Happy New Years!

Burlesque in Kansas

This illustration was done for the Pitch Weekly for their Night & Day section. This was one of those experiences where everything seemed to line up. The sketch process was quick and painless, the final drawing came out without a hitch, and the time spent on the computer was brief. The only challenge I had was figuring out how to approach the feathers. I ended up painting them on a separate piece of bristol and combining the two drawings in photoshop.

The People Under the Bridge

This illustraton was done for the Miami New Times. The story was on how the city has made it impossible for sexual offenders to legally live anywhere in Miami and have been forced to live underneath a bridge that fits within the guidelines of how close they can be to a school. The art director liked some of the fairy tale elements from my portfolio and wanted me to use that style for this particular piece. I most worried about drawing the bridge and making that look interesting, but not fussy. I kept its design very basic and added textural elements in photoshop. I had a ton of fun drawing the faces underneath the bridge. That's the place in the illustration where I allowed myself the freedom to be as detailed as I wanted.

Best & Worst of 2007

I worked out the final kinks on this image this morning and got it off to Alternative Press Magazine for their Year in Review issue coming out next month. This concept had a lot going on with it and took lots of time in the planning stages to really get it off the ground. I think the most difficult aspect of this image was getting the cards right. They needed a sense of direction and shape without looking to flimsy or fluttery. I am really happy with the final outcome and I think it fits the look and feel of the magazine as well. I had a great time working on this piece and I hope to do more for Alternative Press in the future.

Happy Holidays!

I just finished up this image for Lawrence.com on a story about crazy gift ideas for Christmas. Happy Holidays all! Also, just found out that my illustration, Elton and the Tree Giant, which you can see a few posts down will be featured in this years Society of Illustrators West Coast. It's been a great month.

Troubled in Iraq

This painting was for Lawrence.com for an article about strained marriages and relationships with soldiers in Iraq and their families back in the states. Again, this illustration was an exercise in simplicity. During the initial sketches I was trying to come up with concepts that would work both as spots and as full sized painting. I also had a lot of fun playing with different scanned in textures to create unexpected variations in the final image like the dripping oil clouds in the background.

Elton Eats His Lunch

I really wanted to make a picture that evokes calm. Creating an image like this is very refreshing and is a nice change of pace from my regular style. This is Elton and he's enjoying his sandwich on a sunny afternoon. For those of you who like my darker stuff better don't worry. There is a mysterious creature behind those hills who has been hunting Elton his entire life.

Wetlands Threat

This illustration was created for the cover of Lawrence.com. The story is about how the city of Lawrence plans on building a highway through the Baker Wetlands thus destroying the ecosystem and also some sacred Native American sites. There are several environmental and historical groups that are protesting the build, however the city seems very determined to see this thing built. I've been focusing more on keeping the message of my images as clear and simple as possible. I tried with this one to make a final image that could work as both a large, full color illustration, but also be easily reduced into a black and white spot. It helps me to think in these terms so that I keep things economical and don't get carried away with unnecessary details.

White Stripes

The second I saw the outfits worn by Jack and Meg on their new album "Icky Thump" I knew that I wanted to do an image of them. I went through a lot of different sketches to come up with the final design and finally decided on one that put Meg in the foreground. I think that Jack is a big enough symbol to read without much detail in the background. The image was drawn with pencil on bristol and then scanned and painted in photoshop. I also experimented with scanning in different paper textures to create a more old parchment feel to the final illustration.

Elton and the Tree Giant

This image is for a children's book idea that I have been working on. The image is based on a sketchbook drawing that I decided to take to a finished illustration. I went through several variations of the giant, some ranging from more menacing to just down right strange. I finally decided on a more simple design that is actually closer to the original sketch. The image was drawn on tinted paper with graphite and white colored pencil and later colored in Photoshop.

sketchbook

My sketchbook section on my website is in need of updating, so I have been focusing a lot more on drawing in my little black book. For me the sketchbook is a place to create without planning ahead and getting caught up in the final outcome. Things need to evolve naturally without fear of destroying the final image. This sketch was on the brink of disaster many times forcing me to involve new strategies and mediums to bring it back to life. There are plenty of pages in my sketchbook that are beyond saving, however these images are more important than the one above.

American Illustration 26!

I am happy to announce that the spot illustration above will be featured in the next American Illustration annual. I am overwhelmed with glee and warm feelings throughout my incredibly sculpted body. I honestly could not be happier about being chosen for my first big contest. Let us all pray that this is not the last.

Punk Ballerina

Just finished this image for The Pitch weekly. The piece was done for the calendar section announcing the ballet performance of Karole Armitage who was dubbed the "Punk Ballerina" by Vanity Fair. As you can see I decided to put the punk dancers in a dark and whimsical forest. If you look at my portfolio you will see that this is a rarity for me.

SUPERBOWL PARTIES!

This illustration was done for the Pitch's calendar section. It was a challenge for me in that there was no opportunity for me to utilize any creepy, dark elements that I like to play with. This one had to be straight up fun and bright. Seriously, if you can't have a sense of humor about a Superbowl illustration than you should rethink your agenda in life. For me this was an excellent exercise in learning to be light and provide a fun and stylized image that still looks like one of my own.

KJHK

This image was done for the local college radio station. I like to fit as much narrative as possible into my illustrations and with this one I really had a lot of fun fitting in the various details in an attempt to tell a layered story in a single image.