Stag in the Fall Woods...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope this week finds you all well and (if you're in the Northern Hemisphere) getting all cozied up for fall! The weather here in Maine has cooled significantly and the leaves are changing quite rapidly. I think this coming weekend could be the peak of leaf season and that's a bit early. However, I have my Halloween card shoot this weekend, so if the weather cooperates, that will make those shots amazing!

Speaking of new work, I just posted all of my Stag promotional photography for my Halloween release today! I have some fun vintage Halloween items (costumes, props and party games) just for the season going into Stag this week, so I created some 60's-inspired photography to get people excited for the products and for the holiday! Here are some shots and the rest are over here. Keep an eye on Stag as things drop, I really can't believe how fast things sell over there.

I have a fun project coming up and I'm putting a call out there for two women and two men! If you're local and interested, you can message me or shout out on my Stapelia page under the casting call. I will post that this week. Yep, that's right, I have 4 Lucha Libre masks and I want to shoot a 'gang' of Luchas in hideous 70's era garb + masks. (Think, the anchor team fight scene in Anchor Man below.) So if you're outgoing, funny and love polyester... give me a shout. This is going to be good...

Enough work talk, I have some great things to share this week too! First up, have you ever read the Paris Review? (Don't feel bad, neither had I before last week.) Well, it's full of great literary interviews and I stumbled upon a great one by my favorite author, Ray Bradbury, that I thought I would share with you guys. It's not a long read, but I just loved everything about it especially that bit about Mr. Electro at the end. Check it out here.

And speaking of great artists, I found the pumpkin carvings of Dan Szczepanski recently and I couldn't believe it. (Sure, we've all heard of Ray Villifane's work and you really can't top that, plus he uses real pumpkins.) Szczepanski's work is done on artificial pumpkins, which I think might make things a bit easier and crisper, but I love what he does with lighting, depth of cuts and color. Check out some of his work below, or on his Flickr feed above!

And for those delicate agriculturists out there with an herb garden or wee backyard vegetable patch to tend, there's this little gem: Farming with Dynamite. Say what?! I wish I could see those tips...

Until next time: Unpleasant dreams...

Stag in the woods & Moonrise Kingdom...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are well out there. Since I have been doing shoots pretty steadily lately, STAG needed a bit of attention so I focused back on that this week. To start, there are some great new items in the shop, so take a peek. I will also keep the Goods album on Facebook updated so you see only what's still available, not things that have sold, so feel free to follow along if you're on there. I have also ordered business cards and rubber stamps for STAG to give it a bit of polish (I designed and photographed them). Take a look. More promo materials to come, all featuring my STAG poster man John, who graciously agreed to be my business mascot. Doesn't he just look the part?

I also went to my local library's annual book sale over the weekend. Those of you who've followed Stapelia awhile know how much I love both books and this sale. It's one of the hi-lights of my summer truth be told. Well, it was busy (which is a very good thing. Pffft Kindle), but I still managed to score some great books. The top shot are books going into STAG (Art! Boy Scouting! Star gazing! Jokes!) and the bottom shot is of books I'm adding to my personal library. (Yes, I still love The Hardy Boys and isn't that Amityville Horror cover just divine?) Good stuff. So, keep an eye out if any of those books interest you. I'll be listing them very soon.

I have found the most amazing blog full of corny old Lucha Libre photography. It's great. From Parts Unknown is just an amazing site for people who love old wrestling photos, info and merchandise and for people like me, who love the photography itself as well as anything kitschy or corny. This is right down my alley. Here are just a few of the photos I'm loving right now:

As you know, I've shot some Lucha Libre stuff myself, but this makes me want to do more!!! Too bad those masks are so hard to find...

And speaking of kitsch, I have been reading Big Daddy Roth's (of rat rod, custom hot rod and Rat Fink fame from the 1960's) bio recently and what an amazing artist and mechanic he was! He literally revolutionized the hot rod field and created much of the 'beach' aesthetic that became such a part of the 60's California scene. He actually inspired a new piece I'm working on that I will reveal in a bit (I'm drawing for the first time in over a year... eeeps!). But I was looking on Ebay at some of his art decals (which are amazing) and I ran across this Rat Fink tail light for a motorcycle that is exceedingly rare and exceedingly kitsch so of course, I loved it. Can you imagine a huge rat head on the back of your bike? Wow.

And let's wrap with a movie discussion, shall we? Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom yet? I recently saw it and what a wonderful movie. I highly recommend it for several reasons; 1.) The costumes/sets/scenery are period-perfect 60's 2.) There are a ton of great forts/tents/cozy places 3.) The actors are quirky, strange and eccentric 4.) It's funny. I really loved the colors too. Just take a peek and tell me what you think. (Also, that boy scout image down there could be a Norman Rockwell painting, couldn't it? And that's just a still from the movie...)

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Sexy Shipwrecks and Scary Suitcases

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well and that if you celebrate Easter, you enjoyed the past weekend. I had a lovely day with my gaggle of nieces and nephew all dressed up in their little outfits. Some bright eggs, some ham, a ton of candy... perfection in my opinion. I snapped some nice spring shots of the day that I thought I'd share:

On a darker note, I have added yet another vintage stenciled suitcase to my friend's boutique here in town. This one is called Skeleton Tree and features a nice gold Sears Courier suitcase with a custom stencil on the front. It's signed just like a piece of art and would add a hip and haunted piece to your travel luggage if you're interested...

I have also listed the entire Kong vs. El Tigre print set in my shop! Now you too can own this hilarious series; perfect for the office, den or TV room.

And speaking of shopping, I found a great new artist I wanted to share with you! Have you heard of Dienzo? No? Well, then you're in for a treat! I found Rick Dienzo's work via a blog I follow and I fell in love. It's like The Addams Family meets Beetlejuice the cartoon. Very fun stuff. Here are just a few of the prints he sells:

Let's wrap up with a great image, shall we? This bright, colorful spring-looking piece (except the skull part), is entitled Confetti Death and it's by Typoe. Great stuff Kiddies.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Kong vs. El Tigre...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well. To start, fresh from the studio, I have some brand new work to share with you. This new mini-series entitled Kong vs. El Tigre, was inspired by lucha libre (and because I had access to a gorilla suit, you take what you can get Folks). I think it came out really well and it was a ton of fun to shoot. A big thank you goes out to my Sweetie for donning the gorilla suit and flailing all over a mattress to get just the right shot. Here are some hi-lights:

I have also started putting custom stencils on vintage luggage. I'm creating these like small works of art complete with signature because they really are one of kind. The first piece, entitled Orange Skull, is available at Lalo Boutique here in Portland. I have more neat stencils in the works and I'm happy to stencil a piece you already own, so feel free to shoot me an email if you have a laptop case, suitcase, makeup bag, etc... that needs dressing up!

Have you guys heard of the site Nileguide? It's great for finding cool places to visit when you're traveling, and they did an article on 8 Abandoned Amusement Parks Abroad "open for exploration" that people have been visiting for years to take photos. And the photos are amazing. Take a look, and visit the site for more!

Have you ever seen photography that's so timeless, it truly looks like it was just photographed yesterday? The work of Pete Turner struck me that way. I looked at his site, and it looked really contemporary, and then I noticed the dates were all in the 50's. Great eye, great color, a joy to peruse. Do yourself a favor and take a peek. Here are my favorites:

And speaking of classic, one of my favorite movies is Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (of course). I found this great still from the set that I'd never seen before. Hitchcock was apparently showing Anthony Perkins how to be foreboding even when merely standing still. Great stuff.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Big Hairy Apes...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there. A lot to share as usual. To start, I added some close-up shots to the Okoterru pieces I listed in the shop so you really see what you're getting. They're cute, they come framed and matted, and about half of them have sold, so don't delay too much longer or they'll be gone!

What else? Oh, I am venturing back into the studio this weekend to work on a new mini photo project that I think you'll find hilarious. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I'll give you a hint, it has to do with this:

And speaking of corny, vintage-inspired mayhem, have you seen the work of Jon Kelly Green yet? His work is sort of a throwback to 1960's cereal boxes and he does this fun thing on his blog where he creates characters almost daily and pits them against each other. I really don't know where he comes up with so many different ones. It's a little daily treat for me. Take a peek:

Tom Whalen is another illustrator with a bright, ingenious style that I really can't get enough of lately... He's a master of vector art, and his layout and design as well as his typographical choices are really top-knotch. I want his The Fly poster so bad I can taste it... eww. Take a look!

And I'd like to wrap up this week's post with a picture a friend posted on my Facebook wall the other day. I have no idea who took it (disclaimer), but I loved it and wanted to share!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...