Sunday, November 28, 2010

Matt Kaplin 7/23/57-11/27/10

We mourn the loss of half of the Illustrated Rat team. A large chunk of my soul has been taken away.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Portrait card

This was a bit of a challenge. the client wanted themselves plus their three dogs in a humorous Christmas context. Whew! The portrait is 8x10".

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Santa's Raccoon ACEO

I'm going to get back into painting aceos to hopefully get some extra holiday funds. I will also make a card from this art. Thanks to my favorite racoony friend Oreo for the use of his photo. This is listed on eBay: http://tinyurl.com/37pp4hs

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Kirby


An example of the Holiday portrait Special. The card will be available at the IllRat Holiday Store on our website.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween 2010


I had to color in an old drawing for this one. these were my friend June's ratties who had to come to live with us a few years ago.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Thrift Store Find!


Look what we found at the nearby thrift store for $35! The table is in perfect condition and the side tray was never taken out of its package! I've been working on my lap since leaving NYC, and have really missed a drawing table. This is making me really happy! (The green chair belongs to my computer table but I think I'm getting a chair next week from a good soul on Freecycle).

New holiday card design

It seemed to take forever but finally got it done. I'm going to try to do some more cards featuring raccoons & squirrels, just cause I feel like it! :)

Monday, September 20, 2010

Whitechapel Rat 2

This month's NFAC theme is "Nocturnal," and I decided to do another version (5x7") of my ACEO, Whitechapel Rat. It is listed in the contest on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160483668318&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Finally back in busines



We are finally moved and settled in and the work rooms are comfortable and functional. It's been a long strange trip to get here, but here I am. Who knows what the future will bring. In the meantime I'm starting something for the NRAC contest tomorrow and getting a feel for working in the new space.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Business Cards & Update


Well, it's been a while since I've posted and also since any art has been done. We have returned from Jamaica, which was not the positive experience it was cracked up to be. Rather than looking back towards New York City, we have relocated to the gorgeous town of Hudson, NY, which is 2 hours north of NYC via Amtrak, nestled by the river between the Catskills & the Berkshires. The beauty of the place as well as all the historical architecture appealed to us.
We will be moving into a renovated apartment on Warren Street (the main street) hopefully around the first of September. Matt is excited because we think the building dates around 1830s-1850s. If anyone wants to see some photos, just let me know. After the furniture we have ordered starts coming in (and after we assemble it all--ugh) we will be back in business, and I plan to reopen The Illustrated Rat Stores on our website. Any good luck wishes are gratefully accepted. Since I figured it was finally time, I had business cards made up for IllRat. We'll make others up that do not feature rats (I'm being realistic here LOL) but this is a start. The photo is blurry but Zazzle did a very nice job. That's about all for now.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Zatoichi tattoos



These are two tattoos, based on the pen & ink drawing of Zatoishi (The Blind Swordsman).

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Dan's Rats Part 2

Another portrait for Dan. These are his current ratties. I'm very frustrated as I can't seem to get a decent scan after all that work!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Castro & Blaze

I had some time today so I thought I'd do another entry for the Nibblefest Art Contest (theme: Dog World). Here's Castro again, with our big goofy pit bull, Blaze. Castro has a thing for ears.

Father's Day 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Pink Rat Study for the NFAC


The theme for this month's Nibblefest Art Contest is "Monochromatic." All I could think of was Nikita, the old black dog who lives here, or doing something in pink with a hairless rattie. Many thanks to Diane H for her permission to use her photo of Mr. Bigglesworth. The painting will be listed on eBay in the contest this evening.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

Embroidery from Matt's design


This was commissioned and embroidered (not by us) to commemorate the wedding of Lydia, who founded Eadie's House, a rat rescue in Tucson, AZ.