The Grand Old Pity Party

A couple months back, before we moved, I got a commission from The Atlantic magazine for a feature on the current state (as well as some history) of the GOP. It was highlighting how the Republican party, under the banner of Trump, has become the party of White rage. When Republicans in California turned to White Nativism in the 1990s (by bashing Mexican immigrants), the party all but disappeared from the political map in that state. History seems to be repeating itself with the rhetoric of people like Trump, as he plays on the fears of some Whites that their country has been taken from them.

As is occasionally the case, the magazine ended up going the route of photography instead of illustration, but I was so excited about a few of my sketches that I decided to finish them, just for fun.

The red/white/black color palette is meant to evoke a connection to the fact that several prominent White Power/Supremacy groups have voiced support for Trump.

As the Latino population in the US continues to grow, anti-immigrant rhetoric and proposals such as the "wall" at the Mexican border, causes Republican support to dwindle. As the article states, even among GOP members, the "wall" was the most important factor dividing pro-Trump and anti-Trump Republicans.

The piece likened this "White Strategy" to another infamous election scheme: Nixon's "Southern Strategy." Both played on White fears of a particular minority, and the anger at a perceived loss of position in the social hierarchy, as a way to move White voters to the polls.
Thank you to Darhil, for the original commission! 

Changeling

These past couple weeks I had been thinking that my illustration in 5280 would be out in next month's issue. Oops, nope, it's out now. Here's the piece, for an article about how Colorado has turned from red state to purple, and soon enough, due to the high number of Hispanic, young, female and urban voters, will be a pretty blue state:

Having a woman changing from red and purple clothes into blue seemed like a good idea, and combining the changing room with a voter booth just fell into place.

Like I said, the issue is out now if you want to check it out. Thank you, Dave!
Up next: L.A. Times.

Them's fightin' words

This piece is my most recent  for Wes Bausmith at the Los Angeles Times. The story is the author's reaction to the empty pro-war rhetoric that politicians (especially presidential candidates) use to score points, without ever having to actually fight in those wars. He explains his feelings about watching his own son head out on tour, and comments how few politicians and elected (or might-be-elected) officials have children in the armed forces.

Wes had a very emotive concept, of a soldier treading off to war, while a politician waves and orates to his adoring supporters on the virtues of sending other people to fight a war. I think it worked out very well.

Thanks again to the wonderful Wes! Up next, a spread for The American Lawyer.

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.

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