New Update in The Shop: b-boys now in 5x7!

Until I can actually talk about the children's book I illustrated, thought I'd update The Ward-O-Matic Shop with all 7 prints of the b-boy series now available as 5"x7"s! I'd been meaning to do this long ago, but life got in the way, of course. Nice to have a less expensive option for these images, plus they look pretty cool in a smaller size.

Enjoy!

Box of Books

We found a package on our front doorstep the other day, addressed to me. It was a box, filled with several books, all the same book.

What does this mean? Hmmmm?

Willamette Weekly: This is Lents

Oh look! It's an actual post! And it's of something that I've actually drawn! The miracles never cease here on The Ward-O-Matic, I tell ya. Willamette Weekly is a weekly freebie newspaper here in Portland, OR. I did the cover for the May 27th, 2009 issue. Read article here, if you're curious. Lents is a neighborhood in the SE section of the city that's experiencing a possible re-birth. I actually went to the area to take photos of various buildings, parks, corners, etc. to get the look & feel of the neighborhood. Took the kids to Lents Park and had ice cream. It was a great day.

Got the call on Saturday, and had to turn it around by Tuesday -- yes, on Memorial Day weekend. So it goes.

Of course, this is based off those wonderful vintage large-letter postcards. What's in each letter? See below:

L - New Copper Penny: restaurant & bar on SE 92nd & Foster.
E - The new Beavers Minor League Baseball Park being proposed for Lents Park.
N - I-205: the highway split the neighborhood in two.
T - New MAX stop scheduled to open shortly.
S - Building near 92nd & Foster.

In case you're wondering how "Willamette" is pronounced, there's a saying that the locals say to any newbies: "It's Will-AM-ette, dammit!"

What you see here is the image I sent - the way they comp'ed it together looks rather nice, so i'll take some shots of the actual cover and post them here later on today.

Oh! Hey -- Andrea's got some new prints up in her Etsy shop. Check them out. Stunning images. By the way, I'm getting ready to update my Etsy with some 5x7 versions of the b-boy series. I think they look pretty stinkin' cool, but that's just me.

Coming soon: my children's book will be released on June 2nd!

Fun Greeting Cards

More vintage inspiration, this time from several cool mod cards, made by Sunshine Cards. The imprint on the back says "A Studio Card". No illustrator credit. No date, but probably late 60's-early 70's. I say "early 70's" because of the numerical code on the back suggests it might be 1971. But you can never tell with these things. These cards belong to a full set that feature the same looks and concept: fun stylized characters with a bit of real fabric or yarn, collage-like. The real bits of fabric (yarn for these two cards) are not actually on the cards themselves, but rather a photo. Adds a nice dimensionality to the cards, if you ask me. An extra bit of character to the characters.


"MINI HAPPY RETURNS!"


"But so is THE MORTGAGE, THE GROCERY BILL and the PAYMENT ON THE CAR!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY anyway!"

Har har! Always with the corny jokes.

I'll have to scan the rest of the set. The box they came in is pretty cool as well.

Kretschmer Wheat Germ Recipes

More inspiration for you guys, this time from Kretschmer Wheat Germ, circa 1971. Even though it's dated a little later from what I normally post, the illustrations found in this little cookbooklet (yes, I made that word up) are fun, colorful and lively. It's an interesting group of illustrations here because they almost serve as a bridge from the cheerful & simplistic 50's cookbook illos to the more decorative and graphic, pen & ink style of spot illustrations seen in the late-60's and 1970's. I'm no expert on this, just a simple observation.

Kodak Ektachrome booklet from 1955

How about some nice Monday morning inspiration? Yes, I thought so: here's a nifty booklet on Kodak Ektachrome film, 1955. No illustrator credit given. The few illustrations that are present are fabulous throughout, with fun linework offset by bold shapes of color. Nice use of type and lettering, too. Click on each image to go to its respective Flickr page.

Hello sun!

Made this today. It's been sunshine-y lately and so I got inspired. Hello, sun. I want more of you, please.

Thinking about selling this as a print on my Etsy. What say you, dear peoples?

Philosophy & Good Design at the Thrift Store

Thrift stores are a funny thing. Each time I walk into one, I'm both appalled and exhilarated. Appalled by the excessive junk that we dispose of on a daily basis, and exhilarated by the potential of finding something overlooked and forgotten. The exhilaration of possibility is what drives me. Wednesday, I walked into a thrift store that we haven't visited for quite some time and I stumbled upon some wonderfully forgotten paperbacks on philosophy and theory. Forgotten textbooks, discarded after a yard sale, perhaps. I wasn't actually seeking out these particular books, but the covers were what piqued my interest. Nice, simple graphic covers, with bold colors and text. I guess you could say on a philosophical level that I didn't find these books, but rather they found me. How profound.


The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner. No mention of cover designer. Simon & Schuster, ©1953, 1961.


Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science by Werner Heisenberg. Cover design by Guy Fleming. Harper & Row, NY. ©1958, this edition 1962.

This last one isn't on philosophy, but was found in the same section:


The Enduring Art of Japan by Langdon Warner. Cover design by Roy Kuhlman. Grove Press, NY. ©1952.

Not sure what was erased in that upper right-hand section—original price, perhaps? Instead of photoshopping it out, I decided to leave it be.

Wednesday Ephemera

Funny how time flies. Didn't even realize that it's been about two weeks since I've last posted something. First off, I'm happy to say that both Pasha and Diana received their Ward-O-Matic Etsy prints. We tracked down Diana after a couple of days of searching. I'm happy that they both seemed happy to receive the prints. It's a great thrill to know that your work is hanging on the walls of complete strangers' homes. I guess it's an aspect of being an artist to have your work shown and presented in a manner that's out there, and not laying around in your basement or buried deep within the confines of your hard drive. Enjoy your prints, Pasha and Diana! I had a lot of fun making them!

Okay, now onto some serious vintage ephemera. I have to come clean here: I've been holding out on you all, so to make it up to you, here's a bunch of old stuff from my collection (Click on each to view Flickr page):

Let's start of with a cool book cover for The Plague And I, by Betty MacDonald, who also wrote The Egg And I. Published in 1948. No mention of illustrator:



Next, Damascus Cook Book cover, illustrated by "Butte":



No mention of date, but probably late 40's to 50's. Inside, there are some sweet two-color illustrations:







Next: Gordon's Vodka booklet cover (probably late 50's to early 60's) illustrated by Kelly Oechsli. Kelly gets instant street cred for illustrating Muppet and Fraggle Rock books for kids later on:



More nice illos by Mr. Oechsli inside:



I love this wraparound illustration for this Carnation Easy-Does-It Cook Book. Great characters, great color:



Inside, there are tons of wonderful ink illos. Here's but a small sample:



More wraparound goodness on this Creative Cookery brochure from Swift's Premium. Again, no mention of artist:



Of course, it's much better to see it larger.

Fire Safety Suggestions brochure from the 50's:



This is a fun one from 1958. Fire Chief Hook'n'ladder fire prevention pamphlet illustrated and designed by the incredibly talented Albert Aquino:



This pamphlet opens up in the middle. Notice that you can see the slight dark silhouettes of the Fire Chief in the house, pointing to areas where a fire could start in each room. Actually, that's what they want you to see when you hold the pamphlet up to the light. Man, I love that lettering:



Here's the back to the pamphlet, with all the Fire Chief silhouettes in the house. Problem is, the white emblem on his cap makes it look like his eye, and the bill of the cap looks like his nose (in the silhouettes):



Last, but not least, we have Mothers At Work, a pamphlet on, well, mothers at work. Around the house. 1960's. Part of the MetLife Insurance pamphlet series. Oh, yeah. No mention of artist:











I have two others from this series. Some day I'll get the entire set. (Like I have the time.) The other two:



There. How's that for a bunch of old, musty ephemera for this fine Wednesday! Enjoy.

And the winners are...

Ava chose #15: Diana
Ezra chose #252: Pasha

I don't have Diana's contact info, so Commenter #15 Diana, if you're out there, please get in touch with me. You won!

Pasha, I do have your email, so expect an email from me later on today.

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners! And a BIG THANK YOU for everyone else coming out and participating in my first ever Etsy Giveaway! I think it's safe to say that I'll definitely be doing this again. It was a lot of fun for me. Hope it was the same for you.


If you liked what you saw in my Etsy shop, don't be afraid to stop by again.

New B-Boy Prints! And a Giveaway!

I'm happy to announce 7 new prints available in The Ward-O-Matic Shop on Etsy! And what's even better is the fact that all seven are from my b-boy series!




Yes! So here's the kicker: I want to celebrate this wonderous event by offering a giveaway to TWO lucky winners. To enter, leave a comment on this post by 11:59 midnight PST on Wednesday, April 1st. (This is serious - no joke!) I'll put all the numbers into my newsboy hat and have each of my kiddos pick out one number. The winners will be announced on Friday, April 3rd. Winners get a print of their choosing from my Etsy shop (with a few extra goodies).

Good luck!






B-Boy Series: Etsy
The Ward-O-Matic Shop

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. Thank you for participating in my very first Etsy Giveaway. I'm completely overwhelmed by the tremendous response! Don't forget to check back on Friday when I announce the two winners!