I want to suck your blog!

I  just got a copy of the current issue of Smith Alumnae Quarterly in the mail from Ronn Campisi, the AD. My illustration of the "modern-day vampire" is inside. The article it accompanies explains how, despite the history of these creatures dating back hundreds of years, they still manage to keep up on all the latest trends and technologies. They even tweet!

 

 This was a pretty fun piece to work on. Thank you, Ronn! Look at that- a whole post about vampires, and I didn't mention Robert Pattinson once... wait. Dammit!

Weird (food) Science

Here are some tiny little spots I contributed to Radcliffe Magazine recently (none of which have anything to do with Anthony Michael Hall). They're part of an article in the Winter 2012 issue about a class that explores the science behind the food we eat.


These were a lot of fun to work on. Spot illustrations are sometimes more challenging than larger pieces, because you have to get more information into such a tiny little space. I think these came out pretty successfully. Thanks, Ronn!


Ronn Campisi art directed this one. And coming soon, another piece for Ronn for an article about vampires... And it has absolutely nothing to do with Robert Pattinson- for the most part.

An excellent start to the new year...

I received my latest issue of Communication Arts in the mail the other day... The January/February Typography issue, with a feature on me, written by the wonderful Anne Telford.


I've been lucky enough to have been accepted in the last three CA Illustration Annuals, but when I received a phone call asking if I would give the magazine permission to do a feature on me, my heart about fell down into my gut. I've been reading Communication Arts and enjoying all the inspirational art and informative columns within its pages ever since I discovered it in art school. I read previous features on illustrators throughout the years, and fantasized about an opportunity to be among those artists that I admire so much. When that day actually arrived, it was completely unexpected and still seems a little unreal. This is one of the greatest honors I've ever received, and I'm extremely grateful to Anne, for coming out to Denver and for her awesome article, and to Communication Arts Magazine for allowing my work to grace its pages. Thank you, Rebecca! And a big thank you to Wes Bausmith, for the kind remarks he shared with Anne!
Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy New Year!

If you were in Chicago on New Year's day, and (after a handful of aspirin, and some hair of the dog that bit ya) opened up the Tribune, you would have seen my illustration on the cover of the Sunday section! We don't get the Chicago Tribune way out here in Denver, but it would have looked a little something like this:


This week's Sunday section is chalk full of articles based around "pushing the envelope." Taking risks in order to reap the rewards. Hugo Espinoza, who art directed, had this concept in mind, showing what happens when you open the possibilities and venture out of your comfort zone.



This was my first time working with Hugo and the Tribune, and it was a really nice collaboration. Thanks so much, Hugo!

Matchmaker, matchmaker...

I contributed recently to the magazine Corporate Knights, a quarterly based in Canada. The "magazine for clean capitalism" had an article explaining the necessity of big companies pairing up with smaller "green" firms.



There are a lot of phrases that go over my head- like "deployment cycles," "liquidation event," "non-diluting capital"- but the gist of it is, investors are a little hesitant to buy into clean technologies, as it is essentially fairly risky. The way forward is for venture capitalists to focus on matching up big companies, who have lots of capital, and small, clean-technology start-ups. The multi-talented, and ever-multi-tasking Pete Ryan art directed this one. Thanks, Pete!

Coming soon... my feature in the Jan/Feb issue of Communication Arts.

Spot on

Here's a series of spots for Smith Alumnae Quarterly, Winter 2011-2012 issue:



The first page featured questions posed to alumnae, posted on the school's Facebook page. The first question was: "What is your most vivid memory of your first day at Smith." The second was: "When you married, did you retain your maiden name, take your partner's, hyphenate, or other?"


The second page featured a story on students that recently swam the English Channel, and the spot needed to show the route they took. I included the lighthouses of Dover and Calais. The swim actually ended at Cap Gris Nez, which has a very cool lighthouse itself, but Calais being a bigger, more familiar city, I chose its lighthouse. In retrospect, I wish had chosen Cap Gris Nez's lighthouse, but live and learn.


I also finished a few more spots for Radcliffe Magazine, but I don't think the issue's out until January. I'll post then. Many thanks to Ronn, who art directed both of these!

What do you get when you cross a lawyer and the internet?

No, that's not a joke. The answer is a new course at Harvard Law School: iLaw! It explores policy, copyrights, security, censorship, and other matters of the law, and how they relate to our ever-changing technology and the web. Check it out here in the article I recently illustrated for the Harvard Law Bulletin.


Get it? The scale on the right is flipped upside down and doubles as a mouse! Mouse? Internet? Clever, huh? Thanks again, Ronn!

Not In Our Back Yard

I finished a cover for Alexander Flores at the Dallas Observer recently. The story is on the very controversial process of hydraulic fracturing- or fracking! The affluent city of Southlake, Tejas has recently been confronted with the process, and residents have been split (not necessarily along party lines) in their reaction to it.


The monster-under-the-ground concept was already pretty established when I was commissioned for the job, but I also threw in one of my ideas. Alexander liked it so much he decided to include it in the interior:


The article really focused on the rift that formed in the town- those for, and those against drilling. I thought about thumbs up, and thumbs down, and eventually fit the natural gas "blue flame" in. The article is a great read, so be sure to check it out. It had been a little while since I had worked with Alexander, and it was a lot of fun to collaborate again. He has a Flickr account set up with all the Observer covers he's done- awesome stuff. Browse them here. It even has the two previous covers I did for him a couple years ago.

Still waiting for other jobs to publish before I can post them. Should be any day now... so stay tuned. Same bat time, same bat channel.

Sukle shout out

The really cool guys and gals over at Sukle Advertising and Design have a post up on their blog today about my work. Their hilariously-named Lunchmeat Underpants blog showcases their favorite ads, ideas, concepts, illustrations, and other various cultural artifacts.


A while back I sent some of my self-promo stuff to Sukle, and to my surprise, received an invitation to go down to their office here in Denver. They were all super nice and welcoming, and it was a real pleasure to sit down and talk. If you're a Denver local, you're sure to have seen a bunch of Sukle's work around town. One of my favorites was their series of billboards urging residents to reduce their use of water on lawns. Thanks again, guys!

SHHHHHHH!

Here's a little piece I did for Whole Living Magazine not too long ago, for the November 2011 issue. I'm such a slacker at blogging, the issue probably isn't even out any more. The article explained how sometimes just shutting up and keeping quiet can really lead to a little peace and tranquility.


The author actually went on a retreat to a monastery and kept a vow of silence for two whole days (that includes texts, tweets, and emails)! She initially found the promise to abstain from talking difficult, but eventually discovered the experience was extremely relaxing. I wanted to focus on the abstinence aspect of the experience- not talking is kinda really hard (ever see that Seinfeld episode when Kramer tries to keep a vow of silence, but ends up telling Sally Weaver about George's man-love for a she-Jerry?). I eventually arrived at the concept of being tied up to prevent yourself from talking, and when you pull on the strings, it sort of looks like the meditation position of hands. So... shut up, find inner peace, and watch the butterflies go by. Thanks again, Muzam and Jamie!

Even the pet cemetery voted for Bob!

Yes, that is a Simpson's quote. Here's an interior illustration I recently finished for Columbia Law School Magazine, for the feature article on gerrymandering and the redistricting process:


One of the issues the article touched on is the way the redistricting process can affect elections. By re-drawing the borders of districts, minority communities can be split up, thereby having no impact on elections. The process can also separate an incumbent from his original constituents, or draw two incumbents into a single district, forcing them to run against each other. This link was passed to me while working on the job, and explains a little more. I wanted to show how drawing the district borders could potentially disrupt people's votes. The client requested that the image involve a district map in some way, so I drew some of the districts in the shape of a hand dropping off a ballot, which is cut off by the newly drawn border.

When you visit the magazine's homepage (until next issue), you might notice that the cover looks a lot like my interior illo. Well, that's because I also provided the cover illustration. The reason I'm not posting it here is because it was changed, fairly significantly and without my consultation, before it was printed. The decision was largely out of the editors hands, and I've already spoken my peace about the matter with the editors, so I don't feel I need to get into it here. The editors were very understanding, and were willing to rectify the situation as best they could. The way it works at some alumni magazines is, aside from editors having final say on design and layout there are also faculty members, deans, professors, that have input. So as much as the art directors and editors may want the magazine to go in a certain direction, this bureaucracy can complicate things.

The art direction and page design was provided by the wonderful Barnett Group. Thanks again, Aileen and David! And thank you, Matthew.

Long time no post!

I've been really busy these last few weeks, and I'd love to post this flurry of work, but they have all been for magazines that have yet to come out on the racks! As soon as they are published I will post. One project that I'm sure will be out soon (as they were going to the printer as soon as my final was in) was for Columbia Law School Magazine. I'm lucky enough to be gracing the cover, and have a full-page interior illustration.

On an exciting side note, I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Anne Telford, the editor-at-large of Communication Arts, for an interview that will be featured in next January's Photography Annual. I don't want to post too much about it until the profile is published, but suffice it to say that I'm extremely grateful for the honor, and still a little incredulous why I should receive such recognition... But overjoyed nonetheless!

NY Times Book Review

Here's the NY Times Book Review illustration I finished a couple weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from Nicholas Blechman for another job, shortly after I had turned in my first piece for the Book Review (previous post). This one was for the book The Night Train by Clyde Edgerton, a story about two best friends and aspiring musicians, one white, one black, in Civil Rights era North Carolina.



It's always hard to get good color on newsprint, but for what it's worth, it looks really nice online here. Thanks again, Nicholas and Alicia!

As promised...

Here is the illustration I finished before we left on vacation, for Nicholas Blechman at the New York Times Book Review. It was for a review of Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Illustrating book reviews are always a fun challenge. This one involved listening to lots of Neil Young, which wasn't a challenge at all. "Down by the River" seemed especially appropriate.



Thank you, Nicholas! Also coming soon... another piece for the Book Review (which involved listening to some Thelonious Monk)!

Back to work...

We got back in town late last night and I already miss coughing up salt water, untangling the kelp from around my arms, and scrubbing the tar off my feet (see previous post). Oh well. Time to get back to personal projects, side projects, and work for an upcoming group show at the Black Cloud Workshop here in Denver. NY Times Book Review post coming soon... I promise.