Last week I took a few days off from school for some "me" time.  I needed to clear my head, get some inspiration, and meet some new people.  Last spring I discovered that Circles Conference was going to be going on in Grapevine, Texas, which is just about 30 minutes from my house, so I signed up way back in March. My co-worker Fred Rodriguez also signed up.  We are both really interested in the foundations of design, the business aspects of the design world, and making connections with fellow creatives.  Well, this conference did not disappoint. The conference was set up with guest speakers throughout the day, with a Q/A panel after lunch. Here is a list of the speakers:

The Heads of State - Philadelphia Design Firm
Jay Argaet - Art and Communication Director of Hillsong Church
Kathleen Shannon - Braid Collective
Lee Steffen - Creative Penguin
Doug Bowman - Stop Design
Becky Murphy - Designer/Illustrator
Matt Lehman - Designer
Josh Brewer - Designer at Twitter  
Josh Higgins - Designer at Facebook
Jessica Hische - Letterer & Illustrator

I will not go into all the details, but each one of these speakers had a great message and some really good insight on being creative and making your mark in the design world.  They had some really cool vendors set up in the overflow room - WarStics and The Giving Keys were my favorites.  Printed Threads was there doing live screen printing too. Really cool! They had a great after party at the end of day one where dinner and drinks were provided!  I met some really cool people from all over the country.

I was also able to meet a few people that I have followed for a while through blogs, Instagram, and podcasts.  It was really cool to connect with these guys over some small talk.  Really great guys and super talented artists.

Kyle Steed
Sean McCabe
Jeff Sheldon

Everyone here was really friendly and open.  It was refreshing to not have to deal with the "artists egos" floating around.

I really didn't know what to expect from a design conference going in as a rookie.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I got inspired to keep plugging away, try new stuff, and shoot for the stars. Please take a few minutes to check out the Circles Conference website.  Maybe I'll see you there next year.

As I am trying to organize some thoughts and get some ideas for posts on paper, I thought I'd post a few pics of my favorite things from the summer of 2014.

Republic of Texas decals can be purchased here

Start your own sticker showcase on a Coleman 54-Quart Steel-Belted Cooler, Stainless-Steel Finish

Ocean Kayak - Just like the one we have back in New Braunfels - Ocean Kayaks Malibu Two XL Tandem Angler Kayak - 2014

I went back to work last week, after a relaxing 3 month summer vacation. It was kind of hard to get rolling.......but now I'm back in the groove.  The other day I was able to start going through my list of ideas that I wanted to draw out.  I drew up this cow skull on Labor Day morning.  I've had the idea for a while so it was cool to see it come to life.  The cool thing about this one is that after I drew the outline, I basically just went freestyle to see what would happen.  I kind of like how it's looking. We may use this on a t-shirt or tank in the next few weeks.  I'll keep you posted.  The folks that follow us on Instagram at @shoptwt seemed to dig it.

Materials:
 Canson Multi Media Paper Pad, 60 Pages  - My favorite sketchbook!  The paper is thick and smooth.

 Copic Markers MLB2 Multiliner Inking Pen, Set B-2- My favorite ink pens.  These things do not bleed or erase away.

Padre's patio - Marfa, Texas

Thunderbird Motel sign south of Marfa

Big Bend Brewing Co. - Alpine, Texas

Gage Hotel patio - Marathon, Texas

Here are a few pictures from our trip out to west Texas in late July.  The weather was perfect, the music was outstanding, and the people are awesome!  Make plans to get down to Viva Big Bend Music Festival next year!

I've had this canvas for about 4 months now.  My summer break ends in 4 days.  I finally decide to get this painting for my wife off the ground.  It took me a couple of days, but it is now complete.  The canvas is 4 ft x 4 ft.  I uses a couple of photo references I found from real skulls and photographs from my travels.  It makes me wonder what I could punch out if I really got after it.