We’re always traveling, be it a short walk to the grocery store around the corner or to a foreign city that takes a fifteen hour plane ride with two connections. As we travel, our eyes seek out interesting things ~ a furry dog, a bright green pair of pumps on a curiously dressed passerby, a crooked store sign lying on the side of the street. Much later, even if we’re not aware of it, the things we’ve seen and heard resurface in our thoughts, drawings and writings.

One of the things I’d like to do this spring is be a little better at recording the things around me in my journal. I won’t be overambitious and declare that I’m going to make an illustrated journal in the footsteps of Dan Price or Danny Gregory. Just some little notes and doodles a few times a week will do.

Creating stylized character illustrations that reflect her spunky personality, Courtney Reagor is putting together an impressive portfolio of work. She recently exhibited a selection of her pictures at “fully blown”, a group illustration show in Riverside, California. I’m so excited to get a glimpse of the desk and materials she uses to put together her artwork. She took time from her busy schedule to share her thoughts on her illustrations, her workspace, and her materials:

“I’m currently working on maintaining my sanity working retail, scribbling in my many notebooks, and getting overly excited about small freelance jobs.”

“The tools that I rely the most heavily on are: mechanical pencils, any paper surface, my scanner, my iMac, and my water brushes, ( the base is a vessel that holds water, ink, etc). Mechanical pencils are my favorite, not even the fancy ones, just because I can never keep track of my erasers and pencil sharpener. Part of me wishes that I didn’t need my computer so much.”

“My home studio is nestled in the downtown part of Savannah, Georgia, so I’m constantly being peeped on by tourists floating around the area gawking at the architecture. My computer sits in a pretty high traffic area of the house that I share with two of my closest mates. In my corner of the studio, I have a collection of ceramic masks and a print by Joe Sorren. I store most of my materials for sculpting and painting in an old white medicine cabinet that I found in my late grandparents garage. Often times I travel up to my bedroom where I keep my laptop if I need to escape from chit chats and our dogs that use the studio as their personal wrestling ring.”

“I love getting paint everywhere and creating things by accident with different messy materials. But I learned that I can create those accidents without the mess, which allows my turnaround time to be much faster. I hate that it keeps me inside on sunny days, which is why I prefer to work at night.”

“Part of the style that I have grown accustomed to is reusing found textures that I like to subtly incorporate into my drawings. Also, I collect jars to keep collections of brushes and use for water containers when I paint.”

“If I had access to any materials, I would want to have my own kiln in a ceramics studio. I would create busts of characters I’ve drawn, and a slew of mini figurines. I’ve always wanted to stock my cabinets with dishes and mugs that I’ve hand made. But my ultimate dream project would include having my own printing studio. I would die to be able to pull prints all day for the rest of my life. I wish I had more practice with screen printing, etching, and lithography. If I had a printing studio, I would create posters and limited editions of my silly drawings… But i would love most to print and bind my own books. I keep telling myself, it’ll happen one day, even if I’m old and grey.”

{Courtney writes more about her adventures in illustration on her blog, and many more of her fabulous illustrations are posted on her website.}

I’ve been buying so many of these that I’ve earned a cookie card. There should also be a grilled pita bread card.

Elsewhere: lots and lots of interviews at craft synergy, one-a-day cut paper illustrations, and Margarida Botelho’s absolutely delightful Os Lugares De Maria. I think I’m going to pick up the paperback copy of David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green.

My sketchbook is one big mess of rough-drafts, filled mostly with illegible notes and blobs. When I’m working on a new design, I start by going through my pages of scribbles and choosing a few that I like. Then, on pieces of looseleaf paper, I sketch out different versions of illustrations which I scan into the computer to add color and other effects (with the help of my more tech-saavy husband) to make a bunch of test prints.

Here’s a picture that shows the different stages of my Momofuku journal cover design, from the first scribbles to a detailed sketch, and then a printed draft. There was something off about that draft, and we worked at it for almost a week (wanting to completely drop that cover design) till we came up with the final version, which shows an image of only two bowls of noodle and very little additional color. We’d gotten so caught up in adding things to the design, when it was the simplest arrangement that looked good. That’s something I keep in mind these days when designing new things.

For a few more pictures of my sketchbook or those of some other designers, stop by the Trunkt blog for a spin!

February. Acrylic on Canvas, 20″x28″ 2007. 

In memory of my little Pepper (August 12, 1994- February 22, 2007). 

There’s this little blue book with a white linedrawn cover illustration that I always find myself gravitating towards when I see it in a bookstore.

Published by McSweeney’s, The Secret Language of Sleep is filled with drawings of how couples sleep, and little snippets explaining what those sleeping positions say about their personalities.

I really like the way the book is drawn so I looked around to see if I could find what other things have been drawn by the so-very-talented illustator, Amelia Bauer.

She draws a bunch of different subjects, with her icon illustrations appearing in other McSweeney’s publications like the cover of The Children’s Hospital (which I just starting reading) and spot illustrations for The Believer (which the hubbie reads).

I have a feeling this talented lady’s portfolio is only going to get even better, so I’ll definitely be following her work from now on!

We’ve been watching quite a few black and white movies lately, especially those made in the forties and fifties (like Sullivan’s Travels directed by Preston Sturges, and All About Eve directed by Joseph Mankiewicz), which make me think about the social context of the postwar era and how that affected the entertainment industry.

With grandiose settings, elaborate costumes, and refined manners, we’re swept into the world of the American bourgeouis, of charming gentlemen and beautiful, sexy, and often conniving women. It’s a world only accessible to the few, and perhaps that what made is so entertaining, to see that despite the mountain of riches they owned, the men and women at the top of the pinnacle were susceptible to the same troubles and vices that beget those who possess much less.

While I continue to muse over those things, I’d like to share with you a great link that the husband pointed out, called “Today’s Inspiration.” It’s a place for those who are interested in illustrations from the 1940s and 1950s (I love the style, colors and lettering of posters from that period!) to share their knowledge, views and opinions.

If you’re like me and like to look at inspiring pictures, it’s definitely worth a visit — scroll down and you’ll see some really amazing paintings and illustrations!