This is the first sketch of the floor puzzle.  At this point I usually start by blocking in shapes so I know where things are going to go. 

They  wanted patch work style background. Instead of just doing solid blocks of color I thought it would be fun to to incorporate, line art, flat texture, and dimensional space into the piece.  The T-Rex was the star of the show so we wanted to get him nailed down next.
The first two sketches were a little to mean so I went back and made him a little more goofy. He even looks a little more friendly in the final.   After I completed the Dinosaur project we went straight into a  monster project.  Here is the sketch and final  for the floor puzzle.

Yesterdays sketch. A blockhead clown. I have no idea where this came from. I think I have only drawn one other clown EVER!.  Maybe it is time for me to invest in a bolt of black velvet.

A new illustration on the subject of developmental Expressive Language Disorder. Children with this language disorder have difficulties remembering words and putting them together in sentences to express what s/he wants to say.  It is found 2-5 times more often in boys.

First up is the Ooga-Booga Aluminum print. That’s right ALUMINUM. This unique printing process infuses the dyes directly into the surface of  specially coated aluminum sheets. The image quality is amazing and they are UV protected, waterproof, and scratch resistant. Basically, these things will last. Oh, they are also float mounted and ready to hang. This is an edition of only ten signed and numbered prints. You can check them out here.

Second, is a set of cocktail mats.  The mats are printed (double sided) with soy based inks on  durable, micro thin synthetic plastic. I was exploring the idea of reconstruction in this series of images. I kind of see them as abstract, cartoon, architecture.  Check them out here.

It was over a year ago that I started this project, so it is nice to finally be able to post images of the finished products now that they are officially released. I teamed up Educational Insights to create images and packaging for three different play sets: Dish Set, Bake Set, Cooking Set.  I also created placemat activity sheets that you can download and use at home or in the classroom. This project took many twists and turns over the year and has spun off into two more sets of products to be released soon.

This is Chet. He’s a hip feline foodie who likes his adventures, juicy and delicious.

These are his friends: Parfait, Ready, and Marv.

Chet ‘s bakery is always packed with critters nibbling on his tasty treats.

My Oh My! Berry Pie!

Received a box of these in the mail. Monkey Truck Korean Edition.

The book will come shrink wrapped with two activity sheets. One drawing activity and one sticker activity. It is standard protocol to have these approved by the author. Attached to the email from my publisher was an English translation of the text that goes along with the activities. I almost broke my funny bone laughing when I read this…

TOOT! What sound is that?
Banana eating Monkey Truck just farted. Try to express various sounds of farts, and draw them by imagining how they look like.

Are they asking kids to draw their farts?

I hope so.

My Bulbous Conundrum show at rotofugi gallery is coming up soon. The paintings and one of a kind  aluminum prints will be on view August 9th -September 1, 2013. The opening reception is Friday August 9th, 7-10 PM. Looking forward to my trip to Chicago for the opening. This will be my first extended stay there and I’m very excited to see the city.

To see a  preview of the art before the show goes live,  you can sign up for ROTOFUGI GALLERY PREVIEW LIST on their web site.

Publishers Weekly has given my new book a great review, calling it “Little Golden Books on LSD.”  It is the first time a reviewer has ever used a drug reference to describe my color palette. You can read the entire review at Publishers Weekly here.

The official release date is September  3.  You can view sample spreads and PRE-ORDER A COPY  on the Henry Holt website.  I will be posting some sketches from the book  soon so check back.

Here is my new piece for the “Yesterday’s Tomorrow” group show now on view at Gallery Nucleus. The show features original works in a variety of mediums celebrating the past while looking towards the future.  I thought it would be fun to create fictitious concept art for a futurist play structure as designed by a mid century design firm.

The painting is acrylic and cel vinyl on custom cut birch panel and measures approximately 11X22 inches.