On Sale Now

Ethereal Driftwood is a 13-color screen print measuring 18x25, limited to an edition of 54, signed and numbered by me.


Some detail images...




Ethereal Driftwood is available in the Gallery on my web site.

Can you keep a secret?

I just finished printing a 13-Color art print called Ethereal Driftwood which I'll put it up for grabs tomorrow. Yep, I'm dropping two new prints over three days. Yesterday was an 8x10 screen print and this next one is 19x25, limited to only 54. Shhhhhhhhhhhh.

New 8x10 Screen Print Now Available...

Spiderbite is the first in a series of 8"x10" screen prints. This 4-color silkscreen is printed on thick bright white, archival paper (140lb board stock). Silver metallic ink was used for the dew drops.


This print is signed and numbered from an edition of 55 and comes in a 9x12 vellum envelope that has my logo silkscreened on the front.

Inside the envelope is an 8x10 sheet of archival, unbuffered, tissue which is recommended for the storage of prints.
Spiderbite is currently available in the gallery on www.LuckyBunny.net.

New 8x10 Print On Sale Tomorow

Tomorrow, 2/27, I'll be releasing the first in a series of 8"x10" screen prints. The print is on thick, archival paper and comes in a frosted mylar (vellum) envelope bearing my logo. More info tomorrow...

"Strict Editions" aka Bullshit-Free Numbering

A Strict Edition is a term I've come up with, to simplify things. It's the exact quantity produced of an edition. This means there are no A/P's (artist proofs) or P/P's (printer's proofs), bon a tirer (because I'm the printer), etc. I'm well aware of the Tamarind guide but unfortunately, most artists are not. This has lead to inept numbering and misleading information regarding editions. For example, when I label a print as having a strict edition of 50, that means there are 50 prints from the run that I have deemed acceptable. Any test prints, misprints, etc, are destroyed.

Brown Buckin' Bunny tees...

...are SOLD OUT. I've got lots on my plate and a broken shirt dryer so I don't know when I'll make more. When they become available again I'll post the info in this blog.

Etsy Front Page

I've been on Etsy for little over two months now and made the front page today. It's good getting my work in front of people who've never heard of me and seeing what they respond to. My Buckin' Bunny tee is quite popular over there while my Classic Buckin' Logo tee and Gas Mask Bunny tees remain the top sellers since I've had a site. I don't know what that means, I'm just sayin'. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting many more shirts that will be exclusive to my Esty shop in addition to art prints $50 and under.

For your enjoyment...

Why Screen Printing?

After being laid off in 2001, I turned to screen printing to stay busy and because I love working with my hands. Since the early 90s graphic design has become very computer-driven. Anyone with a Mac or a PC and access to a graphics program is suddenly a designer, and that has made ideas and craft nearly obsolete. Screen printing, however, has been around since the early 1900's and hasn't changed much. Screening requires no expensive technology making it the ideal craft for hands-on expression. So I began working old school to balance out all the computer-driven, slick-looking digital stuff. The advertising/design world is loaded with talented people, most jaded with the business and sick of seeing their ideas constantly being shot down, watered down and shredded for the masses. Once word got out I was screen printing my own stuff, graphic designers — never ones to miss something deemed "cool" — started seeking me out and jobs began rolling in. I started with under $100 and a rebellious DIY aesthetic which is seen throughout my work. Then things got out of control and morphed into a business, and I went with the flow: printing and designing, and particularly making hip hop and rock posters.

What is Lucky Bunny?

Lucky Bunny, named after my pet rabbit, is my creative outlet. After spending 6 years in the Advertising industry, seeing clients make buckets of money off my ideas and observing all that's wrong with the business world, I decided to do my own thing. You’ll see evidence of my advertising experience in how Lucky Bunny is positioned as a brand: through my art, shirts, prints, and whatever else I feel like creating.

For those who don't know...

...Lucky is a real bunny.

She's a very shy, 8-year old, female, tortoise shell dutch.

Happy Valentine's Day...

...in the Year of the Rat....

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. 7

Adding the second color...


Test print on white to make sure the image is printing correctly and that I'm not losing detail...


Laying the second color on top of the gold...


Close-up of printed cards as the camera flash bounces off the metallic gold...


Trimming cards DIY style...


Damn, that was time consuming. Now on to the poster!

Intermission II

One day, in my early 20's, I was visibly distressed over trying to break into the very competitive advertising world during a slumping economy. My father, in the most stern of tones, expelled this gem...."Maybe you're not as good as you think you are." Not totally shocked by his complete lack of empathy, I shook my head and walked away sans comeback. Which is incredibly rare for me as I have a bit of a mouth. Anyway, it took me over ten years to realize--that you'll become only as good as you think you are. Damn, I'm a slow learner.

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. 6

I'm blasting through this blogging thing because I'm super busy. A bit more goes into what I'm showing but you'll get the idea.

After the screen dries, it's placed inside the press...


I then line up the paper with the screen so both are centered...


The first color, metallic gold is added to the screen...


Not the best pic but a flat bar pushes ink over the screen in the direction of the arrow. This is called a "flood," or flooding the screen with ink...


After the screen is flooded, a squeegee lowers and pushes ink through the screen. This is called a "pull"...

The screen then raises up, at which time I inspect the print to make sure it looks even, etc...


Each print is then placed on a rack to dry. When screen printing anything other than a t-shirt, each color is printing one at a time. I'll repeat these steps for the last color, red-brown and do it all again for the poster version.

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. 5

A very bright ultraviolet light is activated to cure/harden the emulsion that is not being blocked by the black on the film positive...


After about one minute in front of the light, the film is removed and the screen is taken to the washout booth (large sink) and sprayed with water. All the areas that were black on the film are now starting to soften and the image is becoming visible...


More water is sprayed on the screen until all the unexposed emulsion washes away, therefore making a stencil. The screen then goes back into the dark room to dry in front of a fan. Next up...printing.

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. 4

Now that the design is done, the art is output in black on clear film from my Epson printer...


Film positves of the first color, gold and the second color, red-brown. I'll be printing 40 cards per sheet of paper.


In the dark room, a clean screen is coated with a photo sensitive emulsion...


After about an hour, the emulsion is dry and ready for burning. I use a red emulsion for the gold and a high resolution green emulsion for the red-brown. The film positve is then taped to the screen to hold it in place...


The screen and film are put inside a table with a vacuum suction so the film fits tightly against the screen.

Intermission

I've always wanted to be a rock star, but not the typical kind. If I were in a band we'd play soup bowls residing on lunch tables around the globe. I'd dub myself David Lee Broth and my backing band would be The Oysterettes. My stage costume would be merely a vest and women would swoon over my chicken noodle arms. We'd limit our set to one hour as to accommodate lunch breaks worldwide. It would indeed, rock.

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. 3

I've decided to with this typeface because it's simple with a bit of style and feels like a good fit with the rest of the art. It'll also reduce nicely for the business card and look good large for the poster.


At this point I trace all the type which allows me to tweak the letters if necessary. In this case, the letter "L" needed a little sumthin' sumthin'...


Pic of Lucky to be taken into Photoshop and turned into dots so it'll reproduce when screen printed...


I added some dots behind the buckin' bunny to provide contrast. Also added a bird at the very top because the space between the 'Y' and the 'B' didn't look right. I intended to have my full address at the bottom but the design seemed to be missing a bit of humor. So I went with "worldwide" because my impending world domination amuses me. And I decided to go with just my email address. Next steps, the printing process. For the business card, I going with a metallic gold background and will print the art using a dark red-brown like the poster I did for Peeping Tom. The great thing about screen printing is printing on colored paper so I'll look through some sample books and choose something for the poster version.


Sometimes you just want a cookie after designing. Oatmeal raisin...

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. Deux

Background and foreground scanned and combined in Photoshop. I resist the urge to clean up my sloppy line work because there's beauty in imperfection and I like the feel.


Redrawing my bunny head using straight lines. I also redrew my buckin' bunny art to make it less clean in order to fit better with the other elements...


All elements combined, thus far. The space on the right will feature a halftone of my bunny, Lucky, if she'll stay still long enough for a pic. At this point I'll begin looking through type books and pick typefaces that have the feel I'm going for.

Business Card/Poster Process Pt. 1

I'm gonna post a blog here that originally appeared on my Myspace page last summer. I think artists who pretend to have secrets, can't and don't talk about their work are fucking lame. Sorry, there's no magic monkey painting pictures for people. Most artists hide behind a veil of mystery because of insecurity and whatever else. Like there's not enough bullshit out there in the (art)world. If that works for them...cool. But that's not how I roll. Just because someone knows a technique doesn't mean they can do what you do. The recipe for Maroger's medium isn't going to make an artist paint like Titian. Everyone is an artist these days and because of this web thing, people are stealing each other's stuff like crazy, aping styles, etc. My artist friends complain about this quite often and yes, it sucks. My take on it is that a person can't be or think like another person because of one's life experience, etc. It's about ideas and having a voice, first. Execution, second. In order for work to not be some superficial, stylistic jerk-off, it must have a voice. I too like stuff that looks cool, but I also like stuff that has a voice, soul, or the undefineable thing that leaves an impression. Sorry, that turned into a bit of a rant.

It's been a good two years since I've had proper business cards and done a promo poster so rather than recycle an old design, I've decided to do something new. I'll document the process from the the artwork creation, through the printing.

Basic markers and white out, nothing fancy...


Those leafy things are parsley, Lucky's favorite...


Lunch...


Lines and more lines for background...