Brush Ink Brush

There are lots of things to love about springtime.  One being buttercups, which may be the cutest flower.  One thing not to love about springtime, is the explosion in the stink bug population.  I used to not mind them.  They don't do anything, they're slow and catch-able so you can banish them from your house.  No big deal!  But in the building I work at they are taking over!  To the point that one found its way onto my head, and now I mind them a little more.  Meanwhile, a coffee cup full of buttercups picked for me by one of my bosses' kids sits on my desk, and I just wished that if anything was going to be in my hair, why couldn't it be those little flowers instead of an imposing stink bug...

Helllo! I just want to say you inspire me so much! I found you a while back on the book report. I just thought I would let you know and I haven't asked anything on here yet. I'm really trying to get back to drawing, I've neglected it far too long. I usually lean towards print design :)Soo question! Do you use a tablet to draw digitally sometimes? Or is it always scanning in and adjusting the levels? If you ever draw with a tablet do you have any tips? I'm discovering lots of neat tricks for photoshop with line work but i was just curious if there was anything you wish you would have known starting out with the tablet!Okay! I'm just being long winded now, thank you :)

Hi! Thank you! Great to hear that I've inspired a designer :) I ALWAYS use a tablet to draw digitally! Daniel Krall put it in the best way for me: if working with a tablet is like working with a pencil, then working with a mouse is like trying to draw with a block of wood with a point of graphite sticking out the bottom of it. The tablet was a little awkward at first, but I just spent a day messing around with it until I was used to it and now I can't go back. Just take a bit to get the hang of it, and pair it with key commands in Photoshop, and drawing digitally will seem much more ergonomic. You'll love it.

Sebastian Mesnard kindly invited me to take part in Gallery Nucleus' upcoming show Edward Scissorhands 20th Anniversary Tribute, and above is a little preview of the piece I did for it.  I chose to illustrate the scene where Edward is rushed by the suburban housewives and all their ambrosia salads.  One of my favorite scenes among tons in this movie, which made it hard to choose!  It'd been years since I'd seen Edward Scissorhands so it was great to rewatch it, and I remembered just how lovely this movie is.  It stands the test of time pretty well too!  It's not as dated as you might expect it to be. 

If you want to see my full piece, check out the Scissorhands 20th blog.  There are so many great pieces by great artists in the show and it's absolutely worth a look!  Thanks again, Seb!

I had the pleasure of working with Francois Vigneault at Scout Books again, on an illustrated set of their blank mini notebooks. My theme was, fantastically, the cosmos, so I went completely indulgent with this and decked out the constellations Virgo, Capricorn, and Perseus in gleaming gold armor. My kind of project! This was a lot of fun and I'm psyched to have been paired with the talented Lisa Perrin whose beautifully illustrated set will be released in conjunction.

If you're in Baltimore a week from today, we will both be at Trohv in Hampden for a little release party for the notebooks from 6 - 8pm. Stop by, pick up a set and say hello! Event page here. Hope to see you there!

a lil bob-tailed familiar 🐱 #wip

Plains Prince.

He's another demo gouache painting I did for Kali's illustration students. His silhouette's a little lacking, but I still had a lot of fun painting him and his buffalo-teeth cloak.

A new little piece for the New York Times Op Ed about disparity in taxes, which just went up yesterday evening. I enjoy suit-guy's ape-like arms. Thanks to AD Alexandra Zsigmond. You can read the article online here.

Ultramen

This is my contribution to Vend, Send, Mend, another fundraiser for Japan.  Many really talented artists are taking part, and donating excellent, original work to a great cause. You can see more of the work that will be available to buy on the Vend, Send, Mend blog.  Check it out!

Oh, and I love Ultraman. 

Post-It show at Giant Robot. Tomorrow night!

We’re snowed-in here in Baltimore, and it’s making me miss warmer weather, green things, flora...

So here is a beer label I designed and illustrated for Union Craft Brewing’s special spring-time saison that they crafted exclusively for Atomic Books in Hampden. A wonderful pairing of comics “for mutated minds” and a light, fruity ale.

I've always wanted to illustrate beer and wine labels and this was a really fun way to dip my toe in. I hope I get the chance to do more!