The "19 Days of Edgar" Has Begun!

Jan. 1 The first Edgar and Chloe product available for purchase to celebrate Edgar Allan Poe's 202nd birthday is a 4¼" coaster with a cork backing and matte finish. The coaster is made of sandstone so the printing has that worn-in, antiquey kind of feel to it.

Coasters will be available at the lowest discounted price that Zazzle will allow for the next 24 hours. Tomorrow evening around this time I'll post something new in the Edgar and Chloe store, and these coasters will revert to their regular price.

Edgar and Chloe Coasters: http://www.zazzle.com/edgar_and_chloe_coasters-174398027097701228?rf=238975150560530933

You can read about the "19 Days of Edgar" here.

The Empty Keg

My napkin @ The Empty Keg, 129 Erie St, Edinboro PA.

Edgar and Chloe: They're finished now, I swear

O.K. Edgar's finished now, and this time I mean it. All that's left is the varnish, which I'll wait to do in a few days after I'm sure the paint is completely dry.

Edgar and Chloe will be participating in the "19 Days of Edgar" starting January 1 and running through the 19th. Read about the whole convoluted idea here. If you have any requests for what you would like to see Edgar and Chloe on, take a look at the complete list of possibilities over at Zazzle, and then let me know. Please tell me ASAP, as I'll be designing mostly in advance of the post dates to make sure I have all the kinks worked out before posting. The first selection will be available December 31, somewhere around 9 pm.

Must...go...design...

Rotty Gingybread Men

Biting off they little heads,

Nibble on they tiny feet.

Santa Claus: Gingerbread Man Serial Killer

Having been caught in the act by three unsuspecting children, Mr. Claus turned himself in to authorities early Christmas morning after a lengthy standoff. The children were immediately sequestered for psychological evaluation.

Edgar's coat, as I see it

The latest installment of "Where's Edgar?":

He may be finished...or not. I'm not sure just yet. I'll have a look at him tomorrow and see what he has to say.

Edgar's vest has come to an end

Worked some more on Edgar and Chloe this afternoon. I would consider Edgar's vest finished (the close-up is below), but his coat is only underpainted at this point. I'm satisfied with how everything's turning out so far.

And I had an idea.

This whole painting was meant as a celebration of Edgar's birthday on January 19th. So starting January 1st (and running through the 19th, of course), I'm going to celebrate the "19 days of Edgar" by creating a different product on Zazzle each day using this painting for each of the designs. I'll upload one design each evening and give everybody a heads up of each product's availability. After the notice, everyone has 24 hours to purchase that specific product at a reduced price. After 24 hours a new product will be released, and the price on the product from the day before will repost to its regular price.

That's it. That's my light bulb for today.

As you were.

Edgar's getting dressed now

Worked a little more on the Edgar painting this afternoon. His shirt and tie are finished, but his vest is still in under-painting mode (it won't be green when I'm finished with it).

I do my painting in our dungeon so lighting isn't so great for taking photos. I have to use a flash which ends up reflecting off the paint, and I have to play with the lighting setup to minimize that whole issue.

The first image here shows the whole painting, bad lighting and all, and the second one is a close-up with more accurate color.

Edgar and his raven, Chloe

Edgar painting in progress:

I think Chloe is finished, so all that's left now are the clothes.

D's Six Pax and Dogz

My napkin (they use paper towels) @ D's Six Pax and Dogs, 1118 S Braddock Ave, Pittsburgh PA.

Radisson

My post-it note pad @ the Radisson, 101 Radisson Dr, Pittsburgh PA.

Free bookmarks for your #AllHallowsRead givings

Neil Gaiman has proposed a new tradition of giving scary books to someone you know for Halloween. Buy them new, buy them used or give one of your own. Regift if you must.

Of course, my version is a little more twisted: I borrowed a book from my local library and, after having read it myself, I renewed the borrow and loaned it to a friend. The book was Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

I loved the book, first of all (it was first suggested that I would by somebody else). My library's version was from 1967, so the cover actually was as bad as the link above (the new cover looks much, much better). But the page corners were bad, too. Frighteningly bad. The top corners were damaged from years and years of people folding them down to mark their spot. Over and over. Page after page.

Not good, guys. Maybe a little respect is in order.

Here's my work-around:

1. Download these bookmarks for free
2. Print them out
3. Rip them out along the dotted lines
4. Give them along with your All Hallow's Read scary book giftings

Did I mention they're free?

Edgar's got some hair

Here's the latest update on the Edgar Allan Poe painting. Not a whole lot more to show, but it was an aggravatingly longish day trying to get it close to what I wanted. Just added some hair and a little of the Raven feathering. If you missed it, the first progress report would be on a previous blog post here.

Applebee's

My napkin @ Applebee's, 6570 Steubenville Pike, Pittsburgh PA.

Edgar Allan Poe painting in progress

So I decided to use that birch wood board for Edgar. I've been taking photos as I go, but I've been neglecting to post them. I'm such a slacker.

The biggest problem I was having was the paint kept reflecting funny in the photos, so today I tried a different lighting setup. That made everything a little blurry, but at least the background shows up without all the shiny now.

I'm posting a few versions to see it better. First, the whole space, as is:











Second, just the painting:

And third, a close-up of Edgar's face, which took the bulk of my time today:

Spamming The Rots on Facebook?

Who are these parasites? The Rots Facebook page keeps getting postings from people who want The Rots' "Likey" people to learn how to work from home. Like I do, but that's beside the point. I guess I should be flattered that they think enough people like the page that it's worth spamming. Ha! Be warned, you spamming zombies, first I flag, then I remove. You can't escape.

And speaking of Edgar Allan Poe...

I was working on a PowerPoint about social networking for a conference this November around the same time I did the sketch of Poe with his raven. I thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if the two birds — The Raven and Tweety, the Twitter Bird — were to meet. Hee Hee.

Ligonier Tavern

My place mat @ Ligonier Tavern, 137 W Main St, Ligonier PA.

And, my last place mat at Ligonier Tavern, now under the glass at the bar.

Rotty Edgar Allan Poe

I sketched up a little Poe that I'm not sure yet how to finish. I could paint him in Painter for the anniversary of his death in October. Or, I have a birch board that is square and has been really hard to make a good composition on because of its squareness and, as it turns out, Edgar happens to be square...and his birthday isn't until January...Decisions, decisions.

Leo's Pub and Grille

My napkin @ Leo's Pub & Grille, 202 N Diamond St, Mount Pleasant PA.

Odosketch! My favorite new toy!

"Jeremy"

Dino's Sports Lounge

My napkin @ Dino's Sports Lounge, 214 Rt 30 E, Latrobe PA.

New Rotty Orangatang sketch

Here's the sketch for my latest painting in The Rots' Afrikan Beasties series (Working title. Don't get too caught up in it.). He's "Orangatang," but that title is up for grabs, too.

Sharky's Café

My napkin @ Sharky's Café, 3960 Rt 30, Latrobe PA.

Apple Store

Apple Store, 5508 Walnut St, Pittsburgh PA. (Yes, I'm shameless.)

Ligonier Tavern

My place mat @ Ligonier Tavern, 137 W Main St, Ligonier PA.

My new phone drawing!

Here's the first drawing I did on my new phone. Five seconds of work, tops.

Urban Saloon

My tablecloth @ Urban Saloon, 2120 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia PA.

Elefant sketch

Finally got one.

After many (many) attempts, here's the preliminary sketch for "Elefant." Still not totally convinced he looks Rotty enough, but he's the best I seem to be able to do. I'll be painting him on wood like Jeeraffe and Zebrah.

So there you go.

Dracula sketch

Here's a sketch I did for a painting I'm hoping to start soon. The final size will be 24"x24", and finished in acrylic (and possibly oil) on wood.

I'm planning on doing a bunch of paintings of ghoulish types, each doing musical thingies. Looking for a name for the series (other than "Monster Mash").

I haven't forgotten about the elephant! The animal series has just been slower to climb to the top of the to-do list. It'll happen...eventually.

Red Robin

My napkin @ Red Robin, 1000 Greengate Centre Blvd, Greensburg, PA.

Barbie has a Mad Hatter doll?

Did you know that Mattel has released a Barbie Mad Hatter doll based on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie?

My first reaction was that it felt a little creepy, but when you look at the face close up, the makeup is a little too perfect, if you know what I mean. Like they Barbie'd it up a little so they wouldn't scare the children.

The downside: it costs over $40.

Smokin' Joe's

My napkin @ Smokin' Joe's, 2001 E Carson St, Pittsburgh PA.

And so as not to embarrass those with me, the photo was shot behind closed doors.

iFrank, the color version

For those of you who aren't following The Rots on Facebook, here's the full-color version of iFrank. I painted him in Painter and finished him off in Photoshop. I originally finished him as a parody of the iPod commercials.

The background is manipulated from a photo I took of a wall at Harpers Ferry, WV. I took tons of texture photos (mostly walls) when we visited there a few years ago. They have a lot of old, old buildings that just beg you to take their picture. I use those textures often.

While we were there, I also Rotted the Secret Six Tavern. Not one of my better ones; I guess my mind was on getting back to those darn walls.

Mr. Picassohead!

Looks like today is the anniversary of the demise of Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso, but better known to those of us without all day to say his name as Pablo Picasso. To celebrate (?), you can make your own Picasso on the Web site Mr. Picassohead. Very addictive...

Here's mine. He's called Bewildered Man.

iFrank

Here's a new Rots image with a take on the commercial for that really popular little white electronic device. I'm planning on doing a color version sometime in the near future.

If you want to download him and use him somewhere, he's yours! All I ask is that you give me credit with a link (http://www.the-rots.com/), and let me know where you've used him!

Coffee Bean Café

My napkin @ the Coffee Bean Café and Roastery, 3804 Rt 30, Latrobe, PA.

Stain Boy: My desktop inspiration

I just got my Stain Boy in the mail, and he's found a prime inspirational spot on my messy, messy desk.

Ruthie's Diner

My place mat @ Ruthie's Diner, Rt 30 E, Ligonier, PA.

Valentine design on chocolate packaging

In yet another Rotty design for Adventure Foods, here is a sticker I designed and illustrated for their Valentine chocolate packaging.

And this is an image of how the stickers actually look on their products (you can click on the image to see it larger).

I'm so proud!

Brady's Restaurant

My place mat @ Brady's Restaurant, Rt 31, Acme PA.

Sharky's Café

My napkin @ Sharky's Café, 3960 Rt 30, Latrobe PA.

The Rots win Zazzle Tops Today's Best Award

I just started a new shop on Zazzle the other day—with still a long way to go—but the very first design I added to the shop won an award from Zazzle!


I painted the image last fall just before El Dia de los Muertos. It's of Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo and was inspired not only by the Mexican Day of the Dead celebrations, but also because where I work has a few Diego/Frida connections.