Business Metaphors abound .....

Having an AD give you a predetermined concept to work with can be both a blessing a curse. My thinking is , give the client what they want, and try and make it as fun as possible to do for yourself. Thankfully , not all gigs are like this, but it's a gig nonetheless and it sure beats diggin' ditches ;)

Red Rocket Coffee

My brother in-law Peter , has just recently opened a coffee shop in the east end of town. I was asked to design their logo and produce a postcard to promote the place. Had a lot of fun with this one. If you're in the 'hood , check the place out.

Podcast :: The Magazine Group

This was done for an article on the educational benefits of podcasting . It's not uncommon these days for a professor to make podcasts of their lectures available to their students for downloading.

BOX LUNCH 5 :: Promo

Once a year my agent puts out a niche promo that is tied together by a theme . This year , it was 'festivals' from around the world. Each artist gets to pick their subject and do a two page layout that showcases their illo chops. This was a lot more work than I initially anticipated , but I'm pleased overall with how it turned out. Enjoy!

Detroit Or Buffalo :: John Mars's new CD

Really enjoyed my time on this project . John was a great guy to work with. He's crafted a solid disc of tunes, def worth checking out. There may be some slight changes still to the song line-up.He's also a pretty talented painter too. You'll be able to buy discs directly from him when it's released shortly. In the meantime feel free to check out his site.

http:/johnmars.com/

KLUNK! :: a work perpetually in progress

The germ of the idea of this comic goes back roughly 9 yrs. At the time I was working in an animation studio and craving to create something of my own. It's gone through many incarnations during the intervening years , and finally I think I've got a handle on how I want the damn thing to look & read. Here's a small taste. Enjoy!




Pen/Brush/Ink/Photoshop CS2/Painter 9.5

Nano-Cotton :: New Internationalist

Did this one for the fine folks at The New Internationalist magazine . The story rumminated on the possible future of traditional fabrics and textiles and wether they might one day be replaced with ones that incoroporate nanotechnology. Loved working on this one . Enjoy!


My prelim sketch changes somewhat when I proceed to the final. I wanted to introduce a more decorative motif to the composition. The AD also wanted to see more of her face.



Brush / Pen / Photoshop CS2

TORO Magazine :: RIP

I was saddened to read today that TORO magazine has gone the way of the dinosaur. Did some really fun work with them over the years. Hopefully the people I worked with find themselves gainly employed soon. What follows is a comic strip I did for their 'Spring Break' issue. The writer was Micah Toub. Enjoy!

Golf anyone?

In the last 6 months or so I've been asked to do some 'Golf themed' illos. They were all for distinctly varied magazines and each required a different approach.

Boy's Life Magazine ,published for the Boy Scouts Of America. DIY mini putt course.

Report on Business Magazine. Up and coming young golfers.

Alberta Venture Magazine. The 'Man Hug' .

With Aplogies to Alberto Vargas ......

Picked up the book 'Alberto Vargas- works from the Max Vargas Collection' over the holidays, and haven't been able to put it down. Vargas's work is both inspiring and terribly humbling. Did this piece as part homage , and partly an excercise to try something new.

Overall I'm fairly pleased with the end result , though I find myself having issues with the quality of some of the linework.

Pencil+ Photoshop CS2 time:5hrs

Bits & Pieces ............

Portraits of the columnists for the newly redesigned Fiancial Planner Mag in NYC.


A coupla direct mailer strips done pretty quickly , for a cable company out west. They wanted a contemporary romance comic flair to them. Fun gig.

2007 :: Rev It Up and Go !

Was asked by my agent to do the new wraparound cover for the latest illustrator groupbook. Most enjoyable piece I've worked on in a while. Had a lot of fun with this one and was pretty happy with how it turned out.

Take your pick .........

Was asked to do the holiday card for my buddies at marblemedia again this year. Two versions were created , the older New Yorker style piece won the day. Enjoy!

Season's Greetings !

Attack of the 50ft Account Woman

Was asked to do an old school movie poster for the ad agency JWT for a calander. They wanted the piece to be loosley based on the original 'Attack of the 50 ft Woman'. Tried to make it look like an aged litho.

Phoenix New Times :: cover illo

Had a blast doing this one.

The story's about a poor bloke ( Kevin Keogh ) , a senior financial officer of the city of Phoenix one day just loosin' it and putting his Mercedes into cruise control and climbing onto its roof and jumping to his death. A tragic and bizarre event that has never been fully understood.

"Daily newspaper accounts of the incident quoted city officials as saying Keogh's widow, Karlene, maintained that a parasite contracted during a 2002 trip to Mexico had affected Keogh's brain and other parts of his body." PNT 08/29/05

His actual death was the result of his body colliding with an orange tree. The AD wanted to have the image focus on the moment before.

I tried to keep it dramtic with a sense of movement. The car was a challenge to do , 'cos vehicles just aint my forte. Pretty happy with it though.

New York Times :: UPS stretches

Pretty self explanitory. The article was a 'behind the scenes' look at how UPS encourages their employees to stay limbre and avoid work related injuries . A change of pace from the film themed illos though I've got another one to share soon.Thanks for stopping by.

The Lady From Shanghai

In keeping with the film theme , a recent homage to one of my favorite noir movies.

Pen/Brush/Ink + Photoshop CS2

The Proposition :: kick ass film !

Just saw 'The Proposition' , and was seriously blown away.
It was an intense , well scripted and well acted piece of cinema from Australian director John Hillcoat. The screenplay and score were by none other than Nick Cave.
Easily one of the best films I've seen in a while. I still have some scenes indelibly etched in my memory.
Enjoy!

Pen/Brush/ink + Painter 9.5 + Photoshop CS

IDD - Magazine :: cover artwork

I don't often get the opportunity to do 'portrait' type illustrations, but when I do , I relish the challenges they pose. IDD wanted a cover featuring this bloke Lewis Ranieri , a former Wall St. big wig . They wanted to keep the cover image graphic and bold . Not too many textures.

Here's the two rough stages the piece went through. The first had the right right visual tone , but wasn't a dramatic enough angle. Hence the rotated pose and stronger shadow.


The final. A fun gig.

Normal service resumes ........

This was to have been the cover to the travel section of the Globe And Mail , but alas the writer never made the story happen . The article was about how airlines were offsetting the lack of in-flight perks with training their employees to be more humorous and entertaining. No worries , I was paid all the same ;)

Something completely different ....

A piece I threw together for a friend's ( Chris Gabel ) music project. He classifies it as 21st century Classical. This is to be a cover for a DVD pkg.

A deviation from my usual 'illustration' style , but closer to some of my personal paintings. Enjoy!


Recently reworked this digital painting , it's going to be the cover of Negative Burn #7 , published by Image Comics , this November.

New York Times :: Secrets Of Endurance - Eating To Go

This piece ran yesterday in the Times 'Style' section. The article addressed the need to manage your calorie & liquid intake when competing in such events as , the Iron Man and Triathalon sports. The editors wanted something literal , but with a humorous twist. An enjoyable piece to do.

My initial rough sketch ......


My inked line done with Pigma Micron pen + Pentel Brush pen .......


The final ...

Filler !

Until some of my most recent work is published and I can post it here without usurping the 'client' , please enjoy the the following 'Filler' material ;)

This was part of a billboard done for Saatchi & Saatchi for M.A.D.D. A bunch of pin ups spelling out 'GIRLS'. The concept being , things you'll miss out on. Here's the letter S .





Some samples of illos done for a Simon & Schuster book I had the pleasure of illustrating. 'Field Guide To The Apocalypse' by Meghann Marco.

Globe And Mail :: Report On Business Cvr

Did this recently for an article discussing Canada's richest brands and how they're not as visible as they should be.