Promoting Great People

My longtime friend and guitar mentor, Rod DeGeorge, has just put out his first music video! You may recall reading about Rod when I launched this blog and did design work for his current CD, Cosmic Playground. Rod has an amazing talent and those fortunate enough to know him personally also know what a generous and modest soul he is. Check out his YouTube page for more guitar goodness!





Edit: Rod has had some misfortune behind the wheel of late. :( If you want to support a great artist and help with his medical bills, I highly recommend purchasing some of his music online. His MySpace page and website have the details:

http://www.myspace.com/roddegeorge
http://www.degeorgemusic.com/store.html

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On another personal note, it has not been a good summer at Casa Leshock. One of my family has been in and out of the hospital and it has been quite the daily struggle to keep my life and emotions in balance. My family is a huge part of my life and I come from one which is very close. We all suffer such things together. Also, I cannot stress enough how large a part music plays in my life. I owe half of my creative inspiration to listening to great music while I design. I find listening to the blues particularly cathartic when times are stressful. Before the medical issues had come to light, I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Joe Bonamassa for the second time this year and at Penn's Peak no less! This show came in the thick of some pretty heavy stuff I've been dealing with and it allowed me an escape for a few hours. That is no small feat! My personal thanks to Joe for putting on an awesome show and being another creative force you all out there should definitely take notice of!


http://www.jbonamassa.com/

Introducing The Aerostake!

Now available on my Etsy site and by request, I have created these colorful stakes with my sport kiting friends in mind! Those who fly know how important it is to have a stake which is unique to their personality and easy to spot on the field! Each stake is 10 inch steel with blunted tips and a hard polymer clay handle formed entirely by hand. No two are the same! Check back frequently for new stakes to be added! Custom colors are available by request. Due to outrageous expense of international shipping these days, I regret that I can only offer these within the USA at this time. My sincere apology to my overseas friends.

Tilt Shift

I've been reading alot lately about a photography technique referred to as Tilt-Shift. It is a technique which manipulates an image so that it appears as if one is viewing a set in miniature. Ever intrigued by such things, I decided to try my hand at it with my friend Colleen's photo taken at the The Huntington Kite Festival earlier this year...



Now compare to the original untouched photograph...



Interesting isn't it? I think I may have to experiment with this much further! In the meanwhile let me treat you to a video which excels at this! Hat tip to Peter Jones for the video link. :)

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

The Art of Logo Design

Logo creation has got to be one of the most esoteric forms of graphic design, I think. How to encapsulate the essence of someone's business and personality into one attractive and easy to read design? One of the most effective logos in history (in my opinion) is that of FedEx. Their fun colors contain a hidden arrow that suggests movement. The logo that I had created for myself is an amalgam of my personal interests into one symbol. I had wanted something creative and universal to cover the many aspects of my art and design.

Meaghan has started up a website for her business Ilus Elu (Estonian for Beautiful Life). She produces earth friendly spa and beauty products made with organic materials and green packaging. With her logo, I brought in graphic elements to represent the clean beautiful aspects of nature present in her line of products. I had also wanted to convey a sense of personal luxury. Which design did she choose? You'll have to visit her site to find out! http://www.iluselu.ca/

Happy Anniversary!

LeshockArts.com is a year old this week! On behalf of my brother and I, we'd like to thank ~Everyone~ who has visited our sites over the past year and patronized our individual talents! In this challenging economy we appreciate your business more than ever! It is my plan to constantly expand this site into a multifaceted center where I can continue to showcase my art and design services as well as feature Mark's ever growing portfolio of awesome tattoo work! Mark and I have been reaching an ever widening audience through the website and I am excited with plans to offer more products in the months ahead. Always feel free to browse the site, shop, and call or email us with questions! Thanks again for your positive feedback and patronage!

Happy Chinese New Year!

I am always inspired by holidays and traditions which allow you to reset yourself and start over. Life is a constant cycle always in motion. Nature reminds us of this on a daily basis.

Today's photography and graphic design work features a haiku from my long time friend, Jason Michael. Most people may be familiar with his theatrical and vocal work, but I'm hoping that you'll discover his writing in the near future as well. I highly encourage you to visit and attend his productions through the Shangri-La Theatre Company in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

Just Right

There are times when snow is a nuisance, and times when it is downright beautiful. Today it snowed so light and perfect that I had to capture at least one nice image to remember it by. I love when the snow flakes are so big that you can look up and just see them falling down out of an infinite nowhere. Today however, this little holly branch wanted to be seen. :)

Welcome 2009! We're half way through January and I can't help but be enthused about the year ahead.

I Have Product!

http://www.zazzle.com/leshockarts

At last, a little something to offer the masses in the line of wearable art! For a long time I have contemplated getting into designing apparel and now there are services which allow me to do just that! If this venue proves successful, I plan to offer more designs of various themes in the future. Feel free to stop by the shop and get something cool for your loved one for the holidays!

I have other product lines in the works for 2009 which I am very excited about! Please stay tuned and watch this blog for news of more cool goodies from my design bag! In the meantime, I wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and the best holidays ever! Mucho Huge Thanks to all those who have had me design work, ordered prints, and supported my creative endeavors in the past year. I couldn't realize my dreams without you!

Designer Appreciation

I recently had the pleasure of staying at The Starlux in Wildwood and I have to admit it's the perfect place for a designer to be. I was lucky enough to be visiting the Jersey Shore during it's heyday in the 70s as a kid for vacations with my family. Then, Wildwood was a sea of funky cool technicolor neon signs, plastic palm trees and a playground of themed hotels and motels built in the 50s and 60s (when people were encouraged to do road trips and vacation within the US). The various hotel's architectural design competed heavily for your attention and business. As a kid it was always a blast to count down all the cool favorite places on the way to our motel in NorthWW and envision yourself trying out the other places as well. Sometimes I wonder whether having that overload of design surrounding me as a kid subliminally led me to this profession of graphic design.

Around 2000 there was condo boom that led to the destruction of many of these architectural gems. True, there were many places that were beyond renovation, but many wonderful places were leveled for future construction that never happened. Thankfully, there is a faction of folk in Wildwood, The Doo Wop Preservation League, who are trying their darnedest to preserve and create wonderful places like the Starlux in the Woods. Motels like The Caribbean and Starlux are doing it right and playing up to their unique strengths. Not only are they taking care of their unique structures, but they are also providing a clean, fun and stylish atmosphere that you won't find anywhere else on the east coast. Their success proves that the kids who have grown up with those very fond memories of Wildwood want to share that with their own families and loved ones. I think the City of Wildwood ought to seriously pay attention to that if it wants to survive as a resort town.

Some cool websites that better illustrate what I'm blathering about:
http://www.doowopusa.org/index.html
http://www.crazyaboutwildwood.com/
http://www.wildwooddoowop.com/doowopspots/

Veterans Day

Thank you to all the Veterans who have served and or are serving this great nation of ours. Always know how much your hard work and many sacrifices are deeply appreciated!

It's September Already!?!

Alright then, here are two images which capture perfectly what Summer means to me...





I know the "official" end of Summer is typically Labor Day weekend, but try telling that to ma nature. Temps are in the 90's today, the heat is oppressive, and the ocean temps are finally warm, but the lifeguards are gone from the beaches and all the local neighborhood pools have closed down and drained for the season. It's a cryin' shame. I live for this time of year for so many reasons and it seems sooooo short. I refuse to trade in my flip flops until the weather cools beyond bearing tho. ;D

Time Flies!

It has been too long since I updated this blog. One gets caught up in the everyday facets of life and before you know it time flies...literally! Thankfully we are now on the brink of my favorite season. The unofficial start of Summer is celebrated most prominently at the shore points. I was fortunate enough to be able to kick it off with my kite flying friends near and far in Wildwood, NJ for the Annual International Kite Festival this past Memorial Weekend.

This year's festival was the first of many celebrations for the Revolution Kite Company's 20th Anniversary. "Rev" kites are controlled by four lines attached to 2 handles. They are ridiculously maneuverable, and like traditional kites their artistic design possibilities are truly endless! The photo above was taken while the famous kite precision team iQuad performed under perfect beach skies. The Rev fliers dominated the festival this year capped with a North American record "Mega Fly" of 34 pilots in all!