I was recently invited by Jim LePage (creator of Word) and Troy Deshano to participate in the Old & New Project, where a select group designers and illustrators are asked to interpret a Bible verse. I was given Acts 2:3. You can see my design here and while you are there check out all the great submissions by the many talented contributors. Prints are available for purchase and all proceeds go to Blood:Water Mission. I also did a little interview about the process behind my design. Special thanks to Jim and Troy for the opportunity to be a part of this project!

I recently learned that two of my illustrations, one from the Rabbit Children EP and one from my 2011 music blog post,  will be featured in American Illustration 31 and will appear in the AI illustration archive on their site next month. Quite an honor to say the least. Thanks to AI and the judges for selecting my work.

I recently designed a gig poster for Nada Surf for their show with An Horse at First Ave. The design was inspired by their latest album, The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy and is available for purchase at the link above. The poster is an 18 x 24 , four color screen print on heavyweight dark blue stock (French Construction Nightshift Blue) and was expertly printed by The Half and Half. Special thanks to the band for the opportunity to work with them on this project. I will post a few detail shots very soon.

Every year I forget to buy Irish beer to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, so I have to improvise.

My newest mix for DesignersMX was posted yesterday. Please go check it out. You can also check out my previous mix here. Thanks to DesignersMX for the opportunity to do another one of these – it’s always fun to make them.

I was honored to be invited by Antonio de Lucca earlier this month to participate in the 100 $how. The show is described as, “an international event that showcases original works of 100 illustrators from Canada, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden and the US.” I was asked to donate four original pieces of art – preferably something existing and small in size. It could be anything from finished art to a collection of sketches. All art was displayed at the show opening @ W+K Portland on Feb 2. As I was looking through my files ( I had less than 24 hours to pull something together and ship them) I realized that the more I worked in digital medium the past several years, the less sketching (at least getting passed thumbnail form) I create. Luckily, I was able to find three pieces of art from several years ago that fit the bill. For the fouth piece, I made a piece in the style of my Rabbit Children illustrations, using an old print out, watercolor and ink (all the pieces for Rabbit Children are digital). You can see the pieces I submitted below. A big thanks to Antonio for asking me to be part of the show, especially since there were so many talented artists that participated. You can see more work from the show here.

woodblock print on rice paper

Graphite

mixed media

Ink wash

This year flew by, and with it, a ton of great new music releases. Below is this year’s installment of my annual “best of” music list. These are the albums I most enjoyed in 2011 and it was tough to narrow it down; many worthy albums were left off the list in the interest of keeping it manageable. This year, I’ve also included a 2011 Rdio playlist. (Sidenote: Rdio is free to join and is better than Spotify, in my opinion – much better UX and no ads. If you like Spotify, give it a try.) Feel free to leave comment and tell me your favorite artists/albums of 2011.

Honorable Mention
Future Islands – On the Water
Handsome Furs - Sound Kapital
Feist – Metals
Dustin O’Hallaran – Lumiere
Kids On A Crime Spree – We Love You So Bad
Minks – By the Hedge
Rural Alberta Advantage -The Departing
Vetiver – Errant Charm
Diamond Rings - Special Affections 
Girls Names – Dead To Me

Gig posters make great gifts and now you can now purchase my gig posters on Etsy. Limited edition screen print 18 x 24 posters for The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Antlers, Vampire Weekend, and Jeremy Messersmith are available. Use the code XMAS11 for free shipping on all domestic orders. This offer is only valid on posters purchased through the Etsy shop until December 20.

The Rabbit Children EP is featured in the Exhibit section of the latest issue of Communication Arts (the Advertising Annual). Quite an honor to say the least. Special thanks to the CA editorial staff for choosing to publish my work!