I did this months front of book illustrations for The Walrus (never underestimate the power of proximity) - but these were handled in a very different way from regular finals i do - in that, there were no finals. Correction my roughs were finals. Jen Spinner who AD'd the pieces thought the roughs might be a bit more fitting for the section rather than finished pieces. I thought "cool!" - i've never tried anything like that and am always open to something different. The results? Pretty cool! - although i wont be abandoning my final process anytime soon it was neat to let a bit of loose energy come through.
For the FOB section the illustrator picks a theme, and carries that theme through a variety of subjects. Joel Kimmel did the section the month before me and absolutely killed it! his theme was the grapes of wrath. After some thinking and back and forth i decided my theme would be Brian Wilson. I'm a huge fan afterall and he's had a pretty crazy life.
First stop was the "Contributors" section - the only real requrement to show someone - in this case Brian, shirtless, in bed.
next, the "Letters" section - the requirement here, obviously, to use the theme and tie it back to letters - i thought showing Wilson dropping a stamp like a hit of acid made sense.
Next was the "Editor's Note" section - where the content, conveniently was somewhat regarding Canada - Obviously, showing Brian riding a loon like the Wish Dragon from "the Neverending Story" was the only logical direction
and finally the "Miscellany" section - where i only really needed to include the type Miscellany - i chose to pay a nod to the famous photo of the beach boys sharing a surf board.
lots of fun with these - and although it was hard leaving the drawings at this stage its always good to try something new! Thanks very much Jen for working with me on this, you're the best.
I also had a gallery opening this past weekend in my hometown, Stratford. It was a joint show with my friend Jack Dylan - and was a lot of fun - I hung 10 large prints of various pieces and layouts - and 40 paintings / some process work. - Heres a pic!
they also decided to combine that with another rough, that showed a wall of people neglecting a patient - their clothing mirroring the state flag.
Im always nervous to combine metaphors, but i think these two work pretty well together.
here are some roughs:
next, the "Letters" section - the requirement here, obviously, to use the theme and tie it back to letters - i thought showing Wilson dropping a stamp like a hit of acid made sense.
Next was the "Editor's Note" section - where the content, conveniently was somewhat regarding Canada - Obviously, showing Brian riding a loon like the Wish Dragon from "the Neverending Story" was the only logical direction
and finally the "Miscellany" section - where i only really needed to include the type Miscellany - i chose to pay a nod to the famous photo of the beach boys sharing a surf board.
lots of fun with these - and although it was hard leaving the drawings at this stage its always good to try something new! Thanks very much Jen for working with me on this, you're the best.
Two new pieces for Canadian Wilderness - the article was about composting - and its insane, numerous benefits. the first image was a full page, but i've cropped some image on the left where text went - my idea for this was partly inspired by Indiana Jones and the Ark of the Covenant - the scene where the guys face melts off - only, i guess in this case, the opposite.
Lots of fun working on these! couple of ideas below
.... smoke weed everyday! - Nate Dogg (rip)
