Blast from the Past #336: Design for "Press Run" road race t-shirt

This is another one of those "I can't remember the details of how I got the job, but I remember the drawing" drawings. And this is one I've always particularly liked -- I think because it was one of those times that the drawing just WORKED, and turned out exactly the way I wanted it. (Whether or not it turned out the way the CLIENT wanted it, well, that's another story... though my admittedly shaky memory on this issue is that they liked it, too.) The "Press Run" referred to in the design (in that hand-lettering which must have taken me laborious hours to do, and which could now be done -- and done better! -- in minutes using Adobe Illustrator) was, I believe, a local race sponsored by the Rochester Courier newspaper in Rochester, NH, which was just north of Dover.

Here's the front of the shirt...

... and here's the back.

Please excuse the slightly rough images -- I had to clean up the badly-lit photograph of this art, and it didn't work perfectly, I'm afraid.

I have done a few of these "front and back view" pieces before, and this is probably my favorite.

And looking at this art again as I proof this entry, and noting the date of the race, I realize it is altogether possible -- in fact highly probable -- that I drew this thing shortly before Jeannine and I got married in our little back yard in Dover. Maybe what I made from this gig was enough to pay for our wedding rings. (They weren't too fancy or expensive -- simple thin gold bands bought at a local "Service Merchandise" store -- but to me, they are priceless.) -- PL

Blast from the Past #332: Drawing for Artisan Outlet Market Square Day 10K Road Race

Sometimes these days, when I am going through some old stuff looking for something interesting to post, I come across something that I sort of remember drawing… but that's about it. I don't remember exactly WHY, or WHEN, or WHERE, or for WHOM… but the drawing was clearly done by me, and clearly done for SOME reason.

So it is with this piece, with the integral "Artisan Outlet Market Square Day 10K Road Race" logo. I drew it in 1984, and I am pretty certain that it was while we were living in Dover, NH. To add to that certainty, I did a Google search for "Market Square Day" and Portsmouth (because I also had a vague memory of a Portsmouth, NH connection) and, sure enough, I got 37,800 hits. I only looked at a few of the results on the first page, but apparently there is a long-running (no pun intended) tradition of a road race in Portsmouth, held each June.

So it is very likely that I drew this thing in or around May or June of 1984, just a few months before Jeannine and I packed up our bags and boxes and moved down to Sharon, CT. But…

… WHY did I draw it? It has the look of a piece of art designed to be used on a t-shirt, but I don't recall ever owning a t-shirt with this drawing on it (and if t-shirts had been made with my artwork on them, I would have been sure to get at least one of them). I don't recall being commissioned to draw it, and I can't think of WHO I would have been hired by to do it.

Was it something I did totally on spec, and sent it in to the organizers of the event, hoping it would be used? Possibly. At this point, unless I can find mention of it in my copies of letters and such from that period, it's all conjecture.

But the main reason I am posting this is that the Fugitoid appears in it, and I find that kind of amusing. I can't imagine that anyone outside of me and Kevin and some close friends and family members even knew who or what the Fugitoid was back then. Certainly none of the road race organizers would have. Why did I include him in this design? I have no idea… just like I have no idea why I also included the small and slightly demented-looking Tyrannosaurus.

In any event, whatever the original purpose of this piece, I like it. -- PL

Organically Grown

During our recent two-week vacation in Maine, our daughter Emily got enough time off from her current job as Director of New Media at "Organically Grown" (http://shop.organicallygrowngroup.com) to fly across the country to join us for a few all-too-short days.

She brought with her a gift for me, a t-shirt -- one of Organically Grown's products for men. Here's a photo Jeannine took of me today, wearing the shirt:



And here's another view from the back:



I like the shirt a lot -- it's very comfortable, and the graphics on it are well done and subtle (especially the very light grays). It's 100% organically grown cotton.

I told Emily that it would have to be a really good, comfortable t-shirt to get me to wear it, as I have been devoted to my plain bamboo t-shirts since I discovered them a couple of years ago.

And it is! I think this is the third time I've worn it.

Thanks, Em! -- Dad

P.S. A few days after I posted this, Emily left the following comment, which I thought merited inclusion in the post itself:

"If you're interested in buying a t-shirt, use code ogss20 for 20% off on www.shoporganicallygrown.com!"