My new friend

Hi. This is Hornet. Hornet is a retired racing greyhound that I will be fostering for the next week until he goes to his permanent home. Greyhounds understand very little about a normal home life. When they leave the racetrack, they have to adjust to things that most dogs have already mastered from a young age. For example, it is common for greyhounds to be unfamiliar with (and even nervous about) ascending or descending stairs. They don't initially understand the concept of playing, as they simply have not lived the life of an ordinary dog. The job of a foster caretaker is help begin the process of socialization, as well as observe and report on behavioral patterns in the dog. I picked him up in Wisconsin this afternoon and have been spending time with him, letting him explore/adjust. He's had a pretty busy day so far and is fast asleep on the floor next to me as I type this.

http://www.greyhoundsonly.com

Let's paint, exercise, and print posters!

Hello! Sorry for the lack of updates here and on my site. I've been spending a lot of time in my new studio working on art prints and gig posters (a few for Chicago's Abbey Pub, as well as one for a Dinosaur Jr. show).

I've got lots of new stuff on the way, including new posters and art prints that will be for sale very shortly. I will be showing work alongside many other screen printers in a group show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles.

In other news, I'm taking a cue from my pals Diana and Jay and working on fostering a retired racing greyhound for a short time this year. I hope to have more on that soon!

Facelift!

I'm in the process of getting a proper studio up and running. Here is a shot of the new exposure unit. Notice the darkroom timer I have connected to my light source. A few friends' shops have a similar rig, and it just makes sense to expose screens that way. I'm just happy to not be using the microwave to time my exposures anymore.

I've got plenty of new projects underway, and I'm looking forward to making lots of new posters, art prints, illustrations, and drawings.

Having my shop out of commission has been somewhat difficult. I've made it a point to be at work on something nearly every day this year, so to be somewhere in between set up and disassembled is a little frustrating. Things are shaping up, though, and I will be able to get some new art prints printed and available in the next week or so. Stay tuned for more pictures of the new shop!

Due to the move, I encountered a slight delay in shipping out recent orders. If anyone has placed an order within the last three weeks, I assure you it has shipped by now.

Insomnia, carthritis, and holy matrimony

For the fourth time this year, I've driven the distance between Montreal and the south suburbs of Chicago. I semi-temporarily relocated to Montreal for about half of the year. Operating my studio in Canada had proven to present various unanticipated difficulties, and I decided that I would make Illinois my home again. Not that it hasn't been home all along.

On Tuesday night, I drove a completely packed car out of downtown Montreal and onto 720 Ouest, bound for the Midwest. I made the entire drive with the help of two big cups of coffee, some bagels, about two and a half tanks of gas, Archers of Loaf, and Jawbreaker. I was able to sleep off my self induced nocturnality and draw, prepare films, and print a last minute poster job at Screwball Press. It was great to see some of the Screwball family again. It makes me happy to be closer to the Chicago printing and poster art scene again.

Speaking of Chicago poster art, those of you in the Chicago area (that's me again!) should go see my friend Jay give what I expect will be an awesome presentation about his work and process at the Hungry Brain (2319 W Belmont) this Monday, December 14th at 9 PM.

It feels good to be in Illinois. My dear, dear friend Johnny was married last night!

Brand new studio in the works, as well as lots of other great stuff. Check back soon.

December Mystery Tubes!

I've never done a mystery tube offer before, but it sounds fun. So here goes:

Introducing the December Mystery Tube. Each tube will contain at least five prints; including gig posters, art prints, one imperfect/misprinted art print, and an unreleased line variant. And each tube will have an original drawing or sketch.
All work comes signed (and numbered when applicable). Only five tubes available. Check it out!

Additionally, you can see original drawings, monoprints, and new art prints here.

Get stoked. I am!

Minno

In an email to a friend today, I mentioned that it's hard for me to believe that with all the possibilities this world has to offer, so many people chose the most ordinary and unimaginative paths to follow. Saule Sidrys was not one of those people. I so rarely meet someone with her passion and ability to make friends with absolutely anyone. On November 18th, my friend Saule passed away.

It's so sad and confusing to know that you'll never see a person again. I had not spoken to her in a while, as she had been living in Poland, but one of the last times I had seen Saule, I got the distinct impression that she was living life in pursuit of her dreams. Her zeal was both admirable and inspiring. I'll forever wonder what else she would have accomplished had she not left us so early.

We will miss you.

Phun With Photocopiers

Hello! Quite a lot of things are going on here. I'm working on a brand new art print for Pandora's Prints, and I had the pleasure of doing T shirt artwork for an excellent band from Germany, Bogatzke. I tried something kind of different for the process, which involved me inverting the image on a copy machine and using a sharpie to reestablish highlights. I've grown to really enjoy being able to work subtractively on my films when preparing for screen printed art. This job required no film preparation on my part, however, so I needed to complete this step in a different way.

The image on the left is the completed drawing, which is ink and sharpie on paper. I was not entirely happy with some of line hatching.

The picture in the center is the negative of the image, produced on a photocopier. I then went into the highlights (now black) and extended them into the shadows (now white) and inverted the image back to a positive. At this point I touched up the new positive, and inverted it back to a negative. I worked back and forth like this a couple of times.

The image on the right is the finished product, which I scanned and emailed to the client.

I really have no idea how to use a computer to create an illustration, and that's fine with me. I enjoy drawing, inking, cutting, and scratching at my films by hand.

One more thing before I take a walk and get some groceries on this beautiful fall evening:

My friend and fellow technophobic artist, Gina Kelly (of recent Nightmare on Elm Street fame) has a new blog up about art, astrology, animation, and things that don't necessarily start with the letter "A". Check it out! www.weathermakerarts.blogspot.com