The plan is to follow along with their guide and draw my way through the floral alphabet. Up next – Brassica.

While I’ve never lived on the ocean, I think it would be perfect. I always need water nearby. During college, it was Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga (sorry C-land, when you’re advised not to go in the water, not even the sight has a soothing effect). And now, the crash of waves on Lake Michigan suffice. I can be sitting on a pier or even on the bus racing by, and the daily change of color, breeze, and sights bring a calm. A major difference here though is that the creatures are just not as crazy as the ones I remember finding on the beaches of a coast.

A good friend from NJ took a series of aquatic shots and I just loved her jellyfish. I always said I wanted to turn her photos into drawings, and finally I’ve begun!

And a post about ties is not complete without a shout out to my friend Ryan, who’s wonderful work in the PR world allows him to keep everyone entertained with his adventures on his blog the Bowtie Memoirs. What a life.

You know the song, but have you ever realized how sad it really is? Let’s put it this way, the last stanza is -

“In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me
When I awake my poor heart pains.
So when you come back and make me happy
I’ll forgive you dear, I’ll take all the blame.”

And yet it’s a song sung to children.

Anyway, I’m attempting to post more often. I’ve been working on a large textbook project for a number of weeks (months even) now and while I wanted to share share some of what’s been occupying so much of my time, BUT I can’t until it’s published. So bear with me. I continually learn amazing things I can do in Illustrator. It’s been a treat/challenge to work on such a large volume of drawings ranging from the Periodic table to cell organelles and basics of DNA. Also interesting, using just one spot color and it’s tints. Someday, you will see the end result. Though with 200+ drawings, only my doting mother will want to see them all.

Instead, I will show off some paper cuttings I’ve started. Check out “Everything Else” to see some other pieces. I am hoping to put together about a dozen more in the next few days to sell on Etsy.

Anyone ever think that lilacs remind them of bronchioles/alveoli?

I wanted to make sure to include some of the pieces that I am not only craving but am also using for design/style inspiration for the coming months. I’m not one to jump onto trends in terms of categories. You can keep your Army-wear, Safari-inspired, Nautical-themed pieces to yourself. I think much more in terms of long term. If a rope belt happens to find it’s way into my waredrobe, it’s not because sailing is suddenly the in-thing to do, it’s purely because I needed to hold up my pants and the item was nice to look at. Yes, maybe the rope belt is in a store because the Nautical theme I spoke of is popular that season, but that’s a whole other tangent to go in.

Somewhere I could sneak an argument about evolution into this, but I won’t.

That being said, I can’t help but begin thinking of what the summer has to offer, not just in terms of weather but also in colors, flowers, and seasonal trends. When Pantone chose Mimosa Yellow as it’s 2009 color and Turquoise for 2010, they knew they had a great color combination coming.

I tend to think in multiple spectrums when it comes to seasonal inspiration; trends can be found in both decor and fashion. Unfortunately I’m still at the stage where I can rarely indulge in either, but it can’t help to plan dream. Regardless, the textures, patterns and colors can only push me when it comes to my design and taste. So it’s efficient never the less, right?!

Welcome to Visualgoldfish.com Version 2.0- ready to be bigger, better, and optimal for showcasing the art and musings I create. We will soon find out how often I am willing to write and post the latest illustrations, thoughts, links, news. I hope you enjoy all that you see. If there is something you think this is lacking, never hesitate to let me know.