Impeachment

Illustration for Kelly Peck at the Wall Street Journal.

Cathartic experience drawing this. The image speaks for itself.

Summer Sketchbook

I've had some time this summer to work on projects around the house, ride my bike, relax at the cottage and go swimming. But anyone in this business knows that the wheels don't stop turning, the flow of creativity doesn't shut off. Here's a piece that I created reflecting my creative wandering this summer.

This summer has been hot and dry, and trying at times, and the news cycle doesn't lift your spirits. I tried as best I could to ignore the election cycle in the U.S., but it never stops pounding away. So here's a series of images influenced by politics and power.

I drew this portrait during the Republican Convention. I wish I could say it was cathartic to complete this, but I just felt like washing my hands afterwards.

Polling Fatigue

Systems Rigged

Coping Mechanism

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We suffered through an extremely long drought for our area, with leaves on the trees turning brown and dropping off. It's unnerving to see record temperatures across the board this summer. Here's another response, called Heatwave.

I will be putting together a number of screenprints for an upcoming show, but for now I will be heading for the beach. Get outside and stay cool and don't forget the sunscreen. Summer is almost over!

Here's a parting shot from the cottage dock. Wish I could have stayed longer.

Crazy Mixed-Up World

Trying to make sense of things day-to-day is disorienting enough. Trying to take in the bigger picture on a global scale is an entirely different story.

I was thrilled and challenged when this assignment came through from designer Louis Fishauf, for Global Briefings magazine. The cover image was based on the title feature: To Do or not To Do - Doing Something, Doing Nothing, and Avoiding Breaking. We live in an age of peril and uncertainty, and I wanted to reflect that in a strong, central image. On one side - financial markets (in turmoil) and on the other, contagion and environmental risks. Getting a sense of balance/imbalance and the headache-inducing choices we face was the focus of this piece, and Louis was great to work with. Here's the final:

Designing on a black background was a new challenge - I worked up some sketches (below) directly on the background, and tried to strike the right balance with colours & objects. Here's a bigger version of the cover image:

 

I also liked the idea of our institutions in crisis, so I drafted up concepts involving a legislative/financial building as a base:

Next we tackled the inside feature: "Man and His Economic-Financial Crises." This was about the mechanisms and massive scale of the economic machinery behind the meltdowns. The lowly repairman about to ascend into this massive machine again punctuates the enormity of the issue outlined.

It's a pleasure to dive into an assignment like this, with it's weight and complexity. I constructed a mechanical globe and populated it with gadgets, gauges, engines and monitors. I also created an alternate, darker version here:

I am happy to be working with i2i Art, and reps Angela Dunning & Shelly Brown. You can see my portfolio and read about this assignment on their website:

i2i Art Website

Global Brief Article