water you doing

i like punns. ...wait, could that be considered a punn? hmmmmm.
anyway, to continue on with my previous rant Im ready to implement some of the changes in my work that i've been going on and on and on about these past nine months or so. here is my first step - with more changes etc. to come.
this piece was for the LAtimes, about, of all things turf. it seems in LA there is a real issue with having turf that can resist the suns heat. Grass scientists are slowly (and painfully) engineering a turf that doesnt need as much water and can handle sun in its place - (hence the illo). here are some roughs
i really liked this idea - was hoping it would be chosen - the grass snipping the hose like scissors
kinda obvious
...ha, oh and this little gem as well - there were more roughs too
anyway, onto the rough chosen and the final
playing with the idea of the sun replacing water from the watering can
and the actual final - there are a few open areas, left for text - all in all turned out really nice -
in the mountain of rough painting and "tests" i do im seeing the work being handled alot like the watering can - simular drawing and texture - but more 3D and line work that matches the image a bit more - eventually there will be a point where its 100% like this i think, but for now, im introducing it into my work. i'd love to hear any thoughts.

at home

often in between being busy with life i like to go back to work i've done and re-visit it. i have sort of a secret fantasy of working digitally, for both the freedom it provides and the opportunity. i like to take pieces i've completed and re-imagine them , how they might look if i took my work one direction or another. i think this is a useful tool, because often times i get good ideas that i can translate into my existing work - to help it grow. if you read my blog on the regular you know i wrestle with style alot. partially, because i know there are a million places i want to take my work, and sometimes letting it happen naturally can feel too slow - also, partially because i have a strong desire to further distance myself from my laundry list of influences and amazing illustrators. Its no secret that i love taxali's work, or dan pages, or devon bowmans etc etc. and so its important to me to continue not to step on their toes through my progression. the one thing i know, is that to me atleast - my work has come a long way from this point last year - as im sure it will continue to. i have alot of ideas, not the least of which are limited by the tools i use to create. i have had success and i have had failures branching out, i guess the important thing is to continue to branch. i crave feeling understood.
heres one of those "revisited" pieces - i have some new work to post soon, just thought i'd share some thoughts. thanks.

No money? No worries

A quick spot image for an article about relaxing when times get tough - stress and anxiety only make it more difficult - the best advice is to just take it in stride.
i was so happy with this solution.
more soon.

thug life...

heres two spots recently finished for "Cottage Life" mag. Steve Balaban, the AD didnt want super conceptual pieces, more - work that was in keeping with the mag. The first piece was about cottage drinking water, and being cleaner than the source (lake water) - the second was about how regular cleaning of baseboard heater can save you money. Kinda dry articles, but Steves feedback made it alot of fun. I really like how these were painted and was happy with the results. Thanks for reading
more when i get home to Canada...
oh, i attached a few roughs too - the pipes one woulda been bad ass

research world #2

two more images i just finished for research world. I love articles like the ones i get from them - really tough, really conceptual.
this article was about surveys and the industry behind them
my main image focused on the declining rate of surveys being done now in every respect - human participation, valuable information etc etc.
the second image that went with it focused on how as a result of this diminishing amount of feedback - survey researchers are having to take every drop of information they can -
i've also attached some of the roughs below...there were alot.
thanksssss for reading!

Look out industry...

...I now have more help harassing you for work!
or look here

i could tell that you wanted to...

JUMP IN THE POOL
JUMP IN THE POOL
how amazing are friendly fires?!?!
http://www.myspace.com/friendlyfires
seriously...
anyway, this is for Westchester Mag. from what I can tell they are a lifestyle mag from upstate NY, nice design, really nice creative director named Aiko.
anyway, this article was about "internet friends" - people who social network, and making internet friends. kind of a fun article, but im really jonesin' for a juicy business article now.
Aiko wanted me to only use 4 colours, so that was a cool limitation to play with. i couldn't decide between the two finals i did. basically i finished painting it once, scanned it in etc, then wasnt sure if i liked exactly how it looked. so i cut a stencil for a ghost screen, put that on top, rescanned and set both in. in hindsight i maybe like the greyish green shadow version best.

ad-venture

i love working with alberta venture. IMO they just "get it", you know. This is something I just finished for them about, principally, finding obvious business ventures - among other things. the rough ides i sent for this were all over the map, and this idea was kinda tacked on, not expecting it to be chosen, but i ended up liking it alot. its running along the bottom of the page - hence the white sky. its fun drawing a "scene" as apposed to something just floating in a space, which i tend to gravitate toward - backgrounds etc. always really help tell a story. Ive had fun lately pushing texture and technique, seeing where i can go with both. Also, really coming to terms with some of the style demons I've been wrestling with - i was really concerned with my work looking different from piece to piece - whether too graphic one time, or unusual colours another - and on and on. my new outlook is to not give a shit and just draw. im confident that the way its drawn out will always suit the publication and subject matter and this variation adds breadth. in other words you go girl...but me. anyway, crack sentence over - thanks Lindsay, I always love doing work for you because you always make it fun.

pressing

Recently I completed 4 small spot illos for Houston Press' "Best Of" issue.
This was a fun project because they all had to do with specific small business in the area.
These two were "Best Mohawk Technician" and "Best Vintage Clothing". Others I did included best pet boutique, and best bakery. It was fun to do mini narrative illustrations and a neat challenge to work in black and white...which i rarely ever do. I feel really fortunate to always get the best AD's to work with. Thanks Monica!!!
More this week.

what is the devils favourite item in his home?

his luciferniture.

i made that joke up, and am pretty proud of it.

anyway, this is the first in a series of 4 illustrations i will be doing about the current financial climate. this one was about dissecting your spending, to see exactly where your money is going. i like when the solution to an idea is so obvious you almost dont even need to explain it.
more up soon.

and now, to close with a joke:
what is tom cruises favourite article of clothing?
his scientolajeans

Courantly

”This illo was for the Hartford Courant (get the title). I've been a big fan of this publication since I spent some time with Devon Bowman in 3rd year. The work he did for them was awesome. The article was about doing your kids school supply shopping online. this was really fast turn around (by my standards) - assigned 2 days before due date, not normally a big problem but i had another job due the same day. long story short im feeling tired.
I really like the way this piece turned out - mostly the way its drawn - i felt excited about it as soon as i was finished it, which is rare... i want my style to take this direction more.”

Thanks Chris, it was a pleasure to be able to work with you.

rough life

heres two of 5 pages of thumbnail roughs for a project im working on - just wanted to show a bit of process. this is pretty much what my sketchbook looks like

here is then 3 of 12 ish roughs i sent in with more refined ideas - unfortunately i was on a bit of a wrong path, the article - which was about bi-polar disorder seems ALOT like post partum - fortunately one of the ideas worked pretty well, which went to final, but we still needed an image for the spot that went with the main. the AD suggested focusing on the mothers feelings of social isolation, which i did here:



here is the final for the spot, i will post the final for the main ...i dunno...soon. the spot is about 2.5 x 2.5, all screened. it was fun!

a good idea goes a long way

This was for an article about how good ideas travel from person to person - in the business world only the best ideas make it from the bottom to the top.
I've been working alot of different ways lately, its weird because although i feel like my style is pretty consistent it does seem to change alot from graphic to less graphic, realistic to more cartoony. I realize this may pose some problems for me, but im finding it impossible to draw one way. i dunno. maybe its not as big of a deal as i think. anyway, thanks for stopping by :)

Screw You Juan...

Recent job for Inside Counsel about Lawyers using social networking sites - I liked the idea of just making a really fun image of a Lawyer on his computer like a school girl, totally pumped about using internet slang. Right? ...Its funny...
Friend, fellow illustrator and Badass MC Juan Solon is also in this issue - so fun to be sharing that with him - check out his blog for when he eventually posts his contribution.
Boo ya.
Oh and thanks Liz - you were one of the funnest AD's I've ever worked with.

He Lives...

Hi guys,
sorry for a few weeks without posting, but like I mentioned I went away to Glastonbury, then I actually needed to make stuff - rest assured, there will be alot of posts this month - and stuff im happy with too. This'll start it off - my second Village Voice cover. The article was about this FBI informant who would..."convince" (with gifts, pestering, promises of money etc) fairly normal people to become part of terrorist plots. In the particular case of the story, bomb planting - then obviously he sicks the Feds on them. Its seems alot like entrappment because these people wouldnt have exactly commited these crimes without his cohersion, yet they DID commit these crimes. The AD and I eventually landed on the idea of a cutaway of a bomb with a rat inside - the wick being the rats tail. Really liked the metaphor and this idea
I also like the way the particular AD seems to push me, I get images Im really happy with.
Thanks Ivy, and thanks everyone for stopping by!!!
Pete

Good-bye cruel world...

At least for 5 days.
Tomorrow I will be arriving at famous "Glastonbury Festival" for 5 days of fun, sun, bands and ...kids? Thats right, turns out my flatmate Ema (sup ema) 's father runs a section of the festival known as the kidz field. this is where parents ditch their kids to go have fun, but also where the kids themselves have fun. In exchange for my days spent painting faces, hanging out and having fun with these little bastards I get to attend this great even for free!!! woooooo!!! saving a cool 160£ . Such a great deal!!! anyway Im very excited to be officially on vacation (auto reply set). I shall return in July with lots of new projects and a few new bits of personal work.
Thanks for reading, have a great rest of the month June.
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/line-up-poster/

gamble

for an article about a new casino in Indianapolis. sort of how the casino sucks you in and blinds you from the outside world.

research world + food poisoning

Hey guys - just finished this project for research world - very tough article - one of the hardest ive worked on. Basically the article was about hows theres a growing, emerging middle class, and this middle class tends to have a set of universal shared values - like global freedom and a shared sense of direction. aside from the challenge, I had alot of fun - and really enjoyed working with the AD - Thanks Steve!!
Side bar - i somehow got food poisoning last night and woke up SO SICK. sucks. Hoping it will pass by tomorrow, when roughs are due...FML

this spot one was about the global freedom part...wwoooooo

Seattle Weekly

Sup y'all
Heres a really neat project I was happy to be a part of.
The article was about this guy who's had 112 convictions. amazing right?!?! he's pretty young too!
So, I was fortunate enough to do the cover and a full page inside -
Heres the cover image - I was playing with this guys infinite criminal career...
The inside page was my fav - basically one of my ideas was playing with the inmate, a guy called "Smooth" being behind bars - but the bars are "checks" from when inmates check off days - or in this case prison trips. I loved this idea. Then, the AD had the brilliant idea of tiling the groups of 5 to add up to 110, and then as 2 checks in the type layout. - i'll post that layout asap. so the whole thing adds up to 112. fun huh?! I did 5 different versions of the checks so when they're tiled randomly it'll have some variety. - heres two different ones.Thats it!
I was really happy about this project and the AD Jane - she was great!
Thanks Jane!!!
Ok, more next week - enjoy the weekend

hot off the presses

Heres a cover recently finished for Broward New Times in Florida. The article was really challenging - to give you an overview - Basically the story is on this guy who's company would buy out insurance policies from AIDS patients and then sell them to investors while falsifying the time the client had to live with their own doctors. - a classic Ponzi pyramid scheme. Roughs to final was a bit of a tight deadline so pressure was on. I sent in some of - what i consider - really strong ideas. The solution they picked wasnt my initial favourite, i felt it was a bit too graphic and simple (which ironicly seems to be what im into lately) - but when considering laying out the type and header etc. it really made the most sense. in the end i think it was for sure the right way to go. Because they print on newsprint we really pushed the colours to be nice and bright. I loved working with Miche the AD and hope to again soon. heres some of the 7 roughs i sent in (my favs) as well as the final. sorry the final i posted is a bit pixel-ly - also sorry for using so much blue lately...i'll lay off.
this was my fav idea!...initially