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Hanga-ka no yume (The Printmaker's Dream)

Buy it here.

After I started watching traditional Japanese woodblock printmaker Dave Bull's YouTube videos and Twitch stream, I thought it would be fitting to do a tribute illustration of Dave at work.  Watching his videos, you can see and feel the passion that this guy has for his craft, and I wanted to honor that in a drawing. 

And after someone (not me) jokingly said in the Twitch chat that there should be a "print of Dave printing" I knew I had to finish this piece soon.  (It was about 30% done at that time.  I had started it a few months prior to test out the capabilities of a tablet.)

My piece doesn't strictly adhere to traditional Japanese print art styles.  It's sort of similar, but I wanted to do my own cartoony spin on it and didn't worry too much about whether it looked just like an ukiyo-e or just like a shin-hanga. 

So, Dave, if you're reading this, you are an inspiration and a pleasure to watch. Continued success to you and the shop!

Thanks to artist Jed Henry for the genius suggestion of including an owl.  Blame him, Dave.  I didn't have it in there originally!  You can't escape the owls!