Hand-Painted Pins

I made these hand-painted pins (or brooches, or badges or whatever name you prefer) for the Art Market at MICA. If you're in Baltimore please come to the MICA Art Market, TODAY through Saturday the 8th! I will be selling these pins along with calendar tea towels, bird barrettes, original paintings, and painted trays. My stuff will be there all four days but if you want to stop and say hi, I'll be there Thursday and Saturday from 11:30-3:30.

I hope to see you there!

Mary, the Blessed Mother

I'm so excited to finally be able to tell you about this! I have a piece in the amazing group show Girls: Fact & Fiction, opening December 7th and running until January 4th, at Light Grey Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept for the show is that there will be two rooms in the gallery, one dedicated to real life females and one dedicated to fictional female characters/figures. I chose to make an illustration of the Virgin Mary (who, along with other religious figures and mythological beings, is considered "fact" for this show). Because of my Catholic upbringing, Mary has been an important female figure in my life for about as long as I can remember. It was a fun little challenge I set up for myself, attempting to depict in a new and interesting way a person who has already been depicted millions of times before.

You can order prints of the piece here! And if you order before December 7th you're guaranteed to get it before the holidays. How perfect would this print be as a Christmas present?!

Also, if you purchase $100 or more worth of merchandise in the Light Grey Gallery shop, you get a free copy of the Girls book, which includes images and write-ups for all of the pieces in the show. If you need suggestions for other prints to buy, I have several friends who also have work in the show: Jimmy Malone, Julianna Brion, Mika Nakano, Kathleen Marcotte, Celine Loup, Kyle Fewell, Kali Ciesemier.

I won't be able to attend the opening on December 7th but if you're in the Minneapolis area you should definitely check it out!

Cats & Dogs and Dogs & Cats

Howdy do, everyone? If you're in the Baltimore area you should definitely check out the Cats & Dogs and Dogs & Cats show at Spur Gallery THIS FRIDAY NIGHT, 6:30-8:30PM. It includes my work along with several other people I know and adore, including a number of my former instructors and schoolmates at MICA. There will also be real, live, and adoptable (caged) cats and (roaming) dogs at the reception, courtesty of BARCS! Plus, 50% of the proceeds from the sale of art will go directly to BARCS to help out more cats and dogs in need.

I created this piece specifically for the show. I don't actually know that much about dogs so I thought it would be fun to learn about some breeds. Since there's, like, a gazillion, I narrowed it down to extant breeds originating in America.

I also included my Cheshire Cat piece and a painting of some cats that I plan on using for a pattern one of these days (you may remember getting a peek at it when I was interviewed by Brown Paper Bag). 

The Fox is Black

I made a desert-themed desktop wallpaper for The Fox is Black's Desktop Wallpaper Project! It looks like this:

And you can download it here. It comes in, like, a bajillion sizes. iphone and ipad, too!

Big thanks to Bobby at TFIB! 

Styro-Cut

I made this bird "styro-cut" after seeing this tutorial on Pinterest (by the way, I've become mildly obsessed with Pinterest as of late. You should follow me!). It had never occurred to me to make prints with Styrofoam but when I mentioned it to a couple of my art teacher friends they were like "Oh yeah, duh. Been there, done that," so I guess it isn't exactly a new idea. The prints are far from perfect but I believe they have a certain charm. I think I might try painting on top them or mixing them in with a collage or something. Fun! 

Football-Shaped

Bells & Whistles

Hello all! I did an illustration for the Bells & Whistles column in this month's Plansponsor magazine.

The subject is the Lizard Queen, a character I came up with for a Ten Paces and Draw fashion challenge. I imagine this as a sort of prequel image. Here she is younger and recently crowned and has not yet taken on her queenly responsibilities.  

The August Plansponsor is on newsstands NOW and is chock-full of great illustration. Big thanks to art director SooJin Buzelli! 

Poseidon

Poseidon riding the waves for a Greek Mythology swap on Ten Paces and Draw! Based on a sketch by Joshua Fronk.

The Adventures of Pete and Pete

Hey guys! Very excited to show you the endpaper pattern I made for the Adventures of Pete and Pete tribute zine "Waiting for October."

If you don't know what Pete and Pete is, first off, shame on you! 

Second, it's a really fantastic live action television program that aired on Nickelodeon in the early 1990s. The show features two brothers with the same name. Older Pete is on the brink of adolescence while little Pete is still solidly a kid. The show nearly perfectly captures what it is like to be a kid, the sort of mythological way in which kids think. Every bully is a super villain, every task a daring adventure to brave. Through older Pete the show also accurately describes the pain of growing up, wanting to stay in that world but knowing that sooner or later things are going to change. The storylines are kooky, hilarious, bizarre, romantic, deeply nostalgic, and at times, kind of tragic. The show also features an amazing soundtrack by the band Polaris (I highly recommend their "Adventures of Pete and Pete" album) and cameos by Iggy Pop, Steve Buscemi, Michael Stipe, LL Cool J, Jeneane Garofolo, and a ton of other great people. 

Super cool cover by Joe Quinones!

The zine is chock-full of Pete-tacular illustrations, comics, poems, and love letters to the show. There's also a fold-out Petunia poster! If you're interested in purchasing a copy you can do so here! The proceeds are going to the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. You can also learn more about the zine on the Waiting for October Tumblr. It's pretty pipe. 

Big thanks to Rachel Edidin and Miles Stokes for putting this all together!

Visions

Trying to catch up on posting some projects from this spring! I created these three illustrations to accompany a paper a friend/former professor of mine was presenting at a medieval conference. The subject of the paper is three prophesies or visions that supposedly occurred during a secret meeting at the Carmelites Order during France's Cabochien Revolt of 1413, chronicled by the historian Jean Juvenal des Ursins in the 1450s.

The first vision describes three suns over France, which very likely refer to the three sides at odds over the land: the Burgundians; the reigning king, Charles VI/his son, Charles VII; and Henry V (alternatively, the three parties could be Henry V, Charles VI, and Charles VII). The image of three ruling bodies in the sky is unnatural, just as it is unnatural for one kingdom to have three kings.

The 2nd vision shows three weather formations in the sky heading toward Paris. Stormy weather comes from Burgundy and England, but sunshine (hope for the future) radiates from the area of Orleans/Berry, where after 1420 Charles VII, the future king, is camped out and waiting to return.

The third vision is the most dramatic, showing the king of England, Henry V, standing triumphantly atop Notre-Dame while the mentally ill king of France, Charles VI, is exiled to the courtyard and flanked by men wearing black.

 

The time during which these visions supposedly took place was an incredibly tumultuous one for France. While the king was incapacitated with madness the Burgundians and Armagnacs fought for control of the government, while the Cabochiens rallied and rioted in an attempt to resist the growth of government, taxation, and the dominance of the court on the political world.

The chronicler writes about these visions many years later, after Charles VII has restored his control over France.Jean Juvenal des Ursins is a royal official in Charles VII's service, and was a loyal Armagnac, as was his father, throughout the Civil War. He is clearly including these visions in his chronicle with a political agenda. He uses "history" and the concept of prophesy to basically say that the right guys won, that this outcome was meant to be.

This was a really fun project for me. The Middle Ages is one of my favorite periods of history and it was fascinating to learn a bit about the Cabochien Revolts and the 40 or so years after. 

Eclectic Jewish Cooking

The following are a few spreads from a book of eclectic Jewish recipes I illustrated for Baltimore's Ner Tamid Synagogue. The book was written by Rabbi Gil Marks, an acclaimed author and an artist in residence at Ner Tamid. Each recipe sounds tastier than the other. I could totally go for some of the wild rice salad right now!

Click each thumbnail to see larger:

The Flower Boy

Yikes! It's been a while, eh? I have lots to show you but it will have to wait a little longer. In the meantime, here is a little flower boy:

Things have been even crazier than usual in Jannaland. I just moved in with my amazing and talented friends Julianna Brion and Mika Nakano. Here is a photo of Julianna and I in our new place for our joint birthday/housewarming party (My birthday was Friday and hers is on the 14th).

I've also been preparing to go to Rhode Island for the ICON illustration convention! I'm super excited to meet new people and see friends I haven't seen in a while. If you're going to be there please stop and say hi!

Happy Easter!

Bang Bang, Lizard Queen

Hey guys! Here are two very different (though, strangely, both very centered and square, ha, ha) ladies for recent Ten Paces projects!

The first is a scaly bodice-wearing lizard queen for a new type of swap on Ten Paces. I was given an image of a bodice by Stefanie Nieuwenhuyse and told to make an illustration around it. It's one of the first images on the new Ten Paces and Draw website! Check it out (It's purty)!

 

The second piece is for the March mixtape swap. My piece is based on one of my favorite songs, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" by Nancy Sinatra.

 

Several Things

Hey guys! Here's some stuff I've been wanting to show you. First off, I did this painting of the Cheshire Cat in mid-disappearance for The Wishbone Society, the book club and art blog I started with some friends this past summer.

 

I also did this little piece based on the song "Bust a Move" by Young MC, for Ten Paces and Draw.



This map of my favorite hang-outs in Baltimore is featured on They Draw and Travel!



I finally found the copy of CMYK I'm in on a newsstand! That's my Sean Penn as Milk piece on the top right corner of the magazine!



A little while back I was asked by author and inspirational speaker Mischa Toland of Greatness Now to paint one of her quotes on a wall in her business' new space. I don't normally paint detailed lettering ten feet off the ground. Oh me achin' feet afterward from standing on that ladder so long! It was really fun seeing my work up so high, though, and I really think it does a good job of complimenting Mischa's books.



If you're in the area of Antique Row here in Baltimore definitely stop by and say hi to Mischa, James, and Ranell for me! They're some of the nicest, warmest people you'll ever meet!



Last but not least, I currently have a show hanging in Baltimore's premier pizza place, Joe Squared! If you want to have some of the best pizza of your life (oh man, they've got this amazing one with barbeque chicken and corn and avacado...mmmmm....) and BUY SOME OF MY ARTWORK, get down to Joe Squared, at the corner of Howard St. and North Avenue! I think the show will be up through mid-March but I'm not sure of the exact date, so get down there soon!

Unrequited Love

Happy Valentine's Day! May all your loves be requited.

Site Down

Due to some totally infuriating issue with my host and domain registrar, www.jannamorton.com is down. I'm hoping it will be back up in a day or two. In the mean time you can see my work here or at my flickr.

Quick Collages and West Elm Signs

Here are some quick collage experiments I did a little while ago:

 

Also, this past fall I made these signs to go above the registers in the West Elm store in Towson, MD. They were designed to encourage customers to donate money to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during their annual "Thanks and Giving" fundraiser.    

One and Two

Happy 2012! I've got lots to show you but where to start, where to start? Hmm? I guess I'll start with these two:

1. Here's a little something I did for Ten Paces and Draw's December mixtape. The song I was asked to interpret was the Gossip's "Standing in the Way of Control." It's all about being who you are and sticking with your friends despite the forces trying to keep you down. Growing up I went to a Catholic school with a very strict dress code and was often getting into trouble for coming into school with nail polish on, or brightly colored shoelaces, or (once) wearing a shiny black patent leather headband with one inch metal spikes sticking out of it. Imagine what would have happened if I'd showed up with a flowerpot sticking out of my head?




2. This one was done for SCBWI's Tomie dePaola award contest. The prompt was to illustrate a few lines from Chicken Licken. I didn't win but whatevs, I had fun.