I've been inspired by the unique charm and character of Chicago's neighborhoods, each with its own distinct style and history. From the courtyards of Rogers Park to the rowhouses of Pullman, every drawing tells a story of the city's rich architectural heritage.  Here's a selection of some--just click the thumbnails to view any of these larger.   How were the drawings created? For the black and white drawings: I start with a pencil sketch, then use pen and ink, using a set square, then erase the pencil lines, then re-add pencil shading for for more greyscale tones. For color: those ..read more

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We've got a few items to share: new products for sale, new retailers, and, if you read to the end, a few top recommendations.   Seems like everyone this summer is travelling or seizing the day in some way, making up for lost time. For our part, we took a few cross-country trips that took us through some lovely historic districts in Louisville, St Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Staunton VA.    Back in Chicago we continue to be driven to capture our own city's homes in clay and ink. (Pictured above, a few of Katie's commissions).   We've also released a new line of bud vase ..read more

We wanted to thank you for being a part of the Wonder City Studio journey. So many of you have bought one or more of our prints or vases, commissioned a portrait, or just given us some kind words at shows.    We always felt that if we pursued something we were passionate about, we'd find an audience of people who were similarly passionate, and that's just how it's unfolded.    We started with a map of Chicago's best beer bars, rolled and shipped out of our hall closet. We've created a lot of new work since then, some mainstays, some quietly shelved, but pushed continually ..read more

The manuscript for the guide to Chicago homes with co-author Carla Bruni is well underway. It's a process, but we will be excited to release it and you'll hear about it here first. Thanks to the participants in our two pilot programs for Home Portrait Studio. We're expanding that very soon. We've got a few new prints in the works, including one featuring Clark Street in Andersonville, and post-war homes.  Finally, we wanted to share some of the things we love and think you might as well.  AIRE Ancient Baths - This place is magical, simply amazing. Ancient Rome meets late 1800 ..read more

Yesterday I put a call out on Instagram for Milwaukee recommendations and people delivered! I did it initially for my own purposes, but there were so many great tips, I thought I should share them publicly. Here they are, below. If you have more information, or if I recorded anything wrong, please let me know! In an ideal world, I'd have more details on each of these, but that might come through new visits.   CATEGORY NAME VOTES Sightseeing Milwaukee Art Museum  9 Sightseeing Third Ward for shopping/coffee 6 Sightseeing Milwaukee Public Market  5 Drinking Lakefront Br ..read more

These are the shows so far confirmed. Stop by! Say hello! Give me some constructive criticism! Show of Hands. MAY 4-6. Architectural Artifacts (Ravenswood) Renegade Craft Fair (Spring). MAY 12-13. Halsted St (Pilsen) 57th Street Art Fair. JUNE 2-3. Kimbark & 57th (Hyde Park) Printers Row Lit Fest. JUNE 9-10. Dearborn & Harrison (Printer's Row) Gold Coast Art Fair. JUNE 16-17. Grant Park. Just North of Buckingham Fountain. Southport Art Festival. JULY 14-15. Southport & Waveland (Southport Corridor) Bucktown Arts Fest. AUG 25-26. Holstein Park area (Bucktown) Renegade Craft Fair (Fa ..read more

Illustration of 123 Sesame Street at dusk. THE house of Sesame Street. There's a lot I'm learning. Bert and Ernie live in the garden unit. Elmo lives alone on the ground floor, the human family (who also own the place) on the second, Big Bird in the courtyard next door, and Oscar of course in the can out front. Bert kept a pigeon coop on the roof. I also never appreciated the house itself. Italianate, mid-1800s brownstone, based on those fantastic New York City row homes.  Will create a limited edition giclée print of this. Contact me and let me know if you are interested.   ..read more

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If you've got an eagle eye you might have seen my work in a few places on screen. One that I was happy about was getting an art appearance "The Big Sick." Great movie, a surprise box office success. I've always been a fan of the Director, Michael Showalter, and I'd loved Kumail in Silicon Valley and his podcast appearances with Pete Holmes. I have three pieces on the screen in The Big Sick. Two are "Memento Mori" pen and ink drawings (which I've posted on my Instagram account), and the third is the ink drawing of the Chicago two-flats. The most visible and the one people have seemed to reco ..read more