Here are the final images for the two lines of cards – first, the regular, nice animals that one might want to meet in the woods. “Oh look! A badger!” Thanks to Trevor, I’m calling this set “Merry Christmas.” And then the second group: “Scary Christmas.” These are just a little stranger, just a little weirder, just a little more sinister. I’ve ordered the cards and they should be here in a couple weeks. I’ll let you know when they go on sale!
In the meantime… what’s your favorite one?
My rough translation* of your feedback re: the squirrel (see center right, click to enlarge):
“Your squirrel’s eye is creepy.”
“Can you add lightning to the squirrel?”
“Your squirrel gave me nightmares. I can’t sleep now. I blame you. Bitterly.”
And,
“This is my favorite one so far because it looks creepy!”
“Yeah! Death Squirrel! I want it!”
“I sleep like a baby now because of your squirrel painting.”
What does one do in the face of such contradictory responses? Options:
1. Sadly paint over Squirrel’s eye to make him socially acceptable.
2. Sadly paint over all the other animals’ eyes to make them socially unacceptable, just to match.
3. Not give a rip about what you people think.
4. Come up with another line of cards designed for those who appreciate the strange, creepy, and bizarre!
I’ve chosen to do number 4.
Onward!
*and somewhat elaborated upon
Here are the first four. I don’t think I’ll stop at six.
Here’s my progress on the tree animals. Rabbit and deer are done, moving on to the fox. To round out the six I think I’ll add a badger, a squirrel, and an owl. (Click image for a larger view.)
Every year Christmas comes quickly and mercilessly, sweeping in when I’m the busiest and catching me unawares. I never feel prepared. Often, around October or November, I’ll vaguely formulate some Christmas goals. I’ll think, “This year we’ll take a photo and I’ll do a family newsletter. I’ll buy gifts in November. I’ll design Christmas cards.” It seems that every year I fail. Christmas gets the better of me.
Not this year. At least not with the card thing. Today I started creating some designs for cards that I plan to print up next month. This is the first (and it’s not finished) of six animals. For now I call him Rabbit.
Today marks the beginning of a new journey for my family. I am stepping into the world of creative work in which I will attempt to paint and write for a living. I am excited for this opportunity to use the language of Image and Story to stir the imagination, to talk about what I see in the world, and to challenge how we think.
I have several projects that I’m working on that I’ll be sharing with you as they develop.
You may have seen the beginning of one of them already: Part I of The Unraveling, a three part short story that I’ve posted earlier. You can find it by clicking on The Unraveling tab. Look for Part II soon!
Other projects that you’ll hear about:
Thanks for reading!
j
I recently had a conversation with my pastor about how visual art might be used to enhance or possibly expand the congregation’s worship experience at our church. He speaks to us every week, but what if I got up every once in a while to explain my visual interpretation of some of the themes that we’re studying? I already choose or create the artwork for our podcasts, so what if I talked about why I choose what I choose? My pastor thought this sounded like a good idea.
Continue reading july 1, 2014 – the leaning stones
Here is the latest finished piece in the Ellen series – Ellen and the Mountain. I’ve also uploaded Ellen and the Swan. This is turning into a story in which Ellen finds her way home.
Art fair followup: Almost a month past and I’ve not said a word! It went well. I got good feedback on my work, sold some prints and cards and postcards, and got some great ideas on how to move forward. People especially liked Ellen and the Peacock and so I’m starting to work on a series of animal topiaries. And so I present to you… a rabbit! It’s just the sketch with a layer of snow. But more to come.
Well, the preparation is winding down simply because there’s not much time left to prepare. The late nights of painting and varnishing and touching up and agonizing over things painters agonize over are all but done. I’ll be heading to Kansas City this Friday to take a crack at selling some original work as well as postcards, bookmarks, greeting cards, and prints.
I’d love it if you’d come out. I’d love it more if you’d buy something. I’d love it most if that something was my work.
Here’s the finished piece. This is 6″x6″ but I enjoyed doing it so much (and enjoyed the subject matter so much) that I’ve decided to do some larger ones as well. Probably not for this show, but perhaps for the next one.
I’m working on this little guy for the art fair. Why not use a peacock instead of a dragon? Seems cooler to me.