christmas collages

Here are a few more Christmas designs from a while back-these are all cut paper collages. I really enjoy the spontaneity of collage work. I find that if I just start cutting away without any real plan, I'm much happier with the results than if I sketch something out first.

trendy elves

I was digging through my old work looking for Christmas stuff to post, and found these two oldies. I think at the time I was trying to portray elves as a little more sophisticated than we usually see them. I'm sure when they're not slaving away in the toy factory, they're going to cocktail parties and checking out the local North Pole art scene.

jazz set

I recently did a set of hand-pulled silkscreens for a gallery show I had here in Cleveland. One of the themes I worked with was music. I am a huge music fan, so it often shows up in my personal work. The images are approximately 8 X 10, and printed on fine quality cream Rives BFK paper in runs of 20. I love the silkscreening process-you never know exactly how the colors will turn out or exactly how each one will register. These are scans, so the color isn't 100 percent accurate and some of the nuances you get with printmaking doesn't show up. I was very happy with how these turned out and the show was a great success.

stocking up

With the cold weather fast approaching, this little guy's making sure he's prepared. I always find myself stocking up this time of year, too, although sometimes I wish I was more like a bear-I could sleep through the entire winter and wake up well rested and a whole lot thinner.

halloween stuff

Here's a trio of ghosts and a skinny black cat.

I'm still buried with work so I wasn't able to do any fun new Halloween illustrations like I had hoped. I was able to dig up a couple of old pieces I did a while back, so I figured I'd stick them up. I'll be done with my current project mid November, so hopefully I'll get back to posting some new stuff then. Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone!

daddy-o

He may not drive the fastest car, but he sure knows how to groove in it...another one from the archives.

frozen treats

What could be better than sitting on an iceberg sharing a frozen treat with someone you love?

I did this for a greeting card a while back and figured I'd post it since it fits this week's Illustration Friday topic. I'll be swamped with work for the next few weeks so I figure it's a good time to post some older stuff.

cootie pageant

As she took her final sweep down the runway, Sally couldn't help think about her late mother, who entered her in her very first first pageant when she was just a young germ. No stranger to the cutthroat pageant world, Sally felt confident that she had a shot at the title this time. She came so close to the crown last time...if only they hadn't asked her to state her views on germ warfare.

laying an egg

I originally did this as an Easter card but I thought it fit the Illustration Friday topic "pattern", so I just had to put it up. Hope you guys like it.

fall feast

Since my last couple of posts have been kind of dark, involving a devil and a murderous mouse, I decided to lighten things up a bit this time. In these two illustrations, I attempted to capture the feeling of a vintage Little Golden Book that's been stashed away in some attic for thirty or forty years. I used muted colors and old yellowed paper to make them look appropriately aged. I haven't written a story to go with them yet, but I do have an idea rolling around my head. It's about a bunch of woodland animals that get together to welcome the fall season by throwing a big feast. Unfortunately, the bear realizes he has to last all winter with no food and decides to devour all the other animals as well...sorry, I couldn't help myself.

diablo at the grill

This little devil's been sitting in my sketchbook all summer, so I figured I'd whip up a quick color version of him before cookout season is over. I was going to wait till we had super hot weather, but it's been an unseasonably cool summer here in Ohio. Hope everyone has one hell of a labor day weekend-get in those last few cookouts while you can.

cat and mouse game

These cats had better exercise a little caution. They're out cruising around the bad side of town looking for trouble, and they're about to find it. These boys think they're about to pick up a little snack for the road, but may have another thing coming. I originally started this one out with the mouse was the one who was in danger, but then decided to turn the tables by adding the sign on the side of the building. Whatever the outcome, I had fun doing it.

moon man

This past week, I had the pleasure of participating in the celebration of the three year anniversary of Chicken Nugget Lemon Tooty. It's a blog set up by talented illustrator Aaron Zenz for his kids, Lily (age 6), Grace (age 9), and Isaac (age 10). On their blog, they post illustrations inspired by their favorite books and Illustration Friday topics, among other things.

As a surprise for the kids, to celebrate their three years, Aaron sent out an open invitation for artists to do their versions of his kids' art. The results are lots of fun. I did an illustration for each kid, but this was my favorite of the three. The top drawing was done by Isaac at age 8. The one on the bottom is my version.

Make sure to take a look at their site. This creative bunch turns out some pretty awesome stuff! Aaron is accepting submissions till the end of the month, so there's still time to do one. You might be surprised how inspired you can get from the creativity of a kid. To check out their site, click here.

impatience

This week's Illustration Friday word is "impatience" and let's face it, waiting in line for the porta-potty at an outdoor event can really try your patience, especially when there's not enough bathrooms to accommodate the crowd. I thought it would be kind of funny to illustrate this idea using dogs and a hydrant instead. I wanted to do a really long horizontal image to emphasize the amount of dogs waiting, but as I was working on it, I thought it was getting too difficult to see, due to it's length. I cropped the image mid-dog, but believe me, the line goes on forever, and they've been consuming lot's of beer. You'll definitely need to click this image to see it full size.

maine lobster

I was recently asked to design a bookmark that represented the state of Maine. This was a practice run- I decided to take a more humorous approach for the final piece. Since I had this graphic, textural lobster just sitting there on my desktop, I decided to design a poster around it and post it on my blog... after all, I was always taught never to waste, especially something as delicious as a lobster.

idle

Okay, so we all know the story-there's a big race, rabbit gets cocky and takes a nap, slow and steady wins the race. But in my story, the turtle passes out, and is sore for days and the rabbit wakes up refreshed and has a whole night of fun ahead of him. the end.

tango

This weeks Illustration Friday topic, "tango" involves gracefully intertwining legs, so I thought it would be fun to do an octopus couple doing this dance.I started out with just the two characters but I was having so much fun, I decided to add a small fish orchestra in the background. With sixteen limbs involved, this tango could end up a tangle...

hollow

When I saw the Illustration Friday word was "hollow", I thought of that old blues song "I'd rather drink muddy water, sleep out in a hollow log..." The original plan was to do an old blues raccoon sitting on a log, strumming his guitar and singing that song, but it's been a pretty crazy week for me . Instead, I had to settle on a quick and easy illustration of of a raccoon on a log. Kind of a cop out, i know, but I think I'll get around to doing my original idea fairly soon.

elephant and bull

I did these for a series of graphic animals a few years back-I tried to keep them very simple and flat, but I also wanted to warm them up a little using color and texture. I have a bunch more, but I think I'll just scatter them in once in awhile to keep it interesting (or when I'm too lazy to do anything new)...

worn

even though his record collection was old and worn, Lou still found comfort in the sound of cracks and pops that only come with vinyl...

headhunter

I've been super busy this week, so I didn't have time to do another illustration following my theme of some poor, innocent fool in harm's way. Hopefully I'll be able to squeak out a few more soon. So instead, here's one I did a while back for a greeting card. The man-boobs were added later.

craving

Sometimes you need to curb your craving or nothing good will come of it...

big fish

okay, so here's another one where someone's about to get it...

dragon & knight

This guy's about to become toast...a friend of mine noticed a theme in some of my latest work. Somebody is in for some serious pain (or worse)! I had a lot of fun with this one.

charging rhino

red riding hood

This is how it might go down if the big bad wolf hung out in a pack...she'll be okay though, she's got her cell with her.

grizzly

 I I did this bear design for a t-shirt this week.

lion tamer

another one from a little while back...

subwash

Here's a piece I did recently- I like doing underwater scenes...

a few simple animal designs

baby einstein

Here's another spot illustration I did using a more limited color palette.

gorilla

another design from a few years back...

dinosaur card

I did these for a greeting card a long time ago. I don't really work in this style anymore but I just thought I'd post them anyway.

animal stickers

This is a sticker sheet I did about a year ago.

ice cream man

Another piece I did recently. The kid on the scooter is a detail of the larger scene.

monster heads

I did these crazy monster heads for Halloween a while back.