Sneak Peek? Nope.

We've been busy getting ready for Illuxcon, so I thought I'd give everyone a sneak peek of what Omar has been working on lately. But alas, I was not quick enough with the camera. So I guess you all will just have to be patient. Lots of new stuff coming soon! Hope to see you at Illuxcon next weekend.

Spot is so helpful

The Big Show

Last Friday we drove to NYC to attend the reception for the Spectrum show at the Society of Illustrators. (photo is of Omar posing next to his painting in the show). More pics taken by Irene Gallo +click here+.
Despite being extremely road-weary--we took advantage of being off the Island and ran some errands, then we hit a lot of traffic on our way to NY, so we were driving for at least 8 hours that day, and oh yeah, it was pouring rain for a lot of the drive as well (UGH)--we still managed to have a great time. It's always inspiring to see this work in person, plus get to talk to the creators as well. The Society of Illustrators has a fabulous lounge upstairs that's just packed with illustrations by artists some of which are long gone, but their art is still fresh and inspiring for us young whippersnappers. Sometimes we wish we lived in the city so we could spend more hang out time in places like this. But alas, I don't think our horses would take well to apartment living. Maybe if we traded them in for pygmy elephants...??

Painting-a-Day

For those more observant people out there, you may have noticed that a few days ago that a new item appeared in the right margin of this blog. We have jumped onto the "Painting-a-Day" bandwagon and are offering said paintings, drawings, and sketches for sale on Etsy.com. They will be in the $100 range, some a little cheaper, some maybe a little more pricey. But we are gonna try our darndest to have a fresh new vibrant wonderful fantabulous piece for sale EVERY SINGLE DAY. At least that's the plan.
Today's painting is a watercolor by Omar titled "Sea Lions Don't Drink Espresso". Big flippers and dainty little cups, just not a good fit.

Award Winning!

The Martha's Vineyard Agricultural Fair was this past weekend, and Omar came home with the blue! He won blue ribbons for his watercolor "the Caterpillar" and oil painting "the Bullfinch". He also got a special award from the MV Art Association for "outstanding artwork." Yay Omar!

Gen Con pics 3

1) Diesel on Sunday, either totally losing his mind, or it's a last minute desperate attempt at winning a hall costume prize.

2) Winding down after Sunday tear-down at the secret(?) artists' hangout.

Gen Con pics 2

Some cool costumes seen wandering around

Gen Con pics 1

1) Omar being interviewed by Jeremy McHugh of Ninja Mountain Podcast (hear the interview here)

2) Omar working on an on-site commission

3) the final result, Warrior on Bird.

Last Day at Gen Con

This picture pretty much sums it up...
thanks, Vinod!
:)

Gen Con

We are currently on the road, heading home from Gen Con. More news to come as soon as we're settled back in the studio. Just a quick thank you to all the fans, artists and Gen Con staff who made it such a memorable weekend!

Random Art

"Bullfinch"
a new oil painting fresh off the easel by Omar

Spectrum Show!

Spectrum: the Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art is holding another exhibit at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York City. The first show was in 2005, and it was such a rollicking good time they decided to do it again. Omar had the honor of having one of his paintings in the first show, and this year they asked him to submit another painting as well. We are really looking forward to this show, it is an amazing showcase of the genre. We are planning on attending the opening reception on Friday, Sept. 11. The show runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 17. Hope to see you there! Click here for more info.

Omar and his art

'nuff said!
(thanks Paul)

Too Quiet

I must apologise for being so quiet on the blog lately-- it's been quite a busy month We've had relatives visiting, cars breaking down, computers up and dying, and just a lot of work in amongst all that. To top it all off, I was away for a week attending the Illustration Master Class in Amherst, MA. It was an amazing, intense, exhausting (physically, mentally, emotionally) and enlightening experience. And as wiped out I'm feeling right now (just got back) I want to do it again! Irene Gallo has a good amount of photos documenting it all here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25346867@N03/sets/ .
Currently we're gearing up for Gen Con, and are looking forward to that trip in August. Hope to see you there!

Store Updated

We've added new items to our Cafepress store!
New stuff including this lovely keepsake box featuring the painting "Leda and the Swan" by Omar, perfect for storing your favorite jewelry, swan feathers, toenail clippings and other mementos. We've also added to our inventory of mugs, greeting cards, and magnets. Be sure to check out our store for all the other goodies we have available! www.cafepress.com/studiorayyan

The Big Snooze

I know I've posted pictures of the ponies sleeping before, but they just crack me up at nap time. Both of them are just out cold and oblivious to the world. Spot sometimes whinnies in his sleep, with his legs twitching like he's running. Too cute!

Random Art

"The Call of Spring"
In honor of today being Earth Day and also the absolutely gorgeous weather we have forecast here for the rest of the week, today's Random Art posting is a little watercolor by Omar titled the Call of Spring.

Gen Con

Now that it has been officially announced, we can now ourselves officially announce that Omar is going to be Artist Guest of Honor at Gen Con in Indianapolis this August. Gen Con is a huge gaming convention, touted to be "The Best Four Days of Gaming". So we'll be there, all bright and shiny, with some of Omar's original paintings on display that he's done for Magic: the Gathering and other games. Maybe if you're lucky Omar will let you lick one of them.

April Fool

"Skull of Truth"
Today's bit of Random Art is in honor of April 1 and April Fool's Day. This scary jester is a piece that Omar created a few years back for the book "the Skull of Truth" by Bruce Coville.

Random Art

"Snarfle"
Many have queried about what's up with all the fish doodles I do, so I thought I'd toss a non-fish drawing at ya. Happy now? Better be, or I'll sic little Snarfle here on ya.
-Sheila