Hello 2017

Let me quote a little Dickens to kick things off:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…"

Here's a personal piece called 'Disruptor', about the unpredictability of technology and politics, the feeling of seismic shifts beneath our feet.

This year felt like some kind of reallignment, or hiccup, or catastrophe, depending on your viewpoint or politics. I am hopeful for a new beginning in 2017, but frightened by the pace of change. 

Having said that, I have to put together some images from the fall. I've been super busy the past few months, always thinking about posting some work, so my first resolution for the year is right here, read on.

Here's a piece for Reader's Digest about understanding and treating Migraines. It's an interesting article and my son suffers from them, so I could really connect with the subject matter. Scientists are working on new strategies, getting a better understanding of triggers and brain physiology in the hunt for new insights and treatments.

I got a little lost in the details on this illustration for Watershed magazine about perils and peculiarities of pipelines.

Pour This Story Down Your Pipeline by Orland French.

Terry Gilliam was a huge influence on me when I was growing up, I always loved his animated work and connecting all these pipes and random elements made me think of the great things he did when he was starting out. I had a lot of fun pulling this together.

Big Data

Squeaking this update in on the last day of summer.

Things ramped up quickly this September, I have some exciting news I am waiting to announce on a national poster campaign. More to come on that in the coming months!

I started teaching again this semester at Sheridan, I work with third and fourth year students on courses related to information-based illustration. I have asked my fourth year students to consider where art and science intersect, and the workshop has been dubbed 'big data'.

We are surrounded by big data and live in an age of information. Understanding and being able to communicate knowledge and ideas visually is critical in business and media. This workshop explores illustration, science, observation, and data visualization through a series of research-driven exercises. Students are encouraged to foster creativity and curiosity, defined accurately and effectively through different media.

I took it upon myself to illustrate some technology-driven collages. How do we relate to our digital devices? How does it serve us and/or control us? All of our likes, searches, purchases and comments are tracked and quantified, packaged and traded. At what point does social media reward us for our patience and commitment? More and more, the fruits of our labour feels tainted. The new iPhone 7 was launched while I was working on these. Not much of a wave, or movement, or ripple. Just another costly upgrade.

Here are some images from the series.

'Status Update'

This piece is about digital surveillance.

'Interface'

'User Persona'

Here's a little doodle that summed things up nicely: Concept Engine

The world we live in

I get to work on a lot of scientific and research-based illustrations, which I love. We live in a beautiful, complex, and troubling world. Everyday, in a way, is a miraculous thing. If we want to continue to enjoy the things we have, the things we take for granted, we have to have our eyes open to what is happening locally and globally and be willing to adapt, make changes, and preserve what we can.

The first illustration was for Science magazine, a new client, for an article on an Environmental Film Festival, covering human, local and global topics. There were a lot of interesting and intriguing subjects like biodynamic food and farming, urban gardeners in L.A., wild bird egg poaching, women and water, as well as larger global and climate change concerns. Art director Michele Chu invited me to do an overview, taking in some of the broad-ranging topics and weave them together in the illustration. I adopted a clear and simple vector style to allow a balance and flow in the spread.

 

Here are the sketches:

I also got a call to work on a Cap and Trade proposal for the Province of Ontario, aimed at reducing carbon emissions. I wanted to convey the idea of change and transition over a period of time. Areas of focus included industry, transportation and energy. It all comes down to individual choices and the way in which we approach the economy. Finding the right balance between jobs, progress and sustainability.

Here's a shot of the cover, produced by Hambly and Woolley.

Where to begin?

Off to a big start in 2015. I wrapped two book projects, and was handed a stack of assignment work. It's good to be busy when the snow is piling up outside!

Here's a few highlights:

I created this robotic character for a magazine project. The client dubbed him 'Buddy'. I like that name, because it's a challenge to make something mechanical look friendly. I'll post more images once the issue comes out.

I've been working with Adam Ruppel from Crazy Canuck events over the years. I don't think I have posted any of the obstacle drawings before. Mud Hero is a fast-growing series of endurance events held across Canada. These look like so much fun. This year they are taking over Ontario Place in Toronto. Here's the course map.

I continued my work for the New York Times in January. This is for an ongoing, monthly feature called Raw Data.

This piece was a challeging topic - understanding the correlation between the causation and occurance of cancer. It's a confounding and sometimes random genetic event, with devastating implications. Read about it here: Random Chance’s Role in Cancer

Always great to work with NYT AD Peter Morance and writer George Johnson.

I also do regular work with Roy Comiskey at Security Management.

This is about the risks of GPS scramblers and the potential consequences of misuse.

I'll be posting more work soon. I just sent two postcards off to the printers. If you would like to receive a copy of either one (or both) of these, please drop me a line, and I'll be happy to put you on my mailing list. wiens@kos.net

Leurzer's Archive

A quick post to show my page from Leurzer's Archive 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide. This landed on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't have time to open it until now. Honoured to be a part of this - so many incredible talents and a great cover by Brian Stauffer.

I don't get to illustrate fiction very often. This image was for SubTerrain, and I illustrated the entire issue, from cover to cover. I posted about the project here. This piece won gold in the Western Canada Magazine Awards. Nice to have work out of the realm of my usual purview recognized.

On another note, my work was paired with Richard Borge in the spread. I am a huge fan of his work and he's a super nice guy! (I met him at ICON in Portland this summer).

The image was for a short story titled 'Detachment' - about a remote RCMP detachment, a stray dog, and the struggles of a young family, from the viewpoint of the oldest daughter. It was written by Lee Kvern.

Here's a full version of the image: