Author: richardakirk

I am a Canadian artist, illustrator and author. This blog is where I talk about projects that am working on. I show finished works, but I also show works in progress and things that inspire me along the way. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thanks for dropping by.

The Lost Machine and Necessary Monsters Audiobooks

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My first two novels will soon be available as audiobooks! They are currently in production at Encyclopocalypse. Over the weekend I heard a 15 minute sample of the narration for The Lost Machine and it sounds absolutely fantastic. The audiobooks will be available on Audible. More information about this release soon.

Richard

Magpie’s Ladder

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Magpie s Ladder hardcover by Richard A Kirk
Cover art for Magpie’s Ladder, PS Publishing

Magpie’s Ladder, my illustrated collection of short stories, is currently available for pre-order. Copies of the unsigned edition are expected at PS Publishing at the end of May! I am currently signing the signature sheets for the signed editions. Please check the PS Publishing website for more information.

Here is a sampling of the illustrations:

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Richard

Spring Sale on Small Originals

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I am offering 20% off original art on my web store until Sunday, May 19. This is a great opportunity to pick up a smaller original work for a great price. Several have already sold. I won’t be offering sale prices again until the fall. Here is just one of the pieces currently available.

A stipples drawing called Somnium
Somnium, 2018, ink on paper, 10” x 7”
Detail of a stipples drawing called Somnium
Detail of Somnium

Crown of Coral

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coral_crown_etsy
Crown of Coral, 14″ x 10,” watercolour on 140lb Arches Coldpress

This past week was productive. I handed in all of the artwork for Magpie’s Ladder (my forthcoming short story collection) to PS Publishing. Unfortunately I can’t show it to you yet, though if you follow me on Instagram you might have glimpsed some of the work in progress.

Instead, I am showing you this new watercolor piece called Crown of Coral. After a long, monochromatic winter I am in the mood for some color work. I hope you enjoy this piece. I have made it available on my Etsy site for a low price.

Work continues on edits for my new novel, Tailor of Echoes.

Richard

Off the Grid, Sort of but not Really

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This is an iPhone snap of a watercolor I did a few weeks ago. I plan to do a version of it in oil in due course. It was necessary to suspend my use of oil for a while as the products I was using led to some pretty trippy – but ultimately not fun – ocular migraines. Since then, I have added some odorless oils to my supply cabinet. I’m at the point where I can resume. I really like working in oil – though if you are familiar with my monochromatic ink work you would be forgiven for assuming otherwise. I’ll post my progress here.

At the moment, I am taking a break from social media, specifically Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so this blog is your best bet if you are interested in my new work. My reasons for stepping back are largely related to a desire to enhance my productivity, but they are also related to the attitudes the designers of these platforms have for privacy, data harvesting, and surveillance. Time will tell how these issues are resolved but for now I plan to be more circumspect in the use of the platforms (though in full disclosure these blog posts are shared to Twitter).

If these issues are of interest to you also, I recommend:

The Age off Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff

World Without Mind by Franklin Foer

Zucked by Roger McNamee

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

These books have all been published recently and give excellent overviews of the issues from slightly different perspectives.

– Richard