Wizard World Chicago 2010 Print - 1 of 4

I did this illustration a while back, but left the top open for typography; something I never did add. I wanted to re-visit this image for my upcoming appearance at Wizard World Chicago. I added the text and I quite like it. This will be one of four available prints all selling for $5 - hopefully someone will buy it....

"She's Asking Nicely"

Initially, I was boycotting BP for the Gulf disaster, but then a friend of mine passed this article along to me from the Daily Finance website (www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/boycott-bp-that-hurts-station-owners-not-the-company/19499350/) and I decided to take another course of action. This might be a bit more than anyone wants to take, but it is really the only reasonable option out there for voicing our outrage with BP.

"Gold Coast" - 6.22.10

Gold Coast is not a specific region where coffee is grown, but a sophisticated blend of coffees into a superbly bold brew named for the wealthy areas in our cities - the Gold Coast.

"Espresso" - 6.21.10

While espresso has more caffeine per unit volume than most beverages, compared on the basis of usual serving sizes, a 30 mL (1 fluid ounce) shot of espresso has about half the caffeine of a standard 180 mL (6 fluid ounce) cup of drip brewed coffee, which varies from 80 to 130 mg,^[1] and hence a 60 mL (2 oz) double shot of espresso has about the same caffeine as a 180 ml (6 oz) cup of drip brewed coffee. In coffee brewing terms, espresso and brewed coffee should have the same extraction (about 20% of the coffee grounds are extracted into the coffee liquid), but espresso has a higher brew strength (concentration, in terms of dissolved coffee solids per unit volume), due to having less water.

"Peaberry" - 6.19.10

This coffee is distinctive in both its shape and flavor. As the name implies, peaberries are small, pea-shaped beans. While the unusual rounded shape of the beans gives New Guinea Peaberry its name, the unique flavor comes from its origin country. This is a medium-bodied coffee with a pleasing tanginess and distinctive herbal flavor.

"Sanani" 6.16.10

Called qahwah in Arabic, the beverage became known as qahvay in Turkish, and as its popularity mounted around the rest of Europe, terms like café and coffee caught on.

Seeking the treasures of the East, like spices and fine coffee, Dutch traders set up exporting enterprises on the Red Sea in the 1600s. Bags labeled “Mocha” were soon making their way to Amsterdam and eventually to Parisian coffee shops, where mocha coffee became a sensation in the mid 1700s. This exceptional coffee became the drink of choice for French Enlightenment writers like Rousseau and Voltaire as well as royals like Napoleon Bonaparte and his fashionable and sophisticated wife, Josephine.

Columbian - 6.9.10

Columbian - as in the coffee from Columbia. I have a friend who is Columbian, and she was telling me that her mother used to put coffee in her bottle as a baby when she fed here along with the milk. She said her mother told her that it was a cultural norm for mothers to do that. No wonder the Columbians are so jittery!

I finished this yesterday (6.9) even though I didn't post it until today. Sorry for the lack of update!

Sidamo - 6.8.10

Sidamo. Named after the wonderful Ethiopia Sidamo coffee. Ethiopia is also the birthplace of coffee. Just FYI.

Open Your Eyes - Final Image

This is the final version of the image complete with text. I am sorry about the lack of updating the various stages with this piece, but there were many different alternate color choices and at one point I had various recognizable icons representing various media outlets and brands connected to the tendrils coming out of the young lady's head. The concept as you can read in the image is the breakdown of community due to spending excessive time in media devices. The original article I read was from Adbusters a month or so ago - more likely 2+ months ago now - and it detailed in much more sophistication this issue. It also posited some ways in which one could start reversing these breakdowns such as reading books, going outside and spending time in nature, talking face to face with another individual in meaningful way, making eye contact while talking, etc. Basically, acting like a human being. Electronic devices are deceitful and rob us of our humanity when we spend several hours a day in them. I think it's time to unplug.

"Sumatra" - 6.1.10

Sumatra: a large island in Indonesia, southwest of the Malay Peninsula. Also a type of coffee that is earthy and very bold. Pairs well with toffee or caramel. Please, only drink it black.