double your pleasure

Heres two more pieces - a spot and a larger one -
First for Registered Nurses Journal - this article was about nurses helping and guiding people in difficult times, like death. nurses are always there offering hope and support. the article refers to nurses as "bridges" a lot - so that was the direction we ended up going.couple of roughs - i really liked this tissue idea -Second for Education Forum, about one particular school thats "lifting the veil" so to speak on why their students were not performing. through a number of infinitives teachers and volunteers were able to turn it around so that all students were doing well and actively participating. i wanted to show a blind being lifted on a classroom door - but the blind actually doubled as the window into what we see in the classroom. the part being rolled away shows students that dont care - are not engaged. the window beneath shows happy attentive students. took a lot of drawing for me to feel like it looks like the blind is going up, rather than down.there was something i really liked about leaving the hand unfinished -
some roughs, there were lots of others:Both projects were Art Directed by the fantastic people at Fresh Art & Design - really great group there!!

sponge bob

This was a half pager for Canadian Wildlife Magazine. The topic, was about spring runoff, and how to prep your property so it absorbs the water, rather than letting it damage the land. Lots of my roughs focused on the damaging part - but we ended up focusing more on what people should do, instead - and i think that was the right choice. The AD was Steve Balaban who has recently started his own design studio called "Studio B". Needless to say, it was fun to work with him again.
some roughs and some pics Jill took while i was painting - note what we're listening to - awesome.

rhino what you did last summer...

I have a mountain of work to post, but the sheer thought of that is semi terrifying, so I'm going to take it slow. one piece at a time. This was for Cincinnati Magazine, about indian rhinos getting pregnant. Im serious, thats what it was about. It's apparently very difficult, especially in captivity. many dont make it to term, others die shortly after birth. is there anything more sad than a dead, baby rhino?! We decided it would be a fun juxtaposition to show a massive rhino being carried by a struggling stork. Incidently, the clouds were painted with the help of a youtube tutorial on "Painting clouds at night" - its really did help. The AD was the very wonderful Megan Scherer, she was totally open to my ideas and very fun to work with. Here are some roughs that went with the final, as usual, there were many many more...

Come back soon, I'm going to be posting lots this month...

Magic Johnson

A little while back I had the extreme pleasure of working with fantastic illustrator John Tomac (who also designs for Barron's) for an article about Closed End Mutual funds. In the brief John explained to me that they're a bit shadey and hoped to see some slight of hand / deception. John suggested pulling money from behind the investors ear and that seemed to be a good fit - as the returns seem to materialize from out of nowhere. Lots of fun working with John, and a bit intimidating, as Im such a big fan of his work - In the end I think the final looked pretty badass.
Thanks John! some roughs below, there were lots

muppets in Chi Town

sounds like a musical, right?
The is this weeks cover of the Chicago Reader - I painted it out Monday night. The whole process went really fast - It was about the "hidden hands" in the mayoral campaign - the people behind the scene, calling the shots. They wanted to feature one candidate in particular - Rahm Emanuel - so the idea was to do a conceptual portrait. Fun. this is what I came up with, along with some roughs.
Interesting side note Rahm is missing half his finger on his right hand - AND so is his campaign manager ... weird.

Heavy Metal (Detector)

Heres a piece for todays WSJ. I was working with the blurb "where jobs are" - then later the article which elaborated a bit more and was essentially explaining which industries are hiring in 2011. My initial idea was to show a circled job in the classifieds (as the article spoke of finding a job, as well as looking) the circle would double as the end of a metal detector. - kinda, you know, detecting the jobs that are hiring. I got the go ahead from Mark, who felt It would work better with just a regular metal detector. Fair enough - but I decided to see both through to final - Maybe when Mark saw it he'd get what I was going for. Below are the two finals, Mark decided to go with his version and he was right to do so. Mine just doesnt read as immediately. I still like the idea OF the idea - but Im glad I had someone to steer me away from the rocks. Thanks Mark, great working with you as always - love those quick overnight finishes. Winner

Baby New Year

2011 Whaaaaaaaaaatttttuuuuupppppppp!!!!!
I did this series for Alberta Venture over my break. I love working with them and usually get to do one big project for them a year. This one was about companies franchising!
The main image was just showing business franchising - i wanted to show everyone "in it together" as well as showing a clear leader. I was really happy with the solution, as a sidecar (or a bunch of them) seem to fit these requirements really well :)I also did a bunch of spots for this project -
one about how businesses get further with multiple revenue sources rather than one:
another about selecting valuable property locations among the bad / toxic onesI LOVE this crown / trap idea - it originated with another project I was also working on, but worked great for this too.
Thanks for stopping by!

All good things...

So, in whats become a bit of an annual tradition for me, its my 2010 "thank you" post.
This year has been incredible. I'm really enjoying living downtown Toronto, and love spending time in my work and living space more and more (for better or worse) ha. I've been super fortunate to work with some really amazing clients this year, and for that I am super thankful. I feel incredibly grateful every time I'm selected for a project and try my best to make a good image with each opportunity. Thank you, everyone who has hired me. Not only do you feed my body and pay my bills, but you give me a sense of purpose and complete happiness. I owe you all a high five. I've made some good work this year, and some pieces not so great - but i learn with each one, and always approach new commissions with a spirit of adventure. I think this is why I hold onto working in a traditional manner. Its a bit difficult to explain, but for me, working traditionally is more about the exploration than the destination. Im not replicating a process, in most cases I'm wrestling with it. Desiring a particular texture or "look" requires figuring out how to physically make it. its sometimes slow, and often clumsy but im holding onto it with a mechanics grip. Im proud of many fo my 2010 projects.
Each year I meet great new designers and illustrators, and this year was no exception. People in this industry are so good to each other. The folks I've gotten' to know, or know better have totally inspired me and humbled me with their skill and friendship. The list would take forever, but to all my friends - thanks for this year. To all the industry vets who's work and careers I admire so much I wish you continued success and thank you for the inspiration and for forging the path.
Thanks Fish and Mark for helping me get Nonslick back on track - and thanks to everyone who reads the interviews we post. I really care about that blog and really see the value of asking questions and sharing experience. I appreciate the support people show it.
Thanks Jill for sharing a workspace with me. i look forward to listening to records and This American Life along side you every day when I wake up. I'm lucky I get to spend so much time with you. Thanks to my family and loved ones - your support and encouragement will always have a home with me. Finally thanks to everyone the checks out my work, leaves comments, sends me emails or supports me in any way - its appreciated more than you can imagine. Making images for a living can provide a healthy amount of self doubt. I'm trying my best with every piece I make, so having people give a shit is really really validating. Seriously, Thank you.
Finally a bit of advice that I try to remember everyday:
Work hard(er), Stay Humble (always) and Be Thankful (for everything).

I'm going to be an uncle in 2011 - so the year is already shaping up to be a new favorite.

You down with OPC? YEAH, YOU KNOW ME!!!

Heres a few fun spots I did for the Ontario Principals Council magazine.
The first one (and idea i've been waiting to use for a dogs age) was about ontario principals setting and reaching new standards. obviously principals wear orange sweaters...
next one was about kids bringing their home education practices with them to school
the last one was a movie review of the film "waiting for superman" - the reviewer takes a very critical look at a film taking a critical look at schools. thanks for stopping by. i love you.

license to pill

Painted this for a feature story on Thursday for the LATimes - it was about how drugs designed to help curb obesity keep being held back by the FDA. Got to work with Joey Santos on this one, and he was awesome! In the roughs I tried to play with the idea of blocking and denying. here are a few below - Oh, and it ran BIG - like 8.5 x 11

Shot through the heart...

kinda.
insensitive.
Heres a cover I did for Westword about a man who's wife shot him in the face and blinded him. It's actually super sad - he was sleeping at the time. He even supported his wife for a while through the trial - must have been a really confusing time. Anyway, This idea seemed too good to be true - in fact there were a bunch of easy solutions. heres the final with some mock text and without, and some roughs.

cheap - er by the dozen

last week or the week before i got a call around 3:30 to see if i could do a small spot for the next day for the WSJ - roughs by 5:15. the article just had a blurb at the time, but would be about all the cheap holiday gift deals going down over Thanksgiving. lots of savings to be found! i got excited and put my thinking cap on (aka an old beer hat i wear for no real reason other than it makes me look slightly homeless) - I had lots of fun brainstorming for this - even for just a small amount of time.
the illustration also need to fit a completely different set of dimensions, so i painted everything separately and fit them back together in the final process
thanks for stopping by!!