anticipating the December holidays!


Hey all! Have been churning away on these holiday cards. Have been posting the more interesting ones...and probably more to come as we have a little more work this week on these ideas. Was surfing around at 2 a.m. and found some new and wonderful blogs I want to share with you. First off, check out Today's Inspiration (listed at the right). It is an inspiration--with the writer, illustrator, picture lover author--sharing his passions,discoveries, and conversations he is having with illustrators, collecting, and the history of illustration, particularly that of the 40s and 50s. His writing and observations are interesting, humorous, sharp and succinct. After a page of entries, I couldn't wait to see the history of this blog--linked with a great Flick'r representation etc. Reading Today's Inspiration everyday is a happy education with an engaged and fun teacher. Go take a look today!

more from Mr. Hicks




Don't you love George Washington on his noble steed? and the design of the image with the frame, the hand lettering and the righteous majesty of the waterfall and the rational beasts that are imposed on that environment. This guy is our American version of the Sienese painting school. No sense of anything but telling a story in a way that even the simplest of us can surmise the message. Hope the rain stays away today. An ark was looking mighty tempting.

Art History for Middle Schoolers


I am no academe...so I will just yap about this guy. Anyone know him? huh? Okay...if you find him tedious, click on...if not...His name is Edward Hicks. Mid 1700s, Philadelphia area (more particularly, Bucks County), painter, preacher and at one point, coach builder and painter. Mr. Hicks is known for his peaceable kingdoms (one shown above)-- always with this naive animals massed one in front, on top etc of each other--covering about 2/3 of the canvas, and the other part showing Mr. William Penn convening with the Native Americans to create a treaty. He loved this topic. Loved. I love the way the illustrations are so naive...the animals really colorized/dimensionalized images you find of woodcuts and engravings of the time. Even merry-go-rounds (Watch Hill, Rhode Island), decorative arts and signage all are part of his look and feel...and I think, this is unintentional...as I think this work sprang from the environment Mr. Hicks existed in. Afterall, he did paint carriages....which means good lettering with good shadows and pictures that somehow explained the owner or added cache to the vehicle.

We like sheep


You know the part in Handel's Messiah that starts "We like sheep"? If you don't, its worth listening to all one hundred hours of the Messiah to get this part...quite cute and funny. You can hum it to this picture.

Another Blue Sky Day!

Perfection here. Had a nice dinner with our friend Paula...visiting and talking about gardens,plants, monuments and those sorts of things. Inspiring. Did some research on New Zealand yesterday and am inspired by the concept of tiki (something you wear around your neck), the Maori tattoos and weavings and patterns. There might be a New Zealand project in the offing..and I want to be ready for it when it comes!

Wish things looked this good all the time!

Another beauty! Working on thises and thats. Some of it is torture work that isn't going anywhere. Raining like crazy this weekend. Taughannock creek was swollen like we have never seen...torrents. And the waterfall was spewing with an amazing spray that caused the trees at the bottom of the waterfall to blow as if there was a windstorm. Water is good..and we missed the "April Showers" for Mayflowers.... so, perhaps this is a tick in the right column for our friends the farmers. Our irises are popping. The hosta I put in last fall is blowing out (the size they were last fall with the hopes of tropical gigantism--). No peonies here though the neighborhood is blooming. Azaleas, Rhodies...all coming in. No significant humidity. Pretty perfect here.

Love 'em


Rob and I were talking about some interesting opportunities we have with a client to do some speculative design for a series of objects, objects with engravings and the idea of giraffes surfaced(they want african themed animals for one instance). Did a little looking about on Wiki, Shutterstock and the general google images and got a nice handful of reference. Also am looking into (urg) angels (the funny thing I have found on angels is that they are beautifully portrayed by my faves in the Sienese School and also by the Victorian (in cemetary monunments) and the Mormons (with the big and fabulous Angel Moroni). All other angels are either new age-y, manga or otherwise pretty trashy. The struggle begins....trashy but they sell...trashy but it pays. Dilemna surfaces. Also looking into nautical knots, elves, and the ever favorite Partridge in the damn pear tree. If you wiki Partridge, can you guess what comes up first....? You guessed it. The Partridge Family...who in my book really is better left unspoken about.

We were at the Pourhouse listening to Jim Reidy and his pals (UpSouth) play--and while Rob visited all sorts of people, your friend, the pill sat and drew this. I had a wonderful time. I hope Rob did.

a beauty


isnt this a beauty. Love the color, love the shadows....feels fresh. Designed by an artist named Bland. Somehow the name doesnt suit. I am searching posters online, so you may become a recient of this. Feeling a bit stale...

The Sultan's Elephant

I was surfing around on the web and went to the sketch crawl site (to the right) and then went to Ronnie Del Carmen site. He posted a bit on the Sultan's Elephant and away I went to learn more. The Sultan's Elephant is a presentation on a grand scale that was recently (early May) given over the course of two days in London...and it is travelling to Antwerp, Belgium in early July. It was presented by Artichoke, a company that believes art should be on the street...in collaboration with the french acting and production company, Royal de Luxe...(brilliant street theatre group!). The story is essentially one of a little girl that comes to earth in a spaceship and intereacts with an elephant and actors--all on a huge scale. The pictures tell the story. Flickr has some unbelievable images. The music is available on itunes (UK) and def worth hearing. I tell you, it is worth thinking about collecting all the dresser change you have to go see this in July. Inspiring that cool stuff like this happens because it can. Forget funding wars. Fund joy.

new symbol

This was recently presented (and accepted) to the brand new foundation established in this school district to raise funds and provide grants for programs etc. to enrich the educational experience for students in the area. The school's colors are blue and gold--so the color scheme for this has been flipped to being gold and blue...with an emphasis on the gold (one, to differentiate;two, to emphasize quality/excellence--"golden").This will go on the standards (letterhead, stationery, website, thank you card)-- and be complemented by photographs of the kids etc. (black and white). You know the drill.

More work on the winery logotype. Will post my favorites after my meeting with the client.

Need to get back on the SF pictures...or maybe start a protest picture. Sorry I have been so slow in getting you all new material. Life has been spinning by!

Gray day


Kinky Boots was a good movie all about an unexpected friendship that becomes a business relationship to save a failing shoe company. Kind of a little Cinderella story. A nice way to while away an hour or so. Was rainy and pseudo tropical yesterday on the big plateau. Today, as I look out the window, it promises to be the same. Am working along on this pair of houses from SF. Am surprisingly learning something about how the shadows come together and how the color can shift and change. Its pretty fun.Maybe some watercolors today. Also need to do the revisions on the sun face approach that I've committed to for next Wednesday. Hope this gray weather gives you the excuse you need to read a book, watch a movie, bake a giant cake or something else you might not do if the sun was beating down.

a present from a micologist friend!


Our friend, Steve has many diverse hobbies from hunting, wine making, dog training, cooking, fishing and much more. His most engaging and interesting is mushroom hunting. He does it on his own and with a group of fellow hunters in the Binghamton area. Last weekend, he was on the lookout for morels with the Binghamton group--all of them fanned out, combing an area. A member of the group, an older lady, is known for her ability to always surface a bag of morels or two. She proved her skills again, coming back with several baskets. Steve, I guess, took this as a challenge.

So, on his way back from the hunt, looking under dead Elm trees (which the lady let on was her technique)--Steve found his own basket or two. And we are the recipients of his bounty.

Arent they beautiful?

Kinky Bootswas great. Not a heavy movie, but sweet and lasting. If you don't catch it in the movie theatre, it will be a good rental.

Tonight, a concert with Princess Kitty singing. 2300˚ in Corning so Rob will be running around for this. Big doings there with Ken Butler (a wonderful artist we saw at Light in Winter this January, and also artist in residence with MassMoca), Big Leg Emma playing music and tons of food for the regular crowd, but also for the LPGA guests. Should be fun.

my apologies

Your friend has been a bit busy with making pictures and graphics for work to keep up with daily chat etc. However, the attached is a beginning of an image of 2 of the San Francisco Painted Ladies on Alamo Square(?) Park(?)--that will be rendered (hopefully) with a western meadowlark--a birdhouse idea. Working with architecture is interesting...I'm not so sure about the success of it. From yesterday, you can see that I am doing a little research into dodo birds--for political reference, for bird reference etc. I've learned quite a bit about them...too dumb to flee from invaders bringing disease, dogs and pigs...and their teeny little silly wings, incapable of lifting them off the ground. And what about that wispy toufta that is the tail?

Gotta go. Going to see (on a school night!!) the last night of "Kinky Boots".

new fowl in the works


Now...what to add to this guy? A wine glass? a fortune cookie? the golden gate bridge?the exploratorium? another bird? an egg? a skull??