Sorry for the *extreme* lack of updates lately. As some of you know, I’ve been busy getting Indiepublic off the ground — it’s a fun and friendly social network for independent artists, designers, bloggers, retailers and shoppers.

Anyhoo I just wanted to say THANK YOU to Jena at Modish for featuring my Rawr prints on her site the other day. I’d been so busy I completely missed it!

BTW, Jena found me through Jaime’s brand new Vitamin D(esign) shop. It’s an awesome store carrying a mix of contemporary art, furnishings and accessories. Ubiki’s section is here, but I encourage you to stop by and take a look at the rest of her shop; I’m totally eying these bullet planters!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Melissa, who has won a free print of Rawr!

I just wanted to tell you about a little contest I’m running over at my sister site Cuteable where you can win a free Rawr print! All you have to do is leave a comment on this page telling me which print you’d like. Here’s a list of Rawr prints for you to choose from.

My friend asked for cats in my next piece, so here it is. A cat piece!

I’ve left this one untitled as everyone I’ve talked to seems to have a different take on what this picture is about.

So, I’ll leave it up to you: What’s going on in this picture?

Note: Untitled is definitely a little bit more contemporary in terms of style; I can definitely see it on a tee, not so much as a print.

Harold has never really fit in with the other owls at school because of the extra spot on his belly. He therefore prefers to spend time in the forest with his real friends, Deer, Mr. Babs and Wee Birdie.

I made this piece because I wanted something a little less composed and more quaint. At the same time it’s fundamentally part of UbikiRawr, a continuing series that touches upon themes such as belonging and being humane.

I didn’t start off with an artistic direction when I first started work on UbikiRawr, but over time my affinities started to show through: heavy doses of the retro/mod 60s and mid century modern, an occasional taste of the grandeur and perspective of art deco (see “Escort“), and finally a nice whiff of kawaii manga.

Buy “Harold” at my Etsy store!

Thanks to everyone who commented on that last post, and welcome to all my new visitors!

Above is my latest work, titled “Forest”. I’ve been wanting to do an owl+nature piece for some time, although to be honest up until the last few revisions I absolutely hated the way this looked.

I am quite happy with this one and would love to see it in a light wood frame; alas I have none so I’m going to have to go shopping tomorrow. I hope you enjoy this latest piece!

Update: Added to Etsy!

This is a piece I did tonight for a friend. It’s Gonbe eating a Wiimote. Before I do every piece I sketch it out. I thought it’d be fun to show you just how bad an artist I am without a computer.

Before:

After:

I was watching a History Channel show about the sinking of the Bismarck (WWII German battleship) which gave me the idea for the smokestacks.

The actual monster started off as a monkey with a tail. I have no idea how it grew wings.

“Escort” is a bit more perspective heavy than my other pieces; it’s inspired by Art Deco era art which focused on the grandeur of the machines and other accomplishments of man.

Update: Added to Etsy!

Most of us aren’t monsters, but we can all feel a little out of place sometimes. Monsters have always had a special place in my heart; they’re outcasts who can’t help who they are, in many ways much better than their human counterparts who choose to be bad.

This one started off as a sketch which I planned to paint, but in the end I went back to my vector roots. It’s got a fun retro feel to it, but also is kind of Japanese-monsterish at the same time. RAAaawwwrrrr!

Update: Added to Etsy!

I think I broke the internet today. Or, at least my little corner of it. I think the cable modem is defective, or maybe it’s the antenna, or the cable company, or the little internet gremlins that only come out to play while you’re working on something super-duper important. It was a miracle getting this post up at all.

Futzing around with whose-its and whats-its all day is just not my idea of a good time, although I have a pretty decent technical background.

Does anyone else have a love-hate relationship with their technology?