Law and order
An interesting trend this year may have been started with my Impolite Gentlemen web comic: I’ve received more requests to do sequentially based ideas. This was a fun cops and robbers piece for DBusiness Magazine. Art Director James Slate suggested a strip idea since the format is very horizontal (another theme this year) and I was more than happy to comply. Who doesn’t love drawing cops and robbers?
Clear your mind
Knock on wood but many people I’ve talked to recently are not just busy but overwhelmed with work and this spans many professions. HOW Magazine must have had its’ hand on the pulse when assigning a story about removing clutter from the mind. The gist of the article was the need to walk away from the screen and enjoy the moments around you. Taking the time to slow down would help you become more productive. My approach was a simple idea about looking around and not missing life. Thanks to Adam Ladd for the project and much needed advice.
One for the good guys
It’s always a pleasure to work for a client you believe in. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been a regular for years and are always a pleasure. They have interesting subjects and are open to a variety of ideas. The Southern Poverty Law Center recently made a series of gift postcards for their Teaching Tolerance program and I was more than happy to have work included in the series. Much thanks to art director Valerie Downes.
Slumberland
Got a fun project through the miracle of social media. Yuko Shimizu had posted work in progress for a tribute book about Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo and I posted on her page how much I loved Little Nemo. Next thing I know, she puts me in contact with Chris Stevens who is curating the tribute and had the chance to create a page for his consideration. Normally I don’t submit under such circumstances but the chance to do something about Nemo was too good to pass up.
Update: Received a pleasant surprise from Chris Stevens and learned my contribution will be included in The Little Nemo Tribute book. I’ve had the chance to see a few pieces created by graphic novelists/illustrators/designers who are friends and the work as been amazing. It is nice to be part of an insanely talented group.
Page 156, CA Illustration Annual 55
I remember the first time my work appeared in CA’s Illustration Annual in 1988. This was the professional equivalent of Christmas arriving early. It was a thrill to see my work together with the best of the best. I had been an illustrator for five years and when it was published, my career took off. For this I’ll always be grateful to CA.
Many years later it is still exciting to see work in the Annual. Much thanks to Alex Skoirchet and Morningstar Advisor for the great series done about risk and ‘Black Swans”.
Here’s the Morningstar Advisor piece accepted into this years Annual. Alex Skoirchet, AD:
And here’s the first piece ever accepted in CA in 1988 for Common Cause Magazine, Jeffery Dever, AD. It was very exciting to have Anita Kunz on the same page.
Summer guide for Dallas Morning News
Art director Michael Hogue called with a fun project to illustrate the entire summer guide for children for the Dallas Morning News. Illustrating the different activities made me realize my parents did a really good job in the summer of keeping me out of their hair. The summers were full of many of the same programs children do today. Marilyn Bishkin was the design director for the project. Hopefully Dallas residents will enjoy the guide.
Cover art for guide and guide inserts. Below are samples of the spreads for the guide.
Every which way
It’s been a very fortunate year for series. Quite a few assignments this year have been for multiple illustrations. My favorite part of doing a series is getting a feel for the project and finding a “voice” which connects the illustrations but still offer enough variation. This series for American Educator magazine was for a feature titled “The Mind Shift in Teacher Evaluation”. It is about a rethinking of the process of teaching and the profound effects the shift has on education. I used arrows as a playful approach to represent this “shift in direction”. Thanks to Michelle Furman, AD for letting me take a fun approach to the feature.
