I am excited to announce the Artist's Shuffle: An International Collaboration with Autumn Steam has been published! You can buy a signed copy from my website or you can find it here https://www.createspace.com/4335618. LOCAL ARTISTS: You can buy a copy directly from me for $24.00 at Spiral Muse Gallery, reception and book signing on August 17th. I would be happy to meet up with you in the Salem area as well. Just pre-order your copy by emailing me [email protected].

I wanted to thank all of the artists who participated in the shuffle. This project has pushed my limits and I have grown into something I never thought I could be. I am in awe of this project, and if I do nothing else with my life, this will be my masterpiece. My entire soul went into this project. I hope everyone enjoys the book.

Sebastian is my 4 year old son. I tried to keep his attention away from the cartoons to give me commentary on the art in the book. This kid is hilarious. Watch the video if you get a chanc

I just woke up from a long nap and looked over and there was the box! I mean THE BOX. I have been waiting for this to come for almost 10 days. It is the proof from my publisher of the Artist's Shuffle. I hurried to the other room and grabbed some scissors before I realized it was a perforated opening. I ripped open the package to reveal the perfectly square book in all it's glossy glory.

I am in tears now looking through this book. The artists involved were so generous and the art looks amazing in here! I will proof read it this evening then make any nessesary changes within the next few days. The official release date is July 29th.

It was amazing collaborating with such inspiring people.

This was my vision from the beginning. A deck of cards. I wanted the reverse side of the canvases to look like a deck of cards. This is why I block printed each one by hand. You can kind of get an idea of the work that went into each one of these pieces, just by looking at the backs. I hope to meet all of you one day in person.

The aftermath of the Artist's Shuffle. #studio #destroyed #artistsshuffle #timeforabreak #done #notcleaning #stuff #art #supplies

It has been just over one month since I started working on the first piece of art on this project. Let me tell you it has been an intense, grueling, time consuming month of sincere dedication. I am so exhausted and surprised by the art that came out of this project. Each one has a piece of my soul. I have spent hours on each piece making it into something the world has never seen before. Think about it. We have just created something new.

The book will go to the publisher's tonight. I hope to have a proof by next week and once that is approved, we can start ordering copies. I can't wait to show the world what the Artist's Shuffle is all about. We did it. We did it.

I met with Debra at Spiral Muse Gallery (the first stop in the tour) and we finalized all of the details. The Artist's Shuffle will hang for the month of August with a reception on August 17th from 5-8pm. I hope all of the local Salem-ites will attend the reception. I would love to meet you and for you to see all of our hard work in person. I will have copies of the book available at this show as well.

I am still waiting to hear if the Shuffle will hang in LA. If all goes well, it will be there for one night in October.

After that final show, I will be mailing the artists a piece from the collection. This is the shuffle part! I will start with number 1 and go up from there. This part of the project really depends on how much money I have for postage. Some of these pieces are not so flat anymore, and will need to be packed in a box. It may take me a year to mail all of these pieces back out. Unfortunately it really depends on if I sell any art to pay for postage.

I will be doing a random drawing to decide who gets what canvas. Sorry but you can not request what canvas you get. I am going to find a number generator online and just do it that way. I will post who gets what, on this blog with in the next few weeks.

Until next time...

So I am taking a break from editing the text for the book to write this blog post. I just need a break. I have been going full force on this project for weeks now and I am sure my family and friends hate me. I have declined just about every offer to do something fun this summer to finish this project. My goals were a bit unrealistic...so I see now. I have typed over 12,000 words for this book, and I am only 3/4 of the way through it. I spent one whole day last week scanning in over 80 pieces of art, then editing them to be print worthy.

I spent the 4th of July creating the look of the book. I have decided on a square book with grey pages. I am really loving the look of this book and it is totally focused on the art. The first 100 pages are nothing but art. The rest of the book is a lot of text. Artist's Statements, contact info, my notes and thoughts while collaborating with each piece.

I am meeting with Spiral Muse Gallery next week to hammer out the final details of the Artist's Shuffle show in August. That is sneaking up on me quick and I feel like it will be here before I can get the project finished.

One last push and a few more all-nighters  and I ought to have the book complete. Send me some good energy vibes and my friends and family need to give me some space and a lot of understanding, while I finish this project.

Ok, back to work...