June 2008

Saturday at the team store

The owner of the Red Sox team store asked me if I would be willing to come down this Saturday, June 28th and sign some posters for Red Sox fans, I believe it is "fan appreciation day". Dunkin Donuts donated a whole bunch of the posters I designed for the days event, so if you have any interest in having one personalized by yours truly, please stop by the Yawkey Way team store.  The posters are FREE.  I think it would be fun to meet people and maybe talk baseball a bit.

Speaking of the team store...I made my first couple of retail sales this week - the Red Sox Team Store, and Newbury Comics will now both be carrying my offset posters.  It will be really cool for me to see them in these stores - and hopefully the first of more retail spots to help me get my work out there.  I'm really excited for this as it will be a big part of the business end of it all going forward.

Lastly, the coolest thing happened today...I received a call from some folks at the Red Sox about my prints.  I guess an employee at the park had some prints framed on their office wall.  Another Red Sox employee took noticed and wondered if I might be interested in giving prints to the players!  They asked me if I might donate them to be presented to each player in the clubhouse just as a fun little gesture.  I of course was honored at the idea that the players might like my work - so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they do!  I feel like a nine year old kid when things like this happen.  



Twin Bombers, Celtics and my weekend

For the past 9 years myself and three friends have had a season ticket package in the center field bleachers at Fenway.  We sit right on the end of the row and have two seats.  We are pretty fortunate to have a package that includes all the weekend and holiday games.  So I usually go to about 8-14 games a year.  Every year the four of us purchase 1 extra game where all four of us can go and enjoy the atmosphere together.  I usually find that these games are more of a social event than a "watch every pitch" kind of game.  So friday was the this years game and we had a blast, got to see the Cardinals come to town and probably had one or two more beers than the surgeon general would recommend.  We ended up with seats that were as far away from home plate as possible and still be technically inside the park.  I was looking at the Dunkin Donuts suite on the first base side (i could barely see it from such a distance), remembering fondly the game they invited me too a few months back and I was able to live like a king.  That being said, I still take pride in having seats at all, and being with the real fans in the bleachers.  Even though the sox lost, we had a blast and I'm already looking forward to next years game.  

The Celtics won #17 last week and everyone is still riding high in the Boston area.  I've received many requests for Championship prints.  I thought I might mention it quickly...  I wont be doing any other sports other than baseball for one reason...  Licensing.  I would absolutely LOVE to create a print commemorating the Celtics championship, but I would'nt be able to sell it legally.  Some day I hope to be licensed by all 4 major sports but until then it will be baseball only.

Lastly, the new officially licensed version of the Twin Bombers print is now available.  There are some slight differences from the original, the largest being that the players names are now on them, the hologram is added and it is an edition of 400 (as opposed to the original 100).  After I finish up the few "re-issues" i will only be introducing new designs from there on out so get it now if your interested.

Check it out:
bombers_official_full.jpg

Lester print is ready

I finally got to finish the Jon Lester no-hitter print.  Here is the print with the first two colors applied next to the final:

lestersmall.jpg
I also had my offset posters delivered yesterday.  Its funny seeing them stacked in my studio, there are so many of them that I feel like i might have them forever.  I think they are a good option for somebody who likes the artwork, but cant afford the hand made screen-prints (each poster is $10).  I'm hoping to draw some interest from souvenir shops around Fenway and eventually around the country.  For now they are only available on my website: www.sportspropaganda.com

Also, a picture of what an edition number looks like - with the mlb hologram.  this is the corner of the Lester print:

edition.jpg
I cant not mention the Celtics absolute thrashing of the Lakers last night...Winning Banner #17 was pretty sweet.  I watched it with my friends Larry and Jake over a few well earned beers.  I'm such a sucker for all of the celtic tradition hoopla.  I loved seeing Jo Jo White, Russell and Hondo at the Garden, taking it all in.  My favorite photo in the Globe today was of 4 or 5 fans in Faneuil Hall standing around and holding a cigar up to the mouth on the statue of Red Auerbach.  I'm sure Red is smoking a real one somewhere!

Finally a quick shout out to my friend Paul who saved my life last night.  For some reason, my website was down during a crucial time and he being the genius that he is worked his magic and got it back up and running almost right away.  Paul - You rock!

Jon lester & Big Bertha

I received final approval on the Jon Lester Design and I have some really exciting news to report.  Jon's Agent requested that a number of prints to be donated directly to Jon so he can auction them for his charity - which of course I'm MORE than willing to do.  He also asked if he could have some prints for Jon's own personal use, which i found to be a really nice compliment.  So as a result, I'm planning on donating the first 20 numbers in the edition to Jon for charitable use.  I of course got right to work and spent the day printing the first color which is a metallic silver.  

Below is what it looks like at this point - with one color applied.  The other two will be done hopefully sometime this weekend:
lester1.jpg
The final will look like this:
lester-no-hitter.jpg
I bought a new Squeegee today which is probably not of much interest to anyone but it is always a real plus for me.  Having good equipment is key to printing quality editions.  Much like a boat, I tend to name my squeegees, giving them a little personality.  I spend so much time with it that it might as well have a name.  I never throw my old ones out either - instead looking at them like old soldiers, battle weary and ready for a quiet retirement.  Anyway, the new squeegee is larger than any other ive had, so its called "Big Bertha"  File under: Get a Life.

Celtics pulled out the greatest comback in Championship history last night.  An incredible game that im sure we will be talking about for years to come - if that is, we win the series.  I know we are up 3-1 but dont forget the 2004 ALCS.

New Teams, New Players, New Designs

While I'm waiting for the Lester design to be approved, I'm considering coming up with some new designs.  Per the request of MLB, I should start portraying players from other teams at some point. As much as I am a diehard Red Sox fan, I am also a huge baseball fan and it kind of excites me to branch out to other cities teams.  The only question is...where to start?  I think strategically using a solid veteran from a city with a popular team would work well.  Chipper Jones or John Smoltz from Atlanta, or perhaps Albert Pujols from St. Louis might be a nice choice.  There are probably a dozen or so players I am considering.  I was also considering doing a Yankee stadium design, it is the last year of its existence, and if your a fan of the game you have to acknowledge its historical significance.

If anyone has any ideas as to which players they would like to see next (not Red Sox), I would love to get some feedback.  

I went on a press check yesterday for the new posters.  They looked really great!  They are a little larger than the hand made prints and should retail for around $9, providing an economical alternative to the artwork.  The printer is delivering them on Monday so I anticipate them being available right away.

Fathers Day

SHAMELESS PLUG:  Fathers Day is coming so if you havent gotten anything yet, consider getting pops an official sports propaganda print!    Check them out here:
fenway_official_full.jpg

ellsbury_official_full.jpg
varitek_official_full.jpg
I'm hoping to have the Lester print started this week, but im waiting on MLB to approve it.  Its a bit strange having to wait for somebody else to approve my artwork, but all in all, they have been pretty open to my ideas.  One really cool thing, through the Players Association, I'm donating the first 20 prints of the edition directly to John Lester for his charity.  Hopefully they can be signed by John and auctioned off to raise some decent money.  

Also, I'm going to start the official versions of the Twin Bombers and Lowell prints this week, stickers are arriving tomorrow and I'm going to look at proofs of the new posters in the afternoon.  Exciting!

Tonight has been a good breather considering the level of sports intensity in the Boston area lately.  Celtics play tomorrow in L.A.  I'm not sold on this 2-3-2 format, but I suppose its been around for a while and the people making the decisions seem to know something i dont.  I think it would just be nice to see a title won on our own court/field for a change.  Listen to me - am I getting spoiled?  Perhaps, but i think I've earned it :)

New Equipment - New Prints

Printing for me has become more efficient and quicker these days due to an upgrade in my equipment.  It is important to me that customers receive the highest quality print I can provide them so any time I can upgrade my equipment, I do so.  Professional Screen-printers use what is called a "vacuum table" to print on paper.  One does not need a vacuum table to screen-print, but it does speed things up a bit and results in cleaner prints with less drag (smudge).  The problem for a small operation like mine is they cost an arm and a leg (7-12k) and are too large for my home based studio.    What many people in my position do is, they build their own table with plywood and a Shop-vac.  It sounds a little jurry rigged, and it is - but it does the job surprisingly well.  

Vacuum tables are basically reverse air-hockey tables that suck the paper down to the printing surface therefore preventing the paper from sticking to the back of the screen once it is inked.  The suction comes from a shop vac.  I added a couple of other small features including a counter weight for the screen as well as a foot peddle to turn the vac on and off with ease.  Anyway, I wanted to share a few photos of the table (im quite proud of it!).  

vacuum2.jpgvacuum1.jpg

It looks like I will be donating some work to the new Mcreveey's 3rd Base Saloon on boylston St. in Boston.  The bar is partially owned by the Dropkick Murphys and is setup similar to the turn of the century bar by the same name where the Red Sox fan club the "Royal Rooters" met and talked baseball with the same passion we do today. If you havent seen the Rooters series I did, be sure to check it out at my website www.sportspropaganda.com

In other news, the Celtics are up 2-0 and the Sox rarely lose at home, life is good in Boston at the moment!  

New Blog - First Entry

Hey everyone,
In an attempt to stay a bit more connected to people I've decided to start a blog and have it accessible from my website.  I want to invite you into my studio through here and let you know the semi-daily on-goings of what I'm working on and what I'm up to.   I would like to give everyone a more in depth look at my art, the process involved with designing and printing and in a more casual personal way.  Its also a way of connecting anyone who might be interested in my work, ask and answer questions and hopefully have a little fun talking to people.

One of the biggest challenges I come across is displaying my artwork on the web in a way that does it justice.  Not everyone is familiar with the art of screen-printing, so I look for ways to battle common misconceptions.  Often times, people will email me after a purchased print arrives at their home - they are "shocked at the quality".  This of course is a compliment, of course I love exceeding peoples expectations.  The problem here is, they had to make the leap of faith in purchasing the work in order to find out the quality.  

Many people do not understand the difference between a poster and a hand-made print.  In the past, I have posted images on the website in order to illustrate the process, I think this helps, but I'm always looking to do more.  One of the many projects I have in the works is a "tutorial-style" video that explains from start to finish the process of creating one of my screen prints.  I've got a few friends working with me on it - including a good friend of mine who has some professional editing skills.  I'm not looking for an Emmy or anything, but it would be nice if the video was somewhat watchable :)

As I write this the Red Sox are up 2-1 in the 7th inning, so I'm going to watch the end of the game and gear up for the Celtics tonight.  I will probably try to post something later tonight or tomorrow - this blog is looking pretty sad with only one entry so far!

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