Jacob Thomas & Elvis Swift spread

Gadget bag
Muslin 6″x6″
Bird Spotting merit badge 1.25″x1.25″

I was poking around today looking through my old Steelcase file cabinet and ran across this. 25 years ago or so, I had the ambition to be an engraver (wood & steel). Perhaps a foolhardy goal for sure, but a lot of fun it was.

Here is an engraving done for a photographer named ‘Fowler’. The engraving was cut in end grain boxwood and is cut into a block 2″x3.25″. The image I’m posting is a ‘proof’ print much magnified and the surrounding wood is left on the block to make it easier to print on the Vandercook No.1 (letterpress printing press)

Through the years I produced thousands of linoleum, wood, copper and steel cuts and engravings.

The printing press and tools have been retired now for ten years.

They say one gets wiser with age…

The intermingling of omnivores and vegetarians during the holidays was described as being as easy as mixing oil and vinegar into a delicious vinaigrette.

Learning to accommodate during the holidays. I thought the Norman Rockwell riff on his painting The Freedom From Want was a perfect scenario for the situation in speaking about a change from the traditional.

LA Times book review – a man must choose between his duties and his heart

Glock 19
Vector line drawing (by Elvis Swift)
Husqvarna Designer SE
100% wool felt
Sulky rayon thread

I had a lot of fun at Sketch Night @ the Society of Illustrators building.  It was my first time but wont be my last!  Great live jazz, great models and great company.  I wasn’t as close to the models as I would have liked so I wasn’t seeing the details clearly. As the night went on I cared less about capturing details and more about the temperature in the room.  Which turned into this idea that the models were melting.  It was a fun concept to play with.