Canned Summer

So here we are, in winter, and my wife and I are digging into our stash of wonderful stored foods. Sometimes there's nothing like a peach smoothie in the middle of the winter, to brighten your day! This illustration was self-initiated. I thought about the blogs I enjoy reading and imagined an article about the growing popularity of canning. I'm not sure I should really say more about it, as I feel that it's pretty self-explanatory. If you do have any questions just direct them my way, I'd be glad to answer them.

As I made it I had a brainwave, the result of said brainwave can be found here:

http://www.threadless.com/critique/61891/Canned_Summer

Currently it's up for shirt design critiquing on threadless, so if you have an opinion on it let me know!

~Faux

Test Prints!

So this week I have been working on some self promotional mailers. Today I did a test print with the blocks, I'm pleased. I pulled out the yellow as a test color, thinking I'd chose a better color scheme later but to be honest I really like this with the yellowy gray outline.

I'll throw a finished version online for you all to see when I'm finished!

~Faux

A good listen each week

So I wanted to mention a podcast I've been listening to for most of this year. It's called Art & Story and a good one for anyone looking for great talk about the creative process. (especially when it comes to making comics). So quite seriously, check them out. These guys also do a great daily podcast, an extreme version if you will. '~' Also worth it's weight in content, as well as a fun fly-on-the wall glimpse into what daily life in the studio can be like!

So check them out over here.

It's the end of the year and as I think back through it, this podcast has kept me thinking and entertained, what a great combination!

Happy New Year,

~Faux

if : crunchy

SO,

I know it's been a while since I've made anything for IF but this week's topic just seemed very apparent to me. What's more crunchy than a girl and her organic beets? '~'

~Faux

New ART (at last)

Hi everyone!

So I'm finally dusting off this blog and posting some new content. Wow. So an explanation on my absence. I'm still making art, though much of my working time goes into the webcomic I have going over here. This piece sprang up from the comic I have posted there for Thanksgiving. I loved the character so much I started doing sketches to explore him a little more and before I knew it this happened! SO there we go, I'll try to throw up some more work a little more often!

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

~Faux

if : modify

I was giving the matter some thought. So Monsanto is deciding to give GMO wheat another try. Seriously, I figured I'd make an illustration. Let's just call this what it is. Also, I thought this illustration was a good fit for this week's illustration friday!

~Faux

Prize for still checking in!

So I have been most notoriously bad about updating lately. But a lot has been going on. First things first. I have a new website that launched only a few weeks ago. You can check it here Gothy Goths



At last you can fulfill your wishes to see Gothic subculture kids in the Gothic middle ages, huzzah!

Secondly there is a bit of art I made recently which I figured I should post. I have been working os hard on getting the comic up and going that comics have been about all I've been making the past few months. Downside is, if I show them now then I'd have nothing new to post t the webcomic site! So just go subscribe tot he RSS feed over there, new updates every Tuesday!

~ Faux

Two new works, exciting news and a reasonable explanation for delays

Hello all,

I see it's been two months to the day since I've posted here. For those who check regularly, sorry for the disappointing sum of posts as of late. It is my hope that this one makes up for it! For those of you don't know, I got married last month! There we go, reasonable explanation yes? It's been a lot of fun and now, on the other side of the wedding I'm actually finding time to work again, which is wonderful. I decided to only focus on the wedding prep/moving to Lancaster the month before. It is wonderful to be back and in our place. In the space between December and now I've managed to make two pieces. I'm not certain if the second is finished yet but it's a start that I'm pleased with thus far. And if that wasn't enough I wanted to take this time to announce my plans to launch a new comic! More details on THAT to follow (and maybe some teasers!)

Until I post again, stay rad!

~Faux



I actually did this prior to the wedding when I was struck by a dash of creativity.



This one I like, though I'm not certain about the sides. I feel like something needs to be done on this one yet, though I open to other opinions. '~'

New Work

So I've been working when I can in my free time, on a project for a story my cousin Marlin wrote. This is the first finished piece so far. I am hoping that after the wedding happens and after we have a place to live and find ourselves moved in, I will have a bit more of my time freed up and not tied up with planning for the next month or so.

~Faux

similar sentiment

So it is not very often that I receive a piece of advice that is pretty universal, however lately I have discovered one such thought. It's been a busy past two weeks or so, a trip to Alabama for thanksgiving and work on wedding invitations like it's a second job. But as I prepare people ask me the question that inspired this comic. From my understanding now it seems as if everyone contemplates eloping, now I understand!

~Faux

if : wise

This was a small drawing I conjured up for this week's if entry. I haven't drawn an old face with so many lines in it before. It was really a pretty fun time, though now I'm thinking that it could make a fun print as well!

~Faux

Voting day!

Hey everyone,

It's voting day! If you went and voted today I hope it went well without a very long line. If you are still in the mood for voting and want something with no line, check out my recent entry at foldees. It's a little design I submitted for their Christmas card contest. You have to create a user name for the website but it's worth it. If you vote for all 58 entries at the end you get a free card to send anywhere to anyone! How great! It's really pretty easy. Just head to foldees and click on the 'wanted' link on the right side of the website. And pow, you can vote some more! So there you go, enjoy what's left of Tuesday!

~Faux

This one went to market....

Hey everybody, Happy Tuesday. It's been an alright day. A few weeks ago I sketched this guy. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out so I scanned for a posting n a rainy day and today was just that. Also a little snowy. (chagrin)

~Faux

The invisible hands of capitalism??

Hello everyone,

This past week has been a productive one for me. I started work on this puppy. I carved my block last Wednesday, and printed it Sunday afternoon. But I didn't stop there. the image itself is loosely based on a manticore. I started with that in mind and ended up with more of a man-spider. Anyway, it's maniacal and fun---for everyone! the block is printed on some pages from an old shorthand writer's manual. For a long time I've been wanting to create a series of prints, so that I'd actually have some artwork to sell. Its taken me some time and preparation but I think I've finally reached that point! I've opened an Etsy shop, so fresh it still has the fresh Etsy smell! And on it I have listed the print I just made. This color set is available in a limited edition of 15. Once they are sold that's it, no more. So if you're interested check it out--

Manticore Listing

Faux

if : sugary

Hey everyone! I managed to make a post for this week, woot! For what it is, I'm pretty satisfied! If I cleaned up the lines a bit I bet it'd make a fun t-shirt.

~Faux

Boss Mode

So I just discovered the site 8bitpeoples and through it I found a listing of upcoming shows. (as if my interest in chiptune wasn't already growing) Sadly I missed a few by nullsleep that happened just last week. It was a busy week so maybe for the best. But then I saw this. October 18th : Philadelphia. This moves to the top of my list of 'stuff I want to do' Seriously. RADTASTIC!

Tuesday it up folks!

~Faux

New Print

So I've been working on a new print and this is how it looks,

I've got one more in the works, then we'll see where it goes from there. In other news the comic thing is back on so to speak, but it may be a long time until you see anything, if I'm mounting a return I want to do it up right...

big things ahead!

Well the trip to Ithaca was simply gorgeous. For those of you who have never been there, I highly recommend it. There is so much to do and see. A good city for exploring and also lots of nature and trails and gorges to hike and experience. Definitely a good time! Of course I was not bored on vacation! I got in plenty of time to read some wonderful books, as well as play some fantastic board games. But perhaps what I enjoyed most was taking some time to draw and carve blocks for printing! I figured I'd print when I returned but discovered that I had paper after all, beautiful paper. So I made this:



Not only that, I managed to return home, spend an additional weekend of relaxing and gaming and even some website updating! Be sure to check it out, There's some of my more recent pieces up there now, including this brand new piece which may be one of my favorites.

Happy Tuesday!

~Faux

A good read and a good listen

A little over a month ago I came across mention of a book by Barbara Kingsolver titled Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. You can read a little more about it here The book is about a year her family spent eating their food almost entirely from their land or county. The book is both humorous at parts and incredibly informative. I'm left with a desire to learn the arts of canning and to achieve a greater ability at gardening. I've wanted to raise my own plants for a while and I finally feel like I'm reaching a point in my life where I might be able to do just that, at least on a small scale. This is a book I highly recommend. I went to the bookstore about a month ago and leafed through it. It grabbed me right away and it has been a 15 dollar purchase well spent. It's loaded with tips and seasonal recipes, how very exciting!

The second interesting item is an artist to listen to if you find yourself in the mood for something mellow. Autumn is quickly approaching and with it but before it goes the end of summer brings a few more quiet and gentle evenings. In my opinion the music of Inara George fits well. Her soft serenades and lush musical arrangements by Van Dyke Parks from her newest album just seem to fit the bill. I heard about her through two podcasts I listen to weekly. Hers is an album I definitely want to get sometime soon!

Have a happy week, I'll be chilling at New York's beautiful finger lakes until Thursday!

~Faux

So I'm a little late getting these up but here some photos from the art show that Mackenzie Martin and I had at Cafe Beracah in Lebanon, PA last month. We took the show down about two weeks ago now. It was part of the first friday art walk, even though it was really the second friday due to the holiday. There were quite a few people who came in and looked around. So if you saw it thanks for stopping in, hopefully there will be more shows to report!

~Faux