Hillary Clinton

Picture a painting by Peter Paul Rubens titled, Immaculate Conception. Picture Hillary Clinton. Picture a pants suit. Put them together and what does one get? One gets this particular illustration that speaks about her and the Democrats finding religion. One also gets an illustration that luckily made it into Illustrators West 46, the juried annual exhibition by the Los Angeles Society of Illustrators. It will be on-line in the spring of 2008.

When I have some extra time, I will do self-assigned illustrations. This piece was based on a TIME Magazine cover story about the Democrats all suddenly finding religion in hopes of reaching a voting segment they've been historically unable to reach. The Republicans have been the party of religion, so this newfound interest by the Dems to start talking more prominently about their religious beliefs seemed worth probing.

What I aim to do whenever I assign myself a TIME cover story is execute it under the same stringent timeframe as is typical for a TIME illustration. It's good practice. I read the story on TIME.com on a Thursday night -- when the new issue is published on-line. I generated some ideas later that night and decided on one to pursue for the finish. Friday, I shot some reference for the pose and did much of the illustration that night. Saturday, I added some final touches and it was totally completed that afternoon. It's very encouraging to have this effort validated by the gracious jurors at the Illustrators West show.

Now, as I add to this blog entry on March 4 -- Ohio and Texas Super-Tuesday -- and as we see Hillary take both states, this image takes on another life -- the martyr, the risen dead, the prodigal daughter? Is the tide turning? Does it matter? What about SNL? Are Tina Fey and Amy Poehler the combined Oprah of the Clinton set? How about religion? Funny how that has serendipitously sneaked it's way into the candidates' conversation. Thanks, Hil.

detail and inspiration

Music

Here's another illustration based on one of my San Francisco photos. While walking around the Nob Hill area, I spotted this belly dancer performing for tips. Accompanying her were a couple of men who gave her an exotic rhythm with drums they rested across their knees. Seconds before I depressed the shutter, a breath of wind caught her skirt. Click.

For an expressive photograph, you can't go wrong with a street performer like a dancer or singer. There is an element of rawness and unpolished beauty to these performers which adds a personal touch to their story.

The pose in itself is beautifully fluid, but I accentuated the twist in the torso and the jut of the hip to give it a little extra movement. Like the other color images on this blog, preceding this one, I did a monochromatic painting in acrylics, scanned it into my computer, and gave it adjustments in tone and color. Needless to say, the process is a bit more involved than that. However, I like having the flexibility afforded by Photoshop to try things out, make mistakes, correct problems, explore, and discover something new.

detail

Valerie

Her name may or may not be Valerie. She kind of looks like a Valerie. I just thought it a perfect excuse to use the name of my favorite song at the moment.

I'm always on the lookout for interesting photographs. In 2005, while in San Francisco for the Illustrators Conference, I was able to absorb the wonderful energy of the city and take nearly 1,500 photographs.

Near the Hotel Nikko is Union Square, where people gather to eat lunch, hang out, people-watch, or just rest their weary bones. I hung out there quite a bit, grabbing a panini on occasion from the adjacent cafe. Of the many people who caught my eye, this girl with her cell phone and portable CD player was a source of many photos. She kept making great animated faces as she sat and waited out the afternoon. In this scene, I seem to have snapped her in mid-blink.

This turned out to be more of a character study with the background remaining fairly non-descript. The radiating brush strokes and shocks of vibrant color are recurring themes for me at the moment. I'm also experimenting with storytelling -- allowing the viewer to engage with the picture and come up with their own story. How little is required to tell a compelling story? I don't know if I've come in under or over the line on this one, but there are puzzle pieces here for the finding. I think the human mind is always looking to make sense of whatever it sees. It's always more fun to let there be some interactivity rather than spelling everything out for the viewer.

It's the same kind of intrigue we get from looking at a candid photograph -- trying to fill in the blanks to the lives of the people in the picture. What are the details of her life?

detail


"Valerie"

Natalie Merchant

Back in 2001, Natalie Merchant released her third solo album, titled Motherland. Her record company was about to send the first promotional single, "Just Can't Last," to radio and needed to commission a cover. Typically, only the radio station will receive the promotional single, at least such was the case with this one, but the coolness factor was still quite high.

3 options were requested of the participating illustrators. Being somewhat excited about the prospect of its use, I thought to gauge my chances by asking how may illustrators would be submitting. The wise-gal on the other end of my probably rotary phone said, "Just one, but he has only one arm." I took the hint and turned my focus toward creating the best 3 options I could muster. Ms. Merchant would then be among those making the final decision.

I sent them off...and waited...and waited...and waited...until? -- nope, false alarm...waited...followed-up...waited. I held my breath long enough to deduce that Natalie Merchant said, "'Thank You,' but no thanks." Oddly enough, it was with this album that she kind of fell out of sight from the popular music scene -- an unfortunate snubbing from radio I can't help but think would have turned out differently had they chosen different cover art for that first single.

My goal with these was to reflect the ethereal and lush feeling of her music by creating a visual interpretation of the richness, texture, and emotion her songs embrace. I also wanted to reflect a bit of the mystery that she seems to have. Her face lends itself perfectly to such an illustration. I wanted to let it arise with just enough detail from a sea of darkness, still capturing the intensity in her eyes.

Whenever I have the chance to illustrate a musician, I wear out their CD gleaning inspiration as I work myself into the zone. For this project, they sent over a live disk and Ophelia. I love live disks.

I'm most pleased with with the one in which she's peering to the side.

Pumps

Great illustration is great storytelling.

There is a story here, but I'm going to let you tell it. Why is the chair red, like the picture hanging above her head? What's her name? Is it 3:29 a.m.? Why is she dressed like this and why is she holding her glass like that? Does everything point to the wine and what could the wine represent? Bitter, sweet, red, blood, thirst, heart, mind, dependence? Is it important that the wine level is perfectly horizontal, yet not quite spilling? And, why isn't the picture frame level? What does the hanging picture symbolize...a memory? What is off the right side of the page? Does it matter? Does it have something to do with the way she is piercing your eyes with hers or that her right foot extends off the right side of the frame? Do the boots symbolize something? Power? Sexuality? Red wine, red hair. Love, anger....what do you see on an emotional level? Does it connect with you? Does it make you nauseous, anxious, uneasy, overjoyed? Does it remind you of anything. Does it feel like the dream you had last night?

It could all just be a coincidence.

There are many ways to tell a story. Everything means something. Illustration is so great because the artist has so many tools at his or her disposal with which to tell their story. Everyone has a story and everyone loves a story.

John Newton

Just who is John Newton?

John Newton became the main pillar of the Evangelical party in the Church of England during the 18th century. His writings and sermons were immensely popular and Newton leveraged influence in helping to end the slave trade. His early life, however, found him as a sailor and slave-trader in Africa. After some brushes with death, he made a spiritual conversion that led him to evangelical Christianity.

He also penned many hymns including the mainstay, Amazing Grace.

The crux of this book cover illustration for Crossways Books tells the story of Newton from his early troubled youth (lost in the woods) to his redemption and role with the Church of England (the Canterbury Cathedral on the right).

One of the benefits of illustrated portraits is they function perfectly when photographic reference is limited or low in quality. I've worked on a number of portraits and feel confident that I can work with any reference, no matter how small, lo-res, and out of focus the image may be. The references here were obviously historical depictions.

This is a charcoal drawing, accentuated and colored in Photoshop.

sketch

Just Like Me

I was driving down the highway recently, listening to Squizz on 48 and the Pumpkins. Enjoying their smashingness. I thought to myself, I should do a portrait of Billy Corgan. He's an interesting character and might cater well to an illustrated portrait.

I was happy to see the Smashing Pumpkins get back together. It seems like his is the type of voice you either love or hate. I wanted to capture his energy and impassioned vocal stylings as well as his kinetic restraint.

I always use fluid and active brushwork, leaving evidence of where I was at that particular moment in time. Coupled with a shock of color, it's an effective technique to relay the energy of my subject. This engages the viewer immediately and pushes her or him toward a particular frame of mind. It adds another dimension to the visual experience.

I think it's also of note to mention his clothing. The title of this entry is from a line in the Pumpkins' song "Zero," one of my favorites. In my mind's eye, if the word "zero" were to be represented with clothing, I believe Billy's wearing it.

detail