I had a chance to print the block that I was carving last week and have a few prints now up in the shop. It was a fun change of pace to step away from pixels and get ink on my hands.
Also, I have two illustrated coasters available for sale over on the Nucleus Portland site. There’s some great art over there, from a wide range of artists, so be sure to have a look.
If you’re in the Portland, Oregon area, I’ll have a couple illustrations available as part of the Salut! 7 Coaster Art Show. The show opens May 18, but if you aren’t a denizen of the west coast, the art will be available online the day after.
I heard someone say Christmas was three weeks away and my first thought was, “Ha! Wrong! It’s at least a month and a half away!” and then I looked at the calendar and admitted “Blergh, no, argh, yes.” My interior monologue quickly devolves in the throes of panic.
The year is winding down and so is the big project that I’ve been working on during that time. I have a bit of room in the schedule, so opened up two slots for pet portraits. I grew up in a home with a dog, cat, parakeets, lizards and several fish tanks. We had gerbils, mice and hermit crabs for a stint, too. And briefly we had a monarch, that had been rescued, badly damaged, floating in the waves one Thanksgiving weekend.* In short, I like pets and I like drawing them. So if your iguana/chihuahua/ferret/what-have-you is in need of a portrait and you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line and I’m happy to help.
*The monarch lasted about a month, perched on the Christmas tree and eating sugar water. He also survived a 15 hour car ride in the back seat with my sisters and I.
October seems as good a month as any to celebrate mayhem and mystery. And to coincide, I’ve created a new collection of embroidery motifs, available as a PDF download in the shop. Inspired by classic mystery novels and whodunits, designing and stitching this was right up my alley. I spent my teen years reading Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle before becoming a Lord Peter Wimsey* fan as an adult. Even my dog is named after a literary detective.
The pattern includes two pages of designs, featuring 19 different motifs. And there’s also a page detailing transfer methods, for how to get your design from paper to fabric. You can add these designs to dish towels, clothing or create hoop artwork with them.
*Why Lord Peter Wimsey hasn’t seen a television reboot is beyond me. BBC or ITV, in the unlikelihood that you ever read these words, consider this a plea to bring Dorothy Sayer’s detective back to the small screen.