what is a duckworth?

New Year, New-ish commissions

2012-01-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

Happy belated New Year! I'm finally getting around to posting some commissions from the latter half of 2011.

The commissioner's (I like to say "commissioner" rather than "client" because it makes me feel like Batman) specifications for this piece were that it involve rabbits and have a fairytale-ish tone. I decided to take inspiration from the many rabbit/moon folktales.

The "S+D" couple used the color version on their wedding invitations and such.

Intended as a companion piece to another of mine (Butcher Boy, first plaque pictured) that they already own.

I enjoy doing personal commissions. If any of you folks out there want something special, drop me a line!

2011 was a fairly busy and productive year for me, with lots of new experiences gained along the way. I'm still bummed that I fell off the Housing Project wagon in September after making it all the way to 257. I'm wondering if I should just keep going to 365 anyhow, even though that violates the original "house a day" concept. Hmm.

Cheers to a happy, healthy, and creative 2012! My resolution is to be less like this, and more like an artistic powerhouse.

Good luck with your own resolutions, everyone!

A Tale of Two Cities

2011-11-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

I have some paintings on display this month at Clarksville's Roxy Regional Theatre. There is a gallery attached which features art shows related to the play running at the time. I was asked to create some pieces to accompany a stage adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities.
(click images to enlarge)

"Power in Numbers"
24x24"

Rather than strictly illustrating scenes from the story, I decided to play around with some of the themes and motifs. Here (below) I was thinking of the frequent use of contrast and doubles. I'm using rats as a symbol for the peasantry in part because they are often thought of as filthy vermin, but are really very intelligent and adaptable animals. A friend of mine once had a pet rat, it was adorable. Also, they fit well with a portrayal of "the masses". You may not think much of a rat, until you see that they are everywhere.

"We had everything before us"
8.5x11"

"We had nothing before us"
8.5x11"

Here I was thinking about the way Dickens portrays the Revolution, with each side capable of innocence and atrocity. There is no strict dualism, though the opposing parties may perceive it as such.

"Each the Other 1"
8.5x11"

"Each the Other 2"
8.5x11"

Here I was mostly thinking of drawing some frilly clothes.

"Best and Worst of Times"
24x24"

Don't let the door behead you on the way out.

"Chateau"
24x24"

Update of Wonders

2011-10-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

I recently finished this project for the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. The illustrations are being used in the children's activities room, "The Room of Wonders, which is part of the current "From Houdini to Hugo" exhibit featuring the work of Brian Selznick. The exhibit is awesome, I encourage anyone interested in illustration to go check it out.

I was asked to create three 3'x6' illustrations centered around the theme of "Wonder"(and the hand lettered title image). They basically left the content up to me, so it was really fun to work on these. The areas where the faces would be were cut out so the kids could look through the holes and see themselves in the picture.

I only had about a week and a half to do everything, which forced me to decide on the subject matter quickly. I was kind of glad for that, otherwise I probably would have spent an absurd amount of time second guessing whether whatever I drew sufficiently embodied "wonder".

I did the line drawings with physical ink and brush, then colored them digitally.

Here is Shane, experiencing the Wonder.

Blurry photo of the title on the wall. Signs and Designs did the printing, everything turned out looking great.

They were set up inside a box, with the viewer facing a mirror and the illustration with cut-outs opposite that. Bad photo, but hopefully you get the idea.

Houses on hiatus, shows are go

2011-09-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

Due to getting really busy with other stuff, I am (sadly) putting the Housing Project on hold for the time being. On one hand, I'm bummed to break the chain since I've been keeping up with it pretty well so far. On the other hand, I'm glad to be busy. Oh well. My thanks to all you folks who were following along every week!

As for what I've been busy with, the coming month is full of art faires/festivals/craft show-things. This Saturday October 1, I'll be at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market Artisan Faire. The image above is a new mounted print I'll have available of one of my Horn Island pieces.

Next week I'll be at LuvMud 2011 with the lovely Nikkila Carroll. The weekend after that, the Arts Pop Up festival. Also, possibly a couple more things happening in November, updates on that later.

In addition to the vendor events, I'm doing some work for a couple of gallery shows (also to be finished before November) among other various and sundry projects. Phew. Why does everything always end up coming at the same time? Certainly not complaining though!

Housing Project 255-257

2011-09-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Making a house everyday for a year.

#255- Mother goose had a house. These are all based on nursery rhymes

#256- Fly away home

"Ladybug! Ladybug!

Fly away home.

Your house is on fire

And your children all gone.

All except one,

And that's little Ann,

For she has crept under

The frying pan."

#257- Turtle dove house

"High in the pine tree,

The little turtledove

Made a little nursery

To please her little love.

"Coo," said the turtledove,

"Coo," said she;

In the long, shady branches

Of the dark pine tree."

I fell behind a bit this week and only have three *shame*, but I will catch up soon.

Housing Project 248-254

2011-09-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

A house every day for a year

#248- Lovebird house. Based on this one from a couple of weeks ago. Available for purchase in my shop here!

#249- Houseboat. Wall plaque versions of these necklaces from my last giveaway.

Buy it here

#250- Haunted house.

Buy it here

#251- Tree house

Buy it here

#252- Bird house

Buy it here

I am going to take the position that I put enough effort into the first 5 that it excuses the total lack of it in the last 2.

#253- Lazy house

#254- I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS house

Housing Project 241-247

2011-09-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

#241- Jungle house

I happened upon this book at the library, Fantastic Architecture: Personal and Eccentric Visions, and have been taking inspiration from it this week. This first house is from a picture of Las Pozas, a surrealist palace built by a guy named Edward James. I want to go there.

#242- Gargoyle house

#243- Calamity tower house

#244- Fun house

#245- Temple house

#246- Sand house

Based on some amazing sand castles by Pieter Wiersma.

#247- Distribution house

Housing Project 234-240

2011-08-28T07:48:00.001-07:00

Housing Project 227- 233

2011-08-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

Making 365 houses in 365 days

This week I wondered, "what rhymes with 'house'?"

#227

#228

#229

#230

#231

#232

#233

Zodiac plaque series

2011-08-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

Click to enlarge!

Recently finished a series based on the signs of the Zodiac. Mounted prints and necklaces are in the works! I'll have a booth at the Cooper-Young Community Farmers Market Aug.27 (8am-1pm) and will be selling these, among my other wares. If you are interested in a particular original, let me know before the market and I will reserve it for you. Originals are 5" in width and $65 (except Sagittarius, it is larger at 6.5" and $75).

I did a non-silhouette version of Virgo out of curiosity. I kind of like both and may end up doing a second set of them all at some point.

Housing Project 220-226

2011-08-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

Making 365 houses in 365 days

#220- Antler house

#221- Witch house dare

#222- Cabin fever house

#223- Fox house

#224- Rearranging the house

#225- Meeting house

#226- Tundra houses

GIVEAWAY WINNER- the randomly selected winner of the two necklaces is Justin Ardrey. Congrats! My thanks to everyone who entered and has been following this project. I plan on giving something or other away again when I hit 300 houses, so stay tuned!

Horn Island 27

2011-08-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Every year, a group from the Memphis College of Art goes to Horn Island and camps for about eight days. There are no man-made structures there, it's just us, our tents, and the island. Afterward, everyone makes art about it for a show at the school. This was the trip's 27th year, and my third time going. The show will be up from August 22- October 7, and the opening reception is September 10, 5:30-9pm. Come and check it out if you're in Memphis!

"Shipwrecked on the Horn"

"Night Terrors"
The weather was extremely merciful to us this year, the only storm we got was a really cool lightning show. Also no bugs and tolerable heat. I didn't go last year, but I heard stories of a solid week of tent-demolishing wind and rain.

"Consulting the Sage"

"Expedition"

"Daredevil"
Rabbits are quite prolific on the Island, as are alligators. I didn't have any close encounters with the gators this time, but I did find tracks from one that had feet as big as mine.

"Thief in the Night"
The raccoons were really bold. One little @#%$ actually ripped a hole in my tent and stole my bag of food. They ransacked the food supplies at base camp nightly and did not seem to be phased by the proximity of humans. Island Raccoon don't care.

Read a review of the show from the Commercial Appeal here.

I also designed this year's shirt (logo on the tree trunk by Don DuMont).

Housing Project 213-219 and another GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

A house every day for a year.

They are entirely digital this week. I just got a Wacom tablet (Intuos4) and have been practicing drawing with it.

#213- Moon bunny house

#214- Fish house escapee
(sounds like a band name)

#215- Key to the mystery house

#216- Giant doodle monster houses

#217- Bad omen house

#218- House that looks like it should be an album cover or something
("Fish House Escapee Greatest Hits, Vol.1")

#219- Too hot to wait inside the house

GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate making it to my 200th house, I'm giving stuff away again!

Up for grabs this time are these two lovely little necklaces. They are both originals done with ink and stain on 1.5" diameter wood discs, hanging from a 22" inch antiqued copper ball chain.
To enter, all you have to do is go to my Facebook fan page and "like" one of the posts labeled "July Giveaway". Super easy! Entries will be closed after midnight (CST) Sunday August 7 (today!), and the winner randomly selected.
Thanks everybody!

Housing Project 206-212 and another GIVEAWAY!

2011-07-31T07:51:00.001-07:00

Making 365 houses in 365 days

#206- Tree house hideaway

#207- Storybook house no.1
I just discovered a style of architecture known as Storybook, and it is adorable.

#208- Storybook house no.2

#209- Heart of the Storybook house

#210- Astrological Houses.
I'm working on a series of Zodiac pieces, more on that later.

#211- Shedding the old house.
I caught this cicada in the midst of molting on my back steps the other night.

#212- House inspector

GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate making it to my 200th house, I'm giving stuff away again!

Up for grabs this time are these two lovely little necklaces. They are both originals done with ink and stain on 1.5" diameter wood discs, hanging from a 22" inch antiqued copper ball chain.
To enter, all you have to do is go to my Facebook fan page and "like" one of the posts labeled "July Giveaway". Super easy! Entries will be closed after midnight (Central time) Sunday August 7, and the winner randomly selected.
Thanks everybody!

Housing Project 199-205 and another GIVEAWAY!

2011-07-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

Making 365 houses in 365 days

#199- Haunted house no.1

#200- Haunted house no.2

#201- Haunted house no.3

#202- Haunted house no.4

#203- Houseboat

#204- Vendor house. I spent Saturday morning plying my wares at a local farmers market.

#205- Refuge of solitude house

GIVEAWAY!
To celebrate making it to my 200th house, I'm giving stuff away again!

Up for grabs this time are these two lovely little necklaces. They are both originals done with ink and stain on 1.5" diameter wood discs, hanging from a 22" inch antiqued copper ball chain.
To enter, all you have to do is go to my Facebook fan page and "like" the post labeled "July Giveaway". Super easy! Entries will be closed after midnight (Central time) Sunday August 7, and the winner randomly selected.
Thanks everybody!

Housing Project 192-198

2011-07-17T05:22:00.000-07:00

One house every day for a year!

This week's are all ink drawings colored in Photoshop.

#192- Rain house

#193- Toy house surprise

#194- Houseboat

#195- Intruder in the house

#196- Vacation house

#197- Lake house

#198- Wait it out at my house

Housing Project 185-191

2011-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

This week I decided to take a trip around the world (mostly at the courtesy of old National Geographic magazines) and send back some little picture postcards.

#185- Ouarzazate house

#186- Kiribati house

#187- Kampuchea house

#188- Another Kiribati house

#189- Pestel house

#190- Mostar house

#191- Louisiana house

Kingdom Come

2011-07-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

A while ago I did some art for Tom Maxwell's Kingdom Come, the album is now available for purchase and you can check it out here!

Housing Project 178- 184

2011-07-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

One house every day for a year

#178- Bird of prey house

#179- Melon house no.1

#180- Melon house no.2

#181- Storm house study no.1

#182- Storm house study no.2

#183- Storm house study no.3

#184- Serpent's house

"This Poster is Gay" show

2011-06-29T16:18:00.000-07:00

From the press release:
"This Poster is GAY | Posters & Prints Inspired by the Desire for LGBT Equality

When : Friday, June 24 | 5pm - 10pm
Where : Harvest, 348 North Main, Memphis TN

"This Poster Is Gay" is a show of posters and prints created by LGBT & LGBT friendly artists with the goal of expressing their views on equality by using their talent and creativity. Everyone is welcome so visit Harvest in the North Main District of Downtown Memphis on June 24th, 2011 to enjoy the exhibit. You don't have to be LGBT to hope for a day when their will be equal rights for LGBT people of this fine city. 50% of the item's sale will benefit the artist with the remaining 50% to be donated to the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center. The benefit will be hosted by Harvest Creative on North Main, who are known for their brave design as well as their courage with social issues.

Preview of some of the posters/prints to be available to view and purchase at the show:

http://memphislovesgays.info/blog/this-poster-is-gay-062411"

The opening was on June 24 (and it went really well!), but you can still drop by Harvest to check it out, or order posters online here.

Housing Project 171-177

2011-06-26T06:59:00.001-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#171- Bird houses

#172- Bungalow house

#173- House carpenter

#174- Sunburnt cliff house

#175- Mouse house

#176- Coiffure house

#177- Garden variety house

Housing Project 164-170

2011-06-19T09:45:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#164- Bone house

#165- Carnival house

#166- Scrap house

#167- Apartment house

#168- Remember to trim those branches around your house

#169- Haunted apartment house

#170- Old woman in the shoe house

Housing Project 157-163

2011-06-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

Making a house every day for a year

#157- Tree house

#158- Radish valley houses

#159- Bath house

#160- Flea house

#161- Embroidery house

#162- Outcrop house

#163- Lamp house. The kitty seemed annoyed that I was building houses all over his napping table.

Polish Book Cover Contest

2011-06-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

This was my entry for yet another great contest on 50 Watts (formerly "A Journey Round My Skull"). The Idea was to "Design the Polish edition of your favorite book", full details here. There were so many fantastic entries, the judges must have had a tremendously difficult time deciding (at least I know I would have)! See the results here.

Also, check out what I did for the two previous contests here and here.

Housing Project 150-156

2011-06-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days!

#150- Sunset manor house

#151- Monster snack house

#152- Midnight fortress house

#153- Paying a call at the lady's house

#154- Toll house

#155- Tree house

#156- House seems bigger than it used to

Housing Project 136-149

2011-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Making a house every day for a year.

As you may have read in my last post, I had to miss the last two Sundays because I was busy roaming around an island. I have returned relatively unscathed, and bearing a bounty of 14 houses.

#136- Gypsy house

#137- Houses of the unfortunate valley

#138- Ocean view house

#139- Island shanty house

For fear of my digital camera ending up permanently crunchy with embedded sand, i only brought along some cheap disposable cameras. I've put little sketches beside most of the island houses to make up for the general crappiness of the photos and help clarify what you are looking at. (click to enlarge)

#140- Tactical hideout house

#141- Flotsam house

#142- Ghost crab house

#143- My house on the island

#144- Sand doodle house

#145- Glass house. A couple of these bottles still had liquid inside, I didn't venture to find out whether it was sea water or rancid liquor.

#146- House formerly known as pelican

#147- Sand castle house

#148- Driftwood tower house

#149- Shelter from the storm house. They have little "oh-no" faces drawn on then because some ominous looking clouds were blowing in at the time.

Housing Project 129-135

2011-05-15T08:12:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#129- Egg castle house

#130- Baba Yaga house no.1

#131- Baba Yaga house no.2

#132- Net house

#133- Farmers market house. This is part of a sign I painted for the Cooper Young Community Farmers Market (my neighborhoood market) I didn't design the little house logo (I heard maybe Combustion did)

#134- His house is the road

#135- A quiet night at the house

I won't be posting for the next two weeks, as I will be busy getting eaten alive by mosquitos on an island . Look forward to lots of island houses when I get back!

Housing Project 122-128

2011-05-08T10:35:00.001-07:00

One house every day for a year

#122- Green river risin' house

#123- Doll house

#124- C'mon in house

#125- Graffiti houses (chalk on my wall)

#126- Horse house no.2

#127- Clamp house

#128- Cliff top hermit house

Housing Project 115-121, and the giveaway results

2011-05-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#115- Gonna need a bigger house

#116- Toy theatre house

#117- Beach house ("shells" suggested by two sheds)

#118- Green house

#119- Bar coaster doodle house

#120- Piano house

#121- Itty bitty fairy house

Giveaway winner!
Using a highly scientific process involving folded bits of paper in a hat, I have randomly selected a winner from among all the people who have left comments. The winner is......... Kayla Cline! She must be on a roll lately, she's winning all kinds of stuff.

Thanks to everyone for entering and leaving great suggestions! I intend to get around to making all of them eventually :)

Housing Project 108-114, and the giveaway continues!

2011-04-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#108- Waffle house (brought to mind by Biddy's suggestion of "sunny side down house", which makes me think of a sad diner.)
I was inspired by my talented friend Derrick Dent to try messing around with gouache again.

#109- Orange peel house (suggested by Two Sheds)

#110- Opossum house (more gouache)

#111- Faux woodblock print house. Randomly happened across this little demo and thought I'd try it out.

#112- Ice house (suggested by Digital Misfit)

#113- Lonely houseboat

#114- Fruit house.
Because nothing says "Easter" like a cantaloupe infested by chenille chickens.

Giveaway!
To celebrate making it to house #100, I'm giving away this mounted print!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog, flickr set, or Facebook fan page saying you want to enter. Also, to make it extra fun, give me a housing assignment! Name a thing/things/concept/theme you want to see me try to make a house out of. For example, this was the result of someone suggesting I try to make a house using a box, popsicle stick, and shoestring. The contest will be open for three weeks, on May 1st I'll randomly select a winner. Have fun!

Thanks to everyone who has entered and left suggestions so far!
:D

Housing Project 101-107, and a giveaway!

2011-04-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

One house everyday for a year!

#101- Hairfire house ("hair and twigs" as suggested by voice1)

#102- Broken bowl house (as suggested by my clumsy hands)

#103- Bird house (hair and twigs again)

#104- House party

#105- Ant opera house ("opera house" suggested by Christiana)

#106- Haunted house

#107- Spring bouquet house

Giveaway!
To celebrate making it to house #100, I'm giving away this mounted print!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog, flickr set, or Facebook fan page saying you want to enter. Also, to make it extra fun, give me a housing assignment! Name a thing/things/concept/theme you want to see me try to make a house out of. For example, this was the result of someone suggesting I try to make a house using a box, popsicle stick, and shoestring. The contest will be open for three weeks, on May 1st I'll randomly select a winner. Have fun!

Also, I'm considering moving the houses to their own blog, and a friend suggested I use Tumblr. I'm really not sure what the difference is between Tumblr and a blog, anyone have any thoughts on that?

Housing Project 94-100, and a giveaway!

2011-04-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days!

#94- Newt house

#95- Spring house

#96- Root house

#97- Root house no.2

#98- High-rise apartment house

#99- Mystery rock formation house

#100- Find your happy place house

To celebrate making it to house #100, I'm giving away this mounted print!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog, flickr set, or Facebook fan page saying you want to enter. Also, to make it extra fun, give me a housing assignment! Name a thing/things/concept/theme you want to see me try to make a house out of. For example, this was the result of someone suggesting I try to make a house using a box, popsicle stick, and shoestring. The contest will be open for three weeks, on May 1st I'll randomly select a winner. Have fun!

"The Ghost in the Courthouse Statue" serialized story

2011-04-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

"The Ghost in the Courthouse Statue", a story written by Bill Bailey, is being serialized in the Commercial Appeal accompanied by my illustrations. There is a new chapter every Sunday and Wednesday through May 11. The author will be speaking at a free event at the Memphis Central library April 28 from 6:00 to 7:00 pm, I'll also be there to show some of my original paintings from the series and meet folks. Come on by and say hi!

Housing Project 87-93

2011-04-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#87- Dragon house no.2

#88- Paper mache house phase 3

#89- Bike tube house

#90- House boat no.2, maritime disaster

#91- Front porch bird house

#92- Suede scrap house

#93- Elephant pays a visit to Mouse's house

To see all of them so far, click the "houses" label, or visit my shiny new Flickr account!

Housing Project 80-86

2011-03-27T08:31:00.001-07:00

365 houses in 365 days

#80- Dragon house

#81- Veggie scrap house

#82- Levitation house. This was the result of someone suggesting I try to make a house using a box, popsicle stick, and shoestring.

#83- Grandma's plate house

#84- Stop sending me junk mail house

#85- Across the yard house

#86- Next door house

Click the "houses" label for more!

Housing Project 73-79

2011-03-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

One house, each day, one year

#73- Downgrade house

#74- Cookie house

#75- Fish house

#76- Papier mache house, phase 2

#77- Kite house. I haven't yet had an opportunity to see if it actually flies.

#78- Fairy house

#79- UP house

Click the "houses" label for more!

Housing Project 65-72

2011-03-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

One house each day for a year

#65- Chapeau chateau

#66- Coffee house no.2

#67- To go house

#68- Repo by nature house

#69- Midnight siege on the tyrant's house

#70- Laundry house

#71- Papier mache house. The construction has only begun, many more additions are planned.

#72- House is not a home

Check out the rest of the neighborhood by clicking on the "houses" label

Housing Project 59-64

2011-03-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

Making a house a day for a year

I'm posting early this week because I will be otherwise occupied tomorrow. Next week will have 8 houses!

#59- Invitation house

#60- Bombardment house
When I have trouble getting ideas I'll just put a random ink wash on the page and see what I can find in it, like finding shapes in clouds.

#61- Back alley tenement house

#62- Owl house

#63- Moth mountain house

#64- Art house

Housing Project 52-58

2011-02-27T07:12:00.001-08:00

A house a day for a year!

#52- Lighthouse

#53- Curry house. It tasted better than it looks.

#54- Flood house

#55- Fuzzy recollection house

#56- Ternader house

#57- Victorian doodle house

#58- Insect's last house

Click the "houses" label for more!

Housing Project 45-51

2011-02-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

One house every day for a year!

#45- From the ale house, #46-To the jail house

#47- Discount Valentine house

#48- Welcome back house

#49- Danger house!

#50- Hermit house

#51- Pop-up house

But wait, there's more! Just click the "houses" label.

"The Ghost in the Courthouse Statue" serial

2011-02-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

I've been working on some illustrations for a story that will be serialized in the Commercial Appeal. Catch it every Sunday and Wednesday starting March 20th!

Housing Project 38-44

2011-02-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

365 houses in 365 days!

#38- Rice house

#39- Work house

#40- How is it snowing this much in Memphis house

#41-Cat poo house

#42- Ale house

#43- Cake house

#44- Horse house

Click the "houses" label to see more

Housing Project 31-37

2011-02-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

One house every day for a year...

#31- Stain houses no.1

#32- Stain houses no.2

#33- Grandma's house

#34- Tea house

#35- Peek inside the house

#36- Spice house

#37-Apple house

click on the "houses" label to see the full neighborhood so far

Housing Project 24-30

2011-01-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

One house per day all year...

#24- Bird house

#25- Phone book house

#26- Cat houses

#27- Pillow house

#28- Brick house

#29- Clay house

#30- Hillhead house. Eyelid dormers...harhar.

To tour the rest of the neighborhood, click the "houses" label.

Housing Project 17-23

2011-01-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

One house every day for a year

#17- Dollop house. Watch out, kiddies.

#18- House boat

#19- Coaster house 1

#20- Scritchy-scratch house

#21- Snow house 2

#22- Coaster house 2

#23- Head of household

Check out the rest of the neighborhood by clicking on the "houses" label at the bottom of this post.

Coaster doodles

2011-01-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Drinkin' and drawin' at Bosco's the other night.

They have attempted to foil our artistic ambitions by now printing on both sides of the coaster, but we could not be stopped my such meager opposition. MIchael discovered that the top layer of printed paper can be peeled off, revealing the pristine white innards. Nice try, Bosco's.

Housing Project 10-16

2011-01-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

Making a house every day for a year, see my previous post here.

#10- Snow house

#11- Snowbound house

#12- Cockroach lean-to house

#13- Fuzzy ink house

#14- coffee house

#15- Salad house

#16- continuous line French Castle courthouse

I'm about to get rather busy for the next few months, so there will probably be a lot more "houses" composed of things like coffee cups with bottle caps stuck to them. It counts if I say it does.

Ramshackle Wilderness part 3

2011-01-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

Sketches for the final installment of my opossum story, read part 1 and part 2!

I plan to make final versions of the art eventually, perhaps with ink and digital color, watercolor, or something else... I haven't decided. Let me know what you think!

Housing Project 365

2011-01-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

(click to enlarge!)

Every time I see an artist doing one of those "make something everyday" projects I think I ought to try that too. Then I get lazy and distracted and kind of forget. The other day I read this article which reminded me and I decided that this might be a good time to actually do it, being a new year and all. I decided on houses as my theme. I plan to post every week (probably Sunday) and hopefully this will help me hold myself accountable so I'll actually do it. All of this was decided yesterday and I did the first eight to catch up. So far I think this is going to be a lot of fun, I'm excited to see where it goes!

(above image) #1- across the street house. I expect this particular one may be showing up a lot.

#2 & 3. These are all done in a little sketchbook.

#4- Fire house, #5- Aftermath house

#6- Paper house

#7- Star house, #8- Storm house

#9- Pixie house

If you guys know any good examples of other people doing 365 projects, leave a link in the comments. Wish me luck!

New plaques

2011-01-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

New stuff in the shop !

Owl Nap

Cat Nap

Hazards of Love

2011-01-06T15:41:00.001-08:00

(click for larger view!)
This was for a commission I completed last month. The fellow who commissioned it requested I create a piece based on the the Decemberists album "The Hazards of Love". From that I put together a series of mounted prints of the art, which he gave out as Christmas gifts. The album tells a continuous story, here's a summary if you are interested.
This was a fun project to work on. The subject matter was fairly good fit for me (forests, vengeful fairy queen, music, infanticide... what could be better?). As I have mentioned before, I do love commissions. So if you want something special just drop me a line!
The original is still available for sale, btw. The dimensions are 12-something inches by some other measurement. It's all the way in the other room and I don't feel like getting out from under this warm blanket to measure it. I can, however, assure you that it is larger than a breadbox.

One of the mounted prints, available in my Etsy shop! Most likely would fit inside your average breadbox.

Initial sketch

Sloppy color study

Wood+ink sans stain

First post of 2011, Happy New Year everyone!

Gift season

2010-12-13T09:44:00.000-08:00

Made this watercolor painting as a birthday gift for my former illustration professor, Joel Priddy

This was a wedding present for a relative. They were engaged in Peru, so I used that as the theme and included native flora, fauna, and textile designs.

Southern Culture Show

2010-11-15T18:56:00.000-08:00

These are for a show I'm participating in this Saturday-
"Southern Culture Lowbrow Extravaganza Part II" at 1330 Dickerson Pike, Nashville TN; Saturday, November 20 · 6:00pm - 10:00pm. One night only, come on out Nashville folks!

"Once again, visual artists and musicians come together for a night of satirical celebration of all things southern. Artists will share their own unique and comedic relationships visually set against an amazing soundtrack provided by Decatur, Alabama's Barnstormers!

Topics of interest include: Southern food, slang, music, hot rods, southern iconography, stereotypes and everything else that makes the south "The South". Works will be presented in a wide variety of media, including everything from photography, traditional paintings and illustration to sculpture and design. The Southern Satire show is back with more artists, more art and new music!"

My Opossum story was inspired by a few sketches I'd done for these pieces, hence the similarities.

The initial thumbnail skritchy scratchy sketches-

A few more developed little sketches

Plaque with ink, pre-stain

The workspace with inky plaques and sketchy sketches

Opossum progress

2010-10-24T19:13:00.001-07:00

A page from my "Ramshackle Wilderness" story painted up in watercolors. I've thumbnailed/written the remaining pages of the story, and it looks like it will be 24 pages if I don't change my mind. Drawings shall be done soon-ish and posted accordingly. Whether all 24 pages end up as fully fleshed-out watercolor paintings is yet to be determined. Stay tuned!

Pins for sale!

2010-10-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

Finally got my pins in the 'ol Etsy shop! There is even a special offer when you buy a group of three. Thanks for checking it out :)

Ramshackle Wilderness: pt. 2

2010-10-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

(click to enlarge!)

Sketches for pages 15-18 of the story I started as a 24-hour comic. See the first part here.
So it looks as though Beelu's opossum compatriots are likely to die after all. Or maybe not. In any case, they have been the architects of their own destruction since the beginning, so Beelu cannot really be blamed. This sort of thing was bound to happen eventually.

Any critique so far, dear readers and art buddies? I think I'm going to use ink and watercolor on the finals. I may shoot for 24 pages, we'll see how long it takes before this story decides to wrap itself up.

*Read part 3 (finale)

24-hour comic no.2

2010-10-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

I once again attempted the 24-hour comic challenge this year, and got about as far as I did last year. I like how it turned out though, and hopefully I'll get around to finishing it sometime in the near future.
(click for larger view!)

In the last page we see the opossum heading back to his town atop the snake, I haven't decided what should happen when they get there. Maybe he'll ferry everyone back to the kudzu-overgrown churches so they'll have a new place to live. Either that, or the snake will eat all of them. Depends on my mood that day.

Read part 2
and part 3!

"Meet Your Maker" show

2010-09-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

The showcase of local Etsy sellers I was a part of this weekend, titled "Meet Your Maker", turned out to be a great success! I sold a fair bit, and got to talk with lots of people who were excited about my work. All the other sellers had great looking booths and items, and the food from Goodnight Gracie Specialty Foods was fantastic. The turnout was really good too, had the joint hopping all night. I rarely had a moment to stray from my table because the traffic was so steady!
I didn't manage to take any decent photos, so my special thanks go out to Christine Cook Jones, a seller at the show, for taking the time to beautifully document the event. (all photos in this post, excluding that last one of the pins, by Christine Cook Jones. Click to enlarge!)
Very special thanks also to Papatya Curtis of Bluer than Blue and Melissa Bridgman of Bridgman Pottery for putting the whole thing together!

I started making these pins. They were a popular item at my table and I'm going to be making a lot more for my Etsy shop soon.

Etsy show

2010-09-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

On Friday Sept. 24 I will be joining a group of local Etsy sellers for a one-night event here in Memphis. Come by and say hi if you are in the area, it should be a cool show and a good time!

From the press release-
"They may sell their handmade art, functional items and accessories all over the world on Etsy [www.etsy.com], but these 14 Memphis artisans are appearing “live” to host Meet Your Maker, a one-day showcase on Friday, September 24. Etsy is the world’s largest online marketplace for handcrafted goods, with 400,000 vendors currently listing 6 million items. This local sale by some Memphis Etsy sellers will be held at the Jack Robinson Gallery, 44 Huling Avenue, between Front Street and South Main.
“While selling our work on Etsy gives us all a steady revenue base, we rarely meet our customers in person, and people want to know where, and who, their goods come from,” said knitter Papatya Curtis, who is co-organizing Meet Your Maker with potter Melissa Bridgman. “We can’t meet everyone, but at least we can spend a little time with our local customers.”
The Memphis “makers” produce and collect fine art, fiber art, sewn crafts, jewelry, pottery,stationery and home accessories. Meet Your Maker will include items such as organza flower pins, hairclips, and other accessories; aprons, baby carriers (slings) and fabric baby shoes; fine art and fine art photography; handspun yarn; vintage items and vintage-inspired Halloween assemblages; as well as art nouveau-inspired fine art prints. Free shoppers’ snacks will be provided by Goodnight Gracie Specialty Foods."

Project Sketchbook

2010-09-05T15:15:00.001-07:00

My submission for this year's Project Sketchbook. I wasn't sure if I would be done on time (didn't start until thursday night, oops) but I managed to put this together over the weekend. I had fun making it!

The cover. This was drawn with a colored pencil, everything else is watercolor.

Grandma Bird

2010-08-01T15:29:00.001-07:00

Made this as an 80th birthday gift for my grandmother. She likes to bird watch, so I decided to go with a classic "bird on flowery branch" motif.

Easiest way for me to trace the shape of the plaque- paper over plaque over light box.

The drawing! Not much photoshop tweaking required on this one.

The drawing backed with graphite and cut to shape, preparing to trace.

When I have large areas of black in the composition I will usually end up blotting my brush in said black areas. I also usually end up scaring myself a few dozen times because I'll think I've blotted in the wrong area for a second.

Ink complete! I always do all of the ink first, it doesn't like to go on top of stain.

My crappy stain brushes like to fall apart. A lot.

Lookit all them dang 'ol birds! One of them is the color study, if you look closely you'll see I had some trouble deciding what to do with the tail.

Want to know more? Check out my previous process post!

Gulf benefit show

2010-07-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

These fellas will be up for auction during a show to benefit Gulf coast wildlife this Friday. Looks like there will be a lot of great art by an array of artists, so those of you in the Memphis area should come check it out!
It's at Marshall Arts (639 Marshall Ave., Memphis TN) from 6-9 pm, July 30.

Plaque Process!

2010-07-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

I made this as a wedding gift for friends Jessica and Casey.
People often ask me about how I make these things, so I thought you folks might be interested in a little process post!
On first glance, many people think it might be wood inlay. Oh heavens no, I don't even know how to do that. It isn't pyrography either. It is actually a great deal simpler than either of those methods.

Here are my materials, a wood plaque from the craft store, cheap liner brush, Speedball ink, more tiny cheap brushes for the stain, ordinary wood stain in various colors, satin varnish, sandpaper. When I was first developing this technique I tried several types of ink and Speedball was the first I found that would hold a line and not bleed all over the place. Sometimes when its a new bottle it still doesn't behave, so i might let it sit out with the lid ajar for a day or so to let it thicken up. I like bringing cheap/craft materials and techniques into "fine" art because 1. they are cheap and plentiful, 2. sometimes you can get interesting effects from unconventional materials, 3. I've found I am not the sort of person who should have nice things.

When doing illustrations or larger paintings I usually start with a tiny thumbnail and gradually enlarge it as I add detail, but with the plaques I tend to do the sketching at actual size. Here we have the initial sketch, laying in the main compositional points and overall concept.

Then I scan it into photoshop for tweaking. Whenever I have an image I want to be symmetrical, like the birds here, I draw one side then just flip it in ye olde Photoshoppe. Or I fold it over on the light box, whichever is quicker. In this case I resized and scooted stuff a little too. Then I print it out and continue adding detail.

Here we have the finished drawing. I smear the back with powdered graphite and trace it onto my wood surface. With the more complex designs I might feel the need to work out the color placement in watercolors first, which is what I did on this one. I only have about four colors (plus black) that I work with.
Next I go about the long and often nerve-wracking adventure of inking the plaque. I have to be careful because there is very little I can do about it if I screw up. I have had to scrap a half-inked painting before because I absentmindedly started filling the wrong part with black. About six hours of work down the crapper, uuuggghh.
Then comes the careful application of stain with my tiny brushes, which goes much faster. After that I varnish the front, sign the back and paint it black, varnish that, then attach the hanging hardware. I wish I had pictures of these stages, but I guess I was too wrapped up in the glorious whirlwind of inspiration to think of it.

Let me know if you guys found this interesting, I'm thinking of detailing the process of my print plaques too. My life is a non-stop plaque party!

Weekend circus

2010-06-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

While pondering whether balancing on the back of an arrogant mule is really what she ought to be doing with her life, an unhelpful squirrel comes to offer his perspective. Satchel Cat could not care less.

-this one is watercolor and graphite, 8" x 10"

Lillypad book

2010-06-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

I illustrated another book with author Kelly Fischer earlier in the year and have somehow neglected to post about it. So here you go, folks! You can grab a copy on Amazon.

Transatlantic pelican

2010-05-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

Recent personal commission, watercolor and ink.
"Harper O'Dandy the seafaring mouse journeys home via transatlantic pelican"

Soggy Saturday sketchbook

2010-05-02T14:33:00.001-07:00

The weekend here in Memphis was full of endless rain,

tornado dodging,

monsters,

and May flowers.

Bertha, The Child-Flower

2010-05-01T09:28:00.001-07:00

This was my entry for another interesting illustration contest on A Journey Round My Skull. (a month ago, ha. I've been blog-lazy) Check out the results, people submitted some really impressive work!

Art show tonight!

2010-03-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have some work in a show at Nashville's Studio 83 and the opening is tonight. The show, titled "5 Themes 15 Artists" features 15 individual artists each contributing 5 pieces based on a set of themes. You can read an article about it here.
*EDIT* here is another write up of what turned out to be a super fun show!

(click images to enlarge)

Dorothy and Co. Encounter Manyface Skyfish, the Fickle Purveyor of Lots
theme: "further down the yellow brick road"

Snow White and Seven Natural Poisons
theme: "Snow White and the seven..."

Willy Wonka's Garden Shop
theme: "Failed business attempts by Willy Wonka"

Happy birthday turtle party!

2010-02-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

This was a commission from a friend, she gave it to her girlfriend (who has a thing for turtles) as a birthday gift. I had fun doing it and they were both really happy with how it turned out. Yay!

I love commissions by the way, so if anybody out there would like something special drop me a line!

Ink Sphinx

2010-01-14T18:33:00.001-08:00

Playing with ink and watercolor again, this one is about 8" x 8". I may have finally found an approach to painting that doesn't leave me feeling unreasonably irritated. Still working out the kinks though. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Interview

2010-01-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

I did an interview for the website MemphisConnect, check it out! There is even a video of me babbling about something or other in my apartment.

new paintings

2010-01-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

Did these recently to practice painting and think about a different approach (click to see 'em bigger)

Ink and watercolor, 13" x 17"

Acrylic and colored pencil on masonite, 8" x 8"

Album Art

2009-12-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Art for Kingdom Come, upcoming album by Tom Maxwell (former member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers)

Ink and digital color

Prints!

2009-12-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

I am now offering prints of my paintings in the Etsy shop. They are little ones mounted onto wood plaques, and so very affordable. If you see one of my paintings on the blog that you would like a print of but it isn't in the shop yet, drop me a line and I can most likely fix one up for you!

Shop update

2009-12-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

New stuff in my Etsy shop. There's still time to order for Christmas!

Made a plaque based on my bookplate design.

I also added my medallions from a while back.

Holiday art show next Friday

2009-11-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

(click images to enlarge)

(lovely poster design by Mr. Hildebrand)

Hey Memphis folks! Still looking for that perfectly unique gift? You can put an end your fretful search friday December 4th at Odessa. There will be live music and great art by local artists for sale (including me with an armful of plaques). So swing on by and say hi!

Speaking of plaques, here's some new ones. All of you non-Memphis folks can get your perfectly unique gifts at my shop.

New plaques and new website!

2009-11-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

Fresh plaques in the shop.

At long last I have a website! And boy, if it ain't a beauty. My eternal gratitude to the fabulous Michael Hildebrand and CustomSIMPLE!

Plaquin' it up

2009-11-14T00:57:00.000-08:00

Another lonely little plaque looking for a home. You can adopt it at my shop.
Oh and what's this? Why its a second feature on AJRMS! (Thanks again, Will!)

Also, perhaps you will notice I finally made a header for the blog. Only took me about three years to get around to that.

Fresh new plaques and a fresh new store

2009-11-08T14:12:00.000-08:00

(click for larger image)

More plaques!
Due to popular demand (aka a handful of people saying "yeah, you should do that") I have opened an Etsy store! I just have the plaques available at the moment, but prints are in the works. So check it out and stay tuned for more!

Happy (late) Halloween

2009-11-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Ink drawing colored in Photoshop.

I did this for a contest on A Journey Round My Skull (a really great blog you should visit frequently if you don't already). To my surprise and delight, Will very kindly offered to feature my work. Thanks to Will and all the new faces who have been visiting and leaving comments!

And then...

2009-10-23T23:08:00.000-07:00

... there appeared another experiment in Photoshop coloring.

Plaques

2009-10-21T16:48:00.000-07:00

(click for a much larger view)

Little wooden plaque things I painted on, the large ones are about 6.5" across at the widest point, smaller ones about 4".
I'm planning to make a bunch of these to sell at the Memphis College of Art Holiday Bazaar. I have also been contemplating opening an Esty store with things like this and prints. Though until then, if anyone is interested they can contact me via email at flyingduckworth(at)yahoo.com.
Why, just look how cute they are haphazardly arranged on a wall.

*EDIT* The Etsy store is up and running!

New book!

2009-10-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

Santa Delivers Presents in the Big City now available on Amazon!

and so...

2009-10-20T23:23:00.000-07:00

...more Photoshop coloring experimentation

24-hour comic (sort of)

2009-10-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

Did this as part of the 24-hour comic challenge earlier in the month. I say "sort of" because I only hung in there for about 16 hours and drew 12 pages. Also did most of the inking later at home. So, yeah, doesn't really count. I enjoyed doing it, though, especially since I haven't done anything with comics since college.
As for the comic, I was mostly just having fun introducing the characters.
(click to make bigger!)

Sketchbook

2009-10-02T01:50:00.000-07:00

stuff and things

2009-09-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Playing around with a slightly different approach using ink and watercolor. This one is about 8" x 8". I've been drawing so much cute stuff lately I thought this little group of senseless grotesqueries would be good for cleansing the palette.

Also, the scrap paper kitchen wall colony continues to grow...

Another musical forest

2009-09-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Decided to give one of the characters from the last drawing her own little picture to star in. How do we feel about the colors, folks? I can't make up my mind whether they are working quite right or not.

Monster jam and houses

2009-09-17T18:43:00.001-07:00

I want to join this band...

These guys were kicking up a ruckus in my little sketchbook and wouldn't let me sleep until I colored them.

Just playing around with it and I thought this looked kinda neat.

Recent painting in acrylic and ink on masonite. Around 16" x 11". Based on this sketchbook page.

Texturized

2009-09-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

So here's the image from the previous post after trying my hand at adding some texture. I wonder if it looks better? Or worse? What say you, good people of Blogland?

Trying something different...

2009-09-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with coloring in photoshop. I don't really know what I'm doing and I've been staring at this image too long to tell what to do next, so any input would be appreciated.
As for the text, I have a habit of making up stupid songs to sing to myself and here is one of them! I imagine this chipper little number 20's style with wah-wah trumpets and ukulele.

The end of the island

2009-08-14T18:02:00.001-07:00

"Could've Been Anything"

The very last painting for the Horn Island show! Dropped my work off today, the opening reception is going to be Sept. 12, 6-9 pm.
For anyone out there who may not know what I am talking about when I say "Horn Island", well every year there is a group from the Memphis College of Art that goes to this place, and camps for eight days, wallowing in the majesty of nature and mosquitoes. Then we come back and make art about it for a show at the school. This year was the 25th.
Review in the Commercial Appeal

I was trying something a little different in this one, threw in some hatching and whatnot. So how do we feel about this as opposed to the usual flat outlines?

Odessa show and workshop

2009-08-14T17:15:00.000-07:00

The show at Odessa last week was fun, the show looked great and the response to my work was very positive, which is always nice. So here's a bunch of pictures. (click to make bigger!)

*EDIT* Check out this Commercial Appeal article about the show!

My stuff along the wall, Shane's in the corner

The circular ones are some embroideries I did a while back

Medallions, also from a while back. I like the way they look in this arrangement.

Paintings by Jon Hart on the left, installation by Emma Self in the middle, my medallions to the right

Me n' ma stuffs

Jon and Emma setting up their workshop stations on Saturday

Michael gettin' his sew on at my demo

Here is the bag I was teaching folks how to make, complete with an in-process embroidery and cat hair

And here is a little instruction sheet I made to pass out. Any one who wants to make an easy tote bag, just print out this image and follow the directions! Hopefully they are easy to understand, leave a comment if you have any questions!