I'd just set the course North and I'd study the charts and towards dawn I drifted towards sleep...

Dear blog, October was a pretty awesome month. I celebrated a year of living in the Pacific Northwest, and it's reflected in all of the nautical art that came out this month. I started out the month with a wonderful trip with my cousins to Hood River, OR and Mt. Hood. Hood River is a sweet little town located where the Hood River meets the mighty Columbia River. In this part of the Columbia River Gorge, the way that the winds come through make it a destination for windsurfers. Another special thing about Hood River are the amazing views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood. I fell in love with Oregon a whole lot more on this trip!

We also went way up (6000 feet!!) to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood on this trip. You may have seen Timberline Lodge in The Shining, they use exterior shots of it in the beginning. Timberline Lodge was part of the WPA between 1936 and 1938. Many of the workers on the lodge had become impoverished during the Great Depression, and the building of the lodge employed these people and gave them a living wage. One of the best stories was an artist who was found living in a piano box, surviving on beans soaked in rain water. These workers were so excited to be employed and worked hard to hand craft EVERYTHING in the lodge, from the masonry, to the hand-hewn timber for the building, all of the wooden furniture and railings, the ironwork, the hand-woven curtains and textiles, down to all of the gorgeous details in the woodwork throughout the building. I was overwhelmed with appreciation and inspiration visiting here.

I was very excited to be involved with Design Week Portland this year! I was part of the mixed media show at Grand Central Bowl, where artists are given a bowling pin and encouraged to "go crazy" with mixed media! It was a great opportunity for me to branch out from the world of two dimensional media that I'm accustomed to, and try out some new things. And yes, I created a mermaid scene.

I had the great opportunity to create a poster for the local band, Pediment, and their upcoming EP release party. The art director on this piece was on board with my lust for all things nautical, and really open to me experimenting with color scheme. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I learned a WHOLE LOT about shipping fine art this month, as my paintings travelled 3000 miles to be on display at Discovery Wines in Manhattan. I'm so proud and honored for the opportunity to show my art there and connect with an entirely new audience. In early January, I look forward to visiting friends and family in NY and having a closing reception there. Below, some of the paintings that are on display now.

Finally, a project that is non-nautical (or, I am not just a one trick pony). I've been posting progress on my sketches for this album cover for a few months, and we've gone through quite a few revisions to get the image and color scheme just right. You may wonder how I came to this particular color scheme. This album is based on a very weird time in the musician's life spent in Butte, MT. There's a toxic feeling to the town, something very sinister lies beneath. As we progressed in our sketches and color studies, we discussed using a fresh bruise as the color pallet to really get that uneasy and sinister feeling across. Below, the linoleum block inked for the back cover, featuring "Our Lady of the Mountain", a huge statue in Butte that towers over the mountains.

The finished and photoshopped "Our Lady";

The front cover, featuring the eerie oil rigs that are lit up and bright red at night.

From here, I get to move on to creating the stickers that are going in the center of the vinyl records, a new and exciting project for me. The records for this release are going to be blood red as well. November brings rain, Dia de los Muertos, an opportunity to see one of my favorite folk singers, participation in a holiday group show, and more wonderful projects. Cheers!