Upcoming Art sale this weekend

One of the great things about this time of the year is the fact that there are a number of special "holiday" activities to take part in. My favorite types of course are the art events that come around. This year I will be taking part in an event in my new neighborhood. It is the Holiday Art Sale at Union Church in Elk River. I hear it is quite the event with lots of artists that will be there and will even be featured on Kare 11 news in Minneapolis this friday. SO, with that, I have been busy getting some things ready for the sale and will be going to pick up a number of pieces being framed on Thursday. The pictures above are a little bit of a funny thing since the one that looks the largest(the drawing) is only 10" wide versus the painting at the bottom which is a little over 2 feet. That's the joys of cropping I guess. If any of you are in the area on Saturday from 10-4, you will have to stop by Elk River and come check it out. As for the address, I will be getting that in the next post tomorrow or Thursday. Have a great rest of the evening and hope all is well for everyone.

Illustration Friday: "The Zoo"

Who is really the "zoo"?

Illustration Friday - "Superstition"

A "Sunny" project

Well, as you can tell I have been quite busy the last few weeks and haven't had a lot of time to post to the blog. I have been working on three projects that came in including two book projects. The image above is a children's young reader that I am working on that will be available sometime in early 2008 and is a story written by Leketha Marie Johnson. I will have more details available when I am able to. Other than that, I am also starting to realize that the June show at Homewood Studios is going to be coming around the corner before I know it and have been prepping some of the canvas's that I will be using. It will be alot of fun to get working in the oils soon. Hope everyone has a great start to their weekend and check back later this weekend for the the new illustration Friday image. I wonder what this weeks topic is going to be?

Illustration Friday- "Scale"

Kinji

As an artist, I often find mentors and others to look up to for not only inspiration but insight into a very challenging career path. In my time that I have been associated with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, I have come to see the impact that a professor by the name of Kinji Akagawa has had on not only my fellow classmates and I, but students and artists from the last 30+ years. Kinji is a person who not only welcomes you into a class, but as a fellow artist outside of it. It is with his love of the arts and teaching that won over so many people over the years. And with that, it was fantastic to see Kinji win the 2007 McKnight Distinguished Artist award a few months ago and to recieve a copy of the book about him today in the mail. To know him is a gift and to see him honored for his dedication solidify's his passion in the arts. His artist's statement reads:

"I am not a philosopher and I am not a politician. I work as an artist, craftsperson, teacher, learner, and researcher in this community, respecting those who are living and exchanging energies in the landscape of art and the ecology of life."

Kinji Akagawa

Illustration Friday - Hats

Fun little sample

Thought I would give you guys a new little image to look at. I have been spending quite a bit of time doing some new samples of different techniques and styles and this happens to be one of them.

Corn or Sugar anyone?

Since my return to the twin cities on Sunday night, I was still thinking of how drastically different it was to be back home in North Dakota versus where i work everyday. The two biggest differences where the abscence of people and the lack of sound. I know sound might seem weird, but when you spend most of your time in the urban setting, you get used to all of the sounds of the city. In North Dakota, it was perfectly quiet (except for the couple of trains that ran through the town in the middle of the night). But the great thing was seeing the landscape that I was so accustomed to. The abscence of trees and the flatness of the land meant that I was home. There was also the harvesting and the huge piles of crop that were visible everywhere. The first photo that you see is of a huge pile of sugar beats that has to be a cool 1/2 mile long and 20 feet high. The second photo is of a pile of corn. This one is one of two piles(the second is behind this one). Pay particular attention to the size of the semi in the picture to get an idea of how much corn there was. So now that I am back to my current home, I have been working on the book illustration project some more. I will be spending the next couple of weeks finalizing the book mockup with all of the sketches and placement and text locations. Hopefully it will go smooth and the end product will be something that works well. When I am able to show more of the project with images, I will be sure to do so, but until then, you just have to trust that I am working (which I know some will find hard to believe!)

Richeson 75

"Superstition Mountain, AZ" 2007

After having worked on a book project for the last few days, it was a nice break tonight to sit and watch some of the World Series. This week has been a busy one with getting the sketching done for the character studies of a book and finishing up a small other project that needed to be done by last night. And now I am in the mode of packing a few things up as I will be heading back home to North Dakota for the weekend. It is hard to believe that it has been almost 5 months since I was last home. In other news, the Richeson 75: International Juried Lanscape show is opening up this weekend in Wisconsin at the Richeson School of Art and Gallery. Hopefully they will have a great turnout and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my hard cover catalogue that they are producing. If you guys get a chance you should really check out the Richeson 75 show. There is definitely a great mix of pieces and the quality of the show is amazing.

Illustration Friday: "Grow"

As the tale of Jimmys fishing expedition was told, the fish he caught did grow.

Hard work starting to slowly pay off

Well, in the spirit of being an artist and all of the ups and downs that go with the territory, I can finally say that some of the hard work that I have been doing has been paid off this week. It has been hard not to blog about all that has happened, but will spill a little of the beans. It all started with a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a publisher that was looking to get into the children's book area and was really interested in what I was doing. After going back and forth for the last two weeks, we were able to come to terms and sign a contract and book publishing deal. So, as of today, I will be their main illustrator for projects coming in and already have my first project in hand. I promise that as soon as some of the loose ends and the information is up on their website, I will divulge more, but I know that this is a great opportunity to really expand my capabilities and further my development into the childrens book market. And if that wasn't enough, I was pleasantly surprised to find out today that I was one of the few artists chosen to be apart of the Art on Grand event in St. Paul coming up in November. The event is a one evening extravaganza where they turn the historic grand ave in St. Paul into a gallery walk. Each business that participates sponsors one artist and that artist gets the whole store to showcase their work. It is an event that is very well recieved and attended and can't wait to find out who my sponsor is. But, now the realization of all that has to happen is also starting to hit home a little. The shear amount of work that must be done will be crazy, but with the excitement of all that's going on, I think I can get it done on time.

Illustration Friday: "Extreme"

What can be more extreme than your tourism advertising in the frigid cold?

Cartooning around!

So, as you can see, I have been cartooning around a little bit lately. Thought I would share them with you to see what you think. Please try not to think too hard though, I know I didn't!

Illustration Friday: Open

Hello Everybody. Well here this weeks word for Illustration Friday; "Open". It is a reflection of the things to come! This week though is a little different in that they are holding an exhibition call for entries that will feature the top 25 pieces in a show in California starting in November. To go and vote for my piece, click on this link.

Why the bear has a stubby tail!

Here is a little illustration that I did for an extra portfolio piece. Hope you like!

A bit of good news

As you can see by the picture above, one of the things I have been busy doing is getting some illustrations done. This one is of two different illustrations that I am currently working on and will have done by Thursday. The reason that I have two of them going is because of the dry time that each layer of color requires for this technique. When I am waiting for the one to dry, I can simple work on the other and vice versa. It seems to work well and I will be doing three other illustrations after these two. In other news, I was delighted to receive a nice letter in the mail yesterday. It was from the coordinator of the US Bank show in St. Cloud saying that I received second place in the paintings category. It was really a nice surprise and I was also happy to see the comment cards that the judges used when looking over all of the submissions. It's not too often that you get to see what the judges wrote down about your piece in the juried shows. So, with the upcoming meeting with Janet at the end of the week and this new news, it has been a good week so far. Hopefully it will continue into the next week or two as well!

MNSCBWI Fall conference

Image copyright Derek Anderson

With the start of the week and a time in which many things need to get done, it was a very nice email that I received today that was a bright spot. It indicated that I was awarded the opportunity to have a portfolio review with Janet DeCarlo who is a pretty well known member of the children's book market and is also one of the guest speakers at this weekends Minnesota Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference. I know I have mentioned this before, but it is really a new venue for myself and the first of the conferences that I have decided to go to. Usually it is the money that has set them to the side in the past, but I realized that I needed to attend functions of this nature to meet people, get news about the industry and also expand my knowledge of the market itself. With this new mindset, I am really hoping to start dedicating more time and effort into getting myself known in the market of children's books. Another reason that I am looking forward to attending this conference is that Twin Cities illustrator Derek Anderson of the "Little Quack" Series is going to be there as a guest speaker as well. So, it will be a busy, sleepless week as I prepare to create the best work for Janet to view, and one that will end on a whole new foot!

Illustration Friday: "The Blues"

This is a piece I did a few months ago for a blues poster competition. It is a digital illustration.

Getting some needed things done

Well I wish I could be posting a new painting or illustration for your viewing but I have been busy the last few nights with paperwork and a visit to a children's book Illustration class. The class itself was one that was at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and was a blast to visit with them and talk to them about being an illustrator after college. They had alot of great questions and it was refreshing to be back in the classroom and knowing that I wasn't going to be getting an assignment when I left! The other portion of the time has been creating some proposals for some book projects and getting my portfolio prepared for the fall Minnesota Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference. It should be alot of fun and very good to talk with more people in the industry and listen to some amazing guest lecturers.

Since I don't have a new piece of art to show you, I will show you a pic of the book that I am currently reading. It is a fascinating book about the artists that were creating work around 1900 and the huge change in process and styles thereafter. It is from Abrams publishing and is titled "1900 Art at the Crossroads"

So with that I will keep plugging away at my pile of paperwork and have promised myself that I will get back into the studio tomorrow some more.

Illustration Friday: "Juggle"

"Juggling" finale?

So many roads, so many trains to ride!

As I am staring at my studio space here and listening to some blues music, a song came on and just struck a cord. That song was "So many roads, So many trains to ride!" I have been contemplating all night which one of my areas of art was needing to be worked on first. I know that I have a number of paintings that are needing to get done by this November, but also realize that I need to revamp my children's illustration portfolio for a conference that is coming up in three weeks. And then, I was realizing that my paperwork was starting to get out of hand as well. The good thing is that some of my promotional material had come in with my business cards, a small postcard and an oversized postcard of my painting titled "Superstition Mountain". I had been needing to get some new postcards out there to hand out that had my new information on there and have decided to only have my cell phone number instead of address so that I can use them even if I move. People can still get my full address on the web, so I think this will work out even better. Out of the two postcards, I definitely think that the oversized one looks the best cause it can show the detail of the painting more. But as with everything, bigger means more expensive. Well worth the investment though. I am already thinking I might order some more to have on hand. So with all that thought and no work, I will be off to work on my painting tonight. Maybe tomorrow I will get to the illustration work.

Fun with color

As you can see by the post tonight, I was having some more fun with a limited palette. After my board meeting this evening I had a few minutes and thought I would do a quick study of some houses I have been meaning to get on canvas. This is a little oil painting on a 9 x 12 canvas. I have a larger version of these that I have yet to finish, partly because I haven't decided on the final color scheme yet. So this is tonights work and will probably try another way tomorrow. We will see what I think of it in the morning. In a way I almost like the stark color of the houses against the muted sky.

Illustration Friday: "Wedding"

A little walk on the wild side! Thought I would try a different look and feel to it as well with the mix of digital and scanned texture.

Pushing the paint

Friday is near and I am anxious to spend some more time in the studio pushing paint around. As I am looking at the calendar I am seeing alot of opoortunities for exhibiting and such with the fine art. The only problem is that I need more paintings to display, so I will be in production mode the next couple of months and am really enjoying the thought of getting back into the paintings a little more. Tonight I was playing around with the oils and came up with this little 9 x 12 piece. Rough I know but it was good to get the smell of oil paints in the air. Ohh, and a new Illustration Friday topic comes out tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see what the next image is going to be! You'll have to come back soon to check it out.

Exhibits and showings

Well, I thought I better get some information out there before everything has come and gone. This month and next will be a busy one with class visits and some fun events at US Bank, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and The Richeson School of Art and Gallery. The first event is a show that is happening at the downtown St. Cloud Us Bank Building where a juried competition is going to open tomorrow and run thru Oct. 18th. I was fortunate to get a piece in and look forward to seeing the other pieces as well. Then starting Sept. 19th at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, a piece of mine will be hanging for 10 days before the big Art Perchance benefit on Sept. 28 for the Friends of the Institute. It will be a fun evening of games and "spirits" and should be another great showing of art and hopefully raise alot of money for the museum. Last but not least is the Richeson 75: Landscape Juried show that will be opening up Oct. 27 at the Richeson Art Gallery where I had a piece excepted into. So to say the least, it will be a busy upcoming month and a half and am looking forward to having some fun at the openings.

Illustration Friday - Momentum

With the change in temps and labor day over, how can you not think about what's to come!

The signs are complete

So the last two nights of work has been focused around some signs that I was asked to do for a Benefit of the Children's Defense Fund. The challenge was to create out of chalk the logo and image of the benefit on a children's little play easel. One of the first things I noticed was that the surface was a very smooth and non gripping surface that really made it hard to allow the chalk pastel to grab. It just "fell" off most of the time. Over a little bit of time though it seemed to finally hang in there and think the final pieces turned out pretty well for only having two evenings worth of time on them. Its too bad though that after the event they will be wiped away and be as if they never were even there. Guess it is for the moment and the night. Now lets hope that I can get the easels to the event tomorrow afternoon without smudging the image!

Getting into Beale Street again

Detail of Beale Street painting

I can't tell you how great it was last night to dig into the Beale Street painting again. After a few weeks away from the oil painting, I was back at it and looking forward to hopfully finishing this painting by middle of next week. We will see how it actually goes though. I also will be working on some entry pieces of art for a benefit for the Children's Defense Fund of Minnesota. So other than that, it will be a busy couple of days here and am looking forward to the upcoming weekend to get some other tasks done as well.

The end of a great week and weekend

One of the things over the last week that I have come to miss is the artwork that was being done in the studio before this week long odyssey of concerts and time at the lake. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast and it was a much needed break. But it felt good to get back home tonight and will feel even better tomorrow when I get into the studio to slap some paint around! If you read in the previous posts, I had a few concerts that were unbelievable. It all started on Tuesday night with Robert Randolph and the Family Band opening up for the Allman Brothers at the Minnesota State Fair. With this concert I was very impressed not only with the performance that Robert gave in the opening act but the guitar work that was done in the Allman Brothers show. I was really blown away! But that was nothing compared to the lineup that a number of friends and I saw on Thursday night at the fair. It was headlined by Etta James, Al Green and BB King. If there was ever a concert that was to die for, it was this one. It lasted for over four hours and left everyone in a state of hapiness. It is amazing that the fair people were able to put together such a lineup for a single concert. Below you will find a picture of my friends Micah on the left, Jun in the middle, with yours truly on the right. I will definitely be remembering that concert for a long time.



After the concerts it was out to the lake in central Minnesota to celebrate my parents 30th anniversary. We had a small gathering of relatives and had a great time with grilling out, playing games outside and then enjoying the lake. One of the games ended up with my cousins shoes, another cousin himself, a volleyball, and a football up in a tree after they got stuck all at the same time, don't ask how they got up there!! So with that, we left the lake this afternoon and came back to a more normal setting and a studio that desperately needs some attention. I can't believe that the summer has come and gone so fast. Seeing the fields plowed on the way back definitely solidified that thought. But with that comes a great time in fall and all that comes with the changing of the season. I look forward to trying to capture some of that in the near future. Have a great night and will be back again soon.

BB King and Etta James...

After a number of weeks of anticipation, a concert that I have been waiting for is here. Tomorrow night I will be off to the Minnesota State Fair to go to the BB King, Etta James and Al Green concert. I will be there with seven other friends and probably won't get any sleep til Saturday! But what better reason to stay up late than to listen to some of the legends that are BB and Etta.
You probably have noticed the lack of postings this week, the main reason for that is I am finally getting through some of the address's and new contacts at some of the publishing houses and am looking to do a promotional mailing in the next month. It is really exciting stuff I know, but it needs to be done and find that there is no better time to do it than when you are busy already. That way, hopefully it will keep things that way. But, it makes for some not so fun posting when I don't have new paintings or illustrations to post. Instead, I will attach three photos of my patio plants that are starting to block my view of the back yard. I also noticed the other day that one of my elephant ears was putting out a flower which is the first time that I have had that happen. I don't know if it is the short growing season that doesn't provide flowers, but since I have had these the last 3 or 4 years, this is the first plant to pop one out. Hopefully it won't be the last.
So with that, I wish all of you the best Labor Day weekend. I will be off to the lake come Friday so I won't be posting again until I come back on Monday night. It should be a good time as it is my Mother and Fathers 30th anniversary this weekend. It will be a crazy fun time with all the family coming to visit.

Illustration Friday - Visitors

Here is my rendition of the word Visitors for the Illustration Friday call for entries. It is inspired by my Uncle and Cousins recent canoe and camping trip to the Boundary Waters here in Minnesota. Hope you enjoy!

Start of another school year.

As the last few months have seemed to just blow by, I have come to realize that summer is fleeting away with the start of another school year. Even though I am no longer in classes, I will be at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design bright and early tomorrow morning to welcome the new students. It is one of the many events that the Board of Directors puts on throughout the year and that I have been fortunate to be apart of. I have found that with this orientation and the also the international student barbeque that one of our Board members has at his house, it really gives the students as well as us a chance to get to know everyone on a very personal scale. As a student, coming to a campus that has only 700 total students throughout the college, it can be a very individual experience rather than a public university that has 5000 incoming freshman alone. As an alum, I know what they are going through and will have a blast getting to know where everyone is coming from and what they are hoping to study during their four years here. I am sure there will be lots of questions from everyone. So with that, I am looking forward to working tomorrow on my next Illustration Friday topic and will hopefully be posting tomorrow night.

A little bit of drawing

As the rain has been falling the last few days (or close to a week), I have found myself taking advantage of getting some of the mundane things done that an artists needs to do. From filing paperwork to finding out which paints I am running out of, it has been a productive stretch that has also been very relaxing. Sometimes it is a little difficult to find a few minutes with such a busy schedule, but really enjoy these down times. I have also been able to sit and think about some of my own work that I want to do that doesn't relate to a show or a client which is a nice change of pace as well. Of those, I have really come to enjoy a little area that I drive by every day and decided to do a quick study of the space. It really has a nice mix of twigs, rocks, and such to create a great textured painting in the near future. Until then, this study will have to suffice and keep my attention. Maybe this weekend I will get into a full size painting if the time permits.

Illustration Friday - Captain

Well here is my Illustration Friday rendering of the word Captain. As you can see I am taking a children's book approach to this one. Hope you like!

A break of sorts

Having worked night and day the last two weeks on a huge illustration project, i can finally say it is in the hands of the client and I am in the process of straigtening out the studio for the next one. As I work on more and more of these, it is amazing how fast the time goes and when you look back it is almost a blur. I have found that the steady work has done wonders for the process in that everything seems to flow faster, from the sketches to the finished illustrations. I guess when you know what needs to be done and you just go for it you naturally find quicker ways to do the same work. Or maybe, I am just taking less time thinking about it and going thru and doing it. I don't know, but I like it. Hopefully I can take the energy that I am currently on and transfer it to the other work that is looking at me now.

Another thing that I have been aware of lately is documentation of my work. As more and more artwork is getting produced and sent out, I have found that it gets difficult sometimes to properly document something before it leaves. Fortunately, I have a great scanner and digital camera that can always be used to keep up to date, but then there is the backup of the digital archives and such that seem to get lost sometimes (or backlogged). In any case, I am excited that thru the course of this summer, things have been on a nice steady pace and one that leads me to think that a day job may not be needed in the not so distant future. One can always hope that art alone will be the source of all I may need, but that is just my thoughts now that things are a little happier. The better time I suppose to ask these questions is when it is slow and the same bills come due!

In other news not related to my ramblings, I have followed thru on a few juried art show entries that I have been meaning to get out. With any luck, I hope to hear back from those in the next month. So, off to clean up the rest of my studio and then start back in on the paintings tomorrow. Ohh, by the way, the image above is a charcoal piece that I did a couple of years ago of Buddy Guy. I have been listening all night to some blues music and thought it would be fitting to throw up an image that was of the same subject matter.

Illustration Friday: Emergency

Well Friday is here and there is another topic from Illustration Friday. This weeks word is "Emergency". With creating this image I wanted to illustrate what would be after an emergency rather than the emergency itself. It is colored ink on a linoleum block with pen and ink. Hope you like!

A peek into 2008

As I near the middle of August and in the midst of a large project, it is sometimes hard to think too far into the future. But the past few days have reminded me that I must think ahead to keep things rolling. If I keep tabs only on the now, then it will be an awfully slow rest of the year and next. The good thing though is that I have been keeping an eye on what's upcoming and next year is already starting to turn into a good one. With another exhibition scheduled now in Sept. 2008 at the Owatonna Art Center, that gets two exhibitions up and running with the other one being in June at Homewood Studios. There are some other opportunities with showing work that are in the process of coming to light, but will have to wait a little while to officially get it out there. Another great opportunity that is going to be happening is a workshop that I will be teaching over at the Richeson School of Art in Wisconsin that will be focused around Illustration in October of next year. So, with those three events already scheduled, it looks as though 2008 is starting to look pretty interesting. I just hope I can keep things coming in from here until there!

On another note, Cynthia Guajardo has a great post about some much needed paperwork for artists on her blog. I would definitely recommend checking out her post to get the paperwork that will make keeping track of all your work so much easier.

With that, have a great rest of the week and will be back in a few days with another Illustration Friday entry!

Drawing in the park

Update: Thought I would include this picture from one our first classes in July. I just got it in this afternoon and is courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

One of the great events that I have been able to be a part of this summer is the Drawing in the Parks at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. When asked if I would like to teach the class, I knew right away that this was going to be a blast and didn't want to miss it. So, starting on July 8th, we held open classes in the Fair Oaks Park in the front of the museum from 1-4 on Sundays. The best part of these classes was it was a free drop-in drawing class with all of the materials provided. It doesn't get any better than a free class with free materials.

Over the last five weeks, it has been amazing to see all of the people that have come by claiming the ability to draw stick figures and end up with a great drawing. Of course, some of the most exciting works have been by the children that stop by. It is really fun to see how engaged the students (no matter what age) become in the process of drawing nature. Another surprising stat so far is the number of people that come back week after week to continue on their piece or try their next challenge. With that, we had almost 60 people out there drawing yesterday and am looking forward to the family day they are holding this coming weekend with a 100-150 possibly expected. I hope that if any of you, or anyone you know, would like to come by, it would be great to see you out there. We are looking for the next three weeks to be as fruitful and fun as the last five. For more information on the class at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, just click on their name and you can get directions from there. And remember, it is absolutely FREE!!!!!

Illustration Friday - Missing

Hello everyone. Well the weekend is here and I have a bunch of illustrations to get done. I am really looking forward to getting to some of the final illustrations on a project that I have been working on all week. To kick off that work, I am posting a quick illustration I did for the Illustration Friday. Illustration Friday is a place where illustrators get a new topic each Friday to illustrate and come up with their own version of that topic. Since I don't have alot of free time at the moment, I am keeping mine pretty loose in nature, but fun at the same time. This weeks topic is "Missing". I am sure this one is a hard one to figure out. Anyways, hope everyone is off to a great start on your own weekend and will be back with some more thoughts soon.

Thoughts and prayers

Not very often will I stray from the usual rantings and mentions of my art, but tonights events here in Minneapolis warrant it. As most of you probably have seen over the news stations tonight, the main interstate bridge crossing over the Mississippi river collapsed tonight. As a bridge that I have used on an everyday basis for years, it was so surreal to look at the television and know that i was just there a day ago. What else can I say other than my thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and people involved.