leo

Hey everybody! I recently got back from a trip to NYC, where I had the good fortune to attend the Society of Illustrators show. I got this portrait of a lion accepted into this year's publication. Of course, it was loads of fun and great to have a little break. I'm back in Cleveland now, trying to play catch-up with all the work that got neglected while I was away tearing up those streets of Manhattan. Oh well...back to reality.

bean counter

I did this fun counting game illustration for Clubhouse Jr. magazine a few months back. When I received a sample of the publication, I was thrilled to see that I was sharing the pages with my favorite soul sistah, the lovely and talented Vanessa Brantley Newton. 

The art director, Kathleen Gray, is great to work with and asked me to make the boy African American and give him cool hair. I had a lot of fun with this one- especially his hair!

brainwashed II

Hey everybody. I've got a bunch more silkscreens up on my etsy site. This is one I did for a solo show last year. Check 'em out when you get a chance. More to come...

chillin'

Hey everybody-I'm in the process of setting up shop on Etsy where I'll be selling original silkscreens and t-shirts. This is the first silkscreen I have up, but there will be a bunch more shortly. I did this relaxing Sasquatch for a group show a couple of months ago. I also did a blue version as well. Check out my Etsy site here. Much more to come!

from christmas past

a couple of old designs I had lying around...hope everyone has a great holiday and a prosperous new year.

brushing pets

I did this for an article on pet dental hygiene for Family Circle magazine a while back. I'd hate to see the hairballs that get clogged in that drain...

mudpuppy dino puzzle

Hey everybody! I know it's been a really long time since my last post and I hang my head in blogger shame. I've been super busy working on all kinds of fun stuff that I hope to share at a later date. Until then, I just found out that the dinosaur puzzle I did for Mudpuppy is out just in time for the holidays. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Check it out here!

monster rockstar

He may not be the most ferocious monster in the world, but he can still play one mean guitar.

neiko!

This summer, I had the opportunity to make a new friend. Originally from Macau, Neiko Ng is a student at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. I met her while she was interning here in Cleveland over the summer. An amazing talent with a wonderfully charming style, Neiko was always making me laugh with her sly sense of humor. She's back in San Fran now starting her last year and I miss her already.

One morning, she saw me doodling during a meeting, and asked me if she could make a copy of a lion I had just scribbled in my sketchbook. The result was this fantastic little cut paper lion she made and gave to me before she left. I've posted it here, along with a few other pieces I snatched from her blog. Make sure you check out her stuff on her blog and website.

Good luck Neiko-I'm sure you will do very well after graduation!

imperfect

This is a piece I did this for an issue of Today's Parent a few months back but since it fits the Illustration Friday topic nicely, I thought I'd link it up. The article provides tips for talking to your kids about their report cards. I really enjoy illustrating these articles. The art director, Nicole Chung, is such a pleasure to work with, plus I always seem to learn something along the way!

sleeping pups

I've curled up and fallen asleep in in my womb chair many times, but not quite in this position!
This piece is something I did for a project that never went anywhere so I thought I'd share it.
Hope everyone's having a great weekend.

worried daddy

Hi everybody! Hope everyone's having a great summer so far. I'm hoping to wrap up all my big projects by mid July, and hopefully things will return to a normal pace. I can't wait to share some of these new pieces I've been working on, but unfortunately I can't just yet.

Anyway, here's a piece I did a while back for Today's Parent magazine. The article discusses the extremes some new parents go to to make sure their baby is safe while they sleep, including spending the night on a mattress next to the crib.

soaked

I'm still buried under a pile of projects, but there's finally light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to get back to visiting all my favorite blogs to see what you've all been up to. Until then, here's another little piece I did recently. It's pretty fitting, since it's done nothing but rain all spring, and I think we're all feeling a bit soaked. Bring on the sunshine!

kids birthday cards

Hey everybody! I know my posts have been a bit scarce these days, but i've been super busy working on some really fun projects.
Not that I'm complaining-it's good to be busy. I can't show any of them yet, but I will post them when I can.

Anyway, I wanted to share a few kid's birthday cards I did recently. I'm really happy with the way they turned out-I wanted to keep them simple and fun, with a limited color pallet. I had a lot of fun with these. They're available now at a Target store near you!

jungle pals

I just started playing around with a new photoshop brush this week, and what started as a doodle evolved into this. I rarely use brushes in photoshop but I think I'm going to to mess around with them a little more. I like the spontaneity and unlike a real brush, there's always that 'command z' to fall back on.

swarm

I have a million other things I should be doing, but this popped into my head when I saw the Illustration Friday word was 'swarm'...sorry, I just can't resist a bad pun.

big bad book of crosswords

I was thrilled to get the opportunity to illustrate the cover of the latest New York Times crossword puzzle book for St. Martin's Press. I illustrated the wolf, and the publishing company added the type and did a few color changes. Of course I totally obsessed over this one-I probably did about 50 sketches of different wolf characters before I finally settled on this guy. Now all I need is 49 more jobs with a reclining wolf, and I'd be all set.

catered cafe

Here's my latest illustration for Today's Parent magazine. The article is about parents actually hiring a caterer to feed their kids healthy, nutritious and trendy lunches in the school cafeteria. I don't know, I kinda liked those pizza burgers and tater tots I grew up eating in my grade school cafeteria.

my friend, corey 1976-2010

This picture was taken in front of a painting at

the Carnegie Mellon museum in Pittsburgh.

man in hat

monotype

south 47

monotype

I'm sorry to have to start my new year's blog on such a low note. I am so sad to say that my good friend, Corey Parker passed away on December 30th, after a year and a half battle with cancer. Corey was a fantastic artist with a great sense of humor. He was a very genuine person, with no pretenses. Corey loved to pull pranks, and always kept a positive attitude, right up until the very end. I will miss him very much.

Check out more of his work here.

christmas wrap

When I designed this wrapping paper for Target, I wanted to give it a retro feel, but use a more non-traditional color scheme. I'm really happy with the final product. Check it out, it's currently available at a Target store near you. Happy holidays, everyone!

prehistoric puzzle

I recently did this 42 piece dinosaur puzzle for Mudpuppy. I had a blast doing this one-I don't know when it will be available but I can't wait to get one, although I probably won't be able to put it together.

something for cat

Something for Cat

silkscreen

This is a silkscreen I just did for my latest gallery show in Cleveland. The show was a huge amount of work, but well worth the effort. Among the animal silkscreens I did is this cat who just got done savoring a tasty seafood morsel. I did an edition of twenty of this one.

10 minute tidy

Here's the latest illustration I did for the upcoming December issue of Today's Parent magazine. The article points out tips on quickly tidying up when unexpected guests announce that they're about to drop by for a visit. Personally, I would just shove everything under the couch...or just not answer the door.

circus silkscreens

Sorry I haven't been posting a whole lot lately but I've been super busy. I've been working on some pretty cool things, and hopefully I'll be able to post them in the near future.

Anyway,I did these silkscreens a while back for a gallery show I had here in Cleveland. I tried to capture the feeling of the illustrations I loved so much as a kid-keeping the colors a little more muted and dark. Mixing ink for silkscreening is still kind of a guessing game for me. The colors always darken considerably when dry, so I never know exactly how it will look until the last color is applied.

The lion and the zebra were done in editions of thirty, and I made twenty of the larger circus tents. There are still some available.

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.