Saturday, June 23, 2012

Dad's 4th Grade Reader

My dad gave me his 4th grade reader.  I love the look of old books, and I wanted to include this one in a painting.

My original plan was to stick a white rose in that vase, but I decided instead to feature this more visually interesting oakleaf hydrangea blossom that I borrowed from my landscaping.  Pretty sure that was a good call.

The dark blue vase was sculpted by my son, when he was a kid, at the Broad Ripple Art Fair.  A friend of ours painted and fired it for us.  I love that thalo blue/green color!

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Dad's 4th Grade Reader, 11 x 14, oil on canvas

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Becky's Save-the-Date

Becky, a coworker of mine at the NICU, is getting married soon.  She asked me to design her "Save the Date".  She gave me all the locations in the Indianapolis area that were significant in her relationship with Marcus, and that hold a special place in their hearts.  She also gave me some examples of whimsical maps that she has seen, and her personal vision for her own version.

I put this together in Photoshop Elements.  It was a challenging project, with all the details existing on a different layer.  But having it that way did make revisions go smoothly.  After Becky requested some tweaks on my part, she sent it to her printer.  The printer did a great job, and now these postcards have traveled all over the globe to her loved ones.

Although I do not intend to make and sell these as a part of my art business, it was fun to experiment with graphic design again.  And it was especially fun to see Becky really love them.  In fact, she says she had it printed larger and framed for hanging in her home.

Congrats and warm wishes to Becky and Marcus!