Romeo and Juliet

Cover detail, Morton Downey Sings Songs You Love (Camden CAE 245), 1954

JimFlora.com to get new look

JimFlora.com has retained the erstwhile talents of Mr. Otis Fodder (of The Bran Flakes fame) to redesign the site. Launch is expected in a week or so.

Meanwhile, the Primer for Prophets and Manhattan prints are now available thru JimFloraArt.com, the Flora family's official website.

Stationmaster train

Detail from The Rape of the Stationmaster's Daughter, an undated early 1940s tempera on paper. Elements of this work were adapted by designer Laura Lindgren for the cover of The Curiously Sinister Art of Jim Flora, and the complete painting was featured in the book. On the production schedule for March 2008: the fine art print.

critter quintet

untitled pencil sketches, early 1940s

Manhattan limited edition print

Jim Flora Art LLC has produced a limited-edition, archival-quality fine art print of a 1954 Jim Flora hand-tinted woodcut entitled Manhattan. The cityscape depicts New York in its 1950s glory, including a number of gotham landmarks such as the Empire State Building, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Madison Square Garden, the Statue of Liberty, famous theaters and legendary musical bistros, Washington Square arch, subways, taxis, horse-drawn carriages and tourists.

Only twenty-five (25) prints of Manhattan were produced for this edition. The first five prints (#21/25 thru #25/25) were offered Wednesday on eBay—and sold out in less than two hours. We are now offering #16/25 thru #20/25 at JimFlora.com.

A Flora Valentine

Coming soon: the next four screen prints in the Primer for Prophets series: Cooked, Quaffed, Groomed, and Kissed. Release target = late February or early March. If you purchased a complete numbered set of the first foursome (Jived, Smoked, Ate, Drove), you have a preemptive claim on the identical statistic for this quartet. We've got your number.

Nine down ...

... one to go:

JimFlora.com updated

Some long overdue updates at JimFlora.com, including recent News briefs on the homepage, a one-sheet about the just-released limited edition Jazz Quintet fine art print, and a glimpse at the forthcoming Primer For Prophets silk-screen series on the Merchandise page.

On the Miscellany page, you can download a pdf of a terrific January 2008 article ("Lowbrow Genius") about Flora that appeared in Knoxville Metro Pulse. The article also appears online, but the print version (as pdf) contains a lot of Flora art that wasn't posted online.

Finally, the NOT FLORA gallery continues to grow. This page catalogs LP covers which look suspiciously like Flora's handiwork, but were NOT illustrated by our guy. When you find what you think is a rare, undiscovered gem, curb your enthusiasm until you check this collection of faux Floras.

Bonus: This video has nothing to do with Flora, but we've watched it twelve (!) times and laughed so hard we almost coughed blood.

Thanks much to Jeff Winner for the tech support and design guidance.

Roman Forum (1962)

Detail, tempera on paper, 1962

a.k.a. Jazz Quintet

A new Flora archival-quality fine art print has been released by Jim Flora Art LLC. The untitled 1943 work, which depicts five colorful musicians, is unofficially referred to as "Jazz Quintet." An edition of ten (10) has been produced.

One print (#9/10) is now listed on eBay at a Buy-It-Now price of $200 (+ s/h). After this print is sold, prices on remaining prints will increase (starting at $300) until the edition is sold out. The print currently listed on eBay will be sold on a first-come basis.

Update: Print sold. If you're interested in purchasing a print from this edition, it can be purchased through JimFlora.com.