My dad and brother are big on hiking, camping, and the whole outdoors thing. Traditionally I am more of an indoor kid, but I was lucky enough to spend a day exploring Horse Thief Canyon, which is a scant hour's drive from our home town of Hutchinson. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time.
Once I got back to Lawrence it was back to work, and the next job on the docket was wedding cake toppers for my good friend Josh and his bride-to-be, Patti.
They sent me photos of their wedding day attire and I set to work. They turned out really cute, but not as cute as the real Josh and Patti (aaaaaawwwww).
Next my dad needed a shirt design for his Navy Seabee detachment reunion. I had fun with the nautical theme (although the Kansas Navy call themselves dirt sailors) and he loved the design.
I coated and exposed the screen, then Martha helped me pull the prints.
Now that is one handsome and happy dirt sailor!
Every year I plan to get in on the whole 'Inktober' thing that artists, illustrators and designers do on social media. In short it means that you draw or paint something in ink every day in October.
I made it a very proud five days, and you can see the product on Instagram (I'm @benrum). This Harry Potter sketch was my favorite, although I forgot his scar until after the photo was posted... #noob
Bernadette, a friend of ours, asked me to paint a portrait of her brothers dog for his birthday (the brother, not the dog). I got to work, and it was fun to revisit a process I hadn't used in a few years - graphite on birch plywood, sealed with acrylic and painted with oils.
The end painting was very nice, and it was reported to me that her brother (and I assume the dog) liked the painting.
Next up: a puppet! A very hairy, beardy puppet! This one was fun to make.
Here's a look at the client and the likeness, a comedian and youtuber from Kansas City. Again, Martha helped me make deadline by unravelling all of the yarn in his hair and beard. What a wonderful, lovely woman! Hey, there she is now!