Silly Work Project

By on Jun 29, 2021

  I had a job come across my desk today at work. Every once in a while a sales person will want to take advantage of our equipment but they don’t know how to operate it I will get an email like this…   “Hey can you put a picture of a bad ass lion above this and print out a couple of posters for me and my kid?”   If you think that is inspirational and worthy of a poster then good on you, but I must spend too much time at the zoo because all I can think is, “I don’t think lions live next to lambs.” I’ve watched my fair share of nature documentaries and I don’t remember any of them commenting on or analyzing the lion’s reaction to the passive aggressive nature of the lamb. Actually, I had no idea lambs were passive aggressive by nature. It kind of makes sense if you think about it… wait no it doesn’t. I...

Quick Pics (06.29.21)

By on Jun 29, 2021

Fun with the Inlaws

By on Jun 28, 2021

  I’m afraid of dogs. Some of it goes back to when I was a child and dog bit me in the face resulting in quite a few stitches. Some of it goes back to the old saying that animals can sense the bad in people. I feel like every time I meet a new dog it just knows how dark my heart truly is. Case-in-point, my in-laws were in town recently. My father-in-law loves to go to Half Price Books. I’m sure there is a decent Half Price Books somewhere but the one near us is awful. The location replaced a legendary Milwaukee bookstore that was known nationwide as what an independent bookseller should look and feel like. The Half Priced Books looks like the owner was court mandated to run a bookstore with the only stipulation being that there had to be books and a way to purchase them. The previous bookstore had plush carpet, comfy chairs and even a fireplace. Their staff would greet...

Haworthia

By on Jun 24, 2021

  Wow. Still busy as all get out and summer is upon us so we have had family at the house for the last couple weeks. I started work on the next sticker. One of the reasons I like working in a series like this is because I can try different things while essentially doing the same thing. The first sticker was just figuring out basics like size and stock. The second was taking those things and picking a subject that was totally different and working with it so it works with the first. With the third I started playing with specific elements, in that case the variegation patterns on the leaves. This new one…well I might have taken it a bit too far…     As you can see I’ve decided to focus on line work. I snapped a picture of this plant at a friend’s house knowing exactly how I was going to approach it. My technique was a little different than I usually...

Quick Pics (06.22.21)

By on Jun 22, 2021

Finished Snake Plant Stickers

By on Jun 15, 2021

  Finally got a chance to finish these up. I can’t help but tear it down a little. I focused a lot on the variegation in the leaves while drawing. I spent so much time building the layers to get just the right look. Unfortunately, most of that is lost in the final sticker. It didn’t turn out bad but not quite where I wanted it to be.     If I print more I might do some touch ups in Photoshop but in reality I don’t think I will be able to achieve the same effect on the printer. That is why even though I’m a little disappointed, I also can see that some of that is due to the reproduction. I know the old saying, “It’s a poor craftsman that blames his tools,” but you also need to use the right tool for the job. That is a problem that I sometimes run into at work. You can only do so much with CMYK inks. Looks like I am the irritating...

Friendships and Bracelets

By on Jun 14, 2021

I want to preface this story by saying I got permission before doing it. This weekend we were invited to my wife’s boss’s house for dinner. We have had them over for dinner and we all get along well. Her boss is an amazing cook so I was really looking forward to the evening. As these things often go, I usually end up hanging out with her husband, just the two of us, shooting the breeze for a bit. He’s a great guy. One thing about him is he totally loves Phish. I am not the biggest fan of Phish. I do, however, know a lot about Phish for someone who doesn’t really like them. I lived with a house full of Phish Heads who spent years trying to get me to like their music. They ultimately failed but I can appreciate the band. This being the case, most of our conversations circle back to Phish. It is fun to dump on Phish every once in a while. Anyway, the kids are done...

Starting to Almost Get There

By on Jun 11, 2021

    This picture really sums things up. Everything is moving along but it isn’t exactly going smoothly. I have started batting down some of the problems popping up but we aren’t quite out of the woods yet. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. How many more metaphors can I cram in here? How about, I’m as busy as a one legged man at a butt-kicking contest? Anyway, hopefully I’ll be able to print the new stickers soon. I have them ready but work has been too busy to sneak them in. Maybe next week.