Better late than never?

Should have posted this- along with several things I plan on updating the blog with soon- months ago. It's been pretty busy around here for a while now, and I've neglected the blog. I try to update my website fairly regularly though, so if you've visited that recently you'll likely have seen some of that work already. Anyway, I received my copy of the American Illustration Annual #36 several months ago. It's a beautiful book, and this year the design is such that you can disassemble it to take sheets out, and rearrange as you please. My piece for an L.A. Times' story on recent film releases was included:

More work to be posted shortly. Stay tuned... same bat time, uh, similar bat channel.

Twisting the night away

With apologies to M.C. Escher and Sam Cooke. This piece appeared in the L.A. Times Envelope section last week. For an article profiling a crop of new films that are challenging audiences with their unorthodox storytelling. Films like Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight, and Nocturnal Animals are using twists, nonlinear narratives, and other unusual methods to tell a story.

Here's the page:

Read the article here. Thanks so much to Wes!

Priests on film

This full-pager ran in the L.A. Times Envelope section about a week or so back. It focuses on how priests and the catholic church are depicted in movies, and how the portrayals have shifted over time. From the positive and complimentary films of the 40s and 50s (think The Bells of St. Mary's), to the more scathing critiques of today (like Spotlight).

Thank you to my AD, the awesome Wes Bausmith! Read the article here.

The NFL's domestic abuse problem

This illustration of mine ran yesterday in the L.A. Times Sunday Op-Ed, for a story on the recent case of violence involving Ray Rice and his then-fiancee, as well as the many cases of domestic abuse among NFL players, and the league's refusal to do much about it.

Wes, my AD on this, contacted me Wednesday night with a story on a tight deadline- he needed final artwork on Friday. Although I don't really follow football, I'd heard about the Ray Rice incident along with lots of other people who don't otherwise pay much attention to the NFL. Despite the rush on the job, I thought it was a very important story, and wanted to take it on.

After sending the above sketches in the next day, Wes picked #3, but also mentioned that he had an idea of using a pair of eyes, one of them being a football. He still preferred #3 of my original sketches, but I liked the potential of his suggestion, and quickly sketched out a rough in Photoshop. He liked it, and that sealed the deal. We had our solution.

You can read the op-ed here. Thank you, Wes!

In love with a roadie

This piece for the L.A. Affairs section of the L.A. Times ran this past Saturday, and follows the story of a woman in a relationship with a roadie, who's currently working with a band out on a world tour. The author explains the difficulty in not seeing her significant other for months at a time while he's working. But, as she expresses: "There are some things in this life that are completely worth it, and he’s one of them."

I had the idea of using a concert tour t-shirt as a calendar, with her crossing off the tour dates until she sees him again (In the rough draft of the story, she mentions that they'll meet up in Japan). You can read the story here. Thank you so much to the awesome Wes!

For your eyes only

My mission, should I have chosen to accept it, was to illustrate for a story in the Envelope section of the L.A. Times. The article was about the plethora of spy shows on television at the moment. You've got "The Americans," "Homeland," "Turn," "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond." Even the animated "Archer," albeit that's more of a spoof. Our t.v. sets are filled with spies and secret agents. Hey, that might work out pretty well for the illustration...

Thank you to the great Wes Bausmith, my AD on this. You can read the article here. This message will self-destruct...

Lost in translation

This piece ran in last Sunday's L.A. Times. It was for the L.A. Affairs section, for a story that recounts the author's recent experience in that dark, dangerous, jungle we call the dating scene. She explains that after buying a beer for a guy she spotted across the bar, and after trying in vain to converse over the noise, asked if he wanted to step outside to chat (where the conversation might actually be audible). He (wrongly) interpreted that to mean: "Let's go back to your place, stud."

I wanted to show how her words went in one ear, and after going through all that machinery we humans have in our heads, is rearranged into something completely different. Read the essay here.

And in a first ever Draw Your Weapon Outtake, here's a thumbnail sketch that, while well received, was a little PG-13 for the section, and didn't make the cut.

She's only thinking about opening up another beer, he's thinking about opening her pants. I think it would have been hilarious. Oh well, the AD and I both really liked how the final turned out.
Thank you to the wonderful Wes Bausmith for this very fun piece!

New Op-Ed piece for L.A. Times

This piece was finished last week for Wes at the L.A. Times, for the Sunday Op-Ed. It accompanied several stories by various authors writing about books: from the ones they had finally gotten around to reading, to the novels they will probably never finish.


It was awesome working with Wes again. The stories were online, but now I can't seem to find them. If I end up locating the page, I'll return the link.

SND Award of Excellence

The first piece of news I have concerns an illustration I did for Wes Bausmith at the LA Times last year. As visitors to my website may already know, I received an Award of Excellence from the Society for News Design for the "Wrong Turf" piece I did. It's a great honor to be recognized by the SND. The illustration was for an Op-Ed story about the author's neighborhood, and its persistent gang problem.




Thank you for the opportunity, Wes!