Boiling Springs Savings Bank Animation

I recently came across this old ad on YouTube - for which I had a part in creating. Back in 2006, I started illustrating a print ad campaign for a Boiling Springs, a chain of savings banks based in New Jersey. I created a character who appeared in the ads, called 'Rate Man' (who helped people find great rates). He became very popular, so the bank commissioned three animated TV spots based on his character.  For each spot, I drew 15-20 frames for which the animator built the look of the ad around. It was a thrill to see my 'Rate Man' character come to life. Thanks to Block & DeCorso Advertising for this fun experience.

Palm Sunday

Here's a sketchbook excerpt from a Palm Sunday service I attended last year. At ballgames, cheerleaders like to pull their pom poms out. And on this particular day, Christians like to pull their palm palms out:-)

Whatever your faith (or non-faith) is, I hope you have a blessed and peaceful day.

Word Works Exhibit

I'm thrilled to have this piece included in the Word Works exhibit, which runs in conjunction with the Red Hook Literary Festival, April 11th - May 4th. This portrait of Stephen King (one of my favorite authors) was drawn on an old map of Maine.  I titled it "King of Maine". The opening reception is Friday, April 11th, 5-7 PM, at RHCAN Gallery. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hello!

You can view more unpublished work here.

To Infinity and Beyond

I was experimenting with brushes of various sizes when I painted this sumi ink portrait.  As Buzz Lightyear might say, this young lady's hair grows "from infinity to beyond"!

Thanks for visiting. You can view my color portfolio here.

Klan Colors

How would white supremacists react if a rainbow descended upon their rally?

Speak Softly...

Here's the first piece in a series based on famous quotes about politics. It was inspired by the words of our 26th U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt. He was referring to U.S. foreign policy in his time - but this "Big Stick" philosophy strikes me as relevant to our present administration's implementation of drones in counter-terrorism. Below are sketchbook ideas which planted the seed for this illustration.

 “What I think is absolutely true is it’s not sufficient for citizens to just take my word for it that we’re doing the right thing. There has never been a drone used on an American citizen on American soil. We respect and have a whole bunch of safeguards in terms of how we conduct counterterrorism operations outside of the United States. The rules outside of the United States are going to be different than the rules inside the United States.” ~ President Barack Obama

“We’ve been talking about this for a good while, the immorality of drones, dropping bombs on innocent people. It’s been over 200 children so far. These are war crimes.” ~ Cornel West

If you want to learn more about the pros and cons of the U.S. Drone program,

here's a link to a well-balanced article in the Atlantic, by Mark Bowden.

Athletic Management

The illustration above appears in the latest issue of Athletic Management - a publication geared towards college and school athletic departments in America. The article is about onboarding -
a form of orientation through which new employees gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective members of the organization. If done properly, this practice can lead to very happy and productive employees.

This drawing accompanies an article about how coaches and athletic departments can be vulnerable to lawsuits. The best thing coaches can do to protect themselves is to know the law. If they take proper precautions before setting foot on the court - they can avoid a visit to the court of law.

I always have fun brainstorming ideas for each illustration. Here are the sketches submitted for the illustration above:

Thanks to art director Pam Crawford for another fun assignement.
You can view more color illustrations here.