New Illustrations Added!

Ive been churning them out this week, quite a few new drawings added to the mix. When I was in Highland Park, Illinois this June for the Highland Park Festival of fine craft, I got dozens of requests for a Portuguese Water Dog. And though I don't get a ton of requests for St. Bernards I did one anyway. I think it came out real nice.

In the City

Got back to Chicago this weekend after nearly a month of working from my Ohio studio. We got into Chicago mid afternoon on Friday and got up to Sacred Art where I delivered a month's worth of custom pieces, special orders, and a little bit of inventory for the shop. Stopped by HUB 51 for a few drinks with the old co-workers on Friday for happy hour, then over to Quartino with friends from out of town. Loved the antipasta platter, some good presecco, but not the lemoncello. After a few drinks at English, it was off to bed. Got up early for the Cubs game but was a little let down that the Mcdonalds on Clark doesnt serve breakfast before the game. Had to settle for a beer and some peanuts to start the day. Was able to drop off some special orders at Dog-a-holics on Southport, another stop that made this trip to Chicago even more worthwhile. Im wishing I would have had more time to explore some of the interior design shops in the city. Always looking for new inspiration! My bleacher seats at Wrigley were defintely inspriring. And now they're finally in first place!

29

So im just 363 days away from 30. Yes, the birthday was on Saturday. Took a break from my regular crafting to cut the grass and do a little landscaping before the guests arrived. Finally got to make good use of that courtyard we love so much. Stepped away from the canvases for a day and a half, leaving me just for days to crank out the many that need to be completed before we head over to Chicago to make our rounds. Monday will be spent finalizing some custom pieces that seemed to pile up two weeks ago. My newest custom design required me to amend my cat graphic for a big grey dude named Webster. Expect to see a few new pieces with the centerpiece being a grey cat real soon.

New Studio, New Home, New Day Job, New Designs

Since the last time I posted, I took a two week trip to Italy, returend and quit my job, bought a house with a studio in Ohio, and have gone full time with Gemini Studio Art (and freelance graphic design work when i have the time) We bought a nice historic home built in 1857, with a stone courtyard full of trees and plants that I cant name. I find my days dedicated to filling orders and dreaming up the next great canvas design. Its worked pretty well so far. The days fly by and Im busier than ever. And none of it feels like work. I guess that means that it worked out the way it was supposed to. I thought for sure once I went full-time with this stuff that Id be cranking out new designs right and left. Instead ive found myself busier than ever just filling orders. Im not complaining. Its worked out great. And its helping to pay off that Italy trip.

I was happy today to finally get a piece done that Ive been trying to do for more than a year and half. Ive had quite a few requests for this, so hopefully it does well. Im not particularly a fan of the Cardinals, but they've got Derosa now, so we gotta have a little bit of love. Things will continue to be busy here for a while. Sacred Art in Chicago http://www.sacredartstore.com continues to be the little GSA juggernaut, moving more and more pieces every month. I promised id keep their wall full and I intend to do that . Ive got Harrison Rally days coming up in September. This will be a precursor to my introduction to the Lakeview East Arts Festival. Doing two festivals a week apart could be a bad idea, but I figure the small festival will tell me what I need to do for the big festival. I haven't sold in an open market since Nettelhorst Market on Saturday mornings in the Lakeview neighborhood in Chicago. Miss those days.

Back!

Okay, so its been awhile. I realize that. Lots of new creations made since I was last posting here. Additionally the Cubs and the Sox were eliminated from the post season, and the stock market has basically crashed. Sadly I havent created a ton of new work as I have been very busy filling orders. Still hoping to find some balance in this area. Id love to fill orders 4 days a week and design and create new stuff the rest of the time, but I don't think that will ever happen. Luckily we're in a bit of a slow down before what I expect will be a very busy holiday season (i hope), so perhaps we'll churn out a few new creations before too long. A big part of the business has been the custom work, doing nice drawings of folk's cats and dogs.

Lincoln Park Zoo Series #1

Finally finished the first design in my zoo themed canvas artwork. This one took about 5 hours on Sunday from start to finish, but it's one of my favorites. Next up is my lion, which im hoping to have together by Saturday. Have a little time no to get caught up as things have slowed down a bit on Etsy. And no more farmer's market. Hoping to get a few more dates this summer but I dont see that happening. Had my first sale at Chiarascuro on Sunday and things are going well over at Homeboy. Still quite behind everywhere else. A few good designs should be completed here within the next month!

New design - Horizontal Signage

Haven't done anything new in a while. Too busy! I'm hoping that by my next market date on July 19th I have a Lincoln park Zoo series complete. At the rate I'm going, I don't think that will happen. Looking to expand to some stores soon. I'll be showing my pieces at a couple Chicago area shops in the coming weeks. I'd prefer to just sell at the market but it doesn't look like I'll have anymore dates this summer. Ill update my Etsy page if I get any more. After the market is over, hopefully I'll have a chance to get caught up on my website as well. I have a massive backlog of work to get done for Gemini Studio Art - but I guess its been good that I've been busy!