Art Blog
Stories about making things out of nothing.
Artistic cases are the easiest way to make your phone unique and fun. My popular Colorado art and other poster artwork are now available on cases for iPhone 5, iPhone 4/4S, and Samsung Galaxy S3.
Browse all styles here.
I've partnered with Colorado company, Shieldmans, to create their 'CampSteve Collection' because they support independent artists. And I support them as a local company making unique cases that can't be found anywhere else.
In September of 2010, the Fourmile Fire blazed through the mountains miles from my home in Boulder. It became the most destructive fire in Colorado's history. That record held until the summer of 2012 when the High Park Fire in Fort Collins claimed more damage, followed by the Waldo Canyon Fire weeks later in Colorado Springs. This year, the Black Forest Fire again in Colorado Springs was even more destructive.
When the Fourmile Fire broke out, I, like so many Boulderites, followed the fire news relentlessly. There were so many ways to help out locally, from donating to victims who lost homes, to volunteering to feed firefighters between shifts. I wanted to do something to help, but something personal that could make a difference.
I created the Fourmile Fire poster thanking firefighters on behalf of Boulder. When I posted it to Twitter and Facebook, it spread through social media like... well, you know. The response was so great, people started asking where they could buy it. People wanted to send them to firefighters. I quickly put it up for sale saying that all profits would be donated to local firefighters.
With the help of other selfless volunteers to spread the word, the effort became a local movement. Posters were distributed free to businesses to hang in their front windows. Banners were made to line the streets of downtown Boulder. We even held a parade of firefighters marching through crowds of people thanking them for saving our mountains. Tears were shed. In the end, I raised over $11,000.
Posters in windows.
Banners on lamposts.
Leading the firefighter parade.
Last year was a devastating year for Colorado with the two worst fires in state history. At the time, I was working for Card Gnome, a greeting card company. When the fire season turned serious, we as a company decided to help. I created three more artworks, one for the High Park Fire in Fort Collins, and one for the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs. I also created a general "Colorado" one that wasn't specific to a location.
We put the images on greeting cards of which people could mail to firefighters from the internet. We also sold posters. I believe we donated about $4,000 between multiple cities.
I'd rather not create more wildfire posters because I'd rather Colorado not keep burning.
Real estate company, Mod Boulder, specializes in brokering modern homes in Colorado. I've worked with them from the beginning having designed their logo and other promotional items.
Because modern architecture varies in style, I created this new design to showcase some common types of mod homes. The architecture is important, but real estate is about finding people the right home for their lifestyle. That's what this piece is about. Visually, it comes across almost like a game, and the question forces you to think about your lifestyle and your dream home.
So tell me, what kind of modern are you?
I live in a very small mountain town - Jamestown, Colorado - near Boulder. It may be small, but we know how to party. Coming up is our annual 4th of July bash which includes a pancake breakfast, Main Street parade, games, contests, raffles, BBQ, and live music from 8:00am to 10:30pm! People come from across Colorado.
This year, I illustrated a t-shirt which will be sold to locals and visitors. Proceeds go to our volunteer fire department to help get Colorado through the fire season.
The art features the stone town hall and the historic Mercantile Cafe. I thought it'd be fun to depict the townsfolk as bears, since bears live with us here in the Rocky Mountains.
If you're nearby, head to 6,926 feet elevation this 4th of July for an all-American good time.
In celebration of their 125th year, the Geological Society of America has commissioned a symphony about the geology of Colorado. Titled 'Formations', the music is created in four movements, each reflecting a chapter of geologic history. The GSA approached me to illustrate their symphony.
Here's the catch. The music was still being written and didn't yet exist. I was to visualize music I couldn't listen to.
Luckily, the composer, Jeffrey Nytch, has created a video blog documenting his experience composing the piece. In the videos, he discusses in detail what each movement represents, the tempo of the music, and his influences for each. That was enough to get me started.
Click to enlarge.
The first movement is about the formation of mountains and landscape. To depict the force of nature, I used an exaggerated perspective looking upward from within a canyon. The jaggedness of the rock texture radiating from the center is like a burst of power representing the earth's force in building mountains. Contrasting that is the quiet stream symbolizing the slower processes from which landscapes are formed.
Click to enlarge.
The second movement is about the human relationship with geology, specifically the mining booms in Colorado's history. The music is fast depicting the frenzy of the gold rush. The piece is busy with movement as objects point and reach in multiple directions, indicative of how people tore up the land, built upon it and dug holes in it. The art is loud and hot in color reflecting a human/earth friction, though the rock formations remain a cool, steady blue. The railroad symbolizes the wealth of progress that came from the riches of mining, as well as the speed of the music.
Click to enlarge.
The third movement is about the build up of shale from when Colorado was under an ocean 70+ million years ago. The music is slow to express the long process from which carbon becomes rock over time. I captured this with large, exposed rock walls lined with sedimentary layers of shale. In the foreground is closeup of the broken, layered shale rock. The colors of this piece are cool and still, again representing the slowness of time. It feels quiet and relaxing.
Click to enlarge.
The fourth movement, the climax, is about the modern Rocky Mountains. The scene depicts a hole in a rock formation that can be seen at the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs. Through the hole is Pike's Peak, one of Colorado's majestic "fourteeners", mountains that rise over 14,000 feet. I chose these landscapes because today's mountains are oft defined by their landmarks. The hole itself acts like a frame around the mountain, the way geology is framed by modern definitions - names and science. The hole also provides a visual sense of closure like curtains closing at the end of a symphony.
The four movements are laid out in a grid so that the art has flexibility for various uses. It'll be used in various marketing efforts, on the cover of the symphony program, and on CDs of the music. The askew angles that form the grid are similar to the way that rock naturally breaks apart.
Illustrating 'Formations' is one of the most unique and inspiring projects I've recently done. The chance to enrich another piece of art is a great honor. Now I can't wait to hear the symphony when it premiers this autumn.
Screenshot of Dribbble with my art in 4th place.
There's a lively community of creative people at Dribbble.com. It's somewhat like Twitter for artists. Like many members, I use it to share progress of illustrations and designs that I'm currently working on. Sometimes I solicit feedback from the community. Sometimes I just want to share.
The Art Deco school entrance.
Lately I've been working on a poster series of historic schools in Boulder. I can't share the full finished pieces until after they are all complete, so I've only shown small details. Last Thursday night, I posted this entrance of an Art Deco school. Then I went to bed. I woke up the next morning to find it became very popular on Dribbble. Throughout Friday, it climbed to the 4th most popular image on the entire site! It was by far my best performing post which was a great feeling. Per Dribbble's algorithms, it eventually fell from grace but it saw over 1,200 views and I gained 46 new followers in less than a day.
The pink basketball icon in the footer of my site (the Dribbble logo) links to my Dribbble page so you can always peek at what I'm working on.
I was commissioned to illustrate a poster of Jarrow Montessori as part of a fundraiser for the school. The oldest Montessori school in Colorado, Jarrow sits on a large property scattered with classroom buildings and outdoor play areas.
For the poster, I used an abstract perspective in order to include all the important landmarks across the long, deep property. The entrance gate and the covered walk between buildings welcomes schoolchildren and visitors. Beyond, I shift perspective as if we're looking down on the school. The sunrise in the east symbolizes the dawn of a lifetime of learning.
The poster art was "painted" on my iPad using a touch-sensitive paintbrush. This is a fairly new process for me, of which I've only done for a couple professional illustrations.
The Jarrow poster is now in the Boulder posters gallery.
The poster on display at a fundraiser event.
Having created dozens of Boulder art and posters, I'm honored to have finally illustrated the official Bolder Boulder poster for 2013.
Purchase from me at the same price as the Bolder Boulder store. Exclusive option: add artist's signature for free.
I'll be doing a few poster signings in Boulder. Check the schedule.
The BolderBOULDER is one of the largest 10k races in the world with over 50,000 runners. On Memorial Day, along with the large Boulder Creek Festival, the race brings hundreds of thousands of people to Boulder, Colorado.
Henry's Markets is a grocery chain with stores inspired by local farmers markets. I designed sixteen signs to hang in store aisles to identify food sections. I enjoyed illustrating various foods and their packaging.
Note: I have since removed the gallery page from my site because my Whole Foods art better represents my grocery store illustration.
I became fatigued by managing too much social media, so I henceforth quit Twitter. I hadn't tweeted in a few months anyway. With 655 followers, I deactivated my account.
Now I'm back!
I returned because I'm more comfortable with what I can get from social media without caving to the always-on pressure of modern connectivity. I don't have to constantly check it. I don't have to post the monotonous details of my days. I use it for sharing my art and connecting with the prolific design and technology communities in Colorado and beyond.
If you live in Boulder, Colorado, you'll recognize this as the star on Flagstaff Mountain shining above the town. I created it not only to capture the season in Boulder, but to represent the spirit of the holidays in America, no matter where you live.
It's for sale on Card Gnome where you can personalize it online and let them mail it to your recipient. Or you can order it for yourself to write in by hand.
Get the Winter Star greeting card here before December 16th so it arrives on time.
I created the first version of CampSteve.com in 2002, made with the tech du jour, Flash. It was my first website and a horribly inefficient experiment in putting my art on the internet. But it was novel just to have anything online in those days.
I then launched a whole new CampSteve in 2009, a time when it was standard for an artist to have their work online. I needed a real portfolio site to sell my illustration and design skills, along with a poster store. It looked great and served me very well, but the software I used to create it was cumbersome and hard to update.
Then a few months ago, I discovered Squarespace, an online website publishing service with very slick tools and features for creating and managing websites. After a little experimentation, I was sold!
Besides the slick navigation and management tools in Squarespace, it has built in formatting for the mobile web. My new site looks great on phones and tablets!
It also works with high resolution images so that those with HD displays on their computers and devices get the best experience viewing my artwork. These features are important to me as an artist in an ever changing internet.
So please click around and enjoy my art. There are many new galleries that weren't in the last version.
The original 2002 CampSteve featured an animated "splash page" in my poster style.
The previous CampSteve.com was beautiful but difficult to manage. The blue Jeep with the red canoe is in all versions of my site. Do you see it here?
