Today is a big day for flowers, last year Valentine’s Day gifts netted florists over $50 million dollars in the US. Which is probably why this florist looks so tired. One of the most infamous events to occur on this date is the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. These notorious killings were actually the culmination of a 5-year gang war between the North Side Gang and the Chicago Outfit, a war that was sparked by the murder of a florist. This florist, Dean O’Banion, just happened to also be a bootlegger and the leader of the Northside gang. In addition to his criminal activity O’Banion spent a good deal of time arranging flowers and his shop, Schofield’s, was the vendor for mob funerals for Chicago. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Florist, 5″x5″, graphite, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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You might guess that an attractive waitress is likely to earn more in tips, and you’d be right. This obvious theory was verified by Michael Lynn in a survey he conduced for the journal “Archives of Sexual Behavior”. On the flip side, a study from Cornell and Friedrich Schiller Universities shows that a server with a high BMI will influence their customers to order more food and drinks than servers with lower BMIs. I feel like there should be a clever conclusion here, but everything I come with sounds terrible. So, goodnight everybody! Don’t forget to tip your waitress!

Waitress, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Park rangers have existed existed in some form since medieval England. While the specific duties of the job have changed over time, park rangers have always been responsible for looking after wild lands. One park ranger, Roy Sullivan, served with the National Park Service from 1936 to 1976. Over the course of his career Roy earned an unusual world record: most lightning strikes survived. He was struck by lightning 7 times and suffered from injuries ranging from scorched eyebrows to body burns.

Park Ranger, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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More clothes for the paper doll that I made. There’s still time to comment and let me know what outfits you’d like to see this month.

Options: Waitress, Florist, Actor, Janitor, Doctor, Librarian, Mechanic, Hairstylist, Lumberjack, Writer, Driver, Scientist, Chef, Musician, Police Officer, Pilot, and Nurse.

Dance is naturally about movement, and the controlled movement of dance can be applied to more than just entertainment. Dance classes are being used for Parkinson’s patients in a bid to increase mobility as a form of physical therapy. Even police officers benefit dance, the traffic cops in Timisoara, Romania take ballet classes to improve their grace and form as they direct traffic.

Dancer, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Trying something a little softer with the aesthetic of this one. Now, for tangentially related facts! Among Ben Franklin’s many accomplishments is the founding of one of the first fire departments in Philadelphia, the Union Fire Company. The idea for this volunteer firefighting organization came from a similar organization in Franklin’s hometown of Boston. The Union Fire Company was also referred to Benjamin Franklin’s “Bucket Brigade“. Interestingly, the buckets that the were used by the brigade were made of leather. But Ben Franklin wasn’t the only Founding Father that worked as a firefighter, George Washington was a volunteer for the Alexandria Fire Department and even purchased the town’s first fire engine.

Firefighter, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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The coolest thing about archaeology to me is the way that archaeologists use the remnants of the past to deduce the way that people lived even hundreds of thousands of years ago. The items recovered at a 300,000 year-old site in Schöningen, for example, show that the Hominins had not only coordinated group hunts but also were able to survive the conditions of the Ice Age in Europe without the ability to make or control fire. The traces of the past that archaeologists uncover can even show us a little of the lives of individuals. Some of my favorite archaeological finds are ancient prosthetics. By studying these assistive devices archaeologists can understand how these people moved, and you can see the care and creativity of the people that created the prosthetics. The oldest prothetic that has been recovered is a toe and partial foot from Egypt that dates before 600 BC, but there are many other examples.

Archaeologist, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Baked goods are pretty much my favorite foods but they haven’t always existed in the form we enjoy today. Technology has improved the ingredients we use, and methods that we use to cook. One standard that bakers have used since ancient Egypt is the sourdough starter. This fermented mixture can be used for quite a long time, in some cases a decade or more. There are claims that some bakers have maintained sourdough starters for over a century, but there is little evidence that this is true.

Baker, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Shades of brown with this one. Everyone knows that construction work is dangerous, in fact when the Chrysler Building was being built it was projected that there would be one fatality for every four floors built past the the 15th floor. Amazingly though, despite the dire predictions there were no deaths during the construction of the building. In fact, the Chrysler Building’s construction crew were so skilled that they were able to install the building’s 300 ton, 197 foot spire in about 90 minutes.

Construction Worker, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Trying something new with a paper doll! But, a girl needs more than one outfit. Please comment and let me know which of the remaining themes you would like as outfits for this girl.

Options: Construction Worker, Baker, Archaeologist, Firefighter, Dancer, Park Ranger, Waitress, Florist, Actor, Janitor, Doctor, Librarian, Mechanic, Hairstylist, Lumberjack, Writer, Driver, Scientist, Chef, Musician, Police Officer, Pilot, and Nurse.

I will draw the most popular choices and create a free printable paper doll!

The clothes for this girl are inspired by the mod designs of Mary Quant. Mary Quant is credited with popularizing the miniskirt though designer Andre Courreges certainly deserves his share of the credit.

Fashion Designer, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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I love the mail. I just like the idea of a letter or package making a journey all the way to my house. I think because of this I am truly excited about the current proposals to revitalize post offices by expanding them to offer services such as basic banking, copy services, and even local licensing. When the postal service first instituted its parcel service enterprising parents took advantage of the low rates and used the the postal service to ‘mail’ their children to relatives. The longest such journey was taken by a 6-year-old girl who traveled over 700 miles.

Postal Worker, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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It’s documented that people have been healing animals since at least 3000 BC, but the first organized establishment of veterinary medicine was a school in Lyons, France that opened in 1762. From then through the beginning of the 20th century the primary focus of veterinarians was agricultural animals, particularly horses. The Victorians’ infatuation with their pets helped to expand veterinary practice to domestic animals such as the little guy in this illustration. The work that veterinarians do is amazing. I have a special affection for those that work at rescues. If you are looking for a pet or if you want to support animals in need I suggest you support the veterinarians at a shelter like the Santa Fe Humane Society.

Veterinarian, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Since today’s topic is ‘artist’ I figured this would be a great opportunity to do a self-portrait. Artists only make up less than 2% of the workforce in the United States, a statistic which includes not just visual artists, but also photographers, directors, writers, performing artists, and architects. Of those working artists about 41% are working freelance, like me. Working as a freelance artist is difficult, but artists overall enjoy much higher job satisfaction than other careers, which is something I certainly can attest to.

Artist, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Like this girl, lots of kids want to grow up to be an astronaut. But if you just want to grow, you might consider becoming an astronaut. While in space an astronaut can grow up to 3% taller. This temporary effect is likely due to the spinal changes that occur in the absence of gravity.

Astronaut, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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Kicking off a month of jobs and occupations with this surreal depiction of a farmer. Since the Iowa caucuses took place today I figured a little of presidential farming fact might be in order. Of the 43 people to hold the office of the President of the United States, 16 have been farmers or had agricultural experience.

Farmer, 5″x5″, ink, and watercolor on illustration board

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