For Meg and Doug....

Lol Wut? hehe

scrap paper

Garage full of Aerosol

While I was at home I couldn't resist but to make something with my giant collection of spray paints that I had to leave behind when I moved, tragedy. So I found some cardboard and made this sweet print. 

Horrible news

Ahhhh the Duggars brought another child into this world! The family had their 18th child named Jordyn-Grace. All of their children names start with J's so Jordyn-Grace (is that spelling from the bible?) fits in nicely with: Joshua, 20;  John-David, 18; Jill, 17; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 12; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah, nine; Jedidiah, nine; Jason, eight; James, seven; Justin, six; Jackson, four; Johannah, three; and Jennifer...oh and Father Jim-Bob, yes Jim-Bob. Oh I hate/love the Duggars. 

funniest one yet

So I think this is the funniest/strangest request I've had to make of all the clipart I've been doing so far. It's one of those african women who stretch their lips with plates. I can't even look at this or the reference photos anymore.

As I was making this a few people walking by my cubicle stopped turned and looked just to say "um....alright" and keep walking. haha. Yea I always have the strangest things on my screen... like so:

Dood's

Emily, I promised you a doodle of you know who and his motorcycle-riding-breakaway-pant-wearing-antics. Enjoy:

And here is one i found under a pile of notes similar to it on my desk today.... Guess it was a slow day at work :) 

Two... i mean three new ones

So i made two new illustrations today at work... 

1. cubs hat (duh)

2. Frankenstein

3. Frankenstein in a cubs hat...whoa! haha 
Gangstaaa

Better than Hallmark

My mom was worried she couldn't think of an idea for our 2008 Burke family Christmas card. We Burke's always make our own and usually incorporate a lovely, unflattering and outdated family photo where usually one of us has our eyes closed. Since we are all in different parts of the country and are just plain uncooperative, I'd thought I'd make mom some choices to use to send out a fun illustrated christmas card. 

So (above) the first one is the original idea for our card. Simple, funky, neon colors....awesome. I had some free time at work so I whipped up this idea and some others for Daryl. Below I made 4 separate versions I thought mom could print out and send to different people (coolest colors to the family members we like the most, of course) or she could use the second one pictured above and have all four versions in one card. I don't know which I like the best yet, but now they're making my spray painted cards look like poo. Well at least my cards sent noxious fumes across the country... with love of course :)

and more.

Maybe you are getting sick of looking at these, but hey here's two more I did at work. Jeanne Carmen and Bella Lugosi (Hey look Gar, a vampire!). Sadly, I think these are the last of them for now, guess I'll have to find something else to occupy my time....like napping.

X-mas* cards

Yay I made Christmas cards! Here are some pics of my "Christmas Cards Version 1" I did last night and almost died from the fumes in out little back room (it was WAY too cold to do outside). Don't worry--for the family members that read this blog (on a daily basis...aka the two of you) you aren't getting these, you may be getting version 2.  

*Oh and remember how mom would yell at us when we were young if we wrote "x-mas" saying it was taking "Christ" out of Christmas, well Daryl was wrong. Back in the day X stood for Christ (or something like that I read from my book at work) ...soooo there Mom. 

Three more...

Here are two more of the illustrations I have been working on to help someone out at work for The "Gigantic Armchair Reader" book..ugh. Usually they send the reference images off to an illustrator but this time I've been doing them! I kind of enjoy doing them, so I hope they keep coming.

PS. My sister's came up to Chicago for my super sweet 23rd birthday. We had a fun time, shopping, eating, etc. Shannon got a taste of the midwest and the fresh snow we had on my birthday. Below is a pic of us just before Meg and Shan drove back to Columbus, taking a walk by the semi-frozen Lake Michigan. 

back in the day..

Does anyone else remember playing with this in preschool? I do, and now am making my digital versions.

bee beard

i wish i had a gray marker

VASCO

I finally got to do something cool at work today! I illustrated this lovely vasco de gama because their clipart was not good. Yay! (its not done yet, but you get the point)

  ______________________________

(now it's done) 

Psychedelic airports

What is it with airports having crazy psychedelic walkways between terminals? The above pics are two from Detroit and the bottom is right here in good ol' O'hare. Sorry for the blurry-ness of the iphone but I think it adds to the crazy factor of these walkways. Both walkways have very enya-like music that goes with the changing lights, maybe it's supposed to calm you down while you get to your connecting flight...or just make you feel like you're on acid as you're running on a moving sidewalk under pulsating lights? Not sure, but I like them. 

Quick update on my thanksgiving: Went to columbus to stay with Meg and Doug, great time, cooked good food, was nice and relaxing, got stuck in detroit "the 'D'" airport forever, lost my luggage, got back to chicago late at night....and woke up to lots of snow. yikessss.

T-givin'

This is the thanksgiving card I sent home to my family. It was inspired by Shannon's lack of desire to eat meat. I can't wait for tomorrow! 

whoaa

pretty much the coolest thing i've seen in a while. If only i had two chickens and some dye.

Christmas giftsssa (for dad so dont read)

So I am working on an idea to paint for my dad's christmas present. My sister has bought a cornhole/baggo/bags whatever you call it game for him for tailgating and I want to paint it for her. Instead of paintings something stupid like the "USC" logo or a football field or any number of dumb things frat boys put on their boards (usually painted poorly by a sorority girl who is an "artist" yeaa...) I want to do something that is cool and that he can use other places than just williams brice stadium. 

I think our family's coat of arms would be neat. I have a thing for family crests and think I could execute it really nicely, almost vintage tattoo-looking like, and I think it's also something that is masculine and that Dad would appreciate. Meg isnt really fond of this idea, but i sketched it out and took a pic with my phone and colored it in to get the idea above. I like the version on the left, the black and white on wood.... Meg? I dont even really know why Im blogging about this because besides meg, only 2 other people read this, oh well. (Im pretty sure Dad doesnt, but if he does...FORGET EVERYTHING YOU JUST READ) ;) 

Creepy

I found these kids while looking for clipart of badminton... it was very strange these two were in a set. So i saved them and colored them in. I kinda like them. 

Vincent

This is awesome. How many suits does he  own and when can I run into Vincent downtown!?

crafty

I ventured out to Wicker park this weekend to a DIY trunk show to see some cool crafts and art from the locals. Usually I either really like these things and get ideas for projects from them, or I get mad that people are selling crap that I can make and are making money off of it. Luckily most of the booths were really neat, I bought a few post cards from RarRarpress. (above) They were really funny sayings and images. It reminded me of something Mom or Grandma would have liked to gone to....but Mom probably would not have liked the post cards, haha.

Mailbox, pencil, open mailbox!

So you don't have to be a type nerd to appreciate this, but you will even more if you are one.

Someone sent me this at work today.

So funny! 

JWilkesBooth rides the Metra?

Every day I take the metra train to work to the suburbs, and every day this little hip man rides too. I always thought he was interesting looking, rides a bike, tweed coat complete with elbow patches, usually a large scarf, a 50's style hat, retro glasses, and of course his mustache curled on each ends. It wasn't until  yesterday when I was searching for images of John Wilkes Booth (typical work task) that I realized this little hipster man must be JWB reincarnated, except complete with a sweet bike and glasses. I have drawn him above and compared him with JWB to the left. I am in no way exaggerating or creating a characature of this little man, he really looks that strange. 

Oh and I also thought I had found a new "hobby" to pass time at work (who else does this?) and started reading books on google reader...till i found out they take out pages so you can't read the whole thing. Blast! 

also...

Found this today, not sure if I am just really immature but it was hilarious to me that they kept talking about this lost "tool bag". 

Enjoy

Eli Cash's taste

Doesn't this look like something that would hang on the walls of Eli Cash's apartment? Found it while searching for "OK Corral fight" 

The start of something...

 I got a great idea for a new print/painting today at work, I've always liked the diagrams of meet cuts, and now I'm going to do something with it. You'll appreciate this one Shannon, seriously. This is just my idea for the project I did on the computer for right now to get the point across.

FAIL

So, not to talk bad about certain people on here...but I just had to share this photo with the 4 followers of this blog. I came across this photo of some people I know through friends, and had to post it. Please notice all the powder jugs on the cupboards....really? 

TOOLS.

Kim Jong-ILL

Right now at work I am searching for artwork to be used in a book of completely useless facts. ha...seriously though there's no reason why you ever need to know these facts.

So today, I was searching for artwork for an article about crazy leaders and came across these interesting facts about Kim Jong-il:

According to this book he claims:

-To have been born on a sacred Korean Mountaintop, with his arrival eliciting thunder, lightening, and a DOUBLE rainbow.

-He has written six operas in two years

-The first time he golfed he made 11 hole-in-ones

-He also kidnapped a legendary South Korean film director and his wife and kept them imprisoned for four years until they agreed to make movies for him....except that one really happened.

.....WHAT A CRAZIE!

(just some of the lovely stuff I find at work)

USELESS USEless

I am working on a series of prints that are playing with type and letters and fun stuff... so answer me this:

What is Useless? 

(animals, objects, people, etc.)

I am playing with the word "useless" and USE LESS....so leave me some feedback. 

Awesomeness of the day:

Meg and Doug's visit ...

I finally made it to the Art Institute Museum here downtown. Meg and Doug came for the weekend and I thought they would both appreciate the museum, so we figured what better time to be in a warm museum when it's 30 and rainy/snowy. We saw amazing works, so many famous recognizable pieces, it was especially cool for me to see having taken so many art history classes, to see the real works seemed so neat. Above are a few of the pics I took with my phone, we saw: Pollock, De Kooning, O'Keefe, Cassatt, Davis, "American Gothic" Lichtenstein!!, and so much more. Unfortunately the "modern" wing was closed, but guess that just means we will have to go back when Shannon visits. Dr. Collins would be proud.

About 20 minutes into our museum trip I found the room I had wanted to find.... Seurat's "A sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte". For anyone who has seen Ferris Bueller, you  know they come to the museum and pose with statues, hold hands with a chain of students, and of course Cameron sits down and stares into this painting. The scene shows him starring, and then zooms in close, about 5 times until all you see is the tiny dots used to make up the image of the boy's face, (Seurat was the first to use pointilism), but it's my favorite scene from my favorite movie, so I was pretty excited to sit and contemplate my life just as Cameron does before he decides to "let his monkey off the leash"? perhaps. :) (Shannon will understand this)

Awesome.

Oh and the highlight of this trip was seeing someone famous! As we were waiting in the cold to get into the museum on the steps, Doug started to shake as he announced that Aziz Ansari was ahead of us in line. Ok this is a celebrity to us, maybe not to anyone else. He is one of the guys from "Human Giant" and has also been on "Flight of the Concords". He was there with his buddy from Best week ever, who later gave me a dirty look when I didn't see him and was trying to sneak a picture of Aziz on my phone, so I stopped and could only get this picture above of Aziz texting on a bench in the Asian art room. It's actually a pretty neat/sad picture, you just can't tell who it is, but I promise you it is:  

(Aziz is the one in the middle)

We had a good time at the museum, and I will definately be back...that is unless they find out that I am not a student at USC like I said I was to get the "student" price...hehe. The rest of the weekend was fun, we ate at great restaurants, went to fun bars, and even saw a bit of snow! 

Oh-Bama

Just a little photo I took on my way to work the day after the election. Many of the store fronts on the bus route were putting the front page of the paper up in their windows. It was obviously all everyone could talk about at work and many people sported their Obama Tees and buttons. It was pretty cool to say I was only a few miles from Grant park where the whole shindig went down. Unfortunately I am always exhausted and get home late, so making it to grant park...or even making it back before sunrise, was out of the question. I wished I could have gone, but it still felt pretty special to just be in the same city, and be around all the people now that are  so happy with how the election turned out. Luckily I can stay in this great city/country because if Palin was our VP I'd be sending my resume's to canada. Luckily, I don't have to.

awesome

please go to this. it's hilarious, even if you aren't a big nerd like me..

Halloween in Chi-Town

Halloween: Chicago really should be known for celebrating it like crazy. We went out to the bars and there wasn't one person not dressed up or one bar that was not packed. We had a good time, I was an 80's aerobic person, not biggest loser like i had planned, and my roommate was a Lion. We met up with our friend Mallory was a troll. The last picture is the guy i ran into in the bar who was coincidentally dressed as my workout partner. It felt like a movie, a really cute nice guy dressed the same as me--that our minds were on the same brainwave...and of course the girls he was around really didn't like me talking to him, haha. So that was the end of that fantasy meeting. Oh well.