Southwestern Color Palettes

My first trip to the Southwest was a visceral experience.  14 days away from city noise, humidity, rain, and the monotony of every day. But it wasn't just the escape, it was being embraced by nature, seeing bright reds and yellows in the stone, vast open spaces, and the crystal clear moons. We started in western Colorado, then Utah, stopping at Arches NP, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Zion, then finishing up on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Now, this may just be an excuse for me to post my vacation pictures and talk about my vacation, but the sights are truly inspirational.  So along with each photo I'm adding a corresponding color palette for dressing, drawing, decorating, and other things that may or may not start with d.

This first palette is from Hanging Lake, which lies on a mountain top near Glenwood Springs, CO, and requires a 2 mile hike to get to.  This hike is harder if you're carrying your friend's child on your back.  The unique minerals color the water this crazy turquoise color!

Hanging Lake, no swimming allowed

Here's a little desert flower, shot near Moab Utah. The oranges begin here.

Lots of awesome colorful flowers on the side of the road.

Next is Canyonlands, also in Utah. Place is "cray," looks like another planet.  We did an amazing overnight hike into the canyon here.  

Below is Bryce Canyon, my favorite spot.  We regrettably only spent one night here.  The rock formations are called "hodos," and as you can see, the sunlight turns them neon.

Sunrise

Lastly we come to the Grand Canyon. It IS as cool as everyone says.

I could post a million pictures, well 900 to be more accurate.  But I'll stop here.  Just a little taste of all the colors the earth has to offer!

Chalk lettering illustrations on "I Call Shotgun"!

A few weeks ago I was given an incredible opportunity to create some chalk board illustrations for the set of AOL's webcast I Call Shotgun. This video segment features Bravo's Andy Cohen interviewing Jerry Seinfeld as he wraps up the second season of his web show Comedians in Cars getting Coffee. Here's a clip from youtube, you can see a nice closeup of the set illustration at 0:07.

The full show can be seen here.

In lieu of the cars and coffee theme, the set was designed as a retro, right-off-the-highway diner, and some typographic chalkboard menus fit right in.

Retro chic, right down to the cronuts

Time was tight, with one night spent sketching up ideas, and the next night to executing them on a set that was only half built after working an 8 hour day.  But the set designer, who happens to be my very talented brother, must have know that I couldn't say know to hand drawn art, especially when typography and Seinfeld are involved.  The panels totaled 6 in all, and I kept with one food theme for each that could be the point of emphasis.  Here are some pics from the set as well as all 6 after the jump.

Left side panels

Right side panels

Happy Father's Day!

A happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Ink on watercolor. With rocks.

The wolf

The art store in my Jersey City neighborhood displays murals on their outside wall, and the current one is particularly awesome.

I love the contrast of the fierce, radioactive wolf against the sad Disney bunny and the geometric shapes mixed with the eerie forest. Or maybe I can't get enough of neons. Either way I'm going to enjoy walking past it every day.  

He won't think twice about eating you

Smoking is bad, especially for bunnies

Ink and watercolor flowers

Last week with Mother's day approaching, I decided to experiment with a new style for card, and it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces that's I've done a while.  It works well as a single flat card that doubles as a frameable illustration, and I'm going to tell you how I did it. A little inspiration from my Pinterest flower board, a print I have at home, and all the ink illustrations I've been doing lately, I set to work sketching out these blossoms.

Free style sketching

I wanted to keep the style feeling loose and organic, so I didn't strive for exact replicas but instead used the images as a guide for the movement of the lines. If you're recreating at home, just a reminder you can do some major damage with an eraser, so you want to sketch as lightly and as little as possible. I'm using some pretty heavy 120lb stock watercolor paper and a 2H pencil which helps a little.

Next I drew over the lines with India ink, adding some variation in thickness. I am in desperate need of a new bottle of ink if anyone is looking for a for-no-reason gift for me. It starts to gunk once it gets to a certain age and I can't seem to find a replacement anywhere. 

Now you can actually see it.

Unlike watercolors, India ink is permanent once it is dried so I was able to do the watercolor last.  You could of course add your color first and ink second if you prefer. It did start to smudge if I pressed too hard with the paintbrush. When I started I wasn't sure if and how much color I would use so that's why I added mine afterwards. To avoid looking hippie psychedelic, I stuck with a 4 color palette of sherbert-y colors. 

Yum

I was so pumped, I even did a second one. 

Definitely going to use this style more in the future.  They didn't even take that long, only a few hours!

Modern wedding invitations for Fall

Even though Spring is just beginning and autumn seems miles away, I'm posting this follow up to my previous entry for Autumn save the dates with the actual invitations.

As I mentioned in the first post, one of my favorite things about these is that even though they use a fall color palette, the graphic pattern and bold type are so unexpected. This set also really shines when it comes together as a suite that includes an invite, rsvp, envelope liners, and reception card all held together with a monogrammed band. The band is made of maroon ribbon and adhered to itself and the paper monogram with glue dots, the greatest thing ever.

A monogrammed band: wrap it up

The bride gets a lot of credit for these; she knew just what she wanted.  Elements of the pattern from the save the date are used throughout, and a berry purple was substituted for the golden yellow to better match the flowers.  Here are a few closeups!

The invitation

The reception card

The color palette and pattern could easily be changed to match any season or theme desired by a modern, anti-flower couple!