Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by children.

Last fall, I began creating some children's illustrations. These, along with the below Conan piece are a bit brighter than my normal vintage looking work. Rest assured, I've not abandoned my old-fashioned ways, I'm just evolving and expanding my brand. Collage & mixed media.

CONAN O'BRIEN

I've been a fan of Conan's from the beginning. I find him peculiar, odd, quick-witted and just down right hilarious! In the midst of one of the most tragic weeks in the world - with the earthquake in Haiti, wars raging, and the unemployment rate at an all time high . . . I was watching every last minute of his show just to laugh and escape. I was inspired to create a collage portrait of him using cut paper, glue, paint and lot's of cardboard! His time with NBC is over - just like that. So long Coco! I know we've not seen the last of you!!

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

A new editorial Op-Ed assignment (another for The Los Angeles Times) that ran in yesterdays paper. It ran in black and white but I wanted to show the color version here. The article is about how the Salmon population are decreasing in the Pacific Northwest. Salmon are connected to so many different life forms and are needed to sustain fishing towns, people, bears, wolves, forests, orcas and rivers. Collage & mixed media.

NEW WORK COMING SOON!

I've been working on a few different projects over that past few months. Unique, diverse and challenging projects. Some commission, and some personal pieces. I plan on posting some of those images tomorrow. Thanks for your interest and for your loyal visits. To quote Garrison Keillor: "Be well and do good work!"

LOS ANGELES TIMES

My latest assignment for The Los Angeles Times. This illustration ran in this past Sunday's paper (1-03-10) on the front page of the business section. The article is about how the economy has been in the dumper and how an increasing number of Americans are resolving to fix their finances and dig themselves out in 2010. It goes into detail about how there are a half-dozen simple things you can resolve to do that are quick, relatively easy and will put you in vastly better financial position in the months and years to come. Collage and mixed media.

LIVING STORIES . . .

FEATURED ON ILLUSTRATIONMUNDO'S BLOG and THE LITTLE CHIMP SOCIETY'S BLOG. A new image and assignment created for Porter's Call. An Evening of Stories is a benefit for Porter's Call and will take place at Lipscomb University in the Shamblin Theater on Monday, February 22 in Nashville, TN. Three storytellers, one stage, one magical night! This finished art will be auctioned off during the event with 100% of the proceeds going back to Porter's Call. Collage and mixed media.

BURIED ALIVE

I received some print samples and final product this past Saturday for a cover/jacket that I was commissioned to illustrate and design earlier this year. It was created for Thomas Nelson Publishers. Also shown are a few other options (all featuring hand rendered letters) that were also presented for consideration. Pen and ink and digital.

Spending time in Silence

My latest image was created for the fantastic Gail Pitt at Dove House Ministries. Silent retreats, direction, meditation, long walks, reflection and rest. I highly recommend a silent retreat with Gail. Collage and mixed media.

PORTER'S CALL

A recently completed pen and ink project for the wonderful Porter's Call. I'm currently working on another new project for them and will post that in the coming weeks.

MUSIC for Illustration Friday

My submission for this weeks Illustration Friday. Collage and mixed media.

UNDONE SOCIETY of ILLUSTRATORS 52

The 52nd Society of Illustrators Annual. With over 4,600 submissions and a total of 418 pieces that were juried into this years final show, this piece - entitled “Disengage” was one of the final 418! The original art will hang in the Museum of American Illustration gallery on 128 East 63rd Street in New York - early 2010. A big thank you to all the judges! I am very grateful and of course thrilled! Collage and mixed media.

Anne Frank illustration on The Little Chimp Society website

My Anne Frank portrait commissioned by The Los Angeles Times has been published by The Little Chimp Society . . . an illustration portal. Thanks everyone at LCS! Collage and mixed media.

Illustration Mundo!

This image, along with a link to this blog was contributed to Illustration Mundo and was selected as a FEATURE HEADLINE today! Thanks Nate! Collage, mixed media, digital. 

ANTHONY (TONY) CARTER

My latest image is a portrait illustration of Tony Carter for ByFaith magazine. Tony has written (edited) a book called “Glory Road: The Journeys of 10 African-Americans into Reformed Christianity.” The interview is about the book and how African-Americans perceive Reformed theology, white church/black church differences, worship styles, etc. Watercolor and digital.

UNBALANCED

A new collage (an album cover) for my friend Andy Gullahorn. Also shown is a bit of my initial thought process and sketches. Collage & mixed media.

ROOTS

Here is a new assignment that I recently completed for B&H Publishing Group. They came to me wanting an original piece of art to use in support of an upcoming book called (Church in the Making) about church planting - by author Ben Arment. Limited edition and framed wall art prints were created and will be sent out to several key media folks. Collage and mixed media.

MONSTERS OF FOLK

A new and recently completed assignment for the cover of vita.mn (a Minneapolis based magazine and street publication.) They wanted this issue and cover to feature the band Monsters of Folk dressed up as monsters . . . as they arrive in Minneapolis to play a show on the eve of Halloween at the Orpheum Theatre - October 29th. They asked that I create a graphic and bright image in order to catch readers attention from several feet away. Here is my final illustration and a documentation of some of that process. It was a hit upon presentation! Collage, mixed media and some pen & ink for detail in the faces.

MINNESOTA

Off to Minnesota for a visit with my parents! New work post's coming upon my return.

BLUE COLLAR COMEDY

I received some finished print samples of this project I worked on earlier this summer for Warner Brothers. Very pleased with the outcome. It's printed on uncoated, matte paper. I'm a paper junkie!

NEW WORK COMING SOON!

Sorry for the lack of post's lately. I've been busy working on some really fun illustration projects here. Let's just say that there are "Monsters" involved with 1 of the commissions and some killer music mixed in there too - more to come! 

ANNE FRANK and THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Here is my latest OP-ED image for the Los Angeles Times. It ran this past Sunday, September 27th. The article discusses Anne Frank's literary voice and the author's assertion that she knew her diary would one day be received as a work of art. I got the call late one Friday evening around 9:00 p.m. from my contact at the Times. He wanted me to focus on making it a portrait, but perhaps use actual text from her book in parts, book bindings, materials associated with literary endeavors, etc. My original idea was to work in a bunch of the above mentioned items into the blue background you see posted here. I also wanted to find some material very similar to what her actual diary is covered in (red and tan plaid.) Once the actual collage portrait of Anne was completed, I experimented with 3 different backgrounds to see what might work best. With the help of a fellow illustrator and friend that I highly respect (Kristi Smith) she suggested that the image with the plaid border might reproduce best in black and white and to submit that one and perhaps submit the blue background  image for use on the web. Here is a bit of that process and the final outcome as it ran in The L.A. Times.

DETAILS

I just finished a new commission for the Los Angeles Times (a collage image) scheduled to run this Sunday, September 27, 2009. I will post the image and information about it next week. Upon completion of that particular piece, I decided to photograph the image to see if it would capture more of the detail, shadow and depth of the collage, as opposed to scanning it. (I've always scanned my illustrations over the years) I was blown away by this new experiment and how much integrity of the raw image remained and was not lost . . . needless to say, I was thrilled with the result and began shooting several of my images from recent commissions to capture their depth, detail and beauty. I wanted to share them with you here.

SHARE SOME CANDY

Thanks to everyone at Share Some Candy. They have shown me some love. Please check out their site...it RAWKS!

FIRE IN MY BONES

More art that I created for Sara Grove's album project. The "Judith" image will not be used. However, the additional two images will be. Collage, mixed media, pen & ink & digital mediums. 

DONKEYS AND LAMBS

Here is another illustration that I created to go on the inside of an upcoming (recently completed) Christmas project. The cover for this project was posted earlier. Collage & mixed media.