Kamala Harris

 

 

Emerging out of California, it’s the next vice president to the United States, Kamala Harris!

Signed prints of this piece are here, in my Etsy shop!

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

 

She doesn’t wear boxing gloves, but this congresswoman is a tenacious fighter from the Bronx. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fearlessly champions the working class, civil rights, and human rights.

Signed prints of this piece are available here (in my Etsy shop)!

 

Dr. Cornel West

He is a philosopher who understands the topography of art, spirituality, and politics. From Sacramento, California, the one and only Dr. Cornel West. As we live through so much societal unrest, he offers compelling views on race, class, and other structural issues which we must address (to make America a better place). 

Signed prints are available here, in my Etsy shop.

(25% of proceeds will be donated to Black Lives Matter)

Please check out my collection of map drawings on my website!

Drain the Swamp

People often compare this US senator to a turtle, but he’s really just a snake. 

It’s time to drain the swamp!

Eva Perón

“I am only a sparrow amongst a great flock of sparrows.”

- Evita Perón , former first lady of Argentina

Prints are available here!

Math Versus Politics

This piece for Princeton accompanies a story called Math Versus Politics. It explains how utilization of activism and mathematics can end a true threat to our democracy, partisan gerrymandering. Thanks to art director Marianne Nelson for this fascinating assignment. You can view my illustration portfolio at my new site! 

Walls are Un-American

Here's a little meditation on symbols. Without a doubt, the American bald eagle is a powerful representation of the freedom which America stands for. In contrast,  the current U.S. president is glorifying the idea of building a "big beautiful wall" - which would run along our southern border with Mexico. To my mind, a project of such monumental proportion would create a different sort of symbol for the United States. I would argue that walls are completely incongruous with the freedom our country so proudly promotes. Please check out more illustrations at my new site!

Take Action!

Macalester College is an excellent liberal arts college located in St. Paul, Minnesota. They asked me to illustrate a story for their alumni magazine, addressing how we as citizens can make a difference in unsettling political times. Our actions can influence society in a positive way. Thanks to art directer, Brian Donahue for this very timely assignment. Please check out my new website here

Organizing a protest can bring attention to important societal issues

Writing a letter to the editor can influence public opinion.

Getting the ear of your representative can influence their actions

Joining a giving circle can pool together donations to worthy causes.

What's Under the Rug?

In recognition of tax season,  here's a new portrait of the President of the United States. 

You can view more new stuff out my new illustration site!

Make America Safe Again

Add caption

Here's a new portrait. You can check out more work at my new site.

Shirley Chisholm

Before Hillary Clinton, and before Barack Obama, there was Shirley Chisholm. This African-American congresswoman ran for the US presidency in 1972.  Along with Jesse Jackson, She helped break down racial and gender barriers for future candidates on the road to the White House. A special thanks to art director, Christa Tubach at UConn magazine for this timely assignment!

You can view my new illustration website here!

Political Games

I've been creating an ongoing series - combining portraits of famous political figures with board-games which they might be associated with. Here's a consolidation of the portraits thus far.

Sarah Palin Scrabble

A few Scrabble words associated with Sarah Palin.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney in a House of Cards.

Portrait of President Obama on a chess board.

 Portrait of presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, on an Operation game-board

Portrait of Fidel Castro on a set of Dominoes

A different sort of House Of Cards...with a young Queen Elizabeth II

Thanks for visiting.

You can view a big gallery of my personal projects here!

Ben Carson MD

If Doctor Ben Carson was a board-game, what kind would he be? Given his gifted hands as a surgeon, it's gotta be Operation (that's a no-brainer).  My portrait of this presidential candidate was drawn directly on an Operation game-board. His political views are not the right prescription for me, but if I ever need brain surgery, I'm calling Ben Carson MD.

This is part of an ongoing series, Political Games,  which presents portraits of prominent political figures in the context of games. You can see my depiction of Mr. Carson's main rival in the GOP election here.

You can view a full gallery of my personal projects here!

"Economics is not brain surgery." ~ Dr. Ben Carson

Dick Cheney

There's a TV show about a ruthless, manipulative, power-hungry politician named Frank Underwood. He's a scary guy, but the story is pure fiction. Here's my attempt to capture one former occupant of a real-life House of Cards, Dick Cheney.

I used 81 playing cards to paint this ink portrait, which measures  22" by 32"

Prints of this portrait are available here!


"We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."

- Vice President Dick Cheney (before the 2003 invasion of Iraq)

You can view a big gallery of my personal projects here!

Land of Opportunity

Here are more pieces I illustrated for a an English textbook geared towards giving 5th graders more courage to write, They accompany a narrative essay by African-American writer, Bertie Bowman,  who grew up on a rural South Carolina farm in the 1930's. At age 13, he ran away from home.  Working as a porter on a train, he found his way north to a true land of opportunity, Washington DC. Once there, he never looking back, finding jobs on Capital Hill. He worked all the way up the ranks to become a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Life on the farm consisted of slopping pigs.

You can view my drawings accompanying an essay by the great Rosa Parks, here.

A special thanks to art director, Carmela Stricklett, 

at Amplify for this really fun opportunity.

Mike McCurry

Mike McCurry was President Clinton's press secretary for nearly four years. After leaving the brutal arena of politics, he wanted to stay in touch with the ideals which lead him to Washington in the first place. A lifelong church goer, he was encouraged to study theology at a seminary. Today, he's one of many former political leaders who are taking this idealistic path,  trying to bridge the ethics of religion with the dialog in DC politics. This will hopefully help address issues which many churches champion, like global poverty and human rights. Thanks to art director, Jenny Mazer of National Journal, for the opportunity to create this portrait.

You can view my new illustration website here!

Republicans vs. Birth Control

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that requiring family-owned corporations to pay for insurance coverage for contraception under the ACA violated a federal law protecting religious freedom. The 5-4 vote was divided along party lines - with five male Republican appointed justices deciding the ruling. There's been much said about a so-called Republican "war on women". This decision goes a long way towards reinforcing that that notion.

This sketchbook excerpt is from January, but it's strikes me as very relevant today. It was inspired by controversial statements about contraceptives by noted Republican politicians. For whatever reason, the idea of brith control seems to scare the heck out of them.

Thanks for viewing. You can view more sketchbook excerpts here.

Servant and Master

"In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant." - Charles de Gaulle

I posted a B & W version of this piece last month, and decided to experiment by adding some patriotic colors. I recently started playing with an off-register technique for constructing illustrations, so I tried to apply that here.  You can view my color illustration portfolio here.  Because he's such an iconic figure in American politics, I chose Ronald Reagan for illustrating this quote. In truth, you could put almost an politician in this picture. In politics, the servant and master are almost always one and the same.

Benghazi Outrage

On September 11th, 2012,  the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya was attacked - tragically leaving four Americans dead. In the following days, many questions arose about the nature of this attack, and whether it could have been prevented. With a presidential election season as a backdrop, these issues became a political lightning rod.

Nearly two years later, this incident is still being dissected by politicians. New congressional hearings will be conducted - to get to the "truth behind Benghazi". It's become a rallying cry for Americans who distrust the current administration. Many others view these hearings as a cynical exercise, where the only goal is to hurt political enemies.

When a tragedy is endlessly exploited, the world starts to look out of balance. I was looking at an old map of the port of Benghazi, which reminded me of an open mouth. I thought this was an apt metaphor for all the the political noise surrounding this incident.  That's what I tried to convey with this drawing.

Thanks for viewing.
You can view my new illustration website here!

Word Play

"In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant."  ~ Charles de Gaulle

Words can be so powerful. I love playing their meaning in a visual way. This is the first installment in a series exploring the intersection of words and images. I call them Word Plays. I'll be posting a new one every Thursday, so please visit again soon.