My good friend who hosts The Phantom Darkroom, Steve McAfee, is a skillful photographer of a high order. His work is known around the country and even HE has to refresh his business cards so they reflect his recent interests and techniques.

His most recent post was about that very thing, which I found to be inspiring. So, with a few hours available to really knuckle down and come up with my business card......I FROZE!

I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to present to the world as my "it", my specialty, that thing that makes my work stand out. I'm aware that I've developed a few looks, so I was a bit confused as to a stylistic direction.

Then, I took a deep breath and realized the work I've been showcasing on this site is the marrow of my artistic efforts: highly detailed cartoon work that emphasizes form, texture and light, with a certain wry humor.

And that's what I went with. WHEW!

I think it's hilarious that when it came to designing my own card, I was a bit befuddled. Had I been doing work for anyone else who required my illustration and design work, I would've gone about it with my usual confidence and focus. I-R-O-N-Y.

Gaining attention
Focal point of no return
And God laughs and laughs

This is my entry for this week's theme over at Illustration Friday: POPULARITY

These are small watercolor studies I'd like to turn into much larger canvases (6 to 8 foot range) for a show. I've had a love affair with line and texture in all my work, so I thought it could be liberating to do some studies that zero in on that very thing.

Don't worry, I loves me the figurative work, too.

I've been enjoying doing small watercolor studies of a group of abstract work that might look wonderful done very large in multi-media fashion. A little p-shop, BANG, a large canvas hanging in a modest den.

Boy, what I would do with a roomy studio that could handle six-foot, eight-foot canvases! I still have faith in my attempts at exploring less literal, more poetic themes that fit in a living space.