Initial sketch for this year’s BPI card art.

For the ninth year in a row, my old friend Greg Kilduff, owner of Baltimore Precision Instruments, has come up with a way to combine the concepts of winter holiday and microscopes and hired me to turn his idea into artwork for a greeting card. It’s a blast for me — Greg is an excellent art director, and always describes his vision in a way that is immediately clear and inspiring. He tells me that his clients look forward to his cards and often keep them tacked to bulletin boards long after the holiday season. So they make wonderful advertising — the kind that doesn’t get tossed away!

Here are some of my favorites:

The first one, 2006.

In 2008, the BPI staff were depicted as elves.

Greg wanted a Currier & Ives look to this 2010 card.

Each snowflake contains a distinct microscope in this 2012 card. There was a lettered Identify The Microscope key inside the card with the BPI web address.