Retro Tropical Charm

I had a little time on my hands before Father's Day this year, so decided to go full out in creating a card/ poster for my dad. Growing up in the cloudy Midwest, he moved up and out and has happily lived in Florida three times (this last time it stuck). I delved into vintage tropical postcards, ranging from Florida to Hawaii, and decided to do a painting and a lettering piece. 

The painting came together quickly. Figuring out the lettering was a challenge, and I took influences from the Fender guitar logo (he also loves Fender guitars), and cheesed it up a bit by adding the sunshine gradient and stroke.

Then I played around with alternate looks to capitalize on the retro feel. Jury's out on which I prefer. 

Psome Psalm Action

A friend reached out wanting a wedding present for her sister. The two got engaged in the California redwood forest, and she wanted to capture the height and majesty of the trees. Additionally, Psalm 103 was to be featured in their wedding, so I elected to highlight verses in hand done calligraphy in contrast to the rest of the typeset psalm. 

Fortunately I had a pen, nib, ink that had miraculously not dried out, and a book on copperplate calligraphy. I looked at the alphabets for reference and gave it a go....

I painted a monochromatic blue illustration of two redwoods merging together in the sky, then put everything together.

This is not the final frame — the glass on this frame broke as I put the print inside. You think you've finished a project, and then....!