memo.ryecroft

Fitting My Current Mood Perfectly

Dreams

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

If you travelled back in time to 1963 and told everyone that in 2009 the President of the United States is a black man, perhaps only Martin Luther King Jr. would have believed you.

Nomenclature, Semantics, Etc

New Year’s Eve

It’s begun snowing in New York on this eve of 2010. Walking down the street, the air is crisp and the lights in the brownstones are giving off a luxurious and golden glow. The park beyond is already cast in pure whites and deep black.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
…
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep…

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost (1923)

The Storefront is Open, Virtually

I’ve set up shop…virtually.

For the last few years I’ve been able to sell a few of my photos and sketches here and there to various friends and acquaintences. And now, through a series of fortunate connections and events, I was selected as a White House|Black Market “White & Black Emerging Artist.”

It’s “a new series of limited-edition cards featuring work commissioned from up-and-coming artists we want to support.”

WHBM has selected a few of my sketches to place on holiday notecards, but unfortunately they are not available on-line. So if you find yourself near one of their locations, then pick some up and tell them “I know the artist.”

And in conjunction with the notecards being in stores, I’ve set up my own storefront that you can find here at brandonspecketer.com.

The printing, framing and shipping is all custom and on-demand via the ImageKind printing service. All prints are Giclée prints from high-resolution digital copies of my sketches or photographs. The reproductions are perfect if your looking for quick turnaround at the highest level of quality. The work is available on eight different paper types and two different canvas types, and printing is done using Ultra-Chrom K3 inkset from Epson. With proper UV protection, the prints will look as good in 30 years as they do today.

I’ve got a handful of photographs featuring New York City and Italy, and original sketches from various European locations. For good measure, beautiful fine art photography from my wife is also available.

If you’re inclined, or know someone else might enjoy having a sketch or photograph hanging on their wall, then please have a look at what’s available.

And that’s the end of the hard sell.

I hope you enjoy the work, and please let me know what you think either below in the comments, email or Twitter.