Hey Everyone!  I am pleased to report that I just received a shout-out from a different blog.  If you checkout; http://myblogfinallymadeit.blogspot.com/ you will see my Year-of-the-Dragon cards in her collection of cool and beautiful dragon images.  I am very happy and flattered to be shown among such talented company.

I will post new art soon!  I promise.  Hugs to all, -Dan

Vespa in Florence

It has been several months since my last post.  I am pleased to say that I have left my job and taken a new job at a great company in New York City's Soho.  These last three months have been great!  I am learning all about a whole new line of products...

In my free time I am still spending a lot of time at my art table.  Here is an illustration of Florence, Italy, that I made into a card.  A few years ago my sister went on a Vespa tour of Tuscany.  She came back with the most beautiful photographs!  With luck I will be taking a vacation this September and I have begun to think that my boyfriend and I might end up in Italy!

What are the best parts of Italy to see?  I think I have to go to Florence...  but what about Rome?  (I'd love to see the Vatican...)  Venice?  (Looks so beautiful!)  One of the cities in the South?  Please leave a comment and tell me where I must go.

Vintage Valentine

Valentine's Day is almost upon us! This is an image I created of two lovers on one of the many boats in New York harbor. (Perhaps the Staten Island Ferry... not usually the most romantic boat in New York but who can say...?)

My inspiration for this card actually came from the Eiffel Tower Winter card in the previous posting. I wondered why I had not drawn some of the totally beautiful, breath-taking locations in New York City. Every day on my commute the subway train that I ride rumbles high above the New York Harbor and I can catch a quick glimpse of the Statue of Liberty (for about ten seconds!).

The card is meant to look old fashioned in the style of clothes and in the very restrained color palette. I tried to recreate the old sepia toned photographs in everyone's attic. The only color used in a light pink wash in the sky and brown and flesh tones for our two lovers. If you like it you can find it for sale on my Etsy page at http://www.etsy.com/shop/danieljosephdurkin . Happy Valentine's Day, my friends. Hug to all!

Winter in Paris

This picture is a scan of the Holiday Card I made and sent to my family members and friends. I had originally wanted to draw Sacre Coeur in snow and I did a lot of Internet research on finding a proper assortment of images to create this illustration. The Eiffel Tower has a mysterious and magical hold over many Americans, and while clicking through about a hundred images of Paris, the Eiffel Tower began to call to me. I reasoned that I could quickly draw and complete this picture and then I would move on to a proper illustration of Sacre Coeur. (And wouldn't Sacre Coeur, a beautiful church, make more sense on the front of a Christmas Card? "Mais oui!")

Actually, this picture took a longer time to draw than I had expected. Once it was completed I had to hand paint all of the white details on each card. The number of Holiday cards I send out seems to have grown larger and larger each year. In the end, I found myself spending the holidays with my family in Chicago and still painting cards several days after Christmas- hoping that people wouldn't be too mad getting a very tardy holiday card. (As I write this I can still think of several people who I still owe a holiday card too... I'm sorry!) But this seems to be the refrain for every holiday- There is never enough time!

If anyone reading my blog would still like to receive "A Very Tardy Holiday Card", please send me your address. I will send you a blank Eiffel Tower card which you will be able to send out during the holidays next year to a friend or loved one. Happy Belated Holidays to everyone! Big Hugs!

2012- the Year of the Dragon

Hello everyone! I am very pleased to say goodbye to the big winter holidays. Although I love them, Christmas can become overwhelming when you work in retail. Stores are open longer and the poor employees have to listen to the same ten, worn out, Christmas Carols on repeat. (If I ever hear Michael Jackson sing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" again I cannot hold myself responsible for my actions.)

I am pleased that I finally had two whole days off in which I could sit down and draw. Last year I had a great deal of fun creating a card for the Chinese New Year which celebrated the Rabbit. Now that is 2012 we are about to enter the Year of the Dragon. The image on the card is supposed to be a scene reminiscent of the the Miss America pageants. The little white bunny, last year's winner, stands beside the dragon and claps. (I'm going to miss that bunny.) The rest of the animals of the zodiac are present and watching.

According to my good friend the Internet; "The Year of the Dragon will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity." This particular web site goes on to say, "...people respond to the spirit of the Dragon with energy, vitality and unbridled enthusiasm, often throwing all caution to the wind. The Dragon is all about drama." A friend of mine (shout out to Melissa!) sent me an email earlier this week and she admitted that this last year of the bunny "could have used a little more HOP!!" and she was looking forward to the arrival of the Dragon and "a new year filled with FIRE!"

Best wishes in 2012 to everyone! Big hugs, -Dan

How long has it been!?

Shame on me! I have not blogged in several months! This is unforgivable!

Since the end of August a lot has happened; I went to London and had a lovely time, I participated in a Fund Raising Run-Walk for the Wildlife Society, I became a minister with the First Nation Ministry so I could marry two of my best friends, and then I visited my boyfriend's family in California. Now things seem to be slowing down slightly and I am aware that I have not posted any art lately!

Today I just completed making my Holiday Cards and I would love to send one to anyone who follows my blog and who will send me their address. In the next few days I will post a scan of the card. Hope everyone is healthy and doing well!

Planning a Holiday in London

I have a "holiday" planned in less than a month. My boyfriend and I are going to London for a week and I am pleased to report that although this will be my fourth time there this will be his first trip to England. I cannot wait! I love the history of the city, the crazy way the streets are laid out, and of course the food in London. Fish and chips with a cold pint of cider are the makings of a perfect meal. No place on earth does it better than London.

It took us a long time before we finally settled on going to London. Just by chance I had been working on this illustration for some time beforehand. Right when I was finishing up the last few details we bought our plane tickets and booked our hotel. (Perhaps this means I had a premonition!)

This illustration is a combination of several things. The cute little mini cooper is based on a classic cooper which is parked in a neighbor's driveway a few blocks from me in Brooklyn. I then used a combination of my vacation photos and historical images to create the London street. The dome in the back in St. Paul's Cathedral. (On one vacation my mother and I walked up thousands of stairs to see the view from the very tip top of that dome!)

If you are interested in this card please check out my Etsy Page for further information. http://www.etsy.com/shop/danieljosephdurkin . Also, if anyone reading this has done something super awesome during a stay in London please send me a recommendation! Cheers!