Prints on Wood Blog

During a recent trip to Disneyland, I noticed a long line building up at a caricature kiosk. Have you ever wanted to see yourself as a caricature drawing but didn’t want to dish out the dough it takes to get a good one? After scouring the app store I stumbled upon one that can give you a personalized caricature image (and even a moving caricature graphic) and its completely (unlike any Disney product, ever) free!

MomentCam, (the name needs a little work) offers its users a tailored caricature portrayal in both still and moving forms and can be saved right to your phone, tablet or even uploaded onto many social media platforms (including an “Other” option which allows those underground apps to take part in the fun). Choose from a range of face, hair, expressions and accessories along with an array of style amendments (black & white, ink, vintage, etc.) in addition to the traditional sketched cartoon you!

Emoticon "moving" image

The app offers its users three categories to select from on its main page: Comics, Emoticons and your MomentCam Portfolio.

MomentCam main page

To start, users chose either the Comics (still images) or Emoticons (moving images) selection. You're then able to take a picture of yourself or find a pre-made caricature and then insert your face afterwards. I discovered that finding an image that you are keen of prior to taking your snapshot is more effective than trying to find an image based on your facial expression.

Comics section. Choose your still theme here.

Emoticons section. Choose your moving theme here.

After developing a healthy collection of caricatures, you can view both your Comic and Emoticon selves in your Portfolio:

Your portfolio consists of images saved from both categories

Given the enormity of the caricatures in the Comics category, navigating your way to a desired image is difficult. Once you do find one however, you can unquestionably have some fun with this app. You first choose a theme, such as a broad one like Love, Professions or Sports. Or you could go the niche route and search for a sub-theme within gallaries like “Snow Goddess” or “Tang Dynasty”. We couldn’t make this up. After 5 full minutes of scrolling I literally couldn’t reach the end. Good news for some users who appreciate caricatures that revolve around “Autumn Leaves” or something called "Manga" (who the hell knows?). All these categories do is make the app more sluggish.

Once you finally settle on an image, creativity ensues. Dictate your facial structure, hair type on both face and head, and any type of accessory like hats or glasses.

"Face Edit" screen in Comics

Editing screen in Emoticon section

Pumpin' iron!

Conversely, the good thing about the apps size is that no matter how odd the caricature you wish to insert yourself, rest assured that there is an image for it. One aggravation of mine: If you're bald, the app turns you into alien-head man.

To ensure a great fit, the app lets you customize the angle that your face is portrayed with a simple graphic:

The Emoticons category is a little different from the Comics section, but in a good way. The size is much more manageable and the categories are what most people would actually look for. Instead of thousands of themes, there are about 400. Good ones, too. Instead of hundreds of caricatures for “I Love Lucy”, we find approximately 40-50 listed under Angry or Happy for those wanting to find quick, standard moving images. For those wanting to get extreme with their caricature graphics, however, there are still categories of varying depth to light up your brain waves.

Speaking of waves, I thought I might see how this caricature of me riding one would look printed on wood!

Shreddin' the gnar, brah!

 After saving the image to my iPhone, then uploading it to Prints on Wood, it turned out not too bad!   I'm not sure if it could pass for a Christmas present to my Mom, but is definitely worthy of a nice "for no reason at all" gift she always cherishes.

All in all, MomentCam is an app meant for those wanting the most assorted and unusual image-rendering app out there. While satisfyingly diverse, it approaches the boundary of becoming too diverse because, other than the app freezing a few times during testing (restarting the process sucks!) it can become dizzying. Caricatures are meant to be simple and funny and I’d rather them just stay that way.  With all that in mind I give this app a rating of 3.

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For more information on MomentCam please visit: http://www.momentcamofficial.com/

Walking up to a signed HPM at Shepard Fairey's opening of "50 Shades of Black", price book in hand, I hear a familiar voice ask, "Where did you get that?"  Everything clicks the moment I look up, but I still expected him to belch out "Yo! B**CH!"

I don't know much about Aaron Paul, other then we seem to share an affection for similar artists.  Last weekend he walked into another Prints on Wood featured artist solo gallery show called "The Younger" by Lola.

Lola's solo show "The Younger" at 80Fourty gallery

Aaron compared his new found love for Lola's work equal to that of Mark Ryden. His Instagram post went on to say "...she is now becoming one of my favorite artists to follow. Not only is the world she paints in beautiful and unbelievably poetic, like a childlike dream, she herself is incredibly sweet and kind. This piece is called "Book Soup" and I could stare at it for hours."

Lola and Aaron Paul in front of "Book Soup"

From what we heard, he hung out for a couple of hours just chatting and being... normal.  Why does it feel so oddly unique when a famous person acts like.. I don't know.. a regular person?  Probably because it is so unusual.  He did do something even more humbling and incredibly sincere, he bowed to Lola in a show of respect for her talent.  If I wasn't a huge fan before, I am with out a doubt one now!

But we actually were huge fans before, caught up in the Breaking Bad obsession we fashioned our sustainability page with suttle references to the show.

What better way to brag about the 200 solar panels on our roof?

If you find yourself as taken with the piece as Aaron is, Lola has released an edition of twenty signed and numbered limited edition fine art wood print of "Book Soup", 18x24, $300.

Close up of "Book Soup" by Lola

The show was a work two years in the making, beginning after Lola's move to Bristol, England.  Finally commencing after a long move back to LA earlier this year.  A celebration of patience and beauty each piece is a sight to behold.

Although the show is now closed, a few originals are still available.  For more information about available pieces or about Lola please visit: http://www.lolafineart.com/

This week we got to talking to Venezuelan born artist and designer Christina Veit, also known as Friztin, who is known for her eye catching patterns and textiles. We talked about her artistic beginnings in Venezuela, her inspirations, and why she plans on one day starting her own line of home products.

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POW: First, tell us a little bit more about yourself and your artistic beginnings.

Friztin: My name is Christina Veit. I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, to Venezuelan and German parents. I grew up in a mid-century modern house. It had a large yard and lots of trees, in which I used to build several tree houses over the years, of course!

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember, and spent countless hours playing with glue, paper clips, scissors, paint, markers and lots of molding clay. As a child, my parents signed me up for classes such as drawing, ceramics, music and even some ballet, though I must admit that did not last long, as I am not much of a dancer.

There are quite a few artists and musicians in my family. They say it runs in our veins, but I really believe that practice makes perfect. When I was little, one of my aunts noticed my interest in the arts. She taught me how to draw proportionally using a grid and negative space, old school lettering techniques, as well as how to read music and use the sewing machine. For my eleventh birthday, my parents got me a small 110 camera, with which I began to experiment with photography.

In school, I was always asked to help teachers out with murals, bulletin boards, and crafty event decorations. Art class was my favorite, as well as technical drawing in high school. My art teacher advised me to pursue a career in graphic design, which at the time I had never even heard of.

I followed her advice and enrolled in art school with the idea of becoming a graphic designer. Right after classes started, I discovered illustration and decided to pursue it as a career instead; I was captivated by the level of detail I saw in other students’ artwork, displayed at the school's gallery. I felt this career would be more challenging and fulfilling for me than graphic design; plus you would also be qualified to work as a graphic designer after graduating. That's exactly what happened: I was hired as a designer at various agencies in Caracas and the USA over the first years. This is how I gained knowledge and experience in the print and web fields.

There came a turning point in my career when I landed a big illustration project, and ever since then, I have been working mainly as an illustrator, as well as designing and doing freelance art/creative direction for web and print projects.

Bunny with Chicks by Friztin

POW: I recently found some of your designs on Spoonflower. I love the mixture of patterns that you've been able to conjure up. How do you go about creating them?

Friztin: Thank you! I love pattern. I find it everywhere I look, and it can be overwhelming. I want to capture it all! Everything you see has structure and composition, and I have learned to recognize and appreciate this, and translate it into graphics.

When designing, sometimes I develop the idea on paper first. Most of the time, I actually create a mental image, or formulate the general idea in my head. That is the tricky part. Then, I put the design together in digital form, with either Illustrator or Photoshop. Sometimes the result is completely different from what I originally intended to create, but I keep the ideas flowing (unless it is custom work for a client, in which case I always make sure to cater to their needs and expectations).

Other times, while experimenting with colors and shapes, I spontaneously come up with a few completely different design ideas, or new elements that I like, so I save them to incorporate them into new projects later on.

POW: What are your biggest inspirations, both artistic and personal?

Friztin: Inspiration comes to me in all forms: I am inspired by reflections and shadows, typography, architecture, music, people, nature, windows, views, the outdoors, food and smells. I enjoy staring at textured surfaces (like popcorn ceilings, vegetation, rocks, wood, clouds, etc.), and finding figures in them.

The past is an inspiration for me: I admire the boldness, minimalism and perfection of retro-German design, Bauhaus, modernism, mid-century style, old cartoons and vintage Scandinavian styles. At the same time, I would say the future also inspires me: creating new concepts, planning a design, implementing it, and then seeing the finished product. But most of all, the sense of achievement is what drives me, both personally and professionally.

Forest Wood by Friztin

POW: Besides illustration, you also practice design and photography. With the ability to work with such a wide range of mediums, which would you say is your favorite and why?

Friztin: Illustration is definitely my favorite, even though I worked exclusively as a web and graphic designer for about ten years straight.

Photography was one of my favorite classes in art school. I was able to hide in the lab and develop my own negatives and photos, taken with my father's old 35 mm camera. I enjoy photography in my spare time, and oftentimes, I travel with my camera bag and tripod to capture my view of the world in images.

These are not the only mediums I play with, though; I like working with different materials and I always try my best to perfect the techniques I learn, so I can experiment with them. Lately, I have been working collaboratively with some artist friends, with materials such as concrete, house plants and moss. I have also worked with sugar paste and fondant to make custom cakes.

A few years into my career, I decided to take a break from design and started working for my sister-in-law at her gourmet chocolate shop. While there, I had the opportunity to handcraft yummy artisan chocolates, but also helped with package design, store displays, product presentation and even had my artwork printed on a chocolate bonbon collection, with vegetable based inks. Design kept calling for me, so I began working for clients again after about six months.

Bike Red by Friztin

POW: Where do you see yourself as an artist in 10 years?

Friztin: I would like to have my own line of quality and functional home products, and to collaborate with an awesome team in creating original designs for a discerning consumer. I want to further develop my brand and identity, and license my artwork in order to break into the growing lifestyle market. I am still exploring a lot of different areas, and may expand into one or more of these in the future.

POW: I stumbled upon your Facebook and saw that you also have your illustrations transposed onto items such as coffee mugs and bed sheets. Which print would you say is the most popular in your home decor line?

Friztin: I would say the most popular are "winter forest", my "bikes" (also available at POW), and the latest retro-style patterns I have created, incorporating modern, simple design, minimalism and clean geometric lines.

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For more information on Friztin, please visit: http://friztin.com/

If you’re at all obsessed with fashion like I am, then look no further than this week’s spotlight on fashion illustrator and blogger, Katie Ryan, aka Queenikathleeni. Katie had been on the look out for a new medium in which to showcase her talent and recently began working with us to create some amazing fashion illustrations on wood. We got to know a lot about her during our time working together.

 Katie began her artistic endeavors at a very young age and eventually grew to like the craft so much throughout both her high school and college careers, that she then decided to pursue a career in art full-time. As with many fashion illustrators, Katie began drawing a lot of her inspiration by illustrating fashion bloggers’ outfits and stylish looks. She then found inspiration from textiles and became increasingly interested in them by mixing patterns and pieces she had seen in different places and turning them into interesting combinations.

Print on Wood by Katie Ryan

Besides doing fashion illustrations, Katie also paints, blogs, and creates custom greeting cards, to name a few projects. In order to create her exquisitely detailed work, she primarily uses Prismacolor ink and pencils for her fashion illustration that she says she loves because it allows her to get her hands dirty and blend colors to get the perfect shade. Katie’s work is heavily influenced by fashion, which she states is the most artistic expression of ones self. She enjoys the fact that even if you can’t own a fashion piece in real life, she has the ability of recreating the look into a drawing.

Go Get It Greeting Card by Katie Ryan

As with any career, there will often be obstacles. For Katie, it would have to be the fact that many people take advantage of her skills and her friendliness. She stresses the importance of working only with people that you trust with your work, and who respect your artistic work in return. We couldn’t agree more.

 As far as any encouraging words of wisdom for fellow artists and bloggers alike, Katie is extremely adamant about two things: Consistency and originality. Because there are so many fashion bloggers and artists out there, she finds it’s very important to not only find your niche as an artist, but also to just get out there and create, create, create. Above all else, never give up when things are not going well. All hail the queen!

For more information on Katie Ryan, please visit http://queenikathleeni.com/

One of the best surprises at Baby Tattooville this year was not the bag full of cool art collectables or watching the art jam take on a life of its own, don't get me wrong, those were high points of the weekend!  But...the most unexpected, wonderful piece was getting a chance to sit down with the one and only Joe Sorren only to find out he is more personable and genuine then I could have ever imagined.  He felt more like a long lost friend then an artist we have been collecting for over 10 years.  In fact he was the first art print we bought and still love today.  And now to  be releasing a series of Sorren prints on wood!  It's an honor all its own.  If you have not heard of Sorren or have been wondering what he has been up to the last few years, read on!

POW: When did your formal artistic career begin? Did you always know you wanted to be an artist?

Joe: I couldn't help but draw, all day in class, after school. Didn't really consider a career until college. Felt more like a pipe dream than a career. Still does. I guess that's part of the appeal.

Because of Toast by Joe Sorren

POW: We are beyond excited to be working with you on the release of your new piece, “Coronation” and the mini-portfolio collection of four classic prints which include, Because of Toast, If In This Fire, The Portrait of Roger Meanie, and The Mushroom Hunter. From so many amazing art pieces to choose from, how did you narrow it down to those four?

Joe: Thanks guys, I am beyond stoked to be working with you all as well! After we discussed the possibility of a recreated mini-portfolio, I started looking through my past pieces. I wanted to show 4 pieces that felt like they both belong together, but where each had its own unique voice within the collection, you know?

Coronation by Joe Sorren

POW: I was looking through your Facebook the other day and stumbled upon an animated video made by your son of George Harrison’s “What is Life”.  I found the video incredibly beautiful.  How does it feel to see your son follow in your foot steps of artistic expression?  Does your son share the same passion to create art, even if in his own medium, as you do?

Joe: He is definitely following his own footsteps. I am constantly bowled over by the simplicity and grace he naturally displays in his work as well as his life. Inspiring.

POW: It was beyond an honor to meet you in person at Baby Tattooville earlier this month where you were joined alongside some of our favorite artists, including Jeff Soto, Bob Dobb, Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez and Tara McPherson.  It was quite a memorable experience in so many different ways.  It will probably be hard to pick one, but did you have a favorite moment from that weekend?

Joe: I happened to wake up at around 5 am or so on the first morning and was curious if anyone was painting on the shared piece. Being that the piece was not so large, and there were to be 14 artists contributing, I thought it might be my best chance to work on it a bit. So I went down there and only found KMNDZ working on it. I jumped in and we worked together a bit, followed shortly by Brom. Having the chance to work with those amazing painters in the quiet of morning was a special treat to be sure.

The Mushroom Hunter by Joe Sorren

POW: One thing I love about your art is the fact that it is almost impossible to find any harsh lines in your work. Your brush strokes make everything seem so light, almost airy. With that being said, what are some of your biggest artistic inspirations? Are there any artists from both past and present that you admire?

Joe: Sure! I love the usual gang of idiots over at Mad Magazine. Growing up staring at Al Jaffee's line work, Don Martin's incredible characters and sick sense of humor. Sergio...

Within the art world, I love Twombly; the manic raw nature in his work. The impressionists are a little like Dylan to me. I keep rediscovering them and learning new things from them over the years. I went through a Dutch period not long ago, who doesn't I guess. Painting has so much more to express, and so many incredible ways in which to express, it is an endless fascination for me.

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For more information on Joe Sorren, please visit:  www.joesorrenlivestream.com/

Where is the North Pole exactly? Does Santa really live there? You may be one of those unbelievers but TRUST ME Santa is alive and well!  I have proof, I was actually there!!  Maybe next time I go there you can join me..

Which leads me to Green Screen, our latest app review.  Since its already mid November and the Christmas songs have been playing in the mall for two weeks, might as well quick fitting the inevitable and join in the Holiday spirit.

The landing page for the app is where you can choose your top image and your background image. I went ahead and used the camera feature of the homepage to take a picture of myself and used an image of the north pole I had found on Google.

Once you have your images selected, you're taken to the work screen where you can then manipulate your images and work with pan/zoom, move top, and erase/unerase [bottom icons]. The top icons is where you can find the undo/redo, replace (where you can choose to change your top and bottom images as needed), green screen sensitivity and eraser. The green screen icon basically allows you to change the sensitivity of the green screen and will let you play around with different transparency levels for both of your images.

The final purple icon is the eraser option which lets you manipulate both the size and opacity of the brush.

You'll want to make sure you really zoom into your image as much as possible and play around with the different brush sizes and opacities when it comes to hard to reach areas and blending harsh edges.

Once you're satisfied with your image you can then hit the red icon at the upper left hand corner to save your image, amongst other options.

Overall, I liked this app. I especially liked the minimalist user interface and the fact that it had great tactile workability. The only thing I would complain about with regards to this app is its price, which I thought was too steep for an app that doesn't have more options for customization other than just erasing, and for that reason I give it a wood rating of 3.

So grab the app and join me at the North Pole this Christmas season!

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For more information on Green Screen please visit: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/green-screen-studio/

A few weeks ago we posted an image on IG and Facebook by Martin Donnelly which seemed to strike a cord with many of you.  It was a print that featured characters from a popular kids show "Adventure Time" for an exhibit at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles.  After weeks of persuading, Martin agreed to release a special version of the print on Prints on Wood!  Thank you Martin!!

Before the print release on Monday, we grabbed a few minutes from Martin Donnelly to find out more behind his alter egos Mezzetty and Known As UnKnown.   His work explores the world of cinema, TV, music, and all things pop culture. We got some insight into his favorite shows, his artistic obstacles and how his upbringing in the UK shaped his art.

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Casualties of War, the Great Mushroom War by Martin Donnelly

POW: I just love your pop culture driven art! Particularly the one of Leon and Mathilda from “The Professional”, as it’s known here in the U.S. What is it about pop culture that draw you in artistically?

Martin: I think it’s that there is such a wealth of interesting characters to choose from. I can quite literally close my eyes, put my hand in the box, pull out any name from any film or TV show and there will always be something unique to capture. It can be challenging, but always rewarding.

Sample by Mezzetty

POW: Besides illustrative work, you also photograph under the name “Mezzetty”. The photographs I found on your site are so gorgeous and seductive. What was your main focus when taking these images?

Martin: I fall in and out of love with photography; I think it’s just about not having the time to do everything I want. I have rediscovered it recently working on a show about traditional tattoos and the people that wear or create them. http://www.letitbleedshow.com.

I find it difficult to explain my photographic work. Sometimes it’s as simple as capturing a certain kind of ‘nothingness’ in individuals. There is something beautiful about just letting the model drift off into their only little world before I begin to shoot. The layering elements add a level of dreamy voyeurism. Apparently it’s my signature look! I’m starting to play around with light a lot more, taking a few more risks. It’s seems to be working so far.

Leon & Mathilda by Known as Unknown

POW: It says on your website that you’ve been in the creative field for over 15 years. What has been the most challenging period for you as an artist in all of that time?

Martin: I find it challenging to juggle so many disciplines. I change roles on a daily bases (in my day job) anything from art directing, script writing, ad concepting, animation, photography, project managing or just good old fashioned graphic design. Its can be hard to continually flick the switch, that’s why it’s great to have something that I can control (Known as Unknown & Mezzetty) without the added pressure of pleasing the bill payers!

POW: Something I thought was hilarious was your “About” section on your Tumblr where you describe that your want your tombstone to one day read “Here lies Martin Donnelly. He lived and loved, but never got around to watching The Wire or Breaking Bad, even though everybody he knew had watched it and said he would love it.” I was in tears because it’s exactly how I feel! Would you say you have an all time favorite film or show that continues to inspire your work?

Martin: I do need to up date that… I have managed to watch all of Breaking Bad, finally, and yes I did love it (as predicted) but The Wire is another challenge for another day. There isn’t really one specific show that inspires me, It’s more like hundred. Anything from Spaced, Ulysses, Thunder Cats, Carnival, Game of Thrones, True Detectives, The IT Crowd, Father Ted… The list is endless… and films I could talk all day about.

Jules and Vincent by Martin Donnelly

POW: Living in the UK is similar but at the same time vastly different then living in the US.  Was there a particular event or time during your childhood and upbringing in England that shaped your creative work? Maybe a certain moment where you knew you wanted to make creating art a career?

Martin: I loved comic books when I was young. Here we had (have) a comic called 2000AD. It was pretty unconventional, not really about your standard good guys fighting the good fight. They were all anti heroes fighting for their own ideals. I quite liked that darker approach, even as child.  The vision of the future was dirty, chaotic and confused. The whole thing was like the tales from the Mos Eisley bar, I could totally see each character frequenting that place (apart fro Judge Dredd, he would enforce it with the iron fist of the law). I started drawing all the characters; ABC warriors, Judge Death and Strontium Dog and the rest is history.

POW: Where do you see yourself creatively in the next 15 years?

Martin: I don’t know what I’m doing next week let alone in the next decade. More of the same I hope.

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For more information on Martin Donnelly, please visit http://known-as-unknown.tumblr.com/

It would be hard to find a person that has not heard of ComicCon, well at least in Southern California.  You know, that little convention in San Diego with an attendance of over 130,000 people.  Well, it wasn't always that popular, just a few years ago it was a relatively modest comic book and science fiction/fantasy convention.   It was also a place were up and coming, along with established pop artists could show and sell their latest work.

In recent years, because of the rising booth space costs and the expense, not to mention hassle, of attending ComicCon, many artists and vendors began to look for other options.  Two of those vendors being October Toys (Ayleen Gaspar) and 3D Retro (Ben Goretsky) who happen to be the co-producers of.....yep you guessed it, DesignerCon.

Considering they are both manufactures of collectable toys, it made sense that DesignerCon initially focused on collectable toys and figures.  Within a few years, pop art found its way in through a natural crossover as so many contemporary artists release both toys and prints interchangeably.

We found out about DesignerCon or more commonly know as "DCon" just after the 2013 convention.  After a few enthusiastic reviews, we couldn't wait for DCon 2014!   With months of planning, booth building, print making behind us, on Friday, November 7th we were ready for DCon!

Setting up the booth:  Here is where the fun begins!  We roll into DCon and see Jeff Soto setting up his booth right behind us and To Die For setting up on the other side, we could not have asked for a more perfect combination of neighbors....umm well uhh.. asking helps too. (thanks Ayleen and Ben!)  Not sure if Soto will be as excited to be our neighbor next year after he pulled out the longest sliver I have ever seen.

Sorry Jeff, that looks like it hurt, good thing it wasn't your drawing hand.

Immediately we begin uncrating and setting up the booth walls, hanging the art and in no time the booth begins to take shape.  Before we finish Luke Chueh swings by, after fighting a few hours of Friday night LA traffic to sign his Boba prints and the marquee print.

I think he was just as excited as we were about the release the next day.

Before we go, Jason Limon finishes signing the Catcreeper figures and Berrytop Swirlpapa.  He is jumping back and forth from setting up his booth to taking care of the print release with our booth.   That's after a 20 hour drive from Texas the day before!  Your amazing Jason!

As they begin to kick everyone out of the hall we are the last to leave, but at long last, the booth is done!

DAY 1: D-Day is here and we are ready...well almost!  Before the show opens Chris Ryniak stops by to sign the official DCon prints, with not much sleep, I won't mention how many times we lost count signing the prints.  My brain definitely needs a few hours to warm up when computing large math problems like 12 plus 1.

As if right on cue, in comes the beautiful Tara McPherson ready to sign her release of Umibozu Lake.  A little Starbucks and a silver sharpie is all she needs to get through 100 prints in no time flat!

Once those are done, we are ready to roll!  Oh wait, where's Jeff Soto??  His booth is right behind us... we steal him over for a few minutes to sign his prints.

Nathan Ota comes by and creates the perfect photo opp with Jeff and the big marquee prints.

Then Nathan grabs a chair and begins to draw on the back side of each print in his DCon release of Early Bird.

It was amazing to see first hand his immense talent and desire to give each print a special touch, making each one a sort of original.

Boba! Boba! Boba!  For the first hour of the show it was the most used word and for about two hours, Luke was busy signing and doodling on the back of the prints.

Just like Nathan, Luke Chueh took his time to draw a unique sketch for each fan who patiently waited in an line that stretched on for over an hour.

Luke was busy signing prints for over two hours until he had to run off to another booth that was releasing his vinyl toy. Around that time Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez was there to pick up where Luke left off.  Johnny's print "Nothing New Under the Sun" was his first release with us, we were pumped to premier it at DCon.

Maybe we just got lucky but every artist we worked with at DCon was gracious, down to earth and most of all generous with the time they spent with each fan that came to visit them at the booth.

In between signings we broke away from the booth to walk around the convention, do a bit of shopping ourselves and meet some of the other vendors.

One of the first stops was at one of our favorite artist's booth, Jason Limon.  His hand made figures were incredible, we couldn't leave with out taking home one of the strange creatures.

This ^^^ lucky fellow has a new forever home with us.

But our home was not complete with out a few other peculiar looking creators to keep him company. 

The only problem is you can't take just one, you know.. they get lonely.  Yep, we have a pair, not identical twins, fraternal, they have the same momma, Circus Posterus.

By the time we got back to our booth To Die For was hosting an artist signing with Craola and the line was overflowing down the isle.  Afterwards he stopped by our booth to sign his marquee print, "Puppets Pathos“.

Always incredibly friendly and polite, it was great catching up with Craola before he had to leave to another event that evening.  Which also marked the end of Day One!  And an unbelievably great day at that!

DAY 2:  One of the best part of Sunday was opening the convention at 10 am, but the next best thing was opening with Jason Limon signing at the booth.

The release of our first dimensional art piece, The Catcreeper, was the brain child of Jason.  The first sketch was drawn on this plane ride home after his first visit to Prints on Wood.

We love to experiment with new ideas and materials so we jumped at the opportunity to try something new.

Speaking of new, Jeff Soto's marquee piece, The Soto Fish, was a collaborative print/original piece where we alternated printing and painting on the medium including a bit of hand laid gold leaf on the tooth of the "fish".

This was a test run for a smaller edition of prints coming soon in 2015.

For DCon, Jeff re-released "The Guitarist Seeker" in a limited edition larger print, twice the size as the original 6x6 release.  

Probably the most sought after print at our booth was the little Soto Fish prints that were given away for a IG post and mailing list sign up.  By Sunday afternoon over 400 Soto Fish prints had swam into the arms of happy DCon attendees and most of them signed by the artist himself.

Rounding out the day, Tara McPerson came back to a line of fans eager to meet her.

Her marquee piece "Supernova II" was a personal favorite and may be a release coming soon...

At the conclusion of Designer Con 2014, we were extremely pleased with the whole experience and cannot wait until next year to raise the bar further. We already have tons of ideas floating around to make the event even better (Hint: double the size?). We would also like to sincerely thank our artists and buyers for their continued support. Without all of you this could not have been made possible. Thanks to you, we are able to successfully create art that embraces style rooted in sustainability.   See you next year!

For this week’s app review, we decided to take it back to basics. Every art piece in our collection was created using some type of medium i.e. watercolor, acrylic or even digital media. This week, we tried to recreate those same effects using our own photos with Sketch Guru, let's see what kind of art it could help us come up with.

The first screen you’ll see when you open the app after downloading is a home screen with a camera, gallery, cloud and configuration icons. As usual, I wanted to choose a picture I had taken previously, so I selected the gallery icon.

From here you’ll be taken to the cropping option where you can choose different ratios and sizes for your image. You can also choose to reflect your picture using the small arrow icon next to the refresh icon. If you don’t want to select an already preset ratio, you can always use the small blue tabs to customize the size you want. I chose the 4:3 option for my image and hit the green check mark button at the upper right hand corner.

From here on, you’ll basically be choosing from one of the many finishes they have available. I decided to give Gouache a try but thought it looked way too washed out (no pun intended).

I attempted to do some clean up by clicking on the levers icon in the bottom left of the picture. Here you can adjust different variables including brightness, saturation, and hue selection. Sometimes these variables will change depending on if you choose a finish that’s paint based or pencil based.

You’ll notice some finishes create decent works of art out of your images, while others fall behind like the 8bit option.

It’s all a matter of looking around and tweaking some of your settings.  After previewing all of the finishes, I finally settled on the first ColorPencil option.

The app itself did a pretty good job of creating the pencil outlines for me, but I did go back and harden the pencil lines using the first option in the levers menu.

 After I was done, I hit the download icon at the upper right hand corner and chose the high-resolution option to be able to print it on wood.

The final image turned out really cool, I like the idea of transforming an beautiful landscape image into an artistic print and this app makes it easy!

I would give this app a rating of 3 wood. It was good enough considering it’s a free app but I wish it not only had a better user interface, but also more variety when it came to customization.

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For more information on the Sketch Guru App, please visit the iTunes App Store.

In just a few days Designer Con 2014, other wise know as "DCon", is coming to Pasadena Convention Center.  No longer a one room convention with a few toy vendors, DCon has grown to over 300 artist and toy vendors including yours truly.   Beginning on Saturday, November 8th, the doors will open at 9:00 am with a admission price of just $5 per person per day.  No wonder the hype and anticipation of this event is growing each day and hour as we inch closer to Saturday!

For those planning to attend DCon, we have nine exclusive print releases that will be available beginning Saturday at 9 am with signings by each artist through out the weekend.  In addition our booth with feature a single (1/1) large print by each artist that will be available for sale at the show.

Don't have extra cash but want a cool print on wood? Come by our booth #512 and receive a free Jeff Soto mini print*.

The following is a list of each print release and the time of the artist live signing at the booth.

The Guitarist by Jeff Soto

Signed and numbered, 12" x 12", $100

Jeff Soto live signing: Sunday 12:30 - 1:30 pm

Umibozu Lake by Tara McPherson

Signed and numbered, 12" x 12", $100

Tara McPherson live signing: Saturday 9:30 - 10:30 am and Sunday 2:00 - 3:00 pm

Pico the Whale by Greg "Craola" Simkins

Signed and numbered, 5" x 7", $60

Greg "Craola" Simkins live signing: Saturday 1 - 2 pm

Boba by Luke Chueh

Signed and numbered, 9" x 12", $100

Luke Chueh live signing:  Saturday 12 - 1 pm

Berrytop Swirlpapa by Jason Limon

Signed and numbered, 11" x 14", $120

Catcreeper by Jason Limon

Signed and numbered, dimensional print, $125

Jason Limon live signing: Sunday 11 am - 12 pm

Nothing New Under the Sun by Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez

Signed and numbered, 11" x 14", $75

Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez live signing: Saturday 2 - 3 pm

Early Bird by Nathan Ota

Signed and numbered, 8" x 8", $65

Nathan Ota live signing: Saturday 11 am - 12 pm

DCon 2014 by Chris Ryniak

Signed and numbered, 8" x 8", $40

Chris Ryniak live signing: Sunday TBD

*receive Jeff Soto mini-print free by tagging or following @PrintsonWood