Happy Halloween....

The Radiator Ghost...

Here's a sketch culled from my sketchbook. The date on the opposite page places the drawing in January of last year. It's been interesting looking back at where I've been in my creative development. I've learned that the hardest thing about freelancing is constantly coming up with fresh ideas. Sometimes reviewing old sketchbooks can jostle old thought processes loose for use in the present moment. If anything it can be nostalgic.

Brilliant!

Time travel via sketchbook...

Here's a page from a sketchbook of mine from roughly three years ago.

I'm not dead...

Once again I've let the blogging lag behind my other duties. Perhaps because at the moment, blogging isn't one of my official duties. I do like to keep curious folks updated on things that I am involved with. So I offer my sincerest apologies and a few reasons why you haven't seen updates here.

My most consuming project of late has been the creation of the Dapper Cap brand. Brand development is always a strenuous and time consuming endeavor, but the results always make it worthwhile. The Dapper Cap is a retailer of fine caps and hats, with a flagship location on NW 23rd street. The shop will be the premier destination for hats in Portland. I'm working as the art director on the project, overseeing designers from PNCA's Center4Design. I've worked with a few new companies in my career as a designer and I must say I really do enjoy the flexibility and innovation it lends to my design process. Companies that have been around for years are more set in their ways, but when working with a startup, the designer has a lot more say in things. I'm really excited about the possibilities of the Dapper Cap brand, as the art director I really hope to provide innovative design that draws in consumers and contributes to brisk business. If you're reading this you're invited to our grand opening kick-off event, details in the image above.


Tonight I'm participating in TwentyFourSeven's fundraiser art show benefiting the Democratic Party. 14 artists were asked to create a portrait of Barack Obama. For this piece I worked with what I know best, pen & ink. I tried to convey a sense of hope, the hope that Obama inspires in me when I see him speak. The work incorporates some typography, pulled from aspects of Obama's campaign as well as an excerpt from his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. I'm honored to participate in the show and ready to cast my vote. We're at a critical juncture between the defunct ways of the past and the change we need moving into the 21st century. Our vote matters more now than it ever has.

Troubling times...

Brigade homeland tours start Oct.1

Here's a troubling bit of news from the US Army Times website. Starting October 1st the US Military will be deployed within the homeland. The site lays out possible uses for having soldiers deployed within the homeland:

"They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack."

It looks like they're counting on some civil unrest in the near future. Are they worried that if the warmonger McCain rigs the election there will be some dissatisfied citizens? Are they worried that if the economy tanks and throngs of jobless take to the streets then we need martial law to contain them? These are scary times, what's left of our democracy is being erroded. We have less rights than we did a decade ago, this could be a slippery slop. I pray that it's not. I pray that the right person for the job gets elected this november. I pray that we all open our eyes and see the true state that the world is in today. This isn't the time for "ignorance is bliss." Right now ignorance is death.

I implore everyone that reads this to stay informed, and vote for the candidate of your choosing. If we don't vote then we may as well have no voice at all. Make yourself heard.