The Other Side of the Aisle this Election Year...

Since I have already produced a Mitt Romney Illustration this cycle, I thought it was high time I make a new Obama Illustration. It was a fun exercise- I decided to do a white background again for this one (I'm enjoying producing boundless spots lately). Producing all those Congressmen helped a lot in this endeavor. I like the idea of Obama using the clout of the Presidency as an offensive tool in the campaign, even if he might personally have doubts about it.

On a side note, those of you who have been following my career for awhile may remember my stint as the cover artist of the Washington University Political Review in 08-09. I drew President Obama a ton back then, and thought it would be fun to include some of those covers here. They are pretty embarrassing now, and show how inexperienced I was at the time. Still, it was an exciting time, with a thrilling campaign going on and my own career taking its first baby steps. Enjoy!

2010 Sketchbook, Part One

I am happy to say that I have just finished filling up my "primary" 2010 sketchbook. Purchased in March, this "square wonder" as I call it, was an orange "flexi-sketch" book of 300 pages put out by the hand-book journal co. I had some great times with this book- trips to world-famous museums like the Smithsonian and the Louvre, my big trip to ICON this past summer, various figure drawing outings, and of course my beloved airplane "free-draws".

The book is incredibly dog-eared now, and I had to tape the cover back on about 10 times. Before it goes into storage, however, I'm going to present some of my favorite pieces from it here on the blog.

My sketchbook work will probably surprise fans of my finished illustrations. My ink drawings in the book are by nature more loose and unfinished- I tend to focus on one aspect of art-making while drawing in the book (design, color, ideation, skills, etc.), and don't edit as much as I do in my final images.

I have always struggled with my sketchbooks. Like most artists, I have this fantasy that by the end of the book, I'll have an incredible opus of images that will guide my work as a whole. While the first part of this statement typically falls flat, the second part rings true. What I hope to convey over the next few posts is the sketchbook as a workbook.

It is not particularly "pretty". It has bruises and scratches and water stains. It is not perfect, but I believe it is an honest representation of my process.

Enjoy Part 1!

Big News ahead, Sketches to keep your Appetite whetted in the meantime

Hey everybody,

I hate blog posts that start with "I know it's been a while" so I'll keep it short and sweet. Stay tuned for some big news coming up- Lots of stuff that I've been working on for along time is coming together and I will have some exciting news for you soon.

In the meantime, I encourage my firends in St. Louis to stop by Starclipper comics next wednesday as we are signing/ selling copies of Spirits of St. Louis!

Alright- since I love pictures more then words- here are sketcbook scans. More to come soon as I finish up these projects!

The Mid-Terms cometh!

Just finished up this personal project based on the upcoming mid-term elections. I've found a lot of work through the depiction of political figures, so I decided it was time to produce a new Obama illustration. The best part for me? Plaid. At any rate, hopefully the entire affair will be dramatic- dramatic elections make for the greatest illustrations! Included the rough for you process junkies out there too!