Beard alphabet by Tim Yarzhombeck (aka Timbeck). A good follow-up to this post.

Happiness #1: the 1956 red Royal Quiet De Luxe Typewriter that I bought on ebay (for $66 plus shipping!) just before Valentine's Day has arrived! She's a beauty... just needing some cleaning, oiling, ribbon and general TLC.

Happiness #2: Camilla has sent me a pair of her Converse Red All Star sneakers! Camilla - a million thank yous for this and the creative inspiration you bring to us all.

They look so good together:

( a few more images posted to Flickr  )

Oil paintings by Portland artist Rachel Ann Austin, discovered via the M & Stetson blog.

Rachel has long been passionate about creating new, beautiful things. She began her career as an artist building tables and went on to study woodworking at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. With this unique perspective, she soon gathered books full of sketches into a growing body of paintings.

Here's an illustration trend I've noticed of late: beards! I guess with all the illustration love of woodland and forest imagery that men with beards wouldn't be far behind! I dedicate this post to my bearded husband, Glen. The poster above is by Keith Shore and is available at his shop.

These ones are by Etsy seller Ashley G.

By Glasgow-based  Little Robot.

And if you can't grow your own, a good option might be Something's Hiding in There's wooden mustache:

From the fabulous Marc Johns.

This is a project I have designed for many years. It is a wonderful nonprofit, independent publication full of great visuals and interesting text. Issue 16 (the best one yet!) has cover art by Marc Johns and illustrations/art by as Katie Radke, Byron Eggenschwiler, Gordon Wiebe, Stefan Thompson and James Mejia plus photographs from 3191: a year of mornings by Stephanie Congdon Barnes and Maria (Mav) Vettese. There are articles on film, music, coffee, libraries, books and all things small. The article on “The Small Art Revolution” covers artists and projects such as Thumbtack Press, The Small Object, Little Otsu, Etsy and many more. You can see more images from the magazine here and purchase or subscribe to Beyond here.

The Society of Illustrators and The Nation are presenting an exhibition in response to the Iraq war:

This show is the expression of over 60 of the top graphic artists and illustrators working in the United States and abroad whose anguish has compelled them to produce works that challenge the self-destructive ignorance, indifference, incompetence and corruption that is the result of US Middle East foreign policy. These works of art will give a voice to those whose views are not represented by the mainstream media. We will be using this forum as a way to support those most directly affected by the harsh consequences of military combat—the brave men and women who serve their country as well as their family members who must live with the affects of war long after the parades are over.

The exhibition can be viewed online.

Thank you, Aaron, for coming to Calgary for the Trio Magnus opening. We all enjoyed seeing you! (Thank you, Anne and Koyama Press, for making this possible.) Aaron's on a plane back to Toronto, but I took some pictures of his sketchbook before he left. I'm also making an animation of the collaborative drawing piece being made on Saturday - I'll post it as soon as I can.

Some very nice illustration work by Mathilde Aubier. (Also make sure to click on her list of links - there are some great ones there.)

I think everyone knows how much I admire Camilla Engman's artwork. It has become a Christmas tradition, over the past three years, to have something of Camilla's on display in the gallery in November and December. This year, we have prints of her drawings (just two left!) and her calendars (also two left, available in the gallery.) I was just reading on her blog that she has sold out of the 2008 calendar edition - congratulations to Camilla! In celebration, she has made some cute gift tags, available as a free downloadable pdf.