Hey, Everybody!

My show at Cafe Lulu, where I sold all the large (22" x 30") watercolors, motivated me to do some more in that vein. The drawings are too large to draw in the crowded vintage stores so I'm relegated to drawing from my own photos. I approach them just as I would on location with no detailed penciling, no erasing, no fussing. 

Ask! (Seattle Vintage Mall):

Future Shock (Fremont Vintage Mall):

Palmistry (Fremont Vintage Mall):

I submitted all the artwork and manuscript for my how-to book to be published by Monacelli Press. After creating my own books, where I get to do everything myself, waiting on a publisher is painful! I'm not used to relying on someone else to get stuff done and it's driven me crazy the snail's pace at which big-time publishers work. It's a miracle anything ever gets published.

Having that huge project off my list means I could get busy compiling the next sketchbook memoir (my third, for those keeping track) and I've joined Urban Sketchers on a few sketchcrawls:

Qazis (Fremont)

Tree (Queen Anne)

My friend's accordion and cameras:

And I sketched a new neighborhood (new for me), in the northwest part of Capitol Hill:

I've spent the two years since publishing This Is Then, That Was Now drawing almost exclusively in black and white for my third self-published Sketchbook Journal. It's the same size and format as my first two memoirs, but all in glorious black and white. I think it looks great, and I'm proud of the 400 or so drawings in it. Being black and white will also keep the cost down so more people will be able to get it. My goal is to run the Kickstarter near September 1st (save the date!) and keep the pledge at $25-$30 for the book. A steal! Shipping outside the US will cost more than the book, but I can't do anything about that. The other pledge tiers will be simpler than before– I won't be flying around the country drawing people's houses this time, as the book will be already finished by the time I run the Kickstarter.

If you missed my first two Kickstarter campaigns, you can watch the films here:

and here.

It'll be great to meet many of you in person at the Urban Sketchers Symposium in Chicago. Only two weeks away! Urban Sketchers has changed my life in so many great ways, and given me so much. By teaching at the symposium I hope to give just a tiny bit back.

Now, back to work!

Steve