Another Month Gone By

Today marks another month completed here on the ol' blog. I'm reasonably happy with the rate I'm posting new content (5-6 days a week) and the response has been fantastic. Thanks to all those who visit daily and are providing feedback on Twitter.

SCG Atlanta is on the horizon and I'll be back at the table painting, taking commissions, and just having an overall good time. Here's just one the card I'll have for sale at the event:


Hope to see you there!

The Ultimate Marker Job

Sometimes the alters I do aren't flashy. They don't contain any clever idea. They just aim to pimp.



What's that? Where are the alters?

You see Matt Kranstuber of the In Contention podcast wanted some Beta duals for one of his cubes. He already owns one set, but rather than shell out another several thousand he commissioned me to clean up some Unlimited copies - complete with two-tone borders and Beta dots for the corners. And before anyone cries foul, no, the idea isn't to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. It's clear the cards aren't printed upon close inspection. Besides, I imagine Kranny will be cubing with these guys for quite some time.

The Joy of Altering

I've wanted to do this portrait for quite some time:

Groo

This tends to be my demeanor during most EDH games.

This Guy's Got Flash

It just so happens after I did Vader, my other Star Wars commission arrived in the mail. Sometimes an idea just works perfectly for a card - I noticed the flavor text while painting.

To save this plane, he must forsake all others.

Vader Wants YOU!

For the first time in the past several months, I had enough of a break today to paint something of my own. I eventally decided on a little Modern for my display at SCG Atlanta.

Roses Are Red, Lotuses Are Black

What can I say about altering another Lotus? For a while I've had the idea of doing a Lotus that was a take on Volkan Baga's alternate art Moxes. The pieces were created as prizes for the Annual Vintage Championships, but when it came time for Black Lotus, Rush did a similar spin on his original. I felt like Lotus deserved the Baga treatment. Being an Asian flower, it seemed only appropriate to include an Asian local in the background. In this case, it's the Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. Kyoto will always hold a personal significance when it comes to Magic, as it was the location of my first Pro Tour. The entire city screams of history; I couldn't think of a better canvas for painting one of it's most famous spots.

Obviously there's a certain stigma surrounding painting on cards of this rarity, so if it makes any of you feel better, the card was extremely beat and remains markered on the back. Perfect for a restoration project!