Society of Illustrators advertising and Institution opens Friday. A couple of my favorite pieces were in this years show. I thought it would be a great time to revisit those illustrations. The Dellas graphics frogs always a highlight of my year turned out surprisingly fresh. The Sad caw still makes me smile. Overall I was thrilled to get five pieces in the show. A great honor any year just to be included with so many great illustrators it is truly inspiring. Presently at work on a couple new candidates for this years calendar. We’ll see how they shake out….
The Rotten Earth
I have had this idea for a painting in my head for a while. Ever since I read Blood Meridian, a novel by Cormac McCarthy. It was his fifth book, but my first introduction to McCarthy. There was a description in the book of a bush the Kid comes across. The heads of native infants impaled on the limbs, their soulless eyes staring out. When the Fragile Planet project came along it seemed like a great fit. What I had in my head was the Earth as a fragile child crying black tears, pooling underneath. A sad and somber piece. I did some little thumbnails and this gouache sketch on corrugated board as a study for a painting, and then decided I liked the study as the final piece.
