Thursday, April 5, 2012

Jackpot Drawings


I'm not sure what compelled me to start drawing pictures on lottery tickets. 
But here are the results. I hope you enjoy!



To have or have not?


Dogs of Detroit

Emotional Lottery


Ode to Albrecht Dürer


Thanks for viewing this essay.  I'd love to hear your feedback.
You can see more of my unpublished work here.

Beautiful prints of these pieces are available for purchase here.

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

Monday, February 20, 2012

Prescription for Abuse


This drawing for About Town accompanied a story about prescription painkiller abuse. The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimates that over 5.3 million Americans abuse these drugs yearly. This goes under the radar because users can easily mask their addiction. My editor liked this solution because the user's identity is hidden behind a prescription. All the speculation surrounding Whitney Houston's tragic death served as an eery backdrop to drawing this picture.


Thanks to Paul De Angelis for another though-provoking illustration assignment.

You can view my new illustration website here!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Stock Market Scrabble


Illustration assignments are often indicators of economic trends. As an example, this is my third drawing in recent weeks about ETF funds; investment vehicles that are becoming increasingly popular on Wall Street. This image accompanied a story about the importance of naming a ticker symbol for a new fund. Picking a catchy name can draw attention to your product, much like a vanity plate on an automobile. For the Wall Street Journal editors, this 'Scrabble' theme best captured the story's spirit. I hope you get a kick of these ideas I ticked off for this assignment! 


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Secret Cellar


Here's a peek at some drawings that will appear in The Secret Cellar, the newest installment of the Red Blazer Girls mystery series. What goes on in this this spooky cellar? Are vintage French wines hidden down there? What creepy characters are lurking in the shadows? Oh, rats! I can't tell you. For answers, you must read Michael Beil's fabulous book when it comes out later this year. One secret I can reveal is that it was really fun dreaming up these images.



You can view my new illustration website here!
...........
My daughter Abigail is a big fan of this series,
so I can't wait to give her a copy of The Secret Cellar!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Order in the Court


Illustrating legal concepts can be more challenging than interpreting the Constitution.  I've lost many a hair on my head trying to visualize stories loaded with legalese.  Morris Stubbs at American Lawyer Magazine is a saint for assigning me a very straightforward project.  For a section called IP Roundup, I was asked to represent various companies/products involved in recent 'intellectual property' rulings.  It was fun to show businesses as diverse as Apple, Bratz, and Eli Lilly sitting before the judge. I enjoyed creating order in this two dimensional court!


Here are some ideas I submitted for this assignment.


Friday, January 20, 2012

Byrdcliffe by Design


Before Woodstock, N.Y. became synonymous with a musical and cultural revolution, this Catskills town was known for its arts and crafts movement. The Byrdcliffe Arts Colony, founded in 1903, is at the heart of this creativity.  Artisans gather there to study painting, pottery, sculpture, ceramics, and other crafts. I was approached to design  a promotion for their upcoming artisans fair.  It was fun to doodle ideas suggesting all the beautiful hand-made items that will be available. My inspiration for the portrait above came from an iconic poster of Woodstock's most legendary resident, Bob Dylan. The illustrator responsible for this poster happens to sit on Byrdcliffe's board of directors, and his name is Milton Glaser.

A Byrdcliffe state of mind.
This bird flies high with a haul of great Byrdcliffe products.
A potter's wheel acts an as axis for beautiful hand-crafted items.
Emphasis on hand-crafted products (within your grasp).
Branch out with beautiful handmade products by Byrdcliffe artisans.

A special thanks to Kimberly Daley for this rewarding opportunity: - )

The 'Byrdcliffe by Design' artisans fair takes place February 18th - 20th   11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
You can find out more about it right here!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Musical Mares


You never know what to expect from your next illustration assignment.  I certainly didn't foresee interpreting a horse as a singing star on Broadway! But thanks to John Van Cleaf, art director at Rutgers Magazine, this became reality. He asked me to illustrate a story about horses who've had roles in famous musicals. I'm no expert on Broadway, but it was fun to assimilate an equine element into some familiar theater posters. Who knows, maybe my next assignment will be drawing Birds of the Bolshoi Ballet?



It's time for equestrians and thespians to unite,
and support the musical mares of Broadway!