Salute!

I spent the weekend on this new piece for an auction.
It's to benifit a military fund raiser for injured troops and their families. Right now I don't know when or where it will be, but I'll post more details as I get them.
Her uniform is based on a British Lance-Corporal from the 4th Infantry Division stationed in France in 1940. It had a kilt and a hat with a little red pom-pon thing on it, so I thought it might look cute on a girl.

Sold!

...out that is.
That unavoidable day has finally come, the day in every book's life when they've all found a home. Today is that day for Belle du Jour. I'm a little sad they're gone, but happy that they're being cared for by so many of you. I'll not be the worrisome parent, I know they're in good hands.
Goodbye Belle du Jour. I'll miss you.



However...
If you want one, it may not be too late!
I may be sold out but there are a few retailers that should still have a supply of them. Stuart Ng Books, Brand Studio Press, Gosh! in London and probably also the Labyrinth in Toronto.

There are still plenty of copies of Bookplate Betties available. The limited edition however is nearly depleted (only 2 copies left as of this writing)

UPDATE: DEC 10, 2008
The limited Edition of Bookplate Betties is now also sold out.

Bombs Away!

It's been a little too long since my last post.
Here's some recent convention drawings to tide you over.

Catnap

Done and delivered to the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society.
My usual concentrated watercolor on top of acrylic wash technique.
Unusual dimensions for me, but it was fun going that horizontal.

This piece will go up for auction at the "Purr-casso Art and Craft Gala"
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008
12-4 PM
Hollis Street Project
5900 Hollis Street, Emeryville, CA




I found out that the deadline for submissions has been extended to Friday October 31st (Halloween). So it's not too late to donate a piece if you've found the inspiration.
Keep an eye on the official Purr-Casso blog for further developments.

Purr-casso

Wow, it's been a month since my last post. I don't know how that happens.
The "Purr-casso" art show fundraiser is fast approaching with the deadline in just three short days.
I think I'll have my piece done in time. Here are my roughs.

Smash That Kraut Sour!

I'm updating the blog shop to include the original 2004 English language Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher trade paperback, which was previously available at www.monkeysuit.com. Monkeysuit is officially shutting down, a sad day indeed. Without Monkeysuit Matt Peters and I probably would have never gotten Rex out there. But I'm hopeful the New York based anthology will make it's triumphant return someday.



The book is 132 pages glorious black and white throughout, published by Monkeysuit press in 2004.
Not very many remain of this edition, and it contains some material that will probably never be reprinted.

Here's what's inside:
"Countdown to Annihilation" The original Rex Steele story that was first published in the anthology Monkeysuit vol. 1 in 1999.



"In the Bosom of Terror" The second Rex Steele story first published in the anthology "The Bride of Monkeysuit" in 2000.
This is the story that was adapted for the animated short film by Alex Woo released in 2004.



"Operation Mother's Day" The Third Rex Steele story originally published in "Viva la Monkeysuit" in 2001.



Quite a rarity, "Menace of the Pinheaded Goons". This story is unique to this volume and has never been reprinted (and possibly never will). Written by Matt Peters, plotted by Matt and myself and illustrated by our very talented friend Stephen DeStefano. This is a faux vintage Rex story found in a fictional archive.



Also unique to this volume is an extensive collection of pin ups, other artists interpretations of Rex Steele. Some of the artists include Bill Wray, Kasu Kibuishi, Ricky Nierva, Mike Wieringo, Dice Tsutsumi, Enrico Casarosa, Jackson Publick, Dean Yeagle, Mark Andrews, Mo Willems and Ronnie del Carmen.



And lastly the volume ends with a section devoted to my sketches and developmental drawings which contains some drawings that are in the French volume and some that are not.



I am hoping to reprint the full color French edition (with it's two additional stories) in English eventually, but at the moment there is no guarantee.

Also, this book will ship from a different location than my pin up books, so I'm afraid combination orders with the other books on my blog will be impossible.

Thanks!

Penny Farthing Part II

As promised, the final.

And the color study.


I'm really enjoying working on colored paper. It's great starting with the mid tone, you can work from mid to light and mid to dark instead of light all the way to dark. And colors are pretty much automatically unified.
I think it's some kind of pastel paper. It tears up easily if I erase but it absorbs color nicely and I can get some really subtle grads on it.

Penny Farthing

I've been working on a sequel to my Le Frou Frou piece lately as a wedding gift for some good friends.

Here are most of my early sketches, my first impressions on the idea.


Here on the right is my final sketch, on the left is the final tight figure drawing.


This is the final comp with all the elements. As well as a shading study.


I've actually finished the piece already but didn't want to post it until the gift was given.
I'll post the finish soon.

Under the Wire

I just managed to finish these two color sketches for the Totoro Forest Project "Forest Hero" tickets. Just in time too, the auction is tomorrow. For those who don't know the highest level or "Hero" level tickets sold for the auction get a copy of the book of the show as well as an original piece of art. Here are some other great examples by Dice Tsutsumi, Ronnie Del Carmen, Enrico Casarosa and Scott Morse.

Calling All Artists ... Come in Artists...

Last year I posted a call to artists who might be interested in donating art to the Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society for their yearly art sale fundraiser called "Purr-casso". The turn out was wonderful, artists from all over the world contributed pieces that made a huge difference to these animals lives.

Well another bigger and better Purr-casso is on its way and it's going to need contributions. Here's the details.

DEADLINE FOR ARTWORK: October 25, 2008

Submission details:

Step 1: Email: stutfield@yahoo.com or claytonja@sbcglobal.net
Include the following information:
1. Name/Phone Number
2. Medium (painting, photo, quilt, etc.)
3. Size – approximate
4. Number of items
5. How it will be displayed

Step 2: Mail or deliver artwork to BEBHS--October 25, 2008
Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society
Attn: Cindy Shelby
2700 Ninth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710

Attach to your art work:
1. Your Name
2. Company Name (if applies)
3. Phone Number
4. Address (if applies)
5. Email Address
6. Website
7. Title of piece (if applies)
8. Price of artwork(s)

Portfolio Book:
1 page – 8 ½ x 11
Bio and Photo of artwork
Contact info.
Attach business cards

PLEASE NOTE:
1. Send artwork framed, or in a manner we can easily display to the public.
2. Your art work will be stored in a safe and secured warehouse near the Hollis Street Project.


The event itself, "Purr-casso Art and Craft Gala" will be held on:

Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008
12-4 PM
Hollis Street Project
5900 Hollis Street, Emeryville, CA

The event will consist of a silent art auction in addition to a normal craft fair. There will be some great art to be had here, as long as all you artists out there are willing to contribute!

Official info from the Purr-Casso blog:
And some more goodies on Bill Robinson's Blog:

Here's the piece that I contributed to last years show.



This year I'm hoping to do at least a couple.

Totoro Update

Tickets have officially gone on sale for the upcoming Totoro Forest Art Auction Benefit Event to be held at Pixar on September 6th. The price of each ticket includes a copy of the amazing Art of Totoro Forest Book, a $40 value.

Here's the breakdown:
Forest Friend - $100 regular admission + book.
Forest Sponsor - $200 includes admission + book + signed limited edition print
Forest Champion - $300 includes middle VIP live auction seating + book + signed limited edition print + gift certificate to Blowfish Sushi
Forest Hero - $500 includes front VIP live auction seating + book + an original drawing by one of the artists

Tickets are on sale HERE. There are a limited number of tickets so if you're interested act quickly. All proceeds will be donated to the Totoro Forest Foundation!

The shop is open!

Or re-open I should say, to include my new book "Bookplate Betties".
So Belle du Jour, Bookplate Betties as well as the limited edition of Bookplate Betties are all available for purchase here on the blog. You'll find the "add to cart" buttons to the right. Purchases are PayPal only.

I've revamped the shop to make international shipping rate application easier. The shop seems fully functional but if you have any troubles or find a bug let me know.

Commish

Con was quite the blast. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table, I met a lot of really great people this year.

Here's a couple of the commissions I did during the convention.

Panda from Jason Pearson's Body Bags:


A Greta naturally:


And this is actually a little painting demo I did for my fiancée shortly after con:


I'm hoping to get the Bookplate Betties book set up on the shop soon, so hang in there it won't be long.

Comic-Con 2008

I'll be at the Red Window, Inc. booth - #4800. Which is the same place I was last year.

With me of course I will have plenty of my new book "Bookplate Betties". And as an extra special treat I'll be offering a special limited edition version that contains an exclusive signed and numbered bookplate. The bookplate is a high quality art print, and the edition will be limited to 150 copies.

Here it is.

For those who can't make it to the convention, the regular edition will be available for sale here on my blog shortly.

I'll also be offering my previous book of Pin-Up goodness "Belle du Jour" as well as a limited number of the full color French edition of "Rex Steele". This edition also contains an all region dvd of the Animated short film of the same name.


Prints! I'll be offering high quality signed art prints too.

And some new ones I've never offered before.

For the Über collector I have a very limited number (one or two each) of these printer proofs printed on cloth. I have my cover print tests as well as an uncut sheet of the cover to "Bookplate Betties". They're made from the cloth the book is bound in and are pretty cool.


Hope to see you there!

BOOKS!

My new book arrived! Wow, just in time for Comic-con too. That was a close one.
I was hoping to do one or two more posts on the production process before they came, but that can wait till later.

They'll officially go on sale at Comic-con, you can find me and them at booth 4800 Along with Scott Morse and Jeff Pidgeon.





They look exactly like I imagined them, I couldn't be happier.



The book measures 7" by 5 1/2" and is 192 pages chock full of girls girls girls.













Here's what they look like sitting in my office at the moment (most of them anyway).
As I was stacking them I suddenly realized what it must feel like to be Wall-E.