For the Love of Art: Bay Area-Themed Valentines for 2016

Valentine’s Day is upon us once again. And in the Bay Area, if you’ve had time to buy Valentine’s gifts, then you’re not working hard enough.

Last year we commissioned six Bay Area-themed valentines from six different local artists and the results were phenomenal. This year we worked with five artists — one from last year and four new ones — to bring you six more valentines that are just as fantastic.

Please share with your art-loving friends…or your lazy ones who you know won’t have their sh*t together in time for the big day.

First is “I left my art in San Francisco” by San Francisco’s own Aaron Zonka, an artist with large portfolio of paintings, comics and even concert flyers. You can see his work at aaronzonka.com.

A Santa Rosa native and a long-time resident of San Francisco’s Russian Hill, Mikayla Butchart provided us this valentine while she’s earning her MFA in illustration at the School of Visual Arts (but her heart is still in San Francisco). See more of her work at mikaylabutchart.com.

Painter, illustrator, and designer Rebecca Silvers, a San Francisco native, provided us with this “Seal of Approval.” Check out more of her work at rebeccasilvers.com. (She also happens to be the sister of KQED Pop reporter Emma Silvers.)

And then we have the return of Jeff Meadows, local artist and sign painter, who provided us with “I Totes Love You” last year and “California Needs Rain” this year (though thankfully we are finally getting some damn rain.) More of his work can be seen at jeff-meadows.com.

These next two cards are from Katherine Streeter, a New York City-based collage artist who has been illustrating for various markets worldwide for a long time, and can be seen in publications like American Illustration, Communication Arts, and 3×3 Illustration Annual. (She also provided collages for KQED’s Love in the Digital Age podcast.) See more of her work at katherinestreeter.tumblr.com.

If you would like to create a Valentine for 2017, please email kjones(at)kqed.org with “Valentine 2017” in the subject.