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.

The White Lady

Happy Halloween, everybody! Here's something spooky for you! 

White Ladies (AKA Women in White, and many other names) are a type of female spirit talked about in various cultures worldwide. White Ladies often haunt dark, lonely highways and try to hitch rides with single men. Some cultures say that they are the ghosts of women betrayed by their husbands, while others say that they are the ghosts of women whose children were murdered, or who murdered their children themselves. The loss of lover and/or children is what keeps her tied to our world, and every night she searches for these lost loved ones. 

Hello There, Autumn!

This is how I amuse myself while waiting outside my metro stop.

Ten Paces Prints on Society 6

Howdy-do? I've been meaning to blog about these pieces I did for Ten Paces and Draw for a while. In reverse chronological order:

A portrait of classical composer Antonio Vivaldi for the "musician portraits" theme (based on a sketch by Francesca Buchko)....

...The Roots lyrics for the "hand letters" theme 

(based on a sketch by Rachel Dougherty)....

...And a ghost story for the "summer camp" theme (based on a sketch by Jimmy Malone).

ALSO, Ten Paces now has an online shop at Society 6! There's lot's of great stuff on there, including two illustrations I'm affiliated with: the piece below and the piece my pal Nick did based on my escaped zoo animal sketch. 

Check it out!

The Nets, CMYK, and a Blog Feature

Agh! So much to tell/show you guys!

First off, some new work!

I was commissioned by MICA's Career Development office to do a series of six posters promoting their new MICAnetwork.net website. Each poster is in a vintage flash card style and features a word ending in "net" with a corresponding illustration. The first four posters were posted around campus anonymously over the first couple of weeks of school, then the last two went up with all of the site's information.

I was over at MICA the other day and ran into one of the final posters. I love how they've presented it! 

Big thanks to Marsha and Megan at MICA! 

ALSO, I should mention that CMYK Magazine picked me to be in their Top New Creatives #51 issue, which should be on newsstands around the middle of this month! Super exciting! I'll let you know when I get a copy. 

ALSO, my work was featured on the blog ImagineThat with a nice write-up!

Okay, I still have a bunch more stuff to show you but it's going to have to wait. Until next time....

Steak Salad

Another "BrokeAss Gourmet" piece, this time printed in glorious FULL COLOR!