Back in the USA

Think we’ve still got the stars over the Andes twinkling on our eyes. The last few days of travel are catching up to me, will get back to everyone tomorrow or the next day? And wow Virginia is a beautiful place to come home to. We say that every time, I know, but wow lovely.

Travel time

Orders can be filled until July 9. After that date orders will be taken but may not be filled until late September. Have a great summer.

Virginia river valley

This view from Shenandoah River State Park, where we vacationed a few years ago, is hard to beat

another drawing

Watercolor and pencil, small (5x7”?). Made this several years ago.

Renovation

As an artist, I am a landscape painter and a designer. And drawer. Not a figurative artist, not decorative. My posters are usually in one of these categories and also usually both. The Humpback Rocks poster has changed four times over the years from originally a design/commercial art style to this one which is a landscape painting done as a poster.

Drawing in the Old Masters style

Part of an artist’s education. I did this quite a while ago, cannot remember when.

Bright!

Maybe because it is spring and the bright yellow daffodils are blooming, or maybe because we are just returned from Mexico, dunno, but this one happened real quick and real bright

More appreciation for other artists, illustrators, designers -

They are consistently excellent, even breathtaking

Celebrating Bowie

On this anniversary of his death (so gloriously explored in his last music/artwork ‘Black Star’) so many of us celebrate the omnivorous wildly creative David Bowie. He made life so much more glamorous, weird, wondrous, flaming.

The Public Domain Review: a Solar System quilt from around 1870s

Humans are glorious. Check out this trove of wonder and inspiration, copyright-free

Sharing the work of other artists, this time the brilliant Rebecca Solnit

Find her here and read all her words

ie humans are amazing and unbeatable when we work together purposefully and for each other

For the solstice, will be looking at this poet/artist

Madeleine Jubilee Saito, sigh, just wonderful, please take a look.

An artist we all love - JR

Among all the shit that floods our social media check out JR and his wildly communal and hopeful artworks

Orange County

Nearby Orange County is where Montpelier is located and is relatively small, and rural. And it’s largely beautiful agricultural land with views of mountains every which way you turn.

About framing

My posters are available in a frame that is decent quality and appropriate for a poster. Posters are traditionally not matted; they are a form of commercial art, and not usually treated as an oil painting or watercolor and so forth would be; often displayed in a simple unobtrusive black frame. However, my micro business struggles under the weight (literal!) of providing frames; they are heavy, they come in giant heavy boxes, they take up a lot of room in my tiny studio. They are also shipped across the planet with all those implications - you can imagine - then from a warehouse to me and then from me to the purchaser.

Let’s skip that last step! and save the planet.

I am encouraging purchasers to do their own DIY framing; by purchasing a frame themself, the re-packaging in bubble wrap, shipping etc etc that I currently provide (and it is certainly reflected in the sales price) is reduced. The purchaser can just stop in at their favorite big box store next time they are out shopping and pick one up - the size 13” x 19” is widely available; and perhaps you will find a frame more in keeping with your decor preferences. It is very easy to DIY: just clean the glass with Windex, unroll my poster from the cardboard mailing tube (try not to touch the delicate printed surface) and pop the poster into the back of the frame.

Better for the environment!
(and for my back!)

East Village frame 13x19” by MCS. Widely available online, too.

This article has great advice on framing