A Paper Hat

High quality Giclee print on gorgeous Somerset Velvet fine art paper for premium quality and lightfastness. Framed or unframed options are available. Prints are 8” x 10” with a 1” border for framing. Following is the caption I wrote when I posted this on instagram

Mika at @apaperhatart is responsible for everything I’ve done. OK, this isn’t entirely true, but she may have been temporarily possessed by the God of Fate one day last December when she encouraged me to get one of those little black sketchbooks. The ones that fit in your back pocket. Yeah, those ones. She said “they’re magic” and then she shook her head and was like “huh? What just happened? Oh hi Ken, I didn’t even see you walk in!” It was weird, but being temporarily possessed is weird. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They ARE magic though. Somehow, they inspired me to completely change the kind of art I’m doing. #themediumisthemessage. My first one is filled with sketches like this and collages, which I don’t even post. But I TRIED them. THE MAGIC SKETCHBOOK TOLD ME TO.

Mika doesn’t like being photographed (possibly because she’s magic?) but I guess I found a loophole and she has allowed me to illustrate her in this drawing of her shop. The local art shop is (for me at least) another anchor of the town. And it’s only fitting that I finally render it in one of my sketchbooks. This time, featuring the daughter of @solo.jewelry.shop, forever immortalized as #3 on what I can only imagine is the #1 T-Ball team in the league.

Painting the art store was a lot of fun! So many details. So many colors. I used a couple @tombowusa markers throughout this, in addition to my .35mm gel pens and Van Gogh watercolors. @sonyaartis showed me that the markers could be used with watercolors, and that blew my mind. Possibly also magic and life changing. We’ll see.