Ana Bagayan is hosting a Fan Appreciation Day as a ‘Thank You’ to all the fans that have supported her artwork over the years. To show her gratitude, Ana is giving away three prizes. Visit her blog to see how you can enter to win an original drawing, her Medicine Boy t-shirt or her last Critters print. Good luck!

Raquel Aparicio and Marguerite Sauvage are exhibiting work in Curious and Curiouser: Inspired by ‘Alice In Wonderland’ at Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA. With Tim Burton’s highly anticipated film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland hitting theaters later this month, Nucleus Gallery invited artists, some of which worked on the feature film, to create their own vision of the iconic story and celebrate it’s lasting legacy. The show runs from Saturday, February 27th until Monday, March 29th, 2010.

Opening reception: Saturday, February 27th, 2010 7-11pm
Nucleus Gallery 210 E. Main St., Alhambra CA

Red Nose Studio illustrated new labels for Blasted Church wines. The labels tell the story of the old wooden church that inspired the wineries name. In 1929, a small crew headed to a deserted mining town in British Columbia, Canada with the goal of dismantling an old wooden church and bringing it back to their home in Okanagan Falls. The plan called for a controlled blast of four dynamite sticks inside the church in order to “loosen the nails”. Save for losing the steeple, the plan succeeded. Now, the 108 year old wooden church stands proudly in it’s second home of Okanagan Falls, where Blasted Church wines are made. Click here for a sneak peek of the label designs.

Nate Williams’ silkscreened pillows were featured on ApartmentTherapy.com. The pillows are produced by Nate’s company Hola Amiga. The pillows measure 16 x 16 inches and feature a hidden zipper for easy removal and cleaning. They’re produced in limited runs of 20 but if there is demand for a certain design more can be produced. Bags, wallets and art prints will also be available soon.

Here Comes the Garbage Barge!, written by Jonah Winter and illustrated by Red Nose Studio, is available now but it’s already received some great press with starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal.

The book, which is published by Schwartz & Wade and is based on incredible true events, tells the story of a little town on Long Island with a big problem – 3,168 tons of garbage and nowhere to put it. Enter the garbage barge, who hauls the junk down the coast of North America looking for a place to dump it, driving home the message that we can’t produce unlimited trash without consequences.

Publisher’s Weekly calls the book “funky in every sense of the word” and Kirkus Reviews says it’s “a fantastic combination of text and image” saying “a stinky story never seemed so sweet.” School Library Journal says “this title should be a part of every elementary school ecology unit.” Remember to check out the book jacket (and this amazing video) for more information about how the art was made.

An especially crafty Bigfoot fan created this striking likeness of Bigfoot – bloody hand and all!

Andrew Hem illustrated for New Scientist magazine’s feature article Oxygen and Life.

Brecht Evens, Emiliano Ponzi, Red Nose Studio and Nate Williams each had work chosen to appear in the Communication Arts Illustration Annual 51. The selected pieces will be published in the May/June 2010 issue. Congratulations go out to all!

Brecht Evens, personal work

Emiliano Ponzi, Time

Red Nose Studio, Microsoft Windows 7

Nate Williams, Göoo

Catalina Estrada’s Moon Garden shoulder tote and Night Bird water bottle are now available from Blue Q, the designers and manufacturers of decorative objects, eclectic bath products, miniature books and other artful curiosities. The bag is made of 95% recycled woven polypropylene, measures 15″ x 11″ and features a roomy exterior pocket and shoulder length straps. The 20oz/600ml stainless steel water bottle is decorated with lead-free inks and is BPA free.

Red Nose Studio illustrated for Microsoft’s recently launched Windows 7 operating system. Microsoft tapped Los Angeles-based design and advertising agency, 72 and Sunny, to commission 12 artists from around the world to create unique wallpaper designs that allow users to customize their desktops.

The artists, who were asked to create art that was light, energetic, inspiring and optimistic, include Klaus Happaniemi, Punga, Yuko Kondo, Nanospore, Pomme Chan, Kustaa Saksi, Adhemas Batista, Kat Leuzinger, Kai and Sunny, Nan na Hvaas and Osmand Nosse. Check out the 72 and Sunny website to see their work.