Sketchbooking 2 - Indoors

Here's some new sketchbook stuff.  I bought some old encyclopedias at Circle Thrift on Frankford in Philly, and I've been collaging them into my sketchbook, and then just seeing where they go.  The prints are great - they have that great black and white weathered xerox look on nice slightly yellowed paper.   It's been a nice end of the day art activity.  More to come!

"North by Northwest Passage" for Alfred Hitchcock Show, "Suspense and Gallows Humor"

"North by Northwest Passage"
22" x 22" Gouache on paper

 I've loved "North by Northwest" since the first time I saw it - the visuals, the music, the tiny razor gags, but most of all, the urban/rural scene hopping, from New York, to Chicago, to South Dakota.  So - I thought I'd throw together a sort of scenic chart of all the actual locations in the movie - the only fictional one being the Northwest Airlines terminal, which no longer exists and I couldn't find reference for (but for "North by Northwest", I figured I'd take a little liberty).  Also not included are the 1212 Michgan Ave Auction house and the hospital in Rapid City, as they were shot on soundstage in Hollywood.    Even with that, it was a bit of a beast.  Lots of research, lots of windows . . . The cars are also accurate from the initial 57 Skoda 440 cab to the '51 White Freightliner the plane crashes into, to the '52 Ford Customline Cary Grant rescues the girl in.  I took color from the footage to get some of that "technicolor" feel, and blatantly ripped off Saul Bass' opening credit arrows to show the action.

Anywho - the show opens at the Gallery1988 Venice location on April 13th!

(detail)

progress - pencils to color blocking, to black line on top

The remnants of my notes.

Pete Dye Trail

Here's a new spread for Tony Judge for the upcoming issue of GO Magazine about golf course designer Pete Dye's courses in Indiana.  This piece was sort of a beast - but it was a lot of fun to do all the type solutions, and a challenge to fit it all in.  I had done a big map spread for the February issue and Tony wanted a little different feel so I worked with ink and watercolor. 

Studies in Orbs and Years for the "History of the World" Show

The year was "1953", suburbia was sprawling, and baseball fields were shrinking to back yards, and balls were slowly evolving "wiffles" . . .

The year was 200 - or rather two hundred years since Earth collided with another planetary body, blowing it to smithereens (which would eventually become the moon), and then began it's re-coagulation into the orb we all call home.  Fireworks were millions of years in the future but I thought it would be nice to commemorate the "Bicentennial" of this collection of rock, molten rock, rock ice, and bits of water.  Why Legos?  Well, it was just a planetary toddler: innocent, but constructive in it's own growth.

Side note: we got our window vinyl!  Designed as a wacky grid by Owen Sherwood and myself, and photographed by Caroline Corrigan, Education + Exhibitions Manager up at the Art Center.  Thanks, Caroline!

GO BEARS!!

If your softball team seems to be mired in mediocrity and nursing a 2 and 8 record, there really is only one solution to be had - new uniforms. In between jobs last week and general paying gigs, I put together a new t-shirt design in hopes of a more productive finish to the season and a play-off berth. Thanks to a design by cousin James last season, we led the league in fashionable t-shirts, and I'm hoping with my contribution this year we can at least be a reigning dynasty in well-outfitted-ness.

P.S. - If you're in the Williamsburg/Bushwick area, go check out the Archive! It's great place runs by great people.