In another one of my sharing moods, I took a few of my designs and made them into wallpapers for your iphones and/or other mobile devices. Download – Share – Enjoy
{ 0 comments }
Beach Cities
My first car was a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle. It was the ride that took me and all my friends to the beach, to concerts or the occasional ill-advised road trip for distances the “bugaroo” shouldn’t have travelled. It spent more time on the side of the road than it did on it, whether from breaking down or being pulled over by the local police, guilty of driving while being young and stupid. The repairs nickel and dimed me to a point where I finally had to sell it for my own sanity, but no matter how much regret I have for that car, I still feel a deep sense of nostalgia for the car and have vowed that one day I will own another one… just in a lot better condition.
{ 0 comments }
Back when I was in my twenties, living by the beach, the second most cherished vehicle in my stable aside from my boards was my beach cruiser. On a beach cruiser, everything is casual and nothing is rushed. Yeah, we’ll get to the store, or the bar, or the beach eventually, but right now we’re just enjoying the cruise. Get your hands on this little bit of bicycling nostalgia.
{ 0 comments }
By the time you read this post, I should have successfully revamped my entire shop on Etsy and other places to reflect my new strategy. I was really in a serious quandary over this decision for a long time and then I was hit with a major epiphany.
I’ve been wanting to start offering my work at a more affordable price point, but wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it. I’ve got these large stacks of signed art prints waiting to be sold, which deserve to be sold at a certain level due to their quality. Also, to be fair to the people that have bought from me in the past, it’s wouldn’t be cool to turn around and immediately start selling the exact same thing at half price. At least I think that would suck and I don’t want to be that dude. On the other side of that, I don’t want to totally confuse everyone who visits my page on why certain things cost different prices even though they look virtually the same.
I also want to start selling only one size of prints so I can streamline my process, opting for my larger 11×14 prints and getting rid of the 8x10s and 5x7s, but what should I do with those I’ve already printed? I don’t want to let them languish dead on a vine, but I also don’t want to have too much stuff muddying up the works of my shop, again, causing confusion. These thoughts had me waffling for weeks.
While sitting in traffic one evening, dwelling on this a little a little too much, the epiphany hit me. If I’m not selling the 8x10s and 5x7s anymore, doesn’t that technically make them limited editions? They aren’t numbered because I never intended them to be, but if I do not print anymore after what I have now, they will ultimately be a closed edition print. So, I sell the small prints as limited edition and all the 11x14s will now be printed and sold at the new price point, a lucky few people getting their hands on a signed edition at the better price.
So, if you’ve been holding out for to buy some art, want to get your hands on a few of my smaller prints, NOW is the time to jump in because once these 5x7s and 8x10s are gone, I will not be printing any more. I have lowered the price a bit to make the deal a bit sweeter, and even more so if you buy one of my Combo Deals.
The 11×14 poster prints are now available at the smoking hot deal price, and you can combo those up as well. Get your ass over there and buy some stuff; if not for you, do it for the children.
Photo: Diefenbunker Museum
{ 0 comments }
It was just about 1 year ago now that I started working on the very first image that would become the start of Beach Cities on Etsy. Looking back on that piece, It’s almost painfully obvious that I’ve grown a lot as an artist in that short time, but it’s more than just skill level, and the irony of the quote on the piece (Memora Praeteritum), does not escape me. Aesthetically, my work is moving in a different direction, mostly because I can only come up with so many surf/beach metaphors before I need a complete saline flush from all the salt water.
The original idea of Beach Cities was about capturing my life growing up in Southern California, but as I move along, the work I’m putting out is also about my life now as well. I’m inspired by so many new things. The bird work started as a gift to my wife, who is a huge source of inspiration and support. It’s only fair to say that she is as much a part of my development as an artist as any other influence I’ve encountered in my life.
Cars are also a big part of my life. I work with them daily as an art director for an automotive enthusiast magazine. I’m surrounded by gear-heads and car junkies on a daily basis, everything from American muscle cars, hot rods and motorcycles to European and Asian rockets and exotics. When I was a kid, I remember having tons of posters of different cars plastered on my wall, along with the occasional sexy pin-up of Heather Thomas or Christy Brinkley. It only goes to reason that I would create similar posters with a more interesting aesthetic (the cars, not the girls… but maybe the girls too).
There are other themes I want to explore, expand my horizons a bit, and I’m grateful to my friend Adam for helping me make sense of that idea. I’d also like to thank John W. Golden for his insight on the subject. There’s a ton of people that have helped shaped Beach Cities into the shop it is and will become. I’d like to thank them all personally, but would you be ok with a blanket, “You Effing Rock, I Love You”?
{ 2 comments }
