The illustration I created to commemorate Barack Obamas’ Democratic primary victory was recently featured alongside an article commenting on the influence the hip-hop culture had in this years presidential election. Check it out:

http://www.birthplacemag.com/

Now that we have the BuckleyBoo set in stock, the webiste is live, and the stores are beginning to stock– We are going to be putting together a kids book to suppliment the toys. The idea is that we will design and build the world that the Buckley crew live, play and develop storylines in. I am taking special care to thin through as much of the detail as possible. The hope is that one day we can pitch a full blown cartoon and merchandising push. I will cronicle the progress with this first book. Stay tuned.

SKETCHING
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I have been complining a ton of sketches and concept drawings to get the world properly fleshed out.

I’m going to hook up another step-by-step for the Windows-Down Art Show panel I am painting. Stay tuned.

PENCILS
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Finalized pencils. I am going for loose and fun. I’m feeling this one.

PANEL PREP
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The panel is much larger than I initially imagined. I threw on three coats of Canary Yellow matte finish interior paint.

PENCILS ON PANEL
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I am a little worried that the pencils are not quite proportioned properly. It’s a nagging feeling in my tummy but I am going to push forward and potentially repair and awkwardness down the line.

PAINT PROGRESSION
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I have to keep the pallette strictly yellows which is quite a challenge for me. I am not used to working this way at all. I usually depend on color combinations and contrast which I just can’t do here. There’s a good chance you will see me changing hues and color choices throughout the process.

PAINTY PAINT
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Seems to be getting along now. I put in a very late night last night and plan to do so until she is done. I am finally fieeling more comfy with the yellow pallette and I am feeling like she will come together tight.

REFINED BOMB
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I spent some time working out the bomb painting. I also worked out a few more of the color issues while pushing the outline a bit. We’re getting there people.

TAPING
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I wanted to go back and do some spray painting fades into the background. The only way to efficiently do that was to tape off the entire piece. I use the blue painters taoe that you can get at any hardware or paint store. It is a painstaking process but necessary at this point. After the spray paint has been applied you have to remove the tape like a surgeon so you don;t pull up too much paint.

THE DROP OFF
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I just got back from dropping her off at the gallery. It was hard but I had to give my girl some space. When you spend so much intimate time together you just want to keep her close. The yellow blossomed into a perfect marigold. Do your thing sunshine!

THE SHOW
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The show went off fantastic. The place was packed. The gallery people were thrilled. It was really good. Check out the follwoing link to see the full photo set from the show.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=81133&id=676146829

Ok then. NEXT!

The flyers just came in for the new art show. This group show is going to be very very strong. The main wall is going to showcase eight  3′ x 4′ panels in alignment. Each artist has been designated a color and can’t use white, black or any other color beyond what was assigned. I got yellow….. the same color as your belly.

Stay tuned for progress updates on the piece.

I ran across these while cleaning up some folders. There is something cool about going back and checking out the textured pencils. If you look close you can see that I do a tiny thumbnail skecth to flesh out the composition in the top corner of each page. I use them as reference as I build the rest of the illustration. The areas where the pencils are very very loose is set aside for elements that I plan on adding later digitally.

Urban music label looking for a logo. Bada-bing.

I like this one.

Just an observation. I can only assume that press photographers have very little to work with on the Stock Market trade floor so they attempt to capture the mood by way of shooting people touching their face. The more extreme the situation is…. the higher on the head the hands go. It goes like this:

Hints of recession: thoughtful knuckle touch on the chin

Full blown recession: One hand or two covering mouth

Record Stock market plunge: Both hands covering eyes

World Banks collapse in unison: Both hands on top of head/ face grimacing

The complete collapse of our economic structure: Two hand pulling hair out of head

With the “official” launch for Buckleyboo right around the corner, there has been alot of buzz associated with the cute little buggers. Most of this press was launched from the first Buckleyboo presence at a Vegas tradeshow. Check out the most recent review of  Buckleyboo by clicking here. Otherwise, check out a few photos from the tradeshow. Do yo thang Buckleyboo!

I have been at this “9-5 day-gig mornings” and “10-3 freelance evenings” for a few years now. I figure I have maxed out what I am capable of outputting using this model. I have decided to revise the way I have been working and starting October 1st I will be pushing out a whole new approach. The focus will be on a select handful of clients while grinding out some kid book projects that I have had on the shelf. I will also be pushing out a new series of illustrations that will be making a run on t-shirts, cell phone wallpapers and posters. This will allow me to have greater growth potential while expanding my potential fan base. I will keep you looped as these projects grow. Wish me luck. I’m leaning into this turn hard.

After a handful of different designs over the years we have boiled down the website to a bare bones approach. I like this idea. It gives John control over his content while still holding a strong online presence. I am going to push this concept on more clients who are looking to establish themselves online.