tea party

Once she sat down , Gloria the hippo knew it would be a long tea party... mostly because it was going to be hard to move out of that chair.

Another piece I did for Today's Parent magazine-the article discusses the pros and cons of kids having imaginary friends. C'mon, who wouldn't want a hippo named Gloria to hang out with?

caged

I did this for a job a while back. The eagle is supposed to represent freedom of speech in the United States, and the cage represents the repression of that freedom. It fits this week's Illustration Friday word, so I figured I'd post it since I'm too lazy to do something new.

pet giraffe

Had Timmy known he was going to share with his tall friend, he would have made it a double dip...

I did a few sketches for a project I was working on, but this image didn't make the cut. I got ambitious and decided to go ahead and finish it up anyway.

swinging kid's party

I recently did this piece for the August issue of Today's Parent magazine. The article is about how to keep your kid from misbehaving when they are a guest at someone's house and you're not there to keep them in line.

I know I've done this at a few parties, but not until I became an adult...

gentleman skunk

He may not be the best smelling guy in the woods, but he certainly makes up for it with his charm.

early lady day

Being a big fan of many of the early female jazz singers, I thought it would be fun to do an illustration of Billie Holiday. I tried to keep things simple and graphic, yet still capture the feeling of what it must have been like to see her perform in a small smoky club in the 30's and 40's.

dinos

You'd have to be pretty fearless to walk among this bloodthirsty group...

well, maybe not.

flying kids

This past weekend, I realized that it's been a whole year since I started my blog. I wanted to do a special illustration to tie in with this momentous occasion, but I've been really busy with other things. So instead, I figured I'd post one of my recent jobs.

This is a piece I did for the May issue of Today's Parent magazine. The title of the article is "Systems Are Go", and it's about choosing the right gaming system for your family. I really had fun with this one.

It's been a great year in Blogland, and I just want to thank everyone for all your kind comments over the past year. I had no idea when I first started, that I would be able to share ideas and encouragement with so many amazingly talented people from all over the world. I've made so many cyberpals who consistently blow me away and inspire me with their incredible work- boy, this newfangled interweb thing is really something.

cooked veggies

A while back, I was asked to help out with a possible revamp of a local restaurant's logo and mascot characters. Tommy's, located in Coventry Village in Cleveland Heights, is a great place- serving mainly vegetarian fare and killer shakes. (Their coffee yogurt shakes are awesome!)

Unfortunately, the revamp never really got off the ground, but it was fun trying. Here are a few concepts and rough sketches I did for them. I hope you guys like 'em.

retro cocktail hour

I did this a couple of months ago for a blog called "They Draw and Cook", an idea cooked up by artist pal, Salli. The original idea was to illustrate a recipe or something food related. I decided to go the cocktail route-I thought that with all those exotic names, they would be really fun to illustrate. While researching cocktails, I quickly realized there were far too many to fit on one page, so I have a feeling I'll be back with a few more of these.
I haven't tried any of these yet but truthfully, most of them probably sound a lot better than they taste.

Anyway, check out "They Draw and Cook" here and start working on your own recipe to contribute!

green kids

Here's an illustration I just did for the April issue of Today's Parent magazine. The article is about elementary school kids going green and becoming more environmentally aware.

cannonball!

When visiting Mudville, be sure to stay at The Porcine Palace, the city's "swinest" hotel.

I had a little time and was inspired to do this for this week's Illustration Friday word "muddy". I threw in a few sketches too.

first crush

The second she laid eyes on the new boy, Emily knew it would be hard to stay focused on her schoolwork.

This is a piece I did recently as a bid on a job.

jailbird

As days turned to weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, Carl eventually realized he would probably spend the rest of his life behind bars...

I have at least a half dozen other things I should be working on, but the Illustration Friday word "confined" inspired me to do this instead.

elza soares

I have long been an avid fan of Brazilian music-especially samba. Elza Soares has been a big name in Brasil for more than 40 years. She's got this great husky voice and trademark throaty growl that makes her music very identifiable. In an effort to do an illustration of a musician every now and then, I've decided to start with her-she's got a really interesting look - lots of plastic surgery over the years - with those catlike eyes and giant afro. If you're interested in checking her out, click here.

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.