‘Secrets of the Dog Park’ selected for American Illustration 30!

Friendlies,

‘Secrets of the Dog Park’, my screenprint that explores the issues of the gay dog community, has been selected for inclusion in American Illustration 30, a sooper groovy hard-cover compendium of hand-picked images. This is the seventh time my work has appeared in the book. “From more than 7,000 pictures entered by over 1,100 illustrators, magazines, agencies, publishers and schools, the jury selected, by a majority vote or better, only 316 images to appear in the book and represent the best pictures from 2010.”

Buy yourself a copy of the print here.

Yay!

xm

A Dazzling Display of Dogs on shelves this week!

Friends to the Four-Pawed:

my second picture book, A Dazzling Display of Dogs (written by Betsy Franco – yes, that Betsy Franco), has been released and is available at your local bookstore and online. We’re super excited about it over here, and hope you’ll get yourself a copy!

The book release party has been set for March 23, at Diesel Books here in Oakland. Andy and I will probably, as with the Curious Cats opening, embarrass ourselves in front of you. Just to let you know.

Here’s a great review from School Library Journal:

Starred Review. Grade 1–5 – This follow-up to A Curious Collection of Cats (Tricycle, 2009) is dazzling indeed. Each of the 34 poems features a different animal, most of them engaged in true dog behavior. From farting in the car to wheezing and snoring while sleeping, these pups are funny and lovable even when they’re being annoying. The verses and the book’s design are beautifully matched. In “Emmett’s Ode to His Tennis Ball,” the text is enclosed in a circle held firmly in the dog’s mouth. It begins, “Slobbery, sloppy, slimy, sphere—oh, tennis ball, I hold you dear….” Like the poems, the pictures are funny and dynamic. The pages are definitely full, yet careful use of color, typeface, and detail means they never look chaotic. A note says the pictures were started in pencil and then finished using monoprints and Adobe Photoshop. Overall, a delight for kids, their adults, and maybe even their beloved canine companions.—Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL

Sadly, ‘A Dazzling Display of Dogs’ is one of the last books that Tricycle press will publish. I am so grateful to my editor Abigail Samoun for making this book happen!

See more images from the book here.

xm

Inky Oxnard’s Holiday Frenzy!

Dear Friends Who Are Wearing Sweaters,

I’d like to cordially invite you all to my very first Studio Sale at the new silkscreen studio (*Inky Oxnard) in West Oakland. I’ve invited some amazingly cool (and talented!) friends to join me: Isabel Samaras, Dave Warnke, Jim Winters, and Lloyd Dangle.

This is going to be EPIC, people.

The sparkly wonderland of gifts that will await your arrival: screenprints at ridiculously low prices, lovingly printed teeshirts, framed pieces, a few pieces on wood from Super Furry Animals, landscapes, Squirrel Plates, stickers, books, paintings on canvas, wood, and cardboard. There will be gifts to fit every budget. We will make it worth your while, people. PLUS there will be snacks. Oh, yes. You read that right. Snacks.

This is Inky, welcoming you to the studio. Go ahead, have some hooch! If he had arms, he’d hug you. Inky’s had a hard year.

Isabel Samaras is bringing:
* Collector Porcelain Plates (think Hamilton Mint but much, much cooler) of the image “Nutz!”, both signed/numbered limited editions and “seconds” with slight damages at huuuuge discount!
* Fabulous books and postcard books that can be signed and personalized! (Including: “On Tender Hooks“, “Isabel Samaras Postcards” and “Devil Babe’s Big Book of Fun!”)
* Limited edition signed and numbered jigsaw puzzles!
* Signed button sets!

Jim Winters will be selling his stunning silk screened landscape prints:

Dave Warnke is hard at work on some goofy gumdrop paintings. Yes. You can have one. Don’t eat it.

Lloyd Dangle is a master of all things comic:

And here’s a print you might like. These things will be priced to MOVE, people.

Have we enticed you? Will you turn away from Facebook long enough to come visit and have some cider? It will be hard, I know, but I have confidence in YOU!

The Deets:
Inky Oxnard’s Holiday Frenzy
December 11, 2010. 11 am – 5 pm
3264 Ettie Street, Oakland, CA 94608

xm

* Inky Oxnard is Andy’s Porn Name.

tshirt design for oaklandish

howdies!

it’s fall on lake merritt, and oaklandish has a new tshirt design from yours truly. say hello to the lake merritt monster. you can get yourself one of these goody goodies right here.

xm

Dog Dreams @ Cafe 504 until November 1

friendlies,

the prints from my little book dog dreams will be installed at cafe 504 in oakland, ca through november 1. check it out and buy yourself a coffee treat while you’re there. you deserve it.

xm

Halloween is Upon Us, My Lovelies

Dear Fans of Dressing Up and Acting Like a Goofball:

your national holiday is quickly approaching! Time to get out the pumpkin carving tools, fake spider webs and strobe lights! Time to stock up on pounds and pounds of delectable sugary sweets! Time to watch Let Me In and clutch your friend’s arm in the theater! The midnight hour approaches – can you hear Miss Gulch flying through the air?

We’re getting excited over at Chez Wertz because Falltime is Here. And that means cooler weather, falling leaves, and beautiful orange afternoon light. And Orange = Halloween.

This is a poster design I just finished for Carl and Larry, who, out of the kindness of their hearts, produce “The Driveway Follies”, an amazing Marionette Show and Yard Haunt in the Glenview district of Oakland, CA. Larry spends all year (literally) on this show. The puppet show has gotten so popular that they’re doing the show on both the 30th and 31st of October.

The poster is meant to be a two-parter: the top bit can be shown separately from the bottom bit. I’m thinking of perforating the posters like two giant stamps. It will be printed with orange, blue, and glow-in-the-dark inks. Get out your blacklights from Spencer’s gifts! 17′ x 24′. I’ll have them available for sale soon in the shop.

In Other Halloween News: The Argyll Adventure Tree is doing our annual Halloween radio show this coming-up Thursday, on the 7th of October, from 5-7 pm. You can listen in here. You can listen to 2009′s Halloween show here, and 2008′s show here.

Now I must close, and go meet the ghosts who’ve come out to socialize.

Have a safe & happy All-Hallow’s!

xm

Dog Dreams is up on Etsy

Hi Kids.

We’ve been working like mad to get Dog Dreams ready for the July 29th opening. It’s a shiny little gem of a book, and we’re all very excited about it. Huge thanks go to Pam De Luco and Carolee Wheeler (as well as a handful of other kind volunteers at the San Francisco Center for the Book) for the hours and hours and hours of work that has gone into the production of this book. You can see the production photos here.

I have a feeling that this edition of Dog Dreams (100 copies) is going to sell out. If you are interested in getting yourself a copy of the book, go to the SFCB’s Etsy page and order one!

This is a book that I have wanted to make for a long, long time. The idea for Dog Dreams came to me while watching my (then new) dog Olive sleep on the couch next to me. She twitched, huffed, barked, and jerked her way through a series of (seemingly) thrilling dreams. I’m pretty sure she was dreaming the typical dog dreams: squirrels, cats, and ball. But who knows? Maybe she was dreaming of a trip to Paris – or of flying like a bumblebee. Maybe she was simply sitting for tea in the shade of her favorite tree. This book is about this – as well as a little taste (for kids) of what it might be like to be a grownup.

It’s been great fun to immerse myself at the center. I’ll miss having an excuse to go there every day.

xm

Dog Dreams Release Party – You’re Invited!

The Imprint of the SFCB is excited to announce the launch of Dog Dreams, an artist’s board book written and illustrated by Michael Wertz. Dog Dreams imaginatively reveals the hopes, wishes, and ambitions of over a dozen dozing canines through playful imagery and rhyming text. The book is letterpress-printed in two colors on a Vandercook proof press on French Muscletone paper and is part of the Imprint’s Small Plates series issued in 4″ x 4″ format, numbering 100 signed copies. Come join Michael and the Imprint crew in celebrating Dog Dreams’ publication on Thursday July 29, 6-9 PM at the San Francisco Center for the Book. 300 De Haro Street (entrance on 16th Street), San Francisco CA 94103 | http://sfcb.org | 415.565.0545

Please bring your (leashed and friendly) dogs.

Can you make it? Say yes!

xm