I am absolutely in love with the work of Pascal Campion. I recently came across some of his work and I can’t get enough. He is definitely a very talented artist, but with two kids of my own, the stories he tells are so familiar and dear to me. You can check out more of his work on his personal website: pascalcampoin.com There is also a great video interview here.

An unlikely duet.
Ballpoint pen on paper.

Our family is expanding, which meant the chance to create a new room for my 3-year old son. I really wanted to paint a special mural that would commemorate his favorite things to do in our town. So with this crazy idea, some paper, and a pen, I got to work. I interviewed my son and together we came up with a list of possible locations.

Sketching out the buildings and transferring them to the wall was by far and away the easiest part for me. When I began to paint I quickly realized how steady my hand would have to be to create the level of detail that I was going for. Frustrated, I tried painter’s tape and was thrilled at the crisp lines it produced. As you can see from the image above, I went through a ton of tape. I’m fairly certain that I could give a master’s class on creative use and application of painter’s tape after this project.

So, after a coat of primer, 2 coats of blue and green sky/landscape paint, 7 transparencies (to transfer the sketches to the wall), 3 jumbo rolls of tape, 19 different tubes of acrylic paint, 100+ hours and too many Diet Dews to count, here is the finished product.

View of the left side wall.

Detail of  the art museum, clock tower, Sample Gates, and Assembly Hall at my alma mater, Indiana University.

The courthouse on the square in Bloomington.

My son is a big fan of construction equipment, so he requested a huge crane.

The firehouse that we pass each day on our way to preschool and the Kirkwood Observatory since he is interested in space shuttles and the moon.

His first request was Target, which is his favorite store in the entire world. (Sounds odd for a 3-year old, but it’s true.) And Curious George flying a kite to the left.

WonderLab, a local science center for kids and some playground equipment from his favorite park.

I knew this would be a rewarding project to take on, but when he gave me a huge hug and said it was beautiful, it made it all that much more worthwhile.

I was going through some old files and came across this drawing that I did almost 3 years ago. It was done in about an hour and everything just seemed to fall into place with it. I titled it “Heavy” and have always been pleased with the way it turned out, which is rare for me. I usually latch on to some tiny detail that only I will ever notice and it tarnishes the memory for me. So here’s to being happy with my craft…at least this time.

I have doodled on my notebooks and in the margins of papers for as long as I can remember. Today this little dino came to life somewhere between a global conference call and lunch. I feel the need to note that I am listening and participating while I doodle. It helps me stay creatively balanced and fresh through the stresses of the day.

Cover creation from Peter Belanger on Vimeo.

I love the sense this time lapse gives someone who is unfamiliar with marketing and design on just how much effort goes into some of the artwork we encounter on a daily basis. Seeing a video like this makes me question my sanity, as I do stuff like this on a daily basis. I guess it is the love of the process and seeing something complex through to completion that keeps me at it.

Kuroshio Sea – 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

I came across this video and found myself watching it twice. I love the sense of scale you get from the people standing in front of the glass. If you look closely there is a diver in the tank on the lover left. This must really be a sight to behold and if I’m ever in Japan I’d love to see it in person. Below are some details about the tank and facility.

The main tank called the “Kuroshio Sea” holds 7,500-cubic meters (1,981,290 gallons) of water and features the world’s second largest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with a thickness of 60 centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst many other fish species in the main tank.

Website: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

Let me start with this: Being a tech nerd at heart, I was well aware of this “gotta have it” product Apple was developing, but I wasn’t interested. I thought for sure that I would have no use for a giant iPod touch, no matter what whiz-bang features it had on it.

I kept this opinion for about 30 seconds into the intro video for the product. I have long admired Jonathan Ive’s design work at Apple and his interpertations of Dieter Rams design work at Brauun. (I’m pretty convinced that I’d be interested in buying any product from their design portfolio.) They just look so darn good.

Will I get one? Definately not at first. The $500+ tag is a bit pricey for something that my MackBook Pro can do minus the touch screen. But I expect that come my birthday or Christmas I’ll be giving these a second look. I think the 3G+WiFi would be the only way to go. Internet wherever, whenever is pretty tempting. I’m very curious to see how the world embraces this new product.

Just a couple of germs that have been captured for research. In fact, they seem quite happy about it.

Graphite on graph paper. Color added in Photoshop.

Here is a cube pattern I came up with a while back. Created with a ruler, pencil, and my trusty Design 2 markers. Actual size: 32″x24″