Wet Ink: Side St Magazine

I'm working on some sketches for the cover issue of Side St Magazine. It's the March/April issue so I wanted to do something springy.

Inspiration: Deadweight, the talented Toronto printmaking duo

*UPDATE: Side St Magazine chose "Gloves Off" for the cover. I'll post new photos of the cover image when I get a printed copy.

Morning Visitor

As I was sitting down with my coffee to work yesterday morning I was pleasantly surprised by my morning visitor. He made beautiful shadows on my curtains that I had a few seconds to capture. He moved quickly!

Manners for the 21st Century Scoundrel

New Illustration for the December issue of the TheLemonLife.com

Inspiration: Jason Jagel

Ode to Kir-bits

I miss having a dog. I don't think Oskar shares the same sentiment.

Backyard Snapshots

I miss having a backyard to play in.

Cleveland Rocks

Snapshots from American Thanksgiving in Cleveland; lots of walks around the lake, yummy lattes, and sleeping in. It doesn't get any better than that.

Who Dun It 2009

OCAD's Who Dun It is coming up on November the 18th.
This will be my 3rd year contributing. All proceeds go to OCAD and each piece is only 75 bucks! Go check it out and see if you guess any right.

Wet Ink

I just got the ECPAT-USA Booklet in the mail today. They look great.
There mission is to End Child Prostitution and Trafficking check out their website here for more info.
Inspiration: Luke Best

New Stickers

Newly Printed Stickers from StickerYou.com
We'll be launching, cross your fingers, before the new year.
Inspiration: Mati Rose McDonough

My Favourite Pillow

Big, Comfy, & Covered in Cowboy Boots!
Inspiration: Matthew Palladino

Wine Country

A couple of weekends again Oskar and I went out to the Beamsville & Niagara wine regions on the hunt for some good Ontario Reds. It was peak fall foliage and the scenery was heavenly! The pictures below were taken at the small, but very successful winery Organized Crime. They were actually harvesting the grapes the day that we were there. All of the coloured crates below is what they were collecting the grapes in. Yum!
My favourite winery that we visited in Niagara, that was a bit off the beaten path was FrogPond, organic winery & farm. A little 28 acre winery & farm, I loved seeing the animals maintaining the grounds and the woman behind the counter serving us was delightful. I tried their 2007 Reisling, Rose, Chambourcin and Cabernet Franc all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. And bonus, they are the same price as regular wines! I highly recommend a visit to FrogPond.
Inspiration: Lizzy Stewart

Yummy in My Tummy: Kale Chips

I've been obsessed with Kale Chips! With Kale in season I can buy a huge tree-sized bunch from the farmers market for a toonie, that's 2 dollars for all you non-canucks. Then I just cut out the stems, clean, and bake after covering the leaves with oil, salt, and pepper. So good. See an easy recipe here from my favorite online recipe site epicurious. Below is the before and after shots.
Inspiration: Karin Hagen

On the horizon

Below are some of my Little Monsters with digital colouring. I'm working on some stickers, screenprints, and greeting cards that have these little guys on them. Just in time for Christmas.
Also, I got an email from my old boss, Deroy, over at Hyperakt Design Studio in Brooklyn that they just totally revamped their site. Check it out. They do amazing graphic design work for cultural orgs, non-profits, and fellow entrepreneurs. Plus, they have beautiful Obama screenprints.
Inspiration: Julia Selin

The Royal Family at Industtrees

Unfortunately, I missed the opening at Industtrees this past Friday. The turnout out looks great though. "The Royal Family" featured the work of Aprile Elcich and is up until November 12th.
Industtrees was also just written up in the Globe and Mail. A big congratulations to them! Check out that article here.
Today's inspiration is a guy that graduated a year ahead of me. I remember his thesis work that was beautiful. I've been happily following his progress for the past 4 years. Andy Kehoe.



These pics were taken by Cam Kolachuck and the good people at Industtrees.

Toronto in Colour

Toronto in Colour, a new branch of CAMH, has featured my illustrations on their website! The collages were done for my senior thesis as part of a re-packaging for 3 Toni Morrison novels. The books that I created covers for were; Sula, Jazz, The Bluest Eye. To see them click here. In exchange for using my illustrations CAMH awarded me an Itouch and will have an official bash to celebrate their new non-profit where my artwork will be on display. Very fun.
Check out Toronto in Colour. There site is "a virtual community dedicated to Toronto’s diverse population. Our goal is to offer a virtual space to the different racialized, cultural, immigrant and refugee groups that live in Toronto. Collaboration and empowerment of communities through knowledge exchange is our priority."
Today's inspiration is one of my Parsons Illustration Buddies: Courtney Blazon

New Mailer Revealed plus Interview

Over the past couple of months I've been lucky enough to get to know the girls over at Toronto Craft Alert. First I got to design a header for their e-newsletter with Jen, then I got interviewed by Amy, and then I got to finish my header design off by putting together the body of the e-newsletter with Jen.
Quite a fun experience. I'm so pleased with how the mailer turned out and look forward to working with them again soon. They are the best kind of client you can get; clear vision, open to creativity, and very easy going!!
See the newsletter below, view the interview online here.
PS. Check out my dad's comment below. It's so sweet I almost cried.

Book of Poems

I just received my very own printed copy of "Songs of the West" by Marion E. Moodie which I was lucky enough to create the cover illustration for. The printing is beautifully done on textured off-white paper that matches the palette and the linear quality of the illustration perfectly. The book was published by the good people at Ronald P. Frye & Company. To buy your own copy or read excerpts click here.

Little Guys are off to a new home...

They are all framed and ready to go to their new home with Cameron Kowalchuk at Industtrees Gallery. They are located at 1234 College Street in Toronto.