posted: July 8, 2010

I always feel a little naked when I go to Williamsburg (or almost anywhere else these days) since tattoos have become a symbol of fashion awareness rather than mystical cult status or memories of a drunken evening. So, I felt a warm sense of belonging as I set out to create a fearsome and indelible icon for an article about "La Familia," the dreaded Mexican mafia.
The big question was, however, could I turn my skill at creating fluffy little rounded shapes and bright colors into something that appeared sinister and evil? Surprisingly, I actually went a little too far and was asked to tone down my first round of sketches so as not to alarm or frighten the gentle Italian people.
I now feel authorized, if still a bit hesitant, to join the celebration. Does anyone know where I can find a clip-on Septum ring?

For one and all, Typography

posted: June 30, 2010

For those who may have entertained the possibility that I was, indeed, a pompous, arrogant little twit, take 5 minutes and 21 seconds to confirm your suspicions. I was recently interviewed by Patrick Ross of Copyright Alliance for their Creators Across America website. Note: I don't know what's going on with all the hand gestures.

posted: June 16, 2010

I began modelling and rendering 3D electric fans early in 2007 although, the sketches that prompted this appear in my sketchbooks from the early 90s. I won't go into an exhaustive (no pun intended) explanation here because the art & copy in the following pages presents a fairly accurate slice of what's going on in my head.
If you find the copy a little hard to read from these jpegs (I do), you can see the whole catalog in page turning format at Issuu.com  (Thank you Brian Stauffer!)

posted: June 14, 2010

As previously mentioned, one of my main inspirations for getting into this drawing gig in the first place was to make things that looked authentic or "like the real thing." So, when invited to do a parody of a soap box for the cover of Internazionale, it was with delight that I drew upon my experience as a counterfeiter. For an article about the GNP (gross national product or, "Pil" in Italian) no longer being a good indicator of the general well-being of a nation, I was asked to use the initials prominently on the faux package. The editors really liked a rip-off of the Brillo package I had done for Richard Demler at Time Out New York. I eschewed my normal practice of waiting until the last minute and dribbling out a bunch of incomprehensible doodles and, instead, waited for the absolute last minute and went directly to finished art. I got so into the project that I ended up doing four complete covers. Recognizing that this was not the most time-efficient way of working, I realized that, rarely am I doing an assignment just for the money. Man I love this job!
BTW, Più inutile non si può translates to: "cannot be more useless."  

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