Poppy pods

I did this illustration a couple of years ago and just rediscovered it in my sketchbook. I always liked it and thought it would look nice with some color and texture added. One of these days I'll get around to planting poppies in my yard—the big frilly orange kind that are so perfect they almost don't look real.

Happy Easter!

Wishing you a peaceful Easter and sunshine on your egg hunt. Moms and Dads—keep track of where you hide them, it's no fun playing 'find the rotten egg' two weeks from now. Me, I'll be hitting the after Easter candy sales—there's nothing like stale Peeps. Mmmmmmm.... :)

Snail snack

I've often heard the old adage 'write what you know'. Sometimes when I'm stumped on what to draw I remind myself the same thing applies—'draw what you know'! So here's what's going on in my little corner of the world: starting seedlings for the garden and keeping an eye on two pet snails. I curse the snails and slugs when they're chewing holes in my hostas and ligularia in the garden, but I can't bring myself to kill them. Most often they spend their retirement in the yard waste bin.

So here's a new illustration for you. This time I incorporated painted textures, paper and a scan of a rusty background. Hope you like it.

Donuts make people happy

Here's another illustration for you inspired by the yummy donuts at Top Pot here in Seattle. Nothing like a fresh donut and good coffee! This time I scanned some origami papers and combined them with the drawing and painted textures I made. Enjoy! 

Launching DZO Strategists

I recently created this system of business papers for DZO Strategists. Their objectives were to convey a solid, confident, smart and solution-driven brand. I designed the DZO identity last fall so it was great to take it to another level and apply it to their printed materials. I selected Neenah Classic Crest in Avalanche White which is another of my favorite enviro-friendly stocks. When choosing the perfect red for their identity, we felt limited by what Pantone had to offer so a custom red ink was mixed to exactly match what my own printer had produced.