Illustration
Here is my latest author portrait for Chicago Tribune Printers Row Journal. It is of Mary Gaitskill and the article is about her latest novel titled, "The Mare". Enjoy!
Portrait of author Mary Gaitskill
Cover layout
Every year for the past 15 years, Brian (for those of you unfamiliar - Primer) and I collaborate on an artistic Halloween greeting. It began as a fun thing to do for family and friends and over the years it has grown into a highly anticipated event that includes our clients and associates in the creative world. Last year was the first year we missed doing it because of our work schedules and it was a total bummer.
But this year we are back! With what we think, and what we hope that you think, is one of our coolest Halloween greetings to date! We decided it would be a great idea to fire up the old 1872 Geo P. Gordon platen press that lives at Primer and do some hand letter pressed vintage Halloween theme illustrated cards.
Brian has used the press for several fun printed pieces in the past with much success but this was my first time learning it. And it was the first time that either of us tried printing more than one color. It was A LOT of work: time consuming, super messy and you have to be really careful lining everything up, keeping everything clean while making sure the press is oiled, and not getting fingers or (or hair) stuck in the moving press! Because of the nature of this old press everything is done by hand and it was really hard to get each plate to line up correctly. Everything shifts around constantly, and for inexperienced pressmen as myself, it's a lot of stopping and starting over. In the end, some things lined up and some things didn't BUT the off register color and the sometimes not-quite-opaque black adds to the whole vintage feel of Halloween past.
Below, you can see some photos of the process and the finished prints. Some of the black ink on the owl and the cat prints had to be double hit which made them dry really slow. We used pretty much every available space at Primer to dry them over night. Enjoy!
Skull, Hissing Cat and Owl.
2nd pass green!
inking the press
Laying the prints out to dry!
Stuffing envelopes
Is there a way to implement smart gun control to keep firearms from falling into the wrong hands without infringing upon anyone's constitutional rights?
Detail
I am excited to finally share this illustration that I did for Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Philadelphia! I was asked to create an illustration to go on the invitation to their premier fund raising event, the Otsukimi Moonviewing Party. The invitation is a collaboration with Philadelphia based branding and design agency, Primer. For the illustration, Shofuso wanted to depict a night time scene of the Japanese house and surrounding garden with pond reflecting the rising full moon.
Shofuso Japanese House and Garden is a traditional-style Japanese house and nationally-ranked garden in West Fairmount Park that reflects the history of Japanese culture in Philadelphia, from the 1876 Centennial Exposition. Shofuso hosts over 30,000 visitors each year from more than 20 different countries. You can find out more about the moon viewing party as well as how to visit and support Shofuso here.
Illustration for the 2015 Otsukimi Moonviewing Party at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden.
Here is a portrait of Chelsea Clinton that I did for this week's Chicago Tribune Printers Row Journal. She has penned a book titled " It's Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired and Get Going!". The book, for young readers, discusses facts, charts, photographs and stories that give a deeper understanding of the world around us and how anyone can make a difference. It includes stories about young people who have made real changes big and small—in their families, communities, our country and across the world.
Chelsea Clinton portrait illustration for Chicago Tribune Printers Row Journal.
Chelsea Clinton Portrait
