Goodbye Internets

New Years Eve - a new website and blog is born.

This blog will not be updated anymore. Thank you everyone who's been following this blog! With the new redesign, I've decided to host the blog on my own server rather than Blogger. The posts will remain here unless I am able to properly transfer everything over.

Click on over to the new blog!

Phoenix New Times Cover

Published today in Phoenix is my cover for the Phoenix New Times.

This was the first time working with the paper/magazine. It's quite an honor for them to choose me right out of the bag to do a cover for them and working with Peter Storch, the Art Director was easy and wonderful.

Below is a few sketch ideas I was thinking about and there's at least 10 more that I didn't add here. I didn't show the art director all of them - only about eight. I was just sort of free forming the ideas I had that I thought would conceptually work but also look pretty powerful on a cover of a magazine. Eventually, I had to chose which one's I thought were the strongest.

The images below is what I initially sent in and they went with the maze image. Before I went to final, I did three different versions of the maze piece to see which one would look better for the cover. Peter and I decided that the second one is the best version to use.

Below that is the mock up with my sketch in place.

Post It Show 7 at Giant Robot

This Saturday, I will be participating in this years Giant Robot's Post-It 7 show! Thanks to Esther Pearl Watson and Mark Todd for the invite again this year. I think this might be the fourth one I am involved with. I love doing this show because I usually let myself go and just create whatever is on my mind. Lately, it's been aliens.

I decided to do a six-panel action sequence about Charlie and his eventual death fighting for the cause of the Rebellion. Bummer. There will also be a couple of other random Post-Its.

It is a first-come, first serve cash and carry thing at the opening so you have to be present to buy the art. There will be so much art, it'll make your head spin. I think last years had over 1,200 pieces! Good luck!

Post It Show 7 at Giant Robot2

Show opens Sat., December 10th, 2011

2062 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles CA 90025

310.445.9276 

Hours

Mon-Sat: 11:30am-8:00pm

Sun: 12:00am-7:00pm

Society of Illustrators 54 Acceptance!

I am happy to announce that these two pieces were selected to be in the Society of Illustrators 54 Annual exhibition! They are from the Ouch! series - Burned #1 & #2. They were originally created to help raise money for the Los Angeles Red Cross. Thank you's to the judges!

Sketchbook Post #24

I haven't posted up much from my sketchbooks this last year so here is a little taster of some of the mess I've been making. I am in the planning stages of a new website and I am updating other online portfolios at the moment to make them a little more current. There will be a sketchbook section where I will be scanning each sketchbook and posting my favorite pages. My url may end up getting redirected to these other sites for a period of time until the overhaul is done. There's a mess to deal with including a couple of other new domains I've purchased that refer to other special projects I am working on which all need to be built.

I hope everyone is doing well and see you out there in the world!



"Feet" - I am sure anyone with a sketchbook has drawn something like this in their books. I probably have about 20 variations of this view.

'The Loop" - This is actually a quote from a record producer I heard and I loved it. When I thought about it, I think it is pretty much a good description of doing an illustration job.

"Dark Matter" - I was listening to NPR yesterday and was listening to the description of what Dark Matter is, how it functions (as they know it) and how to relate it to our existence. Pretty cool stuff.

"Choke" - Hanging out with Rick Berry every now and again, we do some live drawing sessions and this model decided to choke herself as a pose. I don't know what else to say.

Lectures in Chicago and New Hampshire

I was asked to do a couple of lectures and they both happened to work out one week apart from one another. The first one pictured above (photo: Kady Dennell) was for Columbia College in Chicago.  It was a Skype lecture.  I've never done one before so it was sort of odd trying to connect with people - look into the camera and get files squared away for it made for some interesting pauses.  Beyond the technical stuff, the students there were pretty great, asked great questions and I had a great time.  Thank you Richard Zeid and Gary Roznac for asking and putting this together.

The second one was at the New Hampshire Institute of Art chaired by Jim Burke. (photo: Kristina Carroll) This was a more classic lecture that I am used to giving.  I did a slide presentation, shows some originals and sketchbooks (pictured above) then hung around and spoke about promotion with the seniors.  They were a super bunch!  It was wonderful going around the studios and hanging out with some of them.  I like live lectures because I get to meet new and interesting people and see what kind of art is going on around there.

If you're reading this, thank you to everyone involved for such a great time and would love to see you again - and good luck to all the fabulous students working hard trying to make something happen for themselves!

Art Tails Vol. 1-3

Art Tails is an iPhone art-book app you can download which has loads of artists, including myself to help support Japan after their horrible natural disasters.  It is a great project and honored that I am part of it.

You can buy the app here.

Bad Things Happen To Good Trees

This series called "Bad Things Happen To Good Trees" (#1-4) is for a show at the Ro2 Art Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

Ro2 Art Uptown
3699 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX 75204
September 4-23, 2011
Reception: Thursday, September 8, 2011  6 - 10pm
Inquiries: Jordan Roth - 214-803-9575

Inspiration

Updated the Inspiration 2011 (Under BIO) of my site today with some views of life I've seen the last couple of months. Enjoy!

AEP Distinguished Achievement Award

My 'The Only One' illustration was selected to be given the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award for Periodical Illustration in the Adult Category.

This is pretty wonderful because extremely talented companies compete for the Association of Educational Publishers Distinguished Awards (National Geographic for Kids, Scholastic, Nickelodeon Magazine, etc.) I am very honored to be given this nod. Also, a big thank you to the folks at Teaching Tolerance Magazine who have been entering the work I do for them in various competitions.