Trust Your Fastball

This illustration for Harvard Magazine accompanies an essay by Chad Oldfather. In 1987, he moved from his small town in Minnesota to attend this hallowed ivy-league institution. Overwhelmed by this daunting new setting, he had to learn how to overcome his feelings of intimidation. As a fan of the Minnesota Twins, Chad found inspiration in an unlikely source: an article about a new pitcher on the team, Willie Banks. He identified with the struggles of this player, and learned (metaphorically speaking) that he just needed to trust throwing his fastball again. In other words, he needed to take chances, let it rip, and let the chips fall where they may. This approach helped propel Chad through a solid college experience, law school, and a successful career in legal academia.

My own daughter, who just graduated from college, is about to embark on her first big job opportunity in Cambridge, MA, and will live a few blocks from Harvard. I will share this essay with her, as a reminder to throw her fastball when need be!

Below are sketches I submitted:

A special thanks to art director, Jennifer Carling, for this inspiring assignment.

Riverdale Country School

Here’s a piece for my friends at Riverdale Country School in Bronx, NY. This artwork will appear on a greeting card designed for general use by the school. Scenes depicted around the Riverdale “R” show prominent locations on the upper and lower campuses of this idyllic institution.  Below is an alternate version without Riverdale's red filling the "R".

Below are sketches I submitted for this project.

Special thanks to Marie Capasso for this fun assignment.

You can view my illustration portfolio here!

Sitting In at Princeton

Here's a new piece for Princeton - about a student reporter embedded at a sit-in in the school president's office. The students were protesting the university's use of Woodrow Wilson's name on a campus building. They were also shining a light on his racist views. While the president's office was in lock-down for 32 hours, the reporter (Gabe Fisher) was able to blog real-time updates about negotiations between students and the school president, Christopher Eisgruber (standing). The sit-in sparked a passionate debate about race, legacy, political correctness, and the concept of scrubbing history.

In this illustration detail, the university president leans against his desk on the left.

Below are ideas I submitted for this story...

A special thanks to art director of Princeton Alumni Weekly,
Marianne Nelson, for another fascinating assignment!

You can check out my new illustration website here!