As per my previous blog post…
Sometimes I get paid in potatoes
I recently watched a short documentary about a Georgian businessman who drove a large van around the countryside trading miscellaneous chachkies he’d purchased in Tblisi for potatoes. I felt for sure this must have been a one-time stunt. No one would serious make a business out of trading goods for potatoes.
The next morning, i received an email from the Czech potato growers Farma Štemberk asking me to create a logo for them. They suggested I might want payment in potatoes. Well…how could I say no to potatoes?
Equus Press announces first round of print-on-demand releases
My first book is back in print, along with my story collection from 2020, Life Raft.
“Lo and behold: here they are, in all their shining splendour!
The first batch of our lovely print-on-demand backlist, incl. two titles with brand-new matte multicolour covers, done on nice hefty paper, print as dark & readable as can be. In a word, full-quality productions!
Czech them out here: https://equuspress.wordpress.com/” — Equus Press
Goodbye 2020
I ended 2020 by working on many new illustrations for one of my favorite clients, Headsets.com. They’re launching a new website (Leitnerheadsets.com) and asked me to provide some illustrations for them. Here are a couple.
Review of my book Life Raft in the Manchester Review of Books
Ken Nash's LIFE RAFT brings "twenty-six tales of everyday strangeness. Each of the stories contains a kernel of brilliance, something observed or invented that will change the way you look at the world. The world of LIFE RAFT remains solidly our own, and it’s only through thinking back that I realise how weird it truly gets. In that way it feels like the perfect book for our times. Nash has distilled the twenty-first century, its simultaneous cataclysm and monotony, into pocket-sized, perfectly pick-up-able form. Perfect reading for tea breaks at the office and mass evacuations." (Joe Darlington, Manchester Review of Books)
What are you working on now?
I’m working on some character designs for an upcoming animation projects. Hello you sneaky raccoon.
Life Raft spotted in the wild
Life Raft fans sending me photos. I love it.
Life Raft is now available
My latest short fiction collection, Life Raft, is now available to order online and in select stores. It can be ordered through Small Press Distribution in North America, Amazon and direct from the publisher.
Ebook available through Payhip.
“In these deft, quirky, darkly hilarious stories, the mundane realities of vacations, conferences, and dive bars, of delayed flights and broken furnaces, are intruded on at every turn by the surreal and absurd. Ken Nash’s narrators wander and wonder, befuddled but hopeful observers of secret worlds whose rituals they’re not entirely privy to, worlds in which nothing can be taken for granted.” — Holly Tavel, author of The Weather in Fritz Bemelmans Park
Talking about my poodle and other things
Recently had a chat with Expats.cz about my work, particularly my urban sketching. Hope you enjoy this interview:
Logo Illustration/Design for MJ Harvesters
I do a lot of logo design work. Coming up with a logo that encapsulates a client’s identity is a fun process for me and a great exercise for businesses. It gets them to think deeply about who they are and what image they want to convey. Here is a logo I recently completed for M J Harvesters in California.
Bird book illustrations
I did some bird illustrations for a children’s book. Can you name these birds?
The MOST Unintroducible (Ti Nejneseznamovatelnější) Exhibition
I recently performed at the opening of this exhibition featuring Oakland, California artists — while my dog Waffles interacted with some of the exhibition pieces.
Having fun making GIFs
I’ve been experimenting with gif animations lately and doing a few for nonprofit organisations. This one’s not only good for Halloween, but just about any occasion.
Purple Tooth
A new video/sound project
Free GIF animation
FREE STUFF!
For a limited time, I’m offering a 𝔽ℝ𝔼𝔼, customised GIF animation for businesses. It can be anything. Your logo. A graph or chart on your blog. Headline text animation to spice up your email newsletter. Etc.
I’m doing it just because they’re fun to make. And I want to build up a portfolio of clever GIF animations for businesses. So hit me up! #gifographic #freestuff
Prague Shakespeare Company
This is from a few years back, but didn’t think to put it on the blog until now.
Prague Urban Sketchers
Urban Sketchers are very active in Prague. They meet, normally, at least twice each week at different city locations to draw. It’s a talented group and everyone has a unique style and approach. It’s also open to anyone who wants to come along. They’ve collected works from many of the participants and created a book. It will be published this fall. You can read more about Prague Urban Sketchers and the book on their website.
Photos below are 1) from my sketchbook, drawn during an urban sketchers outing at the main train station. 2) Waffles enjoying the urban sketchers exhibition at the Prague Art Fair last month.
