Flying VW Bug

The issue is back from the printers, so I'm told it's safe to post the illustration I did for sub-Terrain magazine.

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I can't wait to see it in print. Let me know what you think.

Over the weekend, a couple of my prints were auctioned off at a Pile o' Bones Roller Derby fundraiser. Besides getting some nice attention for my art, I got to listen to some good local bands and enjoy the sight of tough girls on roller skates (not blades - never even mention blades) selling shots. The hottest Roller Girl by far was Ang Xiety - MROW!

The sad news related to the above story is that in getting the two prints to donate, I discovered that they were the only two not water damaged. The portfolio in which I had them stored was victim to my leaky basement. Sad, sad day.

Success and commerce

Much has happened since my last post, but I've been plagued by a devil virus that's been decimating the Queen City. I've seen this cold linger for over a month in some unfortunate wreches. It's a dirty tease, too, occaionally waning and delivering hope of recovery only to return with a mucusy vengence. I believe I'm on the mend now, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

First exciting piece of news: I got my first postcard-generated commission! YAY! I'd almost tossed the e-mail as spam, but luckily I took the time to read it. It was from a Vancouver based literary magazine called subTerrain. They requested an illustration to accompany a short story by J. Jill Robinson. So I did one. I don't want to post it yet, as the magazine hasn't been published, but once I get the go-ahead from sub-Terrain, I'll put it up for all to see.

The other news is that the store is open!

It took longer than expected, but I've put together a Cafe Press store featuring a ton of products featuring my artwork. Please buy something. My son is hungery.

The answer is no, it's not too offensive.

"The pictures uploaded to your shop seem fine for now. If we find any material questionable at any time you will be notified."

I'm glad I asked, though. This is about the most offensive thing that I plan to merchandise, so it guess it's full steam ahead.

The other quick note of good news is that my sowing of postcards has yielded it's first harvest. I'm pretty happy to report that I'm in the process of doing an illustration for a Canadian literary publication. I'll post more details when I can.

I'm more than pretty happy. I'm really super happy. Should I use an exclamation point? Okay. I'm happy!

Is this too offensive for Cafe Press?

I'll soon find out. I've finally decided it's time to start up an online store. I've looked at some of the sites out there that offer on-demand products, and I've decided to give Cafe Press a try. They've got some good points, but under their list of prohibited content is "Inappropriate content or nudity that is not artistic in nature" and "Material that is generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by CafePress.com." I'd consider the above artistic in nature, obviously, but does Cafe Press? We'll soon see. When you sign up for the Premium Store, you have a 15 day free trial before you need to start paying. I'm using this as a window to see if my work is considered artistic in nature, or if that tag only covers beautifully lit black and white photos of attractive nudes. I'll keep you posted on how this turns out.

If you want to check out the store, it still in its in infancy (closer to a zygote than anything else) but you can find it at http://www.cafepress.com/gavindelint. If all goes well and they don't shut me down for depicting a ding-a-ling, I'll be adding more items. If they do; see you at zazzle.com.

Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing

You may know him as MODOK!

From an article on Drawn.ca, I found the March Modok Madness blog. The concept was just too enticing to pass up. MODOK is one of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's stranger ideas, and I was thrilled to have an excuse to draw him (and to do some Kirby dots!!). The good folks at the MMM blog were kind enough to post my efforts.

Doodles - Mr. Lucky and the other guy

Often before I work I like to do some doodles, just to loosen up my fingers and noggin. I've been finding I'm really digging the doodles. I've been trying to improve at certain aspects of my craft, so some of my recent self-directed projects are less like fun and more like work - frustrating, frustrating work - while the doodles are just play. Below are a couple of the recent ones.

Drink 'n' Draw

Last Friday, an old chum and fellow artiste Jefferson Little and I finally did something we've been planning to do for some time - a Drink'n'Draw. We took some paper and pencils to a local lounge, ordered a pitcher or two of beer and caught up with each other as we drew. After a time, we'd call out 'switch' and start defiling the other guy's work. Jeff and I are very different stylistically, but the stuff still works (IMO). You can see the two we finished that night here and here. Sorry about the pop-ups, but I want to keep this site as a showcase for my style and I don't want an art director to see those and think that's how I usually draw. I love them, but the point of them is to just be free to doodle without really worrying about anybody judging them - except Jeff, I guess. Anyways, if you really need some images, below are a couple of photos of Jefferson and I during a collaboration some years ago.