New Color Study and Logo

I’ve been working on my color for the coffeeshop debate illustration and my basic branding materials.
For the debate piece, I pushed the color to be less literal and less busy. Too much fought for the viewer’s attention in the first piece, so I went back to my value study and reworked the colors and patterns. I also played with warm and cool colors to direct the viewer's eye and create a mood within the space.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m updating my style and my old website, postcards, and logo don’t fit anymore. I’m bringing these up-to-date, starting with my logo. None of the computerized fonts I’ve tried worked, so I decided to go with a hand-lettered approach:

I'm happy with the result and I think it really works with some of my newer illustrations.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, enjoy!

Warren!

I am very happy to finally post this project. It combines my strongest concept with the looser "sketchbook" style I have been working toward. I pushed myself to do a great deal of experimentation on this piece, particularly in the process.
I began with a colored pencil drawing and then covered with a light gouache wash of neutral green. Next came a layer of ink on the coat and glasses. I was careful to leave some of the background showing through the ink so things didn't feel too flat. Then I applied the light skin tones to the face and hands in acrylic. The water used with the acrylics reactivated the gouache causing the colors to mix seamlessly.

Once the basic values were established, I lay numerous acrylic washes to create the subtle skin tones and colors on the abacus. I tried to keep my paints thin so I wouldn't loose my linework, something I am working on. Colored pencils and ink helped to sharpen edges and add detail on board before completing a final pass in Photoshop.
I am immensely excited about this process and am looking forward to utilizing it in my next illustrations.
Cheers

Quick Progress Report

Hi everyone,
Hope you had healthy and happy holidays filled with amazing food, family and friends!
Since returning to Seattle, I’ve been cranking on artwork preparing for a trip to New York. Many projects are moving along nicely, but I have been neglecting the blog (sorry!) so here are the latest art developments.
Ingrid is finished. I am extremely proud of this piece, particularly the color palette.

I have also been working on color studies for the coffeeshop debate illustration.

I am currently putting the finishing touches on Warren, he should be posted in a few days.
Cheers!

Children's Market Project

Hi everyone,
With New York coming closer, I am moving forward on as many projects as I can. The latest being this piece which I am creating to make me more marketable for childrens' publications. Another inspiration behind this assignment is the absence of action in my work.


I love all these compositions, but I am leaning toward 5. What so you guys think? I'll keep you posted with progress on this and my other illustrations.
I am leaving for Ohio tomorrow, but I will try to post soon.
Happy Holidays!

New Projects

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
After posting my first image for the Ingrid Michaelson piece, I decided it needed a complete redo. I originally wanted this to have a simple layout and be done with pen and ink with some ink and gouache washes. Unfortunately, my simple composition was so boring I wanted to throw it out the window. Here is the updated color study. I’m about 60 or 70 percent of the way through the final, which has turned into a full blown acrylic illustration.

I am also concocting a spot illustration portrait of Warren Buffett. I started reading about him after Berkshire Hathaway acquired the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. The main concept behind the piece is an abacus imitating a ribcage; I wanted to capture the idea that Buffett is both more traditional in his methods than other investors, and that he follows his… instincts.
I’m still trying to figure out which design I’d like to take to final, any suggestions you guys have would be really helpful.

Another inspiration behind this piece is this illustration by Andrea Wicklund – check out her work at http://www.andreawicklund.com and at http://www.levycreative.com.

These are the sketches for a new piece. It comes from a suggestion given to me last year in New York by a friend; he challenged me to draw at least five people in an environment interacting in different ways. This forces me to stretch my narratives and the emotions in my work.
I chose to depict a debate because I dislike confrontations, so I figured it would be interesting to play with the tension of the scene and show the reactions of the surrounding customers. Some people are so into their own world that they don’t notice; others try to cover the noise with headphones.
I’m still trying to figure the values for the piece, particularly for the central figure, and would love to get any feedback you guys have.

Thanks everyone,

Cheers!

Sketchbook and other stuff

So here are a few samples from my sketchbook AKA: security blanket. The first two pages feature some more work from England and Italy while the last two are images from Seattle coffee houses. I'm trying to focus more on my line quality and confidence.




Here is a color study for a quick portrait of one of my favorite singers, Ingrid Michaelson. The concept of the piece revolves around the shifting nature of Ingrid's music--her songs range from happy and hopeful to sad and moody. She has a jubilant personality on stage but I wanted to show the more serious side that appears in her songs, which helped generate the idea of a half-umbrella. She uses both the happy and the tragic as the foundations for her music, she does not totally shield herself from the negative things, she uses it for her art.
A funny story inspired this project, I kinda passed out at one of her concerts and she was so nice and accommodating that I would like to send her an illustration as a thank you. This also give a chance for more experimentation, particularly playing with mroe sophisticated color palettes. I'm also hoping to integrate even more of my sketchbook style with the finished painting.

The incredible work of Andrew Hem aided with the selection of the color palette. I highly recommend his work if anyone is not already familiar with it. http://www.andrewhem.com
Cheers!

New Work!

Hi everybody, I have FINALLY finished Bernanke (yay!) and the No Doubt piece. I voluntarily became a hermit to finish and tweak the pieces in time for some competition deadlines and because I am ready for some new inspiration. I will let everyone know if anything gets accepted.
Here's Ben. Many thanks to everyone for all their suggestions and support in the creation of this piece. I'm incredibly proud of the finish, particularly since there were so many interruptions while I was working on it. I hope you all like it.
The No Doubt piece also had a stretched out development process but I am really happy with the final product.
I will post some new thumbnails and sketchbook pages soon, as well as a new drawing done in the Florence style.