Wigging Out

Here's some fun new work that I got to do for the great Entertainment Weekly!
I was so beyond excited to receive an email from the wonderful Jennie Chang, managing art director at EW last week. Based on my drawings for Alex Fine's awesome Hairy Baltimore, she wanted me to tackle 16 drawings of wigs from TV shows like Game of Thrones, True Detective, Scandal, The Americans, The Walking Dead, and many more. I didn't even know some of these were wigs!
Despite eventually being a bit hard on my wrist, I had a great time over the weekend knocking out these drawings and plowing through my audiobooks.

The issue has just come out and I'm incredibly pleased with how the drawings were integrated into the page layout! Thanks again to Jennie!

A City Girl in Hot Water

Here's a new spot for Las Vegas Weekly. It accompanies a great story by Leslie Ventura about her unenthusiastic trip to a hot spring in the desert. You can read the story HERE or even flip through this week's entire outdoors-themed issue at http://www.ifoldsflip.com/title/6882

Sketches

I had some fun in doing the sketches trying various angles on the specific image they wanted for the spot.
Thanks to Corlene Byrd for gig!

--CKL--

Masters & Johnson

Here's a new promotional piece I did to send out as a promo. It's actually my first promo since 2012 as I mostly focused on storyboarding in 2013.
The piece is based on Showtime's Masters of Sex, which became one of my favorite shows in the past year. Although getting Michael Sheen's likeness was tough, I'm pleased with how it came out (including the gleaming...device "Ulysses")

I once again went to GotPrint to have the cards printed and am again immensely pleased with the quality. I put my "Better Than Goofy Golf" Close Encounters piece on the back with a little bit of room for a personal message.
These should be hitting AD's mailboxes the beginning of next week!

--CKL--

Miami Mercenaries

Here are a set of three spot illustrations I did for the Miami New Times (they also appear in New Times Broward-Palm Beach) They accompanied a fascinating article (which I highly recommend that you read HERE) about the prevalence of private security companies in Florida. So many of these companies set up in the Sunshine State because of it's proximity to dangerous (aka profitable) countries like Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela.
Art director Miche Ratto contacted me about the pieces, wanting three spots of specific "scenes" described in the article. Instead of full color spots, she suggested black and white line drawings, referencing the drawings that I did for Alex Fine's awesome Hairy Baltimore book back in 2011.

The first scene is of a training exercise that former British soldier and Miami-based mercenary Andrew "Orlando" Wilson ran with the Mexican military. Soldiers were submitted to simulated torture, being hung over a makeshift latrine and waterboarded.

The second references the expereiences of John Walbridge Jr, a Vietnam veteran. As a member of the Green Berets in Vietnam, his unit was known for ambushing POW camps and escorting rescued POWs across borders. Walbridge went on to found OSSI, a very successful private security company based in Miami.

The last image is of a mercenary soldier from Hamed Wardak's very controversial private security company NCL Holdings guarding a cargo truck in Afghanistan.
Although researching all of the weapons made me nervous that the NSA was going to crack down on me, I had a blast working on these drawings. Without having to think about color, I really let myself get invested in the drawing.

Thanks again for a great gig, Miche!

--CKL--

The Master

Here's a personal piece I just finished up that's based on the new Paul Thomas Anderson film The Master starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.
I've seen the film twice now and I can sincerely say that it's incredible - challenging, distant, and powerful. Between the performances, cinematography, and direction, it's sure to be an awards juggernaut. Please note that I'm definitely biased as I'm a big fan of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies. Here are two watercolors I did back in college based on There Will Be Blood.)

Walking out of the theater the second time, I really wanted to draw this twisted kind of scowl that Phoenix's Freddie Quell seems to wear on his face throughout the movie.
In coming up with an idea for an image, I landed on the idea of a small, bent Freddie in the foreground, looking up at the massive form of Hoffman's Lancaster Dodd behind him. I imagined it as a poster for the film, with Dodd sort of posing and presenting himself for the viewer as the "writer, a doctor, a nuclear physicist, a theoretical philosopher" while Freddie peers up at him, unsure of the man he's fiercely following.

 

The wonderful Steve Brodner also recently tackled a Master illustration for the Village Voice, which you can see here.

--CKL--

Medical Mayhem

Here's a new illustration for the Village Voice's Fall 2012 Education Supplement in this past week's issue. The article, which you can read here, is about a deal between the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) and the offshore medical school St. George's which places students from its scholarship program in positions at NYC hospitals. This deal is angering NYC medical schools, which feel as though they're being passed over for a second-rate school.
AD Jesus Diaz called me with the idea of an all-out, chaotic brawl between the medical students from NYC schools and St. George's. In sketching the idea out, I played around with the number of people involved in the fights, all the way from twelve down to just two.

Sketch 1 ended up being chosen and adjusted into a square composition with thirteen people fighting. Jesus suggested amping up the use of the doctor's tools as weapons and even throwing in some blood (Frank Miller style) to stand out with all of the students' white coats.
I got to penciling and inking right away, with some great reference from photos of gang fights, riots, and boxing matches as well as some truly ridiculous reference photos of myself.

I had an absolute blast figuring out the action happening between each pair of students fighting, from a headlock to a shot to the jaw with a clipboard to a nose-breaking jab to the big haymaker in the front.

Thanks to PJ McQuade for sending me a few copies!
I'm very pleased with how the final turned out and to be included in an issue with great illustrations by Kelsey Dake and Laura Bifano. Thanks again to Jesus for a tremendously fun assignment!

--CKL--

QFEST

I was contacted recently by AD Reseca Peskin to do another cover for the Philadelphia City Paper. The last two covers I did for the City Paper, the People Who Died 2011 and the Urban Farmer's Almanac, were a blast so I jumped at the chance to do another.
QFEST is Philadelphia's annual GLBT film festival with over 100 GLBT films from around the world. For the cover about the festival, Reseca wanted an old fashioned movie theater with a big drag queen in the ticket booth. I worked up a few variations on the idea with my favorite image being the one with the drag queen (named Divine in homage to John Waters) right front and center welcoming the viewer to the festival.
I had a great time researching and finding reference for the theater facade and drawing everything on Divine from the sequins to the wig to the chest hair. And I even ended up giving lettering a shot!

Sketches

Marquee Lettering

Final

Thanks again Reseca and City Paper for a fun, fabulous gig!

--CKL--

Hiding in Plain Sight

Last week, I was contacted by AD Ryan Olbrysh over at Las Vegas Weekly to do an illustration for an article about fugitives fleeing and being captured in Vegas.
Ryan had a fun idea of Vegas icon Vegas Vic chasing down and apprehending a fugitive. I played around with this idea in the sketches (below) and we agreed on the first sketch - a 70's cop show-esque action shot with Vic, in his neon uniform, hot on the heels of a particularly gangster-looking fugitive.
Thanks again Ryan for a fun assignment!

Sketches

Detail

with the article

--CKL--

Urban Farmer's Almanac

 
I got a call earlier this month from AD Reseca Peskin of the Philadelphia City Paper, who was a blast to work with on the People Who Died issue, asking me to do the cover of their upcoming Home and Garden issue as well as a logo to be used with corresponding articles.
Reseca and Editorial Designer Matt Egger essentially wanted me to replicate the Old Farmer's Almanac cover with some specific new vignettes.

While it was nice to have an idea in place from the beginning, it still presented a challenge in mimicking a specific look while still allowing me room creatively.
Inking this piece was a lot of fun because of the loads of small, detailed work. I always enjoy the chance to break out the smallest brushes I've got.

As for the logo, they wanted something that reflected the ribbons from the top of the Old Farmer's Almanac. I went with something badge-like, almost like a 4H winner's ribbon with some simple flourishes around the text.

Thanks again to Reseca and Matt for an uber-fun gig.

--CKL--

Dog Daze

I recently did a cover of the Dallas Observer with Village Voice Media Design Director Tom Carlson. It was a cover story about the stray dog problem in Dallas and the animal rescuers taking them in. Alhough they have good intentions in getting the dogs off of the streets, these people may actually be hoarding the dogs and potentially still putting them in poor conditions.
Even though I'm definitely a cat person, I had a great time working on this piece

--CKL--

HP

Quick drawing for a friend

Wu Tang

I was pretty excited to get an email from Dallas Observer art director Alexander Flores asking me to do some quick drawings of the members of Wu-Tang Clan. The last time that Wu-Tang Clan performed in Dallas, not all of the members showed up, which apparently was and is a consistent problem throughout their tours as members come and go. So with Wu Tang set to perform in Dallas in the next couple of weeks, the Observer wanted some portraits to make a stakes graphic, showing the odds of which members are going to show (even including the late ODB)

Who needs a lightbox?

I had a blast working with Alex, who's incredibly clear in his direction and just a good guy. Plus now, I know who is who in Wu-Tang, which seemed impossible before.

-CKL-

People Who Died 2011

I was recently asked to do some illustrations for the Philadelphia City Paper's annual "People Who Died" issue. I created the cover as well as 7 portraits of Philadelphia-related people who passed away this past year.
In looking at Joel Kimmel's wonderful work for the issue last year, I set out to do something different. I eventually came up with the idea of tattoos and how they're often used to memorialize somebody. I gathered a lot of reference material and went from there.

Philanthropist Ruth Perelman and opera singer Julian Rodescu

Geno's Steaks founder Joey Vento and vintage shop owner Lara Long, also the sister of DJ AM

Philly punk legend Mikey Wild and local scrapper Greg Loper

Boxing legend Joe Frazier

You can read about the subjects here at the Philadelphia City Paper site.
Because of the deadline, I was able to work on the pieces while I was at home with my family in Michigan for the holidays. It was fun to have them around to see how I work on assignments.
Thanks again to art director Reseca Peskin for a fun gig.

-CKL-

Foul Balls

I recently did a spot for Lauren Draper at the New York Observer for a sports column by writer/Bored to Death-creator Jonathan Ames. In this article, he describes the way in which he cheers for all New York baseball, football and basketball teams.

"...then in my mid-30’s, after years of being a weak-willed, fair-weather fan, I decided, exhausted by my waffling, to root for all six New York teams at once. 
     This way I can enjoy the hubristic wobble of Rex Ryan’s chins and the dull heroism of Eli Manning, Amare Stoudemire’s ass-in-the-air tippy-toe walk and Deron Williams’ unusual beard (if there’s an NBA season), and Robinson Cano’s swing and Ike Davis’s bent nose.  It’s like what Woody Allen said about being bi-sexual and doubling your chances for a date on Saturday night – one of my teams usually wins."

Sketches

Inks - Ames portrait, hats on tracing paper,

Colors

Detail - Yankees Ames

Thanks again for a fun job, Lauren.

--CKL--