Inspiration from Stephen King

This Fall I've been worked on an illustration on Society of Illustrator, FEAR Show.

Fear isn't my usual genre, so I thought I would listen to one of Stephen King's books for inspiration. Okay, I was too scared to listen to his work at night -- but then I discovered his book, "On Writing. It was inspiring, brilliant, and kept my mind off how scary the studio is at night while I worked. Thank you Stephen King.

                     

The illustration above is of my studio at night from my desk with the door to the secret room partially open. Since the weather in Upstate New York has turned chilly, we've noticed strange sounds coming from inside the walls. It's worse at night and a bit creepy.

Close up of the secret room off the studio

 Exhibit

NOVEMBER 29 - DECEMBER 29, 2011

Museum of American Illustration

128 East 63rd Street
(between Park and Lexington Avenues)
New York, NY 10065

Gallery Hours:
10 A.M.– 8 P.M. Tuesday
10 A.M.– 5 P.M. Wednesday - Friday
12 noon– 4 P.M. Saturday
Closed most holidays

October Show--Silpe Gallery October 2011

 The two pieces I was working on this summer are in the show. The first is the Wild Rabbits of de Gaulle and the second is the Wild Cows of the Queen Charlottes.

The Silpe Gallery, Hartford, CT.

October 19-25 2011

  Juror Helen Hsu, Assistant Curator at the Guggenheim Museum. 

More pictures of the Opening

In Search of the "Perfect" Watercolor Paint!

Several people have asked me about the semi-precious mineral paints used in the limited edition prints.

I discovered these unique watercolors at this wonderful art store in Seattle -- Daniel Smith Artist Materials.

I discovered Daniel Smith back in the 1990's on a visits to Seattle to hang out with the Cartoonists Northwest group, at the now closed Doghouse Cafe.

I love "story" so to learn the story of these mineral watercolor paints, see below (the process is in the second half of the video).

Wild Rabbits of de Gaulle, Paris France

This painting was inspired by a trip to Paris and the rabbits (les lapins) that live at the airport.

The rabbits are often visible from the plane at dusk and dawn during landing and departure at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris France. Check it out next time you fly to Paris.

 Left: Hala is testing to see if the ink is dry. It wasn't! Right: Watercolor paint made with ground lapis lazuli from Greenland and Italy.  Click here to to see a video of how the paint is made.

          Once I have a good print, limited edition prints are made on hand-made watercolor paper. Then each print is hand-painted. To see a close up view, see the Limited Edition Print Portfolio.