to the music and primering canvas boards for me.  Tom Sawyer eat your heart out.  Don’t worry, I may get my come-uppence (I have no idea how to spell that).  I’m not sure that teaching a 4 year old to whitewash over finished paintings is a great idea.

Henry helping

I originally posted this a couple months ago but lost it along with all of my old iWeb blog posts.  I had made a sculpture (top two images) and my son Henry told me he didn’t like it.  It looked sad.  Sheesh what a critic. I decided he was right and that night I made a quick animation of the sculpture rising up  (bottom image).   The next day when I showed it to Henry, he freaked out and ran over to where I made the sculpture.  The board and the sculpting tools were there but the man was gone!  (smashed and put back with the other clay).  He was convinced he came to life and walked away.  I told him he was right, and that if he was bad the clay man would sneak into his room at night and steal his favorite toys.  Okay okay I didn’t really tell him the last part.

Clay man rises!

I have magic green shoes that give me special painting powers.  The secret has been revealed!

My magic green shoes

There is something about that city…

I’m truly having a hard time coming up with something specific to write about my experience.   The conference was well done and awesome and I’m so glad I went.  Still, even though the conference dominated the schedule it ended up feeling more like the setting than the story itself.  The people I met were the real story.   It was a great trip and I came back feeling truly inspired…although it’s about time to quit wallowing in that inspiration and to start applying it.  Half a weeks worth of decompressing is starting to feel more indulgent than useful.   I want to paint.

One more thing:   I’ve had to put effort into listening to music ever since my brother died nearly two years ago.   Upon returning from New York all I’ve wanted to do is listen to music.  And I’ve been loving it.  My poor podcasts are getting neglected!  Let em.   Thanks for that, NYC!

I’m getting antsy. Maybe it’s because I’m waiting for a call from the printer saying my promotional cards are completed, or maybe it’s because I’ve yet to pack, or perhaps I’m antsy simply because I’m about to have my NYC cherry popped.  Or maybe it’s because I’m having issues with my website portfolio not showing the changes I just made.  That certainly doesn’t help.  I’ll work on that a bit more but I gotta be careful that I don’t get stuck in the OCD world that is trying to figure out what’s up with a website.  I still have much to do before the trip (which is less than 24 hours away) so I better get to it.  Anyways here’s the front and back cover illustrations from the dummy board book “Hey Evan!  Watcha’ Eatin’?”.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Well, I’m rolling downhill in my preparations for the trip to NYC.  It was pretty intense for awhile there.   The dummy is done and being put together, my promotional cards and biz cards should be done tomorrow, and I’m updating the website tonight.   What else….oh yeah, I still need to organize my portfolio, pack, organize conference information and the trip itinerary.  Finally, I have to make sure I’m at the airport on time.  Anyways, enough about that.  Here’s another illustration from the board book / short picture book dummy “Hey Evan! Watcha’ Eatin’?”  This one is a spread.   That’s all for now.  I may be rolling downhill but I still got to steer this wagon, lest I roll right over to the couch.

Foot in mouth

Here’s another board book illustration.  I seriously have been living in my studio, only coming out to eat and sleep….as soon as I’m done with this project I am going for a monster run with no headphones in order to readjust to the outside world.  Sadly, now a days a monster run will probably end up being two miles. I digress.

Yummy Remote