10. Just Dreams
This quote by Dr. Steve Brule made me laugh quite a bit. I think the color palette and pattern came together nicely.

9. Choices
Early in the year I started experimenting with colored pencils on black paper. I really love the way the colors pop.

8. All My Bikes: #21 MKE Bruiser Prototype
This is from a series of drawings I did documenting every bike I have ever owner. I recently made a book out of them. The series started off fairly loose but quickly developed into a system wherein I illustrated the bicycle and then framed it will words describing the bicycle and my memories.

7. Alphabet
I drew a few different alphabets this year. I like the simple black and white, unedited nature of this one.

6. Rush Limbaugh
During the catestrophic BP oil spill quite a few on the extreme right came out with some crazy statements. I drew a handful of these. I experimented with incorporating photos and textures into these illustrations and I am happy with the results.

5. In a Bubble
This drawing was improvised—though I can’t remember where the starting point was. Pieces like this are almost therapeutic to work on. I was especially pleased with the line quality on this one.

4. Today’s Drawing brought to you by the letter A
Another series I worked on this year was the Alphabet. I drew each of the letters with my own twist. The improvised and semi-grotesque pattern in this A is certainly one of my favorites.

3. Growing Up Means Giving Up
When I saw this quote I just had to draw it. The crazy colors and lettering in this drawing don’t feel like giving up to me!

2. I’ll Believe in Anything
This line is from my favorite Wolf Parade song. This drawing was one of the first in which I began to really experiment with patterns in my letterforms. This has since become a common aesthetic for me (it also went on to be a t-shirt design for Print Brigade).

1. Caffeine: Healthiest Substance on Earth
This wonderful quote came as a tweet by the great R. Stevens. Though this lettering treatment is fairly simple it’s still one of my favorites (this one also went on to become a Print Brigade t-shirt).

Honorable Mentions:
I did a few videos of selected dailies this year. My New Years resolution is to make this a more regular thing. Here are a few highlights from this past year.

Daily Drawing 05/06/2010 (with watercolor!) from Chris Piascik on Vimeo.

Daily Drawing 03-15-2010 from Chris Piascik on Vimeo.

I am very pleased to be included in LetterCult’s Best Custom Letters of 2009! There is some amazing work featured—I am humbled to be in the line up.

I can’t believe that I slacked on posting about this! Doodlers Anonymous recently published a coloring book featuring 29 fantastic artists—including my good friends; Vaughn Fender, Josh LaFayette and Will Bryant! (I’m in there too) If you couldn’t guess, it’s the one shown on the left. (photos courtesy of Doodlers Anonymous)

If this wasn’t cool enough on it’s own, a portion of the proceeds are going to the International Child Art Foundation.

PRESS RELEASE:
Concoction – New artwork by Chad Kouri
Opening reception: January 8th at Rotofugi Gallery
1955 W. Chicago Ave. (Chicago and Damen)

For the past several years Chad Kouri has gained notoriety in Chicago and elsewhere for his largely collaborative style and tendency to bring people from various sectors of the art community together.

As a founding member of the Chicago art and design collaborative, The Post Family, Kouri has worked hard to spread the ideas and work of his peers through the family’s blog thepostfamily.com and use of the group’s gallery. Kouri is also the art director of Chicago-based arts magazine Proximity which has gained acclaim for its sleek and elegant design. As a major contributor to Chicago’s vast art scene, Kouri has finally taken the time to display his own fine art.

Concoction is Kouri’s first solo exhibition. The work, most of which is paper collage with found materials and assorted ephemera, explores the collage medium from a distinctly knowledgeable design perspective. The result is a sampling of artwork that will no doubt establish Kouri in a fine-art medium to accompany his presence in the design and curatorial fields.

Concoction runs from January 8th through January 24th at Rotofugi Gallery, 1955 W. Chicago Ave. Rotofugi Gallery hours are Saturday afternoon from 12noon until 4pm or by appointment Monday through Saturday from 12noon to 8pm or Sunday 12noon to 5.

In the meantime, my blog is still active here: chrispiascik.com/news

My Flickr page is also full of work.

Tonight I stood in the cold for three hours to hear Barack Obama speak in Boston. He was joined by Deval Patrick, John Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy. There was an amazing turnout, at a few points I heard there were 10,000 people in line. Anyway, it’s late and I need to get some sleep. I just wanted to say, you should all(if you live in an applicable state) really vote tomorrow, it’s a big deal because the race is so close. Hearing Obama tonight made me even more sure that he should without a doubt be our next president. Polls show that he is currently almost dead even with Hillary Clinton. Every little bit helps.