Friday, January 23, 2015

The Lonely Mallard Ballad



Andy Lund is an stellar guitarist and songwriter hailing from San Diego. This is my interpretation of his new song, The Lone Mallard Ballad. This whimsical tune (with a Penny Lane vibe) is written from the perspective of an envious duck who floats on a Dutch canal, dreaming about riding a bicycle like the folks above him. The drawing appears in a songbook which accompanies Andy's new CD, Small World.


This project was designed and art directed by one of my oldest friends, Graham Smith (who also happens to be a master illustrator ). When he asked me to interpret a song, I chose this one because it paints a picture involving two my favorite subjects, animals and geography.  My recent drawings have been portraits of wildlife (whales, elephants, peacocks, owls, and more), so it felt natural to include a mallard in the mix. Since I'm also obsessed with cartography, it made sense to utilize a map of Dutch canals as a canvas. Below are a few of the ideas I sketched out for this assignment:

Duck floats on water, envious of bikers on bridge.
Duck rides on bike of his construction...
Duck steers bike across bridge...

Andy's album has been on heavy rotation ever since I received my copy.  It's whimsical storytelling paints lovely scenes in my mind. Along with Graham's stunning drawings, the songbook includes artwork by some superb talents ( including two other great friends dating back to my days at Parsons School of Design,  David Gordon and Andrea Cobb).  I'm thrilled to have been included in this collaboration!



Sunday, January 18, 2015

Sketchy Observations


I've been slow to archive my recent sketchbook drawings. Here are a few of my favorites from Thanks Giving weekend...


Rhinecliff Station, waiting for my daughter to arrive....

Lily on couch, Buffalo, NY

Friday, January 2, 2015

Rutgers Magazine Art


Here's new work for Rutgers Magazine. This illustration accompanies a story about a new program which teaches students how to analyze healthcare data - and figure out ways to make the system run more efficiently. Below are concepts I submitted for this story:


 The illustration below is about a new machine which has been developed to help train soccer goalies. It shoots out soccer balls at various speeds and angles to improve a player's skills and reflexes. Thanks to art director, John Van Cleaf for another fun project.

May you reach all your goals in 2015!