Emory's Menagerie

New print available in the shop!

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:58:00 -0600

New print available in the shop!

Here’s a sneak peek of my print for Big Table...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:01:51 -0600

Here’s a sneak peek of my print for Big Table Studio’s latest show “For The Love Of Love”.

On Friday, February 3rd, Amsterdam Bar & Hall and MN United (http://www.mnunited.org/) will be throwing a fundraiser to help support the campaign against the proposed Marriage Amendment that will appear on the Ballot in Minnesota in November of 2012, Big Table Studio is hosting a poster show tentatively called “For The Love of Love”.

more info about the show

With this print, I focused on getting the overprinting to look exactly how I wanted. I’ve had problems in the past with inks not being as transparent as I needed them to be.

With my previous prints, I’ve always printed the blues/greens first and the reds/oranges on top. This time I printed the red first hoping that it would be easier to make the blue ink transparent. It turns out that wasn’t the case—I still wasn’t getting the desired transparency. The solution was to start with a bunch of transparent extender base and ink to it bit by bit (I had been doing it the other way around). I’m really happy with how it came out!

Here’s my second collaboration with LTD EDN Agency—a...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:11:20 -0600

Here’s my second collaboration with LTD EDN Agency—a customization of their logo!

LTD EDN Agency matches artists with companies to help raise money for charity. I’m looking forward to working more with them in the future!

As you may have noticed, I haven’t posted at all to this...

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:40:55 -0600

As you may have noticed, I haven’t posted at all to this blog in 2012. I’ve been rolling ideas over in my mind, really trying to come up with the perfect post. Most people say they like to end with a bang—I wanted to come in on one!

Well, this post ain’t that. The perfect profound post eluded me, so here’s a cheesily poetic, poetically cheesy picture of a sunrise to kick off the new year.

Phew. Now that the pressure’s off, I can get back to regular posting!

Between work and An Exquisite Beast, I haven’t had much...

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:00:05 -0600

Between work and An Exquisite Beast, I haven’t had much time for fun, personal illustrations lately. The To Resolve Project gave me the perfect excuse to take a breather and think about I what I’d like to get out of next year. The answer is balance. Spending 14 to 16 hours a day by myself in my basement is not really the most exciting existence. It’s not that I want to be lazier next year, I just need to force myself to take a break every once in a while :)

So my resolution for 2012 is to Make Time for Play Time!

It’s An Exquisite Beast’s 3 month birthday! They...

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:13:19 -0600

It’s An Exquisite Beast’s 3 month birthday! They grow up so fast…It seems like only yesterday I was drawing Forester or Family Reunion. Now, here we are 92 drawings in a row (see what I did there?) and I think this bad boy’s still just a toddler. I have no idea when this thing will stop growing, so for now, just grab a slice of cake and celebrate!

Prints Printed & Lessons Learned

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:07:58 -0600

What I love most about exploring a new art making medium is how quickly you learn and evolve your art making process. I’ve printed 3 new prints since my OK! post and I’ve learned something new and adjusted the way I work each time. Each new print I make is my new favorite one I’ve ever printed!

The Print: Bundle Up
The Lesson: I had some issues with ink drying in the screen last time. It created a bit of unwanted texture in the print so this time around I intentionally added a whole mess of texture. I also printed a smaller run than last time which forced me to really work on getting the alignment right. Only two of the prints turned out bad, much better than the 15+ that were crap last time.

The Print: The Hybearnation Experience
The Lesson: The colors in Bundle Up turned out fine, but they really weren’t what I envisioned when I designed the print. This time around I really focused on mixing inks to get exactly what I wanted. I’m really happy with how the colors turned out, but the overprinting didn’t have as much contrast as I would have liked. It takes a lot more extender than I thought it would.

The Print: Greased Up
The Lesson: This time around, I didn’t want to worry about color mixing or overprinting and instead I focused on just getting a nice clean print. I had some issues again last time with ink drying in the screen. The red went down perfectly, couldn’t be happier with it. The black was quite a different story. I think the black ink was way too think and thus was getting stuck in the screen. After thinning the ink quite a bit, it was better, but still not perfect. I wish I could say all of the texture in this piece is intentional. I know what to work on next time!

I’ve added all of these prints to my shop!

I have two new prints in Inkcicles, an art show that opens...

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:18:40 -0600

I have two new prints in Inkcicles, an art show that opens tonight at Big Table Studio in St. Paul. I’ll post the pieces next week, so if you want to see them before the rest of the internet, get your ass to St. Paul! More Info

It’s been a while since I’ve drawn something for...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:18:31 -0600

It’s been a while since I’ve drawn something for Robots and Monsters. The words were Atlanta and Dancing—I’ve never been to Atlanta and I only dance enough to embarrass my wife :)

Today, my forearms are sore arms, and I love it. I printed my...

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 10:59:44 -0600

Today, my forearms are sore arms, and I love it. I printed my first two color screen print over the weekend!

It was a long road—a lot of trial and error and a lot of frustration were involved. Exposure times, mesh counts, even coating, washing out the screen after burning it—all of them had beaten me down for the past month and a half. Finaly, FINALLY, this weekend everything came together wonderfully.

This is such a huge relief for me because I gained something more than just 40 new prints over the weekend—I fulfilled a years-long dream. Ever since I graduated from UW Madison, I wanted to have my own space where I could pull my own prints. Someplace I could have control. Someplace where I could break a small sweat and create something nice in the process. I never gave up on that goal. Here I am 6 years later with sore arms and everything is OK.

2012 Calendar of the Impending Apocalypse

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:38:07 -0600

Awwww YEAH, you guys! It’s almost here—the end of the world! To celebrate all of us reaching the metaphorical finish line, David Huyck of Cloudy Collection curated the 2012 Calendar of the Impending Apocalypse. 12 months, 12 illustrations, 12 ways the world will end.

picture by David Huyck

My contribution, imagines that the giant hamster at the center of the world will finally pass away from old age. Oh, you didn’t know the Earth spins thanks to a giant, old hamster? Well, know you do.

Get your calendar and count down to the big (perhaps even the biggest) sleep!

Traditionally, 28 isn’t that big of a birthday, so...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:56:23 -0600

Traditionally, 28 isn’t that big of a birthday, so I’m going to make it one. That’s right, dear readers, I’m giving you all a present! Enter the code REVERSEBIRTHDAY when you check out to receive 28% off of your entire order from my store! You better hurry, the offer ends when my birthday does! http://ocularinvasion.bigcartel.com/

I have a piece in this show and I’ll be there after a long...

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:21:06 -0500

I have a piece in this show and I’ll be there after a long day of peddling my wares at the School House Craft Fair! Join us, won’t you?

skedrawdles:

Yes!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141049599324646
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=175648262510456
http://pinkhobo.com/?p=432
http://www.cloudycollection.com/

puny:

This Friday at Pink Hobo!

Hey hey, all you Minneapolis…people(Is there a word for...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:11:06 -0500

Hey hey, all you Minneapolis…people(Is there a word for Minneapolis residents? Minneapolisians? Minneapolisites?). I’m going to have a booth at the School House Craft Fair this weekend! So, if you want a print from me, but don’t want to pay that pesky shipping, swing on by! It’s my first craft fair, so be gentle, OK? Part of the proceeds will go to the Armatage Montessori School Library.

Huge Shop Update

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:54:09 -0500

I’m finally making good on my first New Years’ Goal “Increase PRODUCTivity”. This week I added five new products to my shop! Check ‘em out won’t you? Every poster/print/button you buy will help me get to ICON 7 next year!

First up, a five color 18”x24” screen print—Forest Mist

Next a four color 18”x24” screen print—Rabbit Party!

And a 3 color, including glow in the dark!, 18”x24” screen print—Dearly Departed

Moving away from screen prints, a set of five 5”x7” giclee prints—5 by 5

Moving away from prints altogether—Buttons!

Ever since I was graduated from college, it was my dream to have...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:52:19 -0500

Ever since I was graduated from college, it was my dream to have a space big enough for screen printing. Now, I’m sort of an adult with a house and a decent sized basement. And by decent sized I mean big enough for screen printing!

It’s been a while since I’ve done any printing, so I’m taking it easy to start. It’s a one color 9” print called “Drawing Makes Me Happy”. You can pick one up in my shop for 3 big ones, or regular sized ones, either is cool with me. In case you’re confused, they’re $3.00.

You can expect many more prints in the future!

Overrun — My contribution to AIGA Colorado’s 4th Bordo...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:29:24 -0500

Overrun — My contribution to AIGA Colorado’s 4th Bordo Bello event. Sadly, I wasn’t able to go (and I didn’t even get to see the board beforehand). Fortunately, Jessica Grenier took a really great photo of my design so I can at least pretend I was there. You can check out all of the decks from the show (over 200!) on AIGA Colorado’s flickr page.

Hello mate! do you like work on 3D? and learn tools for modeling and that stuff? or 2D for the rest of ur life and let the damn 3D for other, or simply 3D isn't for you ?

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:36:00 -0500

I used to work at a motion design studio so I have worked in Maya before, but…yeah, it’s not for me. There’s some part of brain that just doesn’t click with 3D. I might give it a try again sometime soon though ;)

Bunnies, flowers, fireflies that leave smoke trails—ain’t...

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:23:00 -0500

Bunnies, flowers, fireflies that leave smoke trails—ain’t nature grand! Why yes, it is. That’s why I’m creating a new series of work called Wonder Abounds. What you see above is the first of nine pieces. Just a taste, you know?

Actually, it’s still a work in progress, so if you have any comments, hit me up on twitter @ocularinvasion. I plan on getting this screen printed with the gray being silver in the actual print.

I was invited to contribute to the latest issue of Revista Göoo....

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:42:06 -0500

I was invited to contribute to the latest issue of Revista Göoo. Allow me to present my illustration based on theme Illogical—I call it “Is It Safe?” Don’t let all them crooks steal your mind jewel! Yes, you read that correctly. I said mind jewel.