When I’m silent on the blog for awhile, it’s usually because I’m busy-busy with illustration work. (YAY!) I’ve got 3 decent-sized projects going right now, so I haven’t been posting. I will eventually post samples, but not until I’m finished. Maybe the end of next week I’ll have something to share.
So, the reason I drew the Ogerita trolley car in the first place was to donate its limited use to the Olathe Station Art Fair. This is a street fair put on by Olathe Visual Artists, a group I’m a member of and serve as the webmaster for. They had a trolley on their material last year, because it’s held on Strang Line road, which was named after a historic interurban railway line that ran more-or-less through there from 1906-1940. Plus, the shopping center was named Olathe Station Shopping Center. So, the trolley theme was pretty obvious. But, unfortunately, the trolley image they used last year was not accurate. (No disrespect to the artist, she definitely knows her way around Illustrator better than me, but she wasn’t familiar with the material.) I knew I could do better, so I did. The Ogerita was one of the first two trolleys on the line and ran for only two years from 1906-1908. It was gas electric, so had no trolley pole. But it is the cutest one, with it’s short length, rounded windows, and decorative railing.
Anyway, this is one of the new logos for this year’s fair. It’s to be held on May 18th and 19th at the Olathe Station Shopping Center. 10-8 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday. This is the second year it’s running and it was pretty good last year, especially for a brand new fair. I think it’ll do even better this year.
I also sold (at cost) three prints of the Ogerita to the Overland Park Historical Society. Those should be hanging in their museum somewhere by now. They are also big on the Strang Line over there. I was pretty happy about that.
Prints of the Ogerita are available at my Zazzle store. And I’m sure OSAF merchandise will be available before long as well.
I just posted a brand new holiday card to my Zazzle store. It’s my house vectorized and with Christmas lights. And I have a coupon code for 60% off cards, among other things. Good until midnight on Monday, Dec 3rd Friday, Dec 7th. Use ZCYBRMONDAY2 DECKTHEHALLS at checkout.
My new portfolio is now up on childrensillustrators.com. Yay! I think Janet picked out a nice selection. It shows a wide range of styles.
(Other merchandise also.)
This is the time of year to think about buying Christmas cards. I have several designs available at my Zazzle store. (Lately they’ve been running some 60% off sales on holiday cards, which makes them a reasonable price. Just look for the coupon code. Today’s is HOLIDAYZSAVE, but that only lasts until midnight tonight. Black Friday’s coming up, though, so they’re bound to have more good discounts soon. The code BLKFRIDAYZAZ will get you 60% off until the end of the day 11/25/18.) The code ZCYBRMONDAYZ will get you up to 75% off on some projects. I think it’s 60% on cards. Until the end of the day Cyber Monday. And I have a coupon code for 60% off cards, among other things. Good until midnight on Monday, Dec 3rd. Use ZCYBRMONDAY2 at checkout. Use DECKTHEHALLS at checkout for 60% off cards until midnight on Friday, Dec 7th.
My latest is the Christmassy Streetcar that my Dad requested.
Last year’s card was my family ice skating. Sorry it’s not a more universal image. It’s very specifically my family, complete with Katie in her Canadian flag hoodie. I have considered reworking it with polar bears or something skating instead, but I haven’t gotten around to it.
Before that was a snowman family. (Also available in portrait orientation and on other merchandise.)
A single snowman with a cardinal perched on it’s hand/branch. (Also available in portrait orientation and on other merchandise. It’s particularly pretty on a coffee mug.)
And, for the more new age among you, a Stonehenge winter solstice card.
There are also tons of other products up on my Zazzle store. Mostly prints and cards, but other merchandise as well. More-or-less any decent images that I still hold the copyright on are fair game for Zazzle printing. If there’s any of my work that you’d like to see printed on something and I don’t already have it up, just let me know. I’d be happy to set it up for you.
I’ve illustrated two books that are available also. They’d make good Christmas gifts.
The Squishy, Stinky Diaper Written and Illustrated by Karen B. Jones
The Genie Loophole by Paul Maguire Illustrated by Karen B. Jones
(Preview images were generated by Zazzle. They own the greeting card templates, I own the images pictured on the cards.)
My Dad wanted a Christmas card based on the Ogerita trolley car I just finished. So, I Christmased-up the trolley for him. The card’s here on my Zazzle store, in case anyone else would like one.
Here’s something completely different.
This is the Ogerita, a gas electric trolley car that ran on the Missouri and Kansas Interurban Railway, known as the Strang Line, from 1906-1908. The railroad was owned by William B. Strang Jr., a land developer in Johnson County, KS. The car was named after his niece.
This image was created in Adobe Illustrator using historic black and white photos as references. (Thank you to the Overland Park Historical Society for those reference images.) Period news clippings mention at the railroad painted their trolleys vermilion, so that’s the color I used. I also consulted David Holland, an amateur railroad historian and my father, for additional references and explanations of how it all looked. (Thanks, Dad. I finally drew a train car like you’ve been wanting me to do for years.)
A print can be purchased here.
Edit: I had previously stated the car was named after his wife. It was actually named after his niece.
Here’s the thirteenth of thirteen images.
Standing Up to the Bullies by Ashley Kazery, commissioned by Learning A-Z, illustrated by me.
[Edit: I’ve updated the image. This is the final they’re using for the book.]
Here’s the twelfth of thirteen images.
Standing Up to the Bullies by Ashley Kazery, commissioned by Learning A-Z, illustrated by me.
[Edit: I’ve updated the image. This is the final they’re using for the book.]
Here’s the eleventh of thirteen images.
Standing Up to the Bullies by Ashley Kazery, commissioned by Learning A-Z, illustrated by me.
[Edit: I’ve updated the image. This is the final they’re using for the book.]
