The 90's Flashback Tour

Here's an illustration I did this morning for my hometown newspaper, The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. It was about 90's bands like No Doubt and Counting Crows, who are gearing up for big national tours again.

Comedic Actress, Ann Randolph

I just heard about this lady and thought her stuff was so funny it deserved a post in my blog. I also wrote her a fan letter after I saw this because it really takes balls to pull off a character like this. I haven't laughed this hard at a comedic actress's work since Amy Sedaris' character Jerry Blank on "Strangers With Candy". Anyway, she's pure silliness and I really needed her tonight.
Ann Randolph's Website
More skits on YouTube from Ann Randolph

Obama as Atlas

This week I did a halfway decent "Obama as Atlas" illustration. I'm pretty satisfied with the likeness and hopefully art directors will feel behooved to call me for more. I really wanted to go wild with the caricature, but I basically stayed in an area that was in-between conservative and "caricaturey". It's an image that a lot of regional magazines and newspapers won't feel is too distorted and more user friendly since I just want to keep the work 'a comin' in. I just got a small illustration about the performer "Nelly" to do next. Let me know what you all think if you can.

Character Designs from "Coal Miner's Cousin"

I just re-designed my website and now that I officially have a decent animation section I dredged up some character designs from a project I was working on for Wildbrain up in San Francisco called "Coal Miner's Cousin". It was an online animated show about a jewish country singer and her redneck jewish family. It just seemed like a good time to get some of this stuff up, instead of having it collect dust. I'll probably be posting a few more panels and characters from that project in the next few weeks, so check it out.

Cover of Isthmus about Congressman Paul Ryan's Rising Star

Here's a cover I turned in last friday for the newspaper Isthmus. It's about how the Republicans are looking for the next Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal essentially and they see Congressman Paul Ryan as the next one in line for the job. Many thanks to Carolyn Fath for using me on this one.

Janet Hamlin on Bill Maher's "Real Time" (HBO)

My good friend Janet Hamlin's courtroom illustration work was just mentioned in a bit called "New Rules" on his show "Real Time with Bill Maher". Max and I were watching this, and I saw her courtroom art and yelled out, "That's my friend Janet's Work"!. He grabbed his handy camera and "voila", here's what it looked like. Although, I do agree with Maher that courtroom illustration in the modern world is starting to make less and less sense. It is one area of illustration that is obviously going to become a thing of the past. One advantage that illustrated courtroom art has over just a quick cell phone pic is that it manages to interpret, through the illustrator, the mood and climate of the courtroom and all the players involved. A pic can't always express that.

Homage to Peter Bagge for The Stranger in Seattle

Aaron Huffman asked me to do a blatant homage to Peter Bagge in this illustration for an article about radio royalties for performers. I tried to make it more of a hybrid than a blatant copy of Bagge's work. It's somewhere in the middle.

Cavalcade of Food & Restaurant Review Illustrations

In these really hard times I am so grateful to have 2 restaurant review columns to illustrate each week. For the past 7 1/2 years I've illustrated more than 1000 newspaper columns for both The Miami New Times and also The Broward/West Palm Beach New Times in Florida. Thank God for Pam and Michael Shavalier for always keeping me as the illustrator of those columns. I've had to draw everything from sushi to pizza to crawfish to vegetarian dishes and the entire gamut in between. Asian fusion, to french bistro...The corner Deli to very high end cuisine. Half of the dishes I haven't a clue about. I have no idea what they look like and taste like. I usually google to find it or check to see if the restaurant has a website. Sometimes I just focus on the atmosphere and the overall experience. All in all, I do love illustrating for a regular column. Over the years I have illustrated for 13 newspaper columns and some end early and some last a very long time. When I illustrated for Joe Bob Brigg's column "Joe Bob's America", it ran for 10 years and went from Creators Syndicate to the New York Times Syndicate. Sadly, the NY Times Syndicate had no idea how to promote a humorous column like Joe Bob's and they ended it after a 10 year run. they only had it for I think about 2 years. I've also illustrated for an astrology column, a psychotherapy column and a DIY column. But as time wears on, I worry about the newspaper industry and as cartoons get cut, and the fat gets trimmed so they can stay alive, I worry that the columnists will lose their columns and I'll get dropped along with them. My fingers are crossed that newspapers will make the transition to the internet and find a way to survive and eventually thrive.

Financial Shakedown

I did this piece for NY Newsday recently, but it got altered quite a bit and became something else. I did like the original piece and decided to post it here. What do you think?

He's Just Not That Into You, Slumdog Millionaire

Max shot this marquee in his neighborhood. He's always telling me how the movie theatre is combining movies on the marquee that have these hilarious outcomes. Case in point, "He's Just Not That Into You, Slumdog Millionaire". I would give that movie 2 thumbs up.

Emotional Oscar Speeches

Hey there movie lovers! I just finished a spot illustration for Carolyn Fath over at Isthmus in Wisconsin. Here's the fruit of my labor today. I usually don't get too excited about The Oscars anymore, but maybe they'll be better this year? Anyone having an Oscar party? Max and I are completely open.

Flu Season Promotional Illustration

I just ordered a new postcard mailer and decided to send out an image about "Flu Season". Especially while it's hot. I'm deep in the middle of massive promotion on a daily basis now since work has slowed, and many newspaper and magazine budgets are cut down to a mere nub. I have a series of simpler pieces going out all week that are fun and only going to a targeted group of clients and people who've expressed a lot of interest in the past. But, this postcard is a fairly big mailing for me. At least 1000 folks.

My LOST Series

Here's a quick set of illustrations I did over the weekend. The drawings are somewhere between caricature and portrait, mostly because of the time crunch in getting all 13 finished and then the 2 maps. And they had to be used as icons throughout the supplement, so the readability factor was important. I love the show a lot and can't wait for the final season, but it's a difficult show to explain to anyone. The story almost makes zero sense...but, it's fun. It's no "Battlestar Galactica" is all I'm sayin'!

Evil Duck Says "Esther"

Max and I made this annoying little movie after I bought this evil duck from an "Out of The Closet" store for 2 bucks. Here he says "Esther" because we were about to go to see Esther Watson's Show at Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery in Culver City. Eeeeeerie!

Band Resolutions for 2009

Well, I just wrapped up a vertical formatted illustration about New Year's Resolutions for local bands in St. Louis to go in the music review column of The Riverfront New Times. Here's how it came out.

The Life and Times of Tim, Xavier: Renegade Angel and Superjail

I'm doing some animation here at home over the holiday and I think it's time for some inspiration from Adult Swim and HBO. These shows are so weird and freaky, and yet somehow....funny. You might have to be stoned to appreciate all the psychedelic niblets and nuances on the Adult Swim selections. Tim is just plain silly though.

Watch Superjail randomness in Entertainment Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Open Fly

I did a quick spot illustration for The Stranger up in Seattle this weekend about an actor who left his fly open during a performance of "The Adding Machine". Here's what I came up with. It's a "wee bit" phallic....

Post-It Show Madness

If it's late Fall, then it must be.....Post-It Season! Yes, another post it show is just around the corner at GR2 this weekend. Here's one of my samplings from that show. I'll scan in more and document the show this weekend. See the info card below for the dates and times and location. Hope you all can make it.

More Christmas Madness

I had a feeling that I'd be doing more reindeer and elfin nuttiness. Here's a 1/4 page illustration I did for a review of Christmas cd's. The concept is based on the client's suggestion.

Christmas Consumption

I'm slowly but surely getting my freelance work moving back up to speed since I left Delfino Media. I managed to do at least a couple of jobs a week while I worked there in-house, but now I have to do at least a couple more a week to be back to normal. Here's a piece I turned in friday for New York Newsday about Christmas Consumption. It's basically about whether or not we should bail out Christmas to save the economy and the myth regarding Christmas making or breaking the economy.