A Wedding Songbook...

With wedding season approaching, I thought it would be fun to dust off this songbook I illustrated years ago. It was created for the nuptials of a wonderful couple, Sven and Barbara - who are fans of American popular standards. As part of their reception, guests sang and danced to songs by Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin and other greats. This little book helped people follow the lyrics to these classic love songs. A special thanks to Carol Neiley for designing such a beautiful piece - and for supervising the glorious embossed printing.

were scanned directly out of my sketchbook, going for a fresh vitality.

A rendezvous under the moon...inspired  by Edward Madden's classic song.

Red book binding - the color of love?

Inspired by Edgar Leslie's song ( I wish I could pull off this dance move)

Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars  ~  by Antonio Carlos Jobim

song ideas from my sketchbook

Thanks for viewing, and here's to a season of happy parties.

{ It's delightful, it's delicious, it's de-lovely! }

~ Cole Porter

Palms, Passion & Penitence

I'm back from a fabulous weekend in Philadelphia with my family. I travel there every March to judge a bookmark-design contest at the Abington Library (where my sister volunteers). Yesterday we attended church, and participated in the Palm Sunday service. I sometimes struggle to understand biblical language, but having a sketchbook in hand helps me feel more connected to the service.

Robin (on the upper left) is a wonderful minister; she'll be retiring in April after leading this congregation for over 25 years. Here, she and fellow parishioners play roles in reading the Passion Gospel.

Our tour-guide is the guy just under the cell-block"5" on the right.

On Saturday we visited the Eastern State Penitentiary - a former prison in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Cell Block #11 on the left. The entance to a cell on the right.

The prison was 'designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts' - many of whom lived in solitary confinement.

Al Capone's cell  (ready for a write-up in Design*Sponge?)

Most inmates experienced a bare-bones existence in tiny cells, but there were exceptions. Legendary gangster, Al Capone, was allowed to live in relative luxury.

Only a handful of inmates have escaped over (or under) the walls towering around the prison.  Fortunately, all these convicts were rounded up quickly. It's striking how nice the neighborhood surrounding this prison is. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is only a few blocks away.

Luckily, I'm just visiting.

These are just a few snippets from my weekend of palms, passion and penitence. A special thanks to my hosts, Ellen & Rob, for a great time - which also included delicious Mexican food and margaritas at la Calaca Feliz . We also watched another type of passion play - in the form of NCAA March Madness basketball on the tube.

Thanks for visiting. You can see more sketchbook images here.

Athletic Management

Here are recent pieces for Athletic Management - a publication geared towards high school and college-level coaches & athletic directors. The drawing above accompanied a story about helping student athletes become responsible social-media users. Emphasis is placed on Twitter, a popular platform for students. Athletes receive training on how to tweet responsibly - with knowledge that they represent their schools (and their individual reputations).

The above drawing accompanied the 25th anniversary installment of the Game Plan column. The author, a former athletic director, answers questions about various issues which affect athletic programs. This article addressed the need to continuously emphasize safety to coaches - in the form of videos, meetings, checklists, etc.

Here are some of the sketches I submitted:

Ideas for the Social Media story.

Ideas for the Game Plan story

A special thanks to art director Pam Crawford

 for another fun and informative assignment!

You can view my new illustration website here!

The Science Gap

Here's a drawing for a local publication, About Town. It accompanied a story about the Rhinebeck Science Foundation, an organization attempting to close the 'science gap' in the local school system. They offer resources and opportunities for students to build on their existing science education. For illustrators, focusing on a straightforward concept like 'closing the gap' makes brainstorming easy. It's good to know organizations such as this are providing important building blocks for young minds.

Here are ideas I submitted for this story:

 Thanks to Paul DeAngelis for another fun assignment.

You can see more fun About Town drawings here and here.

Thanks for visiting. Come back soon!

ETF Overload

There's something fishy about this illustration, which appears in today's Wall Street Journal. It accompanies a story about screening the myriad of ETF funds flooding the market. The article highlights various websites which help investors sort through, and target specific investment vehicles (which could benefit their portfolios). This metaphor of isolating one fish (in a sea of many) seemed to crystallize the story's theme just right. Maybe because I'm a Pisces, there's something very satisfying about drawing these underwater inhabitants. Thanks to Orlie Kraus and Jia Baek for another fun assignment!

Here are some the ideas I submitted for this story:

You can see more fun Wall Street Journal illustrations about investing here, here and here.

Thanks for visiting. Come back soon!

Gaga for Guns

President Obama once got into hot water for stating some people "cling to their guns".  As I take in our national debate about the 2nd Amendment, I wonder how unfair that statement is? I've heard many Americans passionately defend their love of firearms. Do some gun owners have some deep primal need to hold such power in their hands? Is this born out of insecurity, distrust, or a simple need to feel safer? Why do some Americans feel incomplete without guns, almost like Linus feels without his blanket? I keep asking these questions, which inspired some strange drawings...

45 Caliber Cradle?

...embryotic chamber?

...Formula 45?

baby holster?

semi-automatic-stroller?

Happiness in a warm gun?

Pen & Ink on Strathmore drawing paper.

“I’m a Catholic deer hunter. I am happy to be clinging to my guns and my religion.”

~ Paul Ryan

"I happily cling to my guns and my God, even if President Obama thinks
that that is a simpleminded thing in his elitist heart."
~ Rick perry

"We say keep your change, we'll keep our God, our guns, our constitution."
~ Sarah Palin

Thanks for viewing. You can see weekly lists here, here and here.

American Educator

American Educator is published by one of our largest teachers unions, the AFT. These drawings accompanied a story about the highly rated Finnish School system. They attribute their success to being a negotiation society - allowing government, municipalities, employers and unions to all have voice at the table. These party's strive for equality when educating Finnish youth - from the wealthiest to the poorest students. This cooperative attitude leads to a quality education for close to 100% of their students. It's impressive what can be accomplished when everyone is on the same 'track'.

Concerning education, everyone is on the same track.

Various pillars of society lend support to the education system.

Cooperation helps education stay on track.

The editors requested an "on the same track" theme for this story.  So here was my 'train' of thought when submitting ideas:

a few opener illustration ideas

some of the accompanying spot illustration ideas

A special thanks to art director Jennifer Chang, 
who's been assigning me fun projects for years. 

Here are selected illustrations from past issues:

For a story about the harmonious nature of community schools

For an issue about Community Schools.

For an article titled "Filling the Void" - about community schools

For 'The Thinker' column - about the education inequality between wealthier and poorer students.

For 'The Thinker' column - about the education inequality between wealthier and poorer students.

For an article about community schools

Poster for the AFT.

You can view my new illustration website here!

 { A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. }
~ Henry Brooks Adams