Friday, October 21, 2011

Got Bandwidth?



This illustration is inside and outside of the October issue of AV Technology. It started as a full page interior illustration, and then, during the sketch process, they decided they wanted to use it for the cover as well. I had a lot of fun with this piece, and I also liked the way the Art Director incorporated the Wifi balloons into the page layout. I just finished up two illustrations for the November issue, and I will be posting those soon. Thanks, Margot and Nicole!


Friday, October 7, 2011

Back to the Society



I went to Sketch Night at the Society of Illustrators last night. It was a fun night as always (these are some 2 minute poses) but also a little bittersweet. Matt Black, the best bartender ever, had his last night behind that historic bar last night. I am going to miss him at the Society, but I am glad he'll be slinging drinks in Union Square. Cheers, Matt. You will always be my favorite bartender, and I feel lucky to count you as a friend.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Dog Park


This is a series of dog scratchboards that I exhibited at the FIT Museum to mark the culmination of my MFA in Illustration. I received an MA from FIT in 2007, and went back to grad school for one year as they expanded the program to an MFA. That added "F" marks the terminal degree in Illustration. Thanks to everyone at the museum, my incredible classmates, and the amazing program chair Melanie Reim for a great show.








From my statement:
Dog Park is a visual exploration of the canine companions who fill the negative space in our urban environment.  In a place where both private and public space are coveted, many New Yorkers find ways to fit dogs of various sizes into their tiny apartments, jam-packed daily routines, and the densely woven fabric of the city itself.  In the midst of tall buildings crammed together tightly, sections of outdoor space are preserved and left empty for dogs to run, play, and engage each other while embracing their intrinsic dog-ness.

On seven kaolin clay panels of various sizes, life-size illustrations of dogs twist, skitter, leap, and crouch, as they individually inhabit a portion of empty space in their own unique way while interacting with each other across the wall. Executed using a self-generated approach to scratchboard, ink is splashed with a brush into black silhouettes on the clay surface. After the ink dries, white lines are carved into these flat, dark shapes to build dimension. The two sides of the process come together to create dogs that move organically in ways that both defy and follow their form, dripping, splattering, and shattering to life.