Ahh, to be a kid again!

Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays as a youngster. Dressing up in crazy costumes and getting free candy... what's not to like?! It was sometimes cold and rainy, but always really fun and we stayed up really late sorting and trading our candy treasure. The ghost on a bike image is available as a garden flag produced by Toland Home and Garden and available here. The ghost juggling candy corn is still waiting to be licensed onto products.

A Mini Trip

I am off for a few days to attend my niece's wedding. Congrats to Kaley and Josh! See you soon.

Scary Cute!

I had a great time painting these Halloween cards for kids a couple of years ago published by Sunrise Greetings. Dogs and cats dressed up in classic Halloween attire works every time. I hope you are enjoying the fall season!

A Change of Season

The changing seasons are always a welcome sign to me, even if they are subtle here in San Diego. It's a time for me to collect my thoughts and reminisce about all the wonderful times I've had during that particular time of year. During this time, I always yearn for the beautiful fall trees that drop their colorful leaves one by one in the midwest where I grew up. Although we have some fall color here, it is less of a spectacle unless you head to the mountains nearby. Happy fall to you!

Bakery Sticker Tote

These stickers are part of a product I designed for Peaceable Kingdom Press. It is a sticker tote and is available online here. It comes with 2 tri-fold cards of bakery scenes that kids can add the removable stickers to. Peaceable Kingdom does some great kid's products including greeting cards, stickers, games, puzzles, growth charts, journals, etc.

Dog and Cat Fabrics

These cat and dog designs of mine will be featured on fabrics by the yard at select Walmart stores starting in October with a larger rollout to more stores in January. They are being produced by Springs Creative fabrics.

A softer side of Acrylic Paints

I painted these last week. So much of what I have been seeing in the marketplace for years now, including my own artwork, is very graphic and hard edged. I just wanted to go back to my painterly roots a bit and try out some softer looks. It was really enjoyable and I plan on doing more of it as time permits. Right now I am busy working on a kid's book and a whole bunch of kid's stickers.

Flowers, birds and butterflies

This is a new collection of patterns and such I recently finished. It all started with the tulip design I did for a greeting card project. My agent, Mosaic Licensing, showed it to one of their fabric company clients and they were interested in seeing more. It features spring flowers with birds and butterflies. I also added a bit of a modern folk styling to it. It was a really enjoyable project!

Because it's somebody's birthday somewhere

I'm posting this big birthday cake image... just because... we all have birthdays and even if yours isn't today, don't you wish you had some delicious cake to eat right now?!

Tropical Dinnerware

It is a common dream for many of us to wish we could be transported to a tropical locale for a break from reality. If this sounds like you, then I think some tropical themed dinnerware would be appropriate in your life! These designs are from a project I did a couple of years ago.

Sailing Away

This design is a couple of years young, but it's a good summer image nonetheless. I love to watch the sailboats here in San Diego Bay. They are numerous and so beautiful to watch as they quietly glide by.

Night Owl Art Print

I have created another color version of my patterned owl design. It is for sale in my Etsy shop, Pictorialboom. You can purchase it here. Owls are such unique birds. There was an owl that lived near our first house here in California and I loved hearing him "hoot hoot" at night. I'm still waiting to encounter one here in San Diego other than at the zoo.

Happy 52nd Mom and Dad!

Today is my parents' 52nd wedding anniversary! Congrats Mom and Dad. You are both amazing!

Polka Dot Bird

This is a new design I did for a recent greeting card project and it is now also available as an art print in my Etsy shop, Pictorialboom. You can find it here.

Hello Monday, Hello Monsieur Dachshund

I hope this Monday finds you doing well. Weekends certainly fly by and I am busy, busy, busy with work to do so I am not posting much lately. Hopefully this little pooch will make you smile.

Birthday Partyware!

I always enjoy designing birthday imagery. It is always so colorful and celebratory. This collection was inspired loosely by oilcloth tablecloth fabrics. These birthday images have already been licensed on greeting cards with Trader Joe's but I would love to see it utilized on some other products.

Summer Ice Cream

Who doesn't enjoy ice cream during the summertime? So many of the popsicles, push ups, etc bring back fond memories of summer days when I was just a little guy. Here in San Diego, the self serve yogurt ice cream craze is everywhere. There are probably 6 or 8 shops open within 3 miles of my house and they seem to do a good business, especially at the beaches. The multitude of toppings add to the fun of the experience too.

These designs are from some greeting cards and stickers that I did for Peaceable Kingdom Press. They are available now and can be purchased here.

New Greeting cards at Trader Joe's

New greeting cards will once again be appearing in Trader Joe's stores around the middle of August. Here are my five designs that will be available. They should be in the stores until the end of the year. Remember, they are only 99 cents! Such a deal!!

Herb plate and napkin

I am enjoying the fact that manufacturers and, in turn, customers are requesting lots of color, color, color! It makes my job a lot more enjoyable. This design featuring silhouettes of herbs is not shy when it comes to color.

Fruit Patterns

A fabric company is interested in producing my fruit designs. I put them into repeats to show them how they might look and wanted to share them with you too! They have a subtle country vibe with some crafty touches too such as the stitched linework. Id love to see them all produced in a variety of color ways.

First Dog, Bo Obama

I was approached to do a sample painting of the "first dog" Bo Obama for a possible children's book project. I wanted him to be sitting at an official looking desk with some of his favorite things around him. Not sure what the story will be as of yet and if I will get the project. There are probably several other artists doing samples for it as well.

Tote Bags

A tote bag manufacturer approached me recently to take a few of my existing designs that they liked and redesign them to fit onto their bags. It was a quick little project, but I always enjoy seeing how a design can be utilized onto different kinds of products. I am still waiting to hear whether they will be licensing them, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.