Bye bye 2010...hello 2011!

Let's make a toast to wiping away all the worries and fears of 2010 and starting with a brand new clean slate for 2011!

Woo Hoo!

Have fun tonight!

time to get wacky via fuckyeah!1920s

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

I'll start writing my resolutions tomorrow...really, I will.

Little Ghost...A New Illustration

Little Ghost by bluehour studio

Here is a illustration I just finished. It is a story of a girl that has ghostly visitors at night. There are no screams, actually no sounds at all...just quiet and the sense you are not alone. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. I was a very imaginative child....

Hope you like it.

winter white

Living in San Francisco is wonderful. There is always something going on, things are easy to get to and the weather is just fine. Nothing too crazy, a little rain here and there. Maybe a few minutes of hail if your lucky enough to witness it but pretty much the same kind of weather all year long.

So why am I talking about the weather? Well, I'm originally from Massachusetts and ever so often I yearn for the cold and the snow. Maybe not enough to live there again but just a little taste to get those memories flowing...

Every kid should get to go carriage skating...via Nationaal Archief

Winter Walk original drawing by Oh My Cavalier

Now that's dedication via the Smithsonian

Lovely Snowy piece by Lizzy Stewart

Here's one from my snow weekend in Tahoe last year.

Hope you are all keeping warm and toasty. I'm off to finish a few paintings.

a little quiet time

my tiny tree...

Just taking a little quiet time with my Christmas tree. It is amazing how wonderfully calm it is sitting in the dark. Just sitting  and thinking about all that has happened in the last year... And planning the steps for next . I'm pretty excited about the future and all that you can expect from bluehour studio. The website should be up and running soon and I am also going to be starting up an etsy shop in the next few months.  I think 2011 is going to the year all my lifelong dreams truly start falling into place.

Here's to the future. May yours be very bright.

The holidays are upon us...

So...how are you all doing? Have you finished all that needs to be done in time for the holidays? I'm still rushing around a getting the last bits and pieces finished. (Driving myself crazy as usual.)  I remember to must remind myself,  it will get done, just in the nick of time, just like last year and the one before it. It is funny how we always seem to forget that. Oh, the pressure we put on ourselves.

And just like last year, the holidays will be done before you know it. Life will return to a mere normal...So get out there and enjoy it while you can.  Let yourself eat a little too much, drink a little too much and live  without a shred of guilt. I know I will...or at least I'm gonna try.

Here is my salute to the craziness of the holidays:

Ready, set...Celebrate..via Nationaal Archief

Wait, there must be something in here for me...via Smithsonian

Happy deliveries...via George Eastman

Oh the anticipation...via Library of Congress c.1910

Things used to a lot more dangerous back then...via Nationaal Archief

kid, tree, shadow...via Nationaal Archief 1949

Kristmas Kittens...yay...via George Eastman

Here's to finishing off the year stress free...hee hee.

Letterpress Love

I've been asked to create a letterpress invitation for the San Francisco Center for the Book's "Donor Appreciation Party".   What an honor.  So today I have been happily jumping around the internet looking for inspiration from all sorts of amazing letterpress masters. Here are some of the favorites that I found, with a little holiday twist, of course:

Happy Couple Joy card by Egg Press

Holiday Polar Bear + Whale Letterpress Notecards by Ink an Wit

Cheers Letterpress Card by Binth

Chestnuts Letterpress Card by Fugu Fugu Press

Happy Holiday Letterpress Card from Sycamore Street Press

A Fete for Two Letterpress Card by Mr. Boddington's Studio

Winter Wonderland Letterpress Card by Hello Lucky!

Make sure to stop by some of their shops to be dazzled by the work they do year round. This is, of course, just a smidge of what's out there in the world.

Have a missed someone's work  you love? Please share. What are your favorite letterpress artists? I'd love to find out about more.

 

Reader Discount from Chronicle Books

the reader via nationaal archief

Ok...I will admit I was a little disappointed with not winning the Chronicle Haulidays Contest but all is not lost. For the next couple of days, you lucky readers and I will have access to a big discount of 35% plus free shipping. What a deal! Here is the link.

Enjoy it...and use it well. And thank you all for commenting. It was a delight to have you all stop by.

And congrats to cakespy on her win.

Art Hero...Edward Gorey

 I've been thinking a lot about Edward Gorey this week. To me, his work invokes the feeling of a  winter wonderland. His black and white ink drawings wrap me with a nice homey eerie feeling. Perhaps it is a simple as fashion. His characters always seem so perfectly cool as the do the most dreaded things. They seem to always be outside in bleakness of nature delightfully wrapped in furs and wraps and big o' hats.  The stories make me shiver(in delight, of course) and seem to be made to read in front of the roaring fire.

Edward Gorey by Michael Romanos

This man does the Victorian  and Edwardian world proud (funny that he had never even been to England). I have been a fan of his for many, many years. Sometimes I forget what an amazing influence he has been on my life and the lives of so many artists. I'm sure he was one of the best stokers of my morbidity. To me he was the father, or perhaps grandfather of the Goth crowd. Do you think Tim Burton would  be as twisted as he is with out him? I'm not sure.

Here are a few of my favorite drawings from the over 100 books that he illustrated:

from "The Blue Aspic"

The three above from "The Gashycrumb Tinies"

from, "The Hapless Child"

from "The Doubtful Guest"

from "The Object Lesson"

from "The Fatal Lozenge"

Lovely gruesomeness...

If you are curious, my all time favorite Edward Gorey book is "The Hapless Child".  It must be one of the most weirdly depressing illustrated books I've ever read. It just keeps hitting you in the gut. You think things would improve for this cute angelic little girl. Nope... it just keeps getting worse. I suppose that is why I love it so, no mercy...

Do you have a favorite Gorey book? Which one is it...and why?


By the way, I have to admit, one of the things that got me on my Edward Gorey kick this week is this.   Are you dying for yellow dyed coyote fur coat,  bizarre stuffed bat or a nice little signed copy of a book? Then make a bid at the auction and you can own a bit of illustration history yourself.  Wouldn't that be a fun Christmas present? Ok, well...maybe not the fur...

Creating a website

Feeling a bit stretched...I've got a lot to do over the next few weeks. How about you?

 Ahhh...December. It is the crazyiest time of the year. The very, very end of the year where all big projects are to be completed and your year is to be  be summed up with a clear view of accomplishments done.  What is on my plate this year, you may ask? We'll,  I'm getting going on building my official bluehour studio illustration website. Finally, right?  Well, the huge task is at hand and I have a lot of work to do on it. Here's to hoping Adobe Creative Suite 4 will make it semi-easy... Right now I am designing a logo and trying to figure out just what I want to say about myself. Who knew that writing an "about" page would be so strange?  I must remember to keep it simple...

After that, I will be choosing what artwork I want to include in my portfolio and figuring out what artwork I need to create. It will be amazing to get this done. I can't wait.

During this time, I am trying my damnedest to stay focused and awake and not lose site of the where I'm going.  Here is a bit of music I've been listening to to keep my energy up:

Two newish songs by the fabulous Arcade Fire from the album, "The Suburbs"





I'm hoping the website will be up and finished by January 1st. Wish me luck!

The Winter Canvas

I'm excited to tell you all about my involvement with the first e-book created by scout creative press. You all probably know the fabulous Tara Gentile from the Scoutie Girl blog and The Creative Empire (the awesome forum to which I belong), well she has started creating e-books that showcase the work of different artists. Yay! And I must say,  the  e-book looks great and features all kind of DIY projects...including a fun coloring page done by none other than me.


Want to check it out? Take a peek and purchase your copy here.

Mission Street Party!

Next week, December 10th,  the Mission District in San Francisco will be going all out. Walk around and check out all the goodness my neighborhood has to offer and catch up on your holiday shopping too. Go local and and support some wonderful businesses while finding the coolest stuff at the same time. I say it's a win-win. Who's gonna join me?

More info here!

Happy December!

Yep...I'm still alive. I just came home from a over week of Thanksgiving craziness with my in-laws in Maryland with my hubby. I think we managed to squish the the most possible things seen in a relatively few days. We also visited Cape May, New Jersey(a old resort town), Atlantic City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C., I will admit, I am pretty tired and may need to take a few days to recuperate and get going again.

One of my favorite place we visited was the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia...It is a an amazing collection of Victorian medical oddities and strangeness. I highly recommend checking it out if you can.

Here is a bit about the Soap Lady at the Mütter...



Enjoy!