I am launching my new PET STORE COLLECTION at SURTEX, starts Sunday!
Fancy at Bar Centrale
Fancy (top right) among the stars at Bar Centrale in New York
Fancy’s at SURTEX too! Come see Fancy and her brother and sister in booth 340!
Pattern Pico de Orizaba
I was almost ready to give up on figuring out a way to keep the Pico de Orizaba, a volcano in Mexico, in some new floral pattern designs without it looking too out of place… Took a break and went and sat in the Bell Jar café and spotted the volcanoes in the mural across the street.
Took some pictures:
BOOM! I like the pyramid-like steps up to the mouth of the volcano! I have always admired this mural, it’s titled “The Winds are Changing” and is by artist Andrew Schoultz.
What a difference a coffee-break can make!
After photographing the mural I went right back to my Pico de Orizaba patterns and decided to drop all the flowers and focus on the volcano itself. What eventually came out was a total surprise for me – I am very happy with these drawings.
Here’s a sneak preview. See the entire collection at SURTEX:
The patterns contain other emblems of Mexico like Day of The Dead skulls
The pyramids of Mexico
There are cacti on the Mexican flag
SURTEX runs Sunday the 19th through Tuesday, 9am to 6pm at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. My agency, i2i art, is in booth 340!
You can see more of Andrew’s work here.
On the Surface of Things
Simple and nicely framed decoration under the rail lines that cross Bloor St. near Lansdowne
The mural designed and painted by Richard Mongiat in 2008 and 2009
The concrete surface appears to show through the mural mimicking the appearance of waterslide decals. The limited colour and graphic line work make these very easy to look at as you ride by on your bike. They further adapt to their environment over time.
I’ve walked past this many times over the last few years. I feel inspired every time, and finally on a rainy day I took the time to photograph some of the details. It’s one of my favourite pieces of public art in Toronto.
Closeup: Mongiat’s mural improves with time as it weathers
This mural inspired me to create some patterns based on the forest floor fauna found in the woods of Northwestern Ontario where I grew up. Here are some previews of my new Boreal collection:
Blue Bead Lily and Bunch Berry floral pattern detail
Fern detail
Pine cone pattern detail
I’ll be showing the entire collection at SURTEX, in booth 340!
A Feather Boa for Greg Kramer
I never got to know him well enough before he moved to Montréal, but considered him a friend nonetheless. I created illustrations that accompanied some of his writing early in my illustration career. He was very kind to me and never failed to make me laugh. Last time I saw him was on stage in The Haunted Hillbilly. We never did get together for that cocktail. RIP, my friend.
Ice Cream at Surtex!
From my Ice Cream collection, a chocolate covered ice cream treat as table-cloth
Love my new tablecloth. Goes down well with the ice cream I brought home from Dolce Gelato. That maraschino cherry really was heart-shaped!
