Breakfast is Important

(Don't bite too hard.)

Revisiting Johnny

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In February of 2010 I participated in an SVA MFAI exhibit of illustrations inspired by Dalton Trumbo's work of fiction Johnny Got His Gun. The works of mine chosen (out of nine) were not from the same triptych, and during a lull today I thought to finally combine the first three.

I like it, after all.

I focused on the religious aspects of the story because I abhor a bruisingly political undercurrent and because I'm, well, obsessed with personal spirituality. But that's neither here nor there. These images represent the first time I ever digitally colored on top of my own painted images, and it was quite a nice feeling.

Flux Family Feud

On November 15, Flux Theatre Ensemble is hosting a benefit on the rooftop of the Maritime Hotel. I redrew and tweaked a classic Family Feud logo in support of the Family Feud event. Come by to watch New York theatre artists compete to answer trivia about their own profession.

Click here to purchase raffle tickets for prizes that include paid background work on "Law and Order: SVU" or a Jim Carrey film. If that doesn't strike your fancy, there's also jewelry hand-made by Ryan Andes, two free seven-week seasons with NYC Social Sports Club and a signed copy of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined by Lynn Nottage.

Proceeds support Flux's fourth season, themed "Don't Look Away."

The Quiet Place

In addressing a short story by Benedict Fleming about a small boy who stumbles upon one potential dangerous situation after another in a bayou town of eastern Texas, I thought about visually generating the ghosts and ancestors swimming around in his prose, and I kind of wanted to. I wanted to put that bit of flair into play. But, upon further scrutiny of the words and structure, it's the quiet that I liked most, the mundane interjections of daily life in which the boy is absorbed to distraction.

So I bit down my theatrical side and drew what I hope are illustrations from a quiet place and a reflected point of view.

It was a little hard to leave out color for such a soupy environment, but these are sketches of memories that probably won't stay in the character's mind, so I don't want them to leave too indelible an impression on the page, either.

Simple inspiration, outdoors and nearby.

I'd lived just a couple of subway stops from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for more than three months before walking through the doors. Hosting my mom was the perfect opportunity to take a stroll and collect a pocketful of buckeyes, which are cool and soft right out of the shell. You may know them as conkers.

The nicest thing about this kind of afternoon is being surrounded by small, dappled, shifting details. I've gone back to my sketchbook inspired by the movement achieved by layers of color.





And then there are the colors I'd forgotten exist:


And, just that quickly, I'm newly excited about capturing outdoor settings on the page. And have, on a whim, bought a five-pound book on watercoloring techniques.