Greetings from Aurora, the "All America City"

With a few exceptions, I've tried to keep this an illustration blog, as opposed to a personal one; meant for keeping friends, family, art directors and people interested in my art or in illustration in general up to date on recent work. I've deliberately shied away from using it to post inane personal info, like the movie I just watched, or the really cool thing I did over the weekend. I really try to stick to posting new work, explaining it a little bit, and maybe giving some information on the publication or project it's for, and that's it (with a few exceptions where I am obviously posting from a very big soapbox). However, with the horrifying event that has taken place just a few miles from where I've lived most of my life, at a theater I've been to many times, next to the mall I grew up visiting, and which has seemingly affected everyone in this city, I can't post without mentioning it. To not speak about a tragedy that has touched people in my life, from family members that were in that theater at the time to friends that have lost someone they know, would just feel callous. Luckily, I don't personally know anyone that was killed, and to my knowledge anyone that was hurt. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one, and everyone who is still hoping that their loved ones in critical condition pull through. The victims are in my thoughts, and I wish all the survivors a speedy and full recovery from their injuries, physical and emotional. The area around the mall and theater has had it's problems for some time now (A man was shot and killed about a mile down the street from it a few days before this). And unfortunately shootings like this have become more and more frequent, all around the country. But as a neighbor expressed to me over the weekend, if one positive thing can come out of this, maybe it would be that we all treat each other just a little kinder. If we can act with just a little bit more compassion and civility to strangers. Being the cynic that I am, I replied that it might happen for a couple weeks, and then we'll all go back to "normal." Let's hope I'm wrong.

Happiness is a warm gun

This cover I did for Seattle Weekly is out today. The story is about a Seattle-based attorney that is currently fighting for the freedom of an Ugandan man, imprisoned for his role as a commander in the Lord's Resistance Army. The LRA, headed by Joseph Kony of "Kony 2012" fame, is notorious for its use of children as soldiers and sex slaves. The reason that the attorney has taken up this fight is because his client (now a grown man) happened to be one of those children, kidnapped on his way home from school.

One thing I hate about my work being viewed primarily online is that you folks out there (that can't pick up a copy in Seattle) aren't able to really see much. So here's a close up:

When I first turned in my sketches, one composition was originally approved, but then quickly dropped in favor of the above solution. I had some time after the final was turned in, and decided to take the original sketch to final too, in the chance that it might end up working out after all. The art director liked it, but the editors felt it might not be a clear enough concept (which I don't disagree with) and isn't quite as strong of an image. Here's the alternative version that wasn't published:

Despite its depressing content, this story is exactly the kind of assignment I enjoy working on.
Thank you to AD Jane Sherman. It was a pleasure!

Jagged little pill

Remember that album? God, it always reminds me of middle school. Anyway, here's an illustration I did for Nexus, the alumni magazine of the University of Toronto's Law School:

The article mentions a donation Teva Canada, a pharmaceutical company, recently made to the school. The donation is to be used for a new program that focuses on patent law- something a pharma company has a lot of interest in. The editor wanted the illustration to focus on how patent law is universal. The pharmaceutical aspect is only one of the many applications of patent law. So I started thinking about drugs, its primary focus, and came up with a pillbox also holding some of the other areas: chemistry, technology, and genetics. You can download the issue here. Thank you, Lucianna and Levi!

Crossing the line with Village Voice

If you pick up your city's free weekly paper this next week (if it's part of Village Voice Media) you'll see the cover story that's running nationwide. "Crossing the Line" is a series of articles/columns on the state of affairs we find ourselves in nowadays in the good ol' USA. From "papers please" laws, to new laws attempting to keep as many people of color as possible from voting. I was asked to illustrate a few of these essays:

  
"Welcome Back, Jim Crow." This essay discusses the attempts in states across the U.S. to keep people from voting. From purging voters, to ending Sunday voting, to requiring various forms of identification to vote, politicians nationwide are finding different ways to make voting harder. Completely by coincidence, the people most affected by these laws are minorities.

"Days of Rage." This essay lists the many ways that Mexicans/Chicanos and Latinos have been targeted in the last few years, and the inevitable Civil Rights-like action that's bound to follow. When I was given the assignment, we didn't have the story, and were under the impression that the column would make more of a connection between the Civil Rights Era demonstrations of the past, and the need to do the same today.

"Love the Beans, Hate the Beaner." Gustavo Arellano's hilariously tongue-in-cheek essay on the United States' historic attempts to repress Mexican culture by purging Mexican cuisine. Long story short, the attempts failed. Americans surrendered to Mexicans, according to Gustavo, when they surrendered to their food.

This was an awesome project to work on, and I was honored to contribute. As the son of a once illegal immigrant, these articles are a welcome wake up call- not only to people concerned about their own family members, but also those concerned about basic civil rights for other human beings. Thanks so much, Tom!

Migrate Magazine

I was contacted by CD Roanna Williams a couple months ago, to participate in an issue of Migrate, the official magazine of the Loerie Awards in South Africa. The theme of this issue is "Viva," or "long live" in Spanish- as in "Viva Zapata!" I thought my Loteria series exemplified the idea nicely, as all the pieces were based around environmental themes. I may as well have been saying "Long live Earth" or something with the series, and Roanna loved the project, so it all worked out great.

My copy arrived all the way from Jo'burg yesterday. The magazine is chock-full of work by photographers, writers, illustrators, sculptors and fine artists from around the world, with the art reproduced beautifully. Thank you again for the opportunity, Roanna!

Up those stairs and to the left

I had the pleasure of working with David Herbick on a full-page illustration for the Summer 2012 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review. The article details a study that looks at the growing trend towards hybrids- combinations of non-profit and for-profit organizations. The first example given in the article is the Hot Bread Kitchen in New York City; a bakery that sells breads made by immigrant women in the area, while at the same time helping them gain skills for management positions in the food industry.

 I wanted to show how the revenue generated by the for-profit side of the business helps these women advance their skills and career opportunities. Thank you, David!

Inflight Club

 If you happen to be looking at this blog while on a United flight (and it's still May), check the pocket of the seat in front of you. No, that's the barf bag, the other one. Yeah, there you go, Hemispheres Magazine. My illustration is gracing the pages inside, in the Tech section:

As I'm sure you gathered from the image above, if your eyes are good enough to read the print, the article laments the probable downfall of the Blu-ray video format. Very sad for us movie buffs, as it is far superior in quality to DVDs and streamed movies. Combining the broken, discarded dics with the shape of a broken heart just felt right. The AD on this was the wonderful Christine Bower-Wright. Thanks again, Christine!

FREE!

I had the pleasure of working with the ad agency Exit10 recently for an in-house publication they do for one of their clients. I provided a few spots for some of the articles inside:

This article went over the importance of social networking, and the importance of using technology and the internet to gain access to new contacts.

This article advised readers/investors to be wary of financially supporting companies that have questionable accounting or business practices, and instead invest in companies that are responsible and transparent.

This article discussed the "cowboy code," a list of rules to live by that businesspeople should take into consideration.

These spots were a lot of fun to work on, thank you again, Scott! OK, so the Hemispheres post will be next time.

Spinnin' like a spinnin' top (Jenny, Jenny, woooo Jenny, Jenny)

I just received a copy of the latest issue of The American Lawyer, with my spread in the "Corporate Scorecard" section. The article profiled the recent trend of big spinoffs in the last few years:

 As explained in the brief I received, when companies with multiple operations are looking to make some cash or no longer want to be involved in a certain area of their business, they sometimes spinoff a segment of the company. They basically sever their ties legally with a former part of the corporation, which can end up growing into its own large company. 

The "Scorecard" section also includes some great work from illustrators David Plunkert, Chris Silas Neal, and Heads of State, and I feel pretty damn honored to be among them. And my local buddy Shaw Nielsen is in the issue too! Thank you again to AD Jay Dea!
Coming soon: work for Hemispheres Magazine.

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.

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!

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!