open studios this weekend

Today was the first day of our annual open studios at Graphic Arts Workshop. Here's the sunny studio all ready and waiting for the first visitors.I set up my portfolios, wrapped prints and picture wall, featuring most of my newest artwork in a variety of frames.I've been working on a new series of little prints based on the zodiac horoscope signs which are on show here for the first time.I hope you'll all pop in to visit tomorrow, I'll be there from 11-6. Thank you to everyone who came to see us today. Happy Halloween!

open studios in a week

Next weekend: 31 Oct and 1 Nov, I'll be showing my work at the annual San Francisco Open Studios event, in my print studio in Dogpatch. You can find all the info you need about the Graphic Art Workshop here. I'll be showing new work, like this hand-detailed mokuhanga print,and some new playing card prints like these.Of course I'll be showing a wide variety of ceramic etchings, like this popular blue peonies print,which you can also see at the preview show in SOMArts gallery in downtown San Francsico right now.I do hope you can make it to the open studios, I'll be there from 11-6 on saturday and sunday. It's always nice to buy art direct from the artists! Please do come and say hello.

Kansas visit

I've just got back from a wonderful visit to Kansas. I spent a day doing a spot of teaching at Emporia State University and giving a presentation there. Here's a great poster one of the students made for my talk:I went to Lawrence, to set up a collaborative exhibition with my friends Yoonmi Nam and Katie Baldwin at the new Wonder Fair gallery downtown.We had our opening on saturday evening, which was super busy and fun!We showed our project wood + paper + box, along with a special silk-screened poster of our complete box (available to buy from Wonder Fair).We each also had space to show our own individual work. Here's mine, hung salon style.The show will be up until mid November, so please do pop in and take a look if you're nearby!

Marc's wedding

We attended our friends Marc & Liz's wedding at the weekend, which was a beautiful, sparkly, glamourous event in downtown Los Angeles.I sat to one side, and had a wonderful view of all the pretty bridesmaids, and loved the way they all had the same dress, and yet managed to look individual.My favourite sketch of the evening is this one of the bride and groom cutting the cake, it really makes me happy!We sat at a table full of wonderful people, surrounded by glittering glass and soft lights in the trees.Congratulations Marc & Liz! Happy days to follow...

Montana road trip - part 2

We drove from Missoula across the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains and along the edge of the Great Plains up to the Eastern entrance of Glacier National Park. The Park was beyond breathtaking. The mountains, the trees, and the wide vistas of lakes, they were all so beautiful, I think they'll fill my mind for a long time.I painted several of the lakes, loving the reflected colours of the skies. This is a huckleberry cobbler, keeping my watercolour company...This is Lake McDonald, where we tried to swim in the freezing water, brrr.And Holland Lake at sunset... ... and in the morning.We stayed in a beautiful ranch cabin surrounded by meadows,that also inspired me to paint...The sunsets and sunrises were bigger than I've ever seen, this is truly the Big Sky Country!We saw a mama bear and her cub in the forest, and I collected images of Montana bears:Yay Montana! Can't wait to visit again...

Montana road trip - part 1

We've just started our road trip in Montana and I'm already loving it. We landed in Missoula, and were greeted by this bear at the airport. We spent our first day wandering the town on the hottest day of the year so far (40C!) We tried huckleberry pancakes for breakfast, and huckleberry ice cream to cool down in the afternoon, what a delight!We browsed junk shops in the historical part of town, full of fascinating Americana and I bought a wonderful box of vintage pencils, hurrah!Who knows what wonderful things we'll see when we set off today, into the Great Plains...

Follow my trip on instagram @mariko.jesse

summer solstice

Today is the longest day of the year, the summer solstice (for us in the northern hemisphere). This is an illustration I made for the poet Dick Russell who commissioned a set of cards for his summer and winter solstice poems. I picked elements from the poem and did a watercolour painting in summer greens...Happy Midsummer everyone!

Pacific Art League

I have two prints in the group printmaking show 'Pressed' at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto. Here a few pics from the private view last night.The exhibition is on until 25th June, mondays to fridays, 9am - 5pm.

I do hope you can make it!

Connecticut magazines

I recently created some maps for a series of town guide magazines for Litchfield, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Bedford + Pound Ridge, and Wilton, in beautiful Connecticut, USA. The magazines are super nicely produced, and full of useful local information. I illustrated one map per magazine, like this:Small details from the maps were used throughout the articles to highlight various attractions and historical notes.You can see the town websites here. I hope I can go there one day!

Huntington Library

The Huntington Library, near LA, is a beautiful botanical gardens and art gallery/museum. I recently designed an exclusive toile pattern for them, to use on a variety of products to sell in their new museum store, which has just opened. This lovely paper parasol, with wooden handle, is available now!When I was commissioned for this project, I visited the gardens, took photographs and did sketches...and then designed this repeat toile featuring many of the elements I saw there. I especially loved the Japanese bridge, the rose gardens and the cactus gardens. The parasol has been featured in Romantic Homes magazine.It's available to buy in the museum store or online here. Look out for more products with this pattern, coming soon!

Joshua Tree

Last weekend we went to the Joshua Tree National Park, and I fell in love with the hot desert air, the tiny delicate flowers, and the freaky weird, but gorgeous trees...It was like being in a prehistoric land, I expected dinosaurs behind every boulder.The desert flowers bloom around about now, and finding them was a joy.

Santa Cruz

Here are some sealions sleeping happily, drawn during a visit to Santa Cruz this week.

Golden State Warriors

This weekend we went to watch the Golden State Warriors play the Detroit Pistons in Oakland. I've never been to a basketball game before, but it was amazing fun, and it's possibly the fastest sport I've tried to sketch! Go Warriors!

Mission window display

I've just installed a display in the artspace window next to Alleycat Books in the Mission in San Francisco, on 24th and Treat. I wanted to create the illusion of looking into an interior, playing with various layers and dimensions.I drew an illustrated black and white backdrop of a Victorian parlour, looking through to several more rooms. I hid little details in the drawing to create stories: portraits, a lady by the fire, a statue of a rabbit, a cat’s tail, a stuffed bird under a glass dome. I played with depth within the drawing itself, and then added to it by hanging real framed pictures on the drawn walls.The framed pieces are etchings of ceramics and a portrait, echoing the subject matter within the backdrop. They're full of patterns, creating a layer of patterned artwork on top of patterned wallpaper.One of the difficulties was fighting the un-removable grafitti on the glass. By creating a detailed pattern, I hope I've managed to distract the eye! Please go and take a look if you're around. It should be up for 2 months.

Laurie R. King

This week I went to Kepler's bookstore in Menlo Park to hear one of my favourite authors Laurie R. King talk about her new Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes novel. She chatted quite informally with another crime writer, Catriona McPherson, and I sketched them as I listened. Afterwards I asked them to sign my sketchbook. What a wonderful evening!

Palm Springs

I'm visiting Palm Springs, for a post-Christmas break, and the clear desert air, and surprisingly chilly nights are crazy beautiful...  

shiny water

On our roadtrip up the West Coast this weekend the weather was turbulent and wild.And the Pacific was moody and full of deep colours. There were moments of stillness, and the waters of estuaries, full of moorhens, sandpipers and gulls, shone with the last light of the day.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is this coming week here in the States. Every year it falls on the 4th thursday of November and everyone goes to see their families and have a huge turkey meal, and think about all the things they're thankful for.I'm thankful for having such a lovely husband, wonderful family, excellent friends, and for being able to draw every day. I hope you all have lots of things to be thankful for too...

Hearst Castle & Monterey

We visited Hearst Castle last weekend, which was totally enshrouded in fog and completely crazy. It was fantastic to walk through the rooms and marvel at the mismatched objets...I liked the details in the carvings and sculptures...and I really loved the vintage phones in all the rooms!On the way there we drove down the Monterey coast along Big Sur. It was absolutely beautiful. We cruised '17 Mile Drive' and looked at the famous lone cypress and saw sealions and dolphins, hurrah!

open studio

Today and tomorrow I'll be at my studio in Dogpatch, San Francisco, with lots of prints for sale. I'd love to see you, please pop by! Graphic Arts Workshop, 2565 3rd St. #305 San Francisco, CA 94107.                               11am – 6pm both days.For the first time, I even have a selection of my vintage prints for sale...

It's been fun sorting through my collection, I'm looking forward to sharing!