2019--The Year of The Letter.

Happy New Year, everyone! Austin, TX.

Another year has come and gone and we've all been susceptible to the longest IG stories of all time from everyone's 2018 recap. I guess blogging is fading, giving way to the immediacy of today's modern attention span. I wanted to let some time pass and allow everyone to settle into 2019 before making any posts and wanted this one to be the first.

2018 brought me a slew of experiences and emotions from starting a new occupation in a really cool environment, discovering new artists, losing the best relationship I've ever been a part of and as a result experiencing the biggest creative overload I've had since maybe 2010, and countless other moments, designs, and shows of varying successes and executions. I decided to start this year off on a high note and designed a greeting card for some family, friends, and long-time supporters. A few have arrived by the time this is published and hopefully more are on their way.

This piece was inspired by my previous partner's love for the vintage and my expanding curiosity of typography. I hand drew/designed these letters with the intention of ringing in the new year with an old, nostalgic feeling. After drawing tons of letters and settling on a final layout, I imported the finished drawing into Illustrator for vectoring and coloring. You can read more about this piece on my portfolio site blue731.com, a mixed collection of designs, illustrations, and photos along with details on the process because the process is, dare I say, even more important than the final product.

I'll spare everyone a lengthy 2018 recap as you've all been tortured enough. For now, I am taking all my experiences from last year and expressing them through many projects this upcoming year including more books, apparel, accessories, art markets, and art shows. And of course, more episodes of The Natural Spark! I have a lot to let out this year and I'm stoked to have this New Year piece kicking off 2019 in a letter-driven manner. You can certainly expect more typographical pieces coming this year, in many different tangible forms to take home.

Thank you all for the years of support you've given me as an artist, as a brand, and as a fellow human being. You all have taught me so much and have provided me with countless inspiration. Thank you for coming along on this wild and creative journey I've chosen. I hope I can inspire and teach you all as well.

Cheers to another year of painting lemons gold, and painting gold with black smiley faces.


Stay Creative,
Blue