More monkeys and stuff...

Here's the puzzle I mentioned in the last post; we hid the pieces around the yard, then the kids got to find them and put the puzzle together. When it was all assembled the message in the balloons read "Happy Birthday Amelie!"

Monkeys and stuff...

My daughter just celebrated her 3rd birthday! The party was puzzle themed - picture this blow up to 3 x 4 feet and made into a giant puzzle. This particular image I'm using for the thank you cards.

Mother Hen Project

More art for a cause... I did this piece (guache) for the Mother Hen Project www.themotherhenproject.org It was a blast to pull out the art supplies and get to createn' again!

And now for something different... acrylics! Haven't used those in years! This is acrylic on wood (postcard) done for a wonderful cause, you can view all the great postcards by amazing artists here btorpostcards.blogspot.com

Congrats to Eshea and Percy! They tied the knot this summer at a beautiful ceremony. This is the linoleum print I made for them to commemorate their special day. Many they have a lifetime of love and laughter!

overdue Holiday Card post

The annual Klocek holiday card, was actually done before the holidays this year (much of the credit for that goes to Noah's help with printing the cards) This is a 2 color linoleum print.

Plein Air fun

Wow has it been a long time since I got to get out to do a plein air pastel. This is a view from the dog park in Berkeley (I think it's called Point Isabel).

Easter Bunny

Happy Easter! It took me a while to get this up, better late than never :-) This is a quick linoleum "sketch". Printed up using my new press, what fun!

The Berkeley Marina

I forget how much fun it is to sit out in the cold and get your hands all dirty with pastels, really! This is from a lovely evening late in November. Looking out past the Berkeley Marina at the bay bridge.

Salmon Lake from August

Well, it took me a while to get this posted. This is a very quick plein-air pastel from August, done at a little lake called Salmon Lake up in the Sierras. It was a blast to get ten minutes free to pastel, but I really saw how out of practice I am! 

Totoro Forest Project Tickets Available Monday 8/11 10:00am Pacific Time!

Many of you have been wondering when and how you can buy tickets for the upcoming Totoro Forest Art Auction Benefit Event to be held here at Pixar on September 6th. Finally we are ready to start selling these online! The first pre-sale will start monday 8/11 at 10am. Here's the options available - Please note that all tickets include the stunning Art of Totoro Forest Book (worth $40)

Forest Friend - 100$ regular admission + book.
Forest Sponsor - 200$ includes admission + book + signed limited edition print
Forest Champion - $300 includes middle VIP live auction seating + book + signed limited edition print + gift certificate to Blowfish Sushi
Forest Hero - $500 includes front VIP live auction seating + book + an original drawing by one of the artists

Tickets will go on sale at this LINK exactly at 10AM Monday! We have a rather limited numbers of tickets so we suggest acting quickly if you want to be part of this event. Remember many of the donating artists will be in attendance, this will be a night to remember!! All the "Totoro inspired" art is up for preview at TotoroForestProject.org. All proceed will be donated to the Totoro Forest Foundation!! 

Totoro Forest Project

This is the piece I did for a wonderful group project that is being done to raise money for a great cause. To get the scoop, go to http://totoroforestproject.org/ the auction is coming up next month, and starting today you can buy tickets!

finished gnome card version 2

and here is the other version...

finished gnome card

Done (more or less) I did two color versions, not sure yet which I like better. Here is the first one.

Gnome card

This is my preliminary sketch/value study for a spring themed card I am designing. I am trying to work out as much of the value and shape as I can before I start to carve the linoleum.

Final Illustration

Here it is, all done! This is my GirlsDrawinGirls take on the Bremen Town Musicians

GDG Illustration

This is an illustration I am working on for a great group of artists called GirlsDrawinGirls (www.girlsdrawingirls.com) The theme is pin-up girl meets fairy tale. Any guesses on which fairy tale I'm going for?

Leaves and a tree

The last few posts are examples of prints I made from linoleum cuts. I generally do several sketches then a final drawing to flesh out my design, transfer it to the piece of linoleum, and start carving. Most of the prints are a single cut, but some of the ones with color are two or more linoleum cuts layered on top of each other.

Miscellaneous linoleum cuts

Simple designs