Winslow Homer.

Winslow Homer born 1836. was an American landscape painter as well as a printmaker. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art. I stumbled across these great outdoors-men pictures while looking for some images of canoe art.
Largely self-taught, Homer began his career working as a commercial illustrator. Then in 1861 he was sent to the front of the Civil War in Virginia as an artist-correspondent for the new illustrated journal, Harper's Weekly.  His long career took him to France, England, and finally back to the USA, where he lived in New York, and finally settling in Prout's Neck, Maine. I could go on and on about his history, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art does a fine job of that.  So please just sit back and enjoy these amazing watercolours.

David A. Smith - Sign Painter.

Check out this amazing short documentary about David A. Smith.  He is a Professional Sign Painter based in the UK.  One of the last of his kind, his works include reversed glass signs and decorative silvered and gilded mirrors.  Its really is mind blowing and inspirational to watch.  He really has a knack for slowing down and focusing to achieve near perfection!  A trait, I think we could all use more of.  Incredible.

All Hallows’ Eve.

Dust of Snow by Robert Frost.

The way a crow 

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued. 

Illustration By John Bowdren.

Peter Atwood - Knife and Tool Maker.

Peter Atwood has been making micro tools and knives 2000, and has quite the following.  His tools are quite interesting pieces of art.  Highly sought after, they often sell out in mere minutes.  They have become a hot item in the EDC world, which is where I first heard of him.  His tools often include bottle openers, wrenches, pry bar, and drivers.  His names for the tools are unique, Poltergeist, Pest, Prybaby, brewdriver, and larva to name a few.  Peter also make great whistles, lanyard slides, and great shot glasses.   He works wonders with the anodizing, making the tools look like lighting flashes or oils spills.   Peter has a unique way of selling his handy work.  He puts its as:

"New folks email me every week unable to figure out how to buy my tools. How it works is very simple. I make batches of tools and post them for sale on my blog in one of three ways:

1. If the batch is large I post a link from Planet Pocket Tool to a sale page on atwoodknives.com. The page is invisible to casual visitors to the website and can only be accessed through the blog posting. When the sale is over I remove the link.

2. If the sale is for One of a Kind or limited edition type items where there are only a few available (such as knives) I post a Sign Up Sale on the blog. When the Sign Up Sale is over I remove the sign up link and pick the Sign Up Sale winners.

3. I sell items directly to customers via email now and again. If I have something in stock I'm happy to sell it to you anytime, just email me."

I was able to score a Poltergeist about 7 months ago, and use it quite a bit.  Handy little buggers!

Link: Planet Pocket Tool.

Patric Reynolds - Leatherface Commission.

I met Patric thru an old pal out of Utah.  Patric is a artist at Dark Horse Comics.  Some of his work is "Serenity: Float out", and interior art of the more recent comic prequel of the Swedish turned American film "Let me in".  On the side he does commisions.  This is where I come in.  As a bit of a horror buff and my favorite being the 1974 flick "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", I contacted Patric to see about an illustration.  He was more than happy to help me out.  Within a couple days I was provided a digital copy of his illustration, Which was nothing short of amazing!  Shortly there after I got the original in the post.  To see his energy in this beautifully frighting piece of art was amazing.  The whole image is creepy with exactly the feel of nervousness and helplessness that the movie portrays!  I can say that I was taken aback when I first saw it, and will hang this illustraion proudly on my wall.  I am pretty sure he is always taking commissions and will be more then happy to assist you anyway he can.  Patric's passion for his art is popping at the seems, and really shows when he puts brush to paper.

Patric's Red Army Studio.

Gallery of Commissions
Patric's Facebook Page