American Illustration

3 Pieces chosen. great news.
new posts coming soon both here and on nonslick.

This is neat

So, when i got home i had all this work that had arrived while i was gone. its so neat to see stuff in real life. cool huh?!?!

yo yo yo

new illo for Seattle Mag. Great art director. the article was about how news papers are being replaced by online news sites. same ol' story - lots of roughs. had fun. love illustration.
will post my new promo this week!!!

new

THE ACTUAL FINAL
so, heres a new post - im still hunting down the cover to timeout new york - but this will have to fill the void. sorry ive been lax on posts lately - ive just be so busy. nonslick is going well - im hoping i can get people to comment more over there - i want it to have a total community feel. takes time i guess. anyway - this was for Go Magazine. we literally went through over 20 roughs - alot of them good ideas - they just wanted the right tone. in the end, they chose an idea alot like one i've done before. this sort of bummed me out, because i wasnt convinced it was the strongest idea i gave, and it was alot like another one of my pieces - but the art director was such a great guy and in the end i really believe this was the right piece for the article. the AD had the idea of keeping it black and white and accentuating one key element. in the end, im really happy with the execution. the article was about gaining profit from giving away free stuff. i LOVED the "tag - arrow" idea - so simple.

Time Out New York

is this ACTUALLY the best version of this cover that i have??? apparently...
heres a version without any of the type placed. basically ive never illustrated just like a group of people - so different from whats natural for me - but i mean a fun experience all in all



just did an overnight cover for time out new york. It was a fast rush project about "the best indie stores". i supplied some ideas but it was pretty heavily directed, and turned out something i wouldnt normally do - but thats cool! heres the roughs and i'll post the final asap. it was the fastest turn around ive done!!
really liked the podium idea...

NONSLICK

I've started an illustration interviewing blog called Nonslick. My goal is to interview and there by learn from every illustrator i love and then share the interviews with peers and the illustration community. I wanted there to be a place that showcases talent, both old and new and finds out who the people behind the images are. This blog will be frequently updated, a few times a week at least, so please keep checking back. Chances are at some point if I've seen your work, i'll want to interview you.
But for now, please head on over and enjoy the words of Alex Nabaum.

http://nonslick.blogspot.com

got sum' new stuff

And i'll be posting more of it soon, however in the mean time heres a new piece! it was for an article about a nagging girlfriend for "2 Magazine" - the magazine for couples. It was fun for me because i had total freedom. I gave alot of ideas, and was a bit surprised when this one was chosen - fun though. The colours always look "greyish, or mega saturated" when posted on my blog, but in real life i think it looks pretty nice. 2 different versions
lots of new stuff up soon!
thanks for coming by.
Pete

50 told me go 'head switch the style up...

n' if they hate then lettem hate and watch the money pile up.
This is an illo i recently did for Profit Magazine.
The AD was a great guy and really cool with feedback - we went through alot of roughs to get to this point and even a few after (the face looked less arrogant in some later versions). Anyway, the illo is for an article about getting more search engine hits for your website.
This illo gave a good chance to further push my style in some new directions - slow steps - i still want to retain "what i do" but keep evolving.
lemmie know your thoughts - i really had fun with this, and like how it turned out.

I AM

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Soooooo, i recently did the Cover of "The Village Voice". The Cover is about Bradley Tusk, the man behind NY's Mayor Bloomberg.
http://blog.silive.com/latest_news/2008/01/01-24-STATEN-ISLAND-MAYOR.jpg
Hes apparently very shady and has had a hand in some crooked deals. The AD (who was wonderful) didnt want a portrait of Tusk, as he's not very well known - but rather have him sort of hiding behind Bloombergs image. She had an interesting idea to have Bloombergs face on a sort of masquerade mask that Tusk was sort of peering out behind. I liked the idea of doing a portrait, and also liked the freedom I received with the drawing. Im in the process of slowly "updating" my style, relying less on lines, and more on shapes - this offered a neat opportunity to pursue that a bit. The RGB jpegs look a bit "grey", but the cmyk verson has a nice contrast and saturation. Anyway, heres the final and a small detail. such a wonderful opportunity.
Im so excited to have done this.
More soon.
Pete

NAFTA

This little spot was for an article about the effects NAFTA is having on the agriculture industry. there is so much undercutting and competition just bellow the surface. pretty grim stuff.
im pretty happy with the solution.
its sunny out today - funny how good that makes everything feel.

heres something...

very recently finished.
I was fortunate enough to work with DREAM client "HOW Magazine". The article was about attract new, inhouse business.
Here is my final.
The AD was amazing and had great feedback - i really wanted to nail this one, as i love their publication and felt so fortunate to be working with them.
Thanks for stopping by - lots of new stuff up soon, plus my new promo is a few weeks.
Pete

birdz and beez

here is my contribution to the "birds and bees" group show coming up Friday, March 6th 7-11pm at Jerome Jenner Gallery in Toronto - the project was open media, ooen everything really. i started off with alot of ideas that seemed pretty abstract - and it eventually boiled down to this. only after completion did i laugh at my apparently bleak view of the birds and bees. i assure you reader that its not a true reflection of any conscious thinking. :)
there might be another post like...today...stay tuned

OBAMA

will cure this recession and fix the economy!!!

hey, so i recently finished this...

it was for an article about carshares. the "prescription" for the car rental industry. super convenient, organized, and accessible. the idea was to show a parking lot (where the cars are available) double as a pill dispenser (for reasons such as its convenience - separation by days of the week, and ease of distribution. am i explaining this clearly ... hard to say - the idea has been swimming in my head for too many days in a row now.
anyway, the AD was a great guy and i found out through researching the mag that Devon Bowman does a monthly for them. He's a big hero of mine, so its neat to share a magazine with him. :)
tried some unusual stuff (for me) with this one including "cut paper" overlayed as lights. neat effect.
onward to other stuff.
thanks for checking up - in other news London is going really well - its cloudy alot - but great!!!

Rough for an article im working on... *now with final*

about using caution when consuming milk. apparently its not as good for you as we all thought. This is the rough of the chosen idea - i will make the yellow light dominant in the final...which i'll post...soon
holler
pete

run run run run, run run run away.

heres a main and spot i recently finished about how what runners think about while running effects their run - the main sort of focused on the "negative" aspects - the spot (and idea i was really happy with) about the positives


href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq8moI24rwnlX3Euz5fr7atil5c_NAYKaY6Uj2Yo9QNO-1cbPn0k3liaUi4qmKQWDQdfeoje89XNajZj-thgS3-jx_AGDxbcRE2ig_d0mVEQAzhCkQ6WnuBdzIgdfVItyoaC9Q/s1600-h/thought.jpg">



i really liked the idea of the thought bubble being a ball- the AD wanted something Ball and chainy - and i thought it was a perfect solution, but it wasnt chosen, i also really liked the laces brain idea - but they recently did a laces issue, so it was also a no go


heres the spot


heres the main final

the cats in the cradle

heres a piece i recently finished about the underground world of yo-yoing. basically this subculture is heavily related to body moders. The AD and I decided on an image of a cats cradle, which is essentially a game of further challenging levels, which you can only get to by reaching the one before it - sort of like the world of extremists - the further you get in, the further you go.

2009 and I'm feeling fine.

So alot has happened for me in 2008 and thats awesome! I'm building a solid client list, im working really hard and i've been really happy with the way things have been going. But i'm ready for more. I want 2009 to be the most i've ever focused on illustration! I believe in it and love it! Im inspired by so many amazing artists! in no particular order heres a list of artists i love and owe everything to; Brian Cronin, Dan Page (aka like a billion other names), Phillip Nessen, Marco Cibola, Julia Breckenreid, Sandra Dionisi, Jillian Tamaki, Ken Orvidas, Alex Nabaum, Jon Krause, Daniel Bejar, Gary Taxali, Alexei Vella, Mark Cabuena, Josiah Gordon, Vicki Nerino, Nimit Malavia, Jack Dylan, Devon Bowman, Yuta Onoda, and Juan Carlos Solon. These guys (And girls)' beautiful style and ideas blow me away and make me want to make work on par.
I hope to get better and better in 09, and im gonna work like hell to make it happen. Thank you everyone that checks my blog, comments, supports me, hires me, and most importantly - inspires me.
Im off to scotland, new work up SOON!
Best,
Pete

spot on.

heres one of the spots that went with a different article, but same series as the piece below. ...weird sentence. anyway - this went with a main that focused on leadership and another spot - i'll try to post those up with this soon, as well as the spot that went with the MBA article bellow.
heres the pull quote that went with this
"The classroom has become a laboratory where students are getting the experience they need."
I wanted to make this piece simple, and im tinkering with burning screens when im a little low on time. so, theres really no hand painting with this one at all - but i do really like it.
blah blah blah - im going to go enjoy the holidays!
I'll be painting a new promo that i'll post in the beginning of january , so - come back in the new year!
loooveeessss yaaaa!!!
Pete

process PETEcess *now with final*

fans of james jean will roll their eyes at that little gem of a title. anyway, im working on a multi-image article right now, but i wanted to post it on here from roughs to final - at least on of the images - so here goes - this is for an article about career advancement with a MBA (among other things) its a cool article. anyway, here are the roughs i submitted (just two). the first is playing with the idea of a relay race and the baton is replaced with a degree. this was the idea i liked best - but wasnt chosen - i just liked the idea that like in a relay you cant advance without finishing certain parts first.
heres the image

heres the image they went for

So heres the "final rough", photocopied about 10 times. Photocopying is a crucial aspect of how i paint. this would have been sent and approved the same day as the rough rough.


heres the final, it was done about a day or so after the final rough, but i didnt scan it in until the others in the series were finished - maybe i'll post those soon - anyway - here it is! I like how it turned out, but i'd love any feedback any y'all gots fo me.