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Know-Nothing

Bad Advice For The Aspiring Illustrator

I started drawing at a young age but then again, all children draw. I never really took the accolades to heart, due less to insecurities in my own drawings but more because I never looked at artists as having an inborn creative dexterity. Rather they were people who worked diligently at a skill that they found gratifying. And while the kind words were nice, it was disorienting having the wonders of my talent extolled by family and friends, while simultaneously being shamed for not similarly excelling at more ‘practical’ subjects. At 17, my options were not plentiful. A lacrosse scholarship was out of the question after playing in six junior varsity games and dropping almost every pass that came my way. I had no ability to commit to memory the rules of chemical bonding. And after eight scholastic quarters, I could barely slosh my way through trigonometry and pre-calculus.

There is only a handful of instances in our lives when we can look back and see ourselves standing at a crossroads. When a singular moment, though seemingly trivial at the time, conclusively alters your life. I vividly remember sitting at my kitchen table with my mother after school one day in September filling out my applications to Pratt Institute and Ringling College of Art & Design. When the form asked me to declare a major I deferred to my mother. She offered, “Well you love to draw so why don’t you put down Illustration?” And with a short check in a blue ball-point pen I decided my future right then and there.

After college I took a staff job at an animatics studio and continued to work in the field for the next six years. Initially, I was delighted to have a chance to work as a creative professional. New York is flush with illustrators and designers creating new visual languages that inform the rest of the world. But after years on the periphery while all this dynamic work was being created all around, the urge to contribute became overwhelming. I enrolled in the MFA Illustration program at the School of Visual Arts and for the next two years I reinvented myself all the while working full time. After graduation I continued to work my day job but after being exposed to so much possibility at SVA my position there began to feel incredibly stale. My need to remain financially secure with a moderately creative staff position was overtaken by a much more intense desire to work solely for myself on projects that spoke directly to my sensibilities. So with a small handful of clients and some money saved up, I took the jump.

The idea of generating my own income was and still is terrifying. But looking back on my first year as a business owner, I can honestly say that I am doing much better than I expected. By far this past year has been the most defining of my life – for the first time I feel a total responsibility for my success or failure. And if that requires getting up at 7 in the morning and working until 11 at night, then so be it. For the most part, I have spent the past twelve months working on a very diverse and engaging bunch of projects. There have been some very long hours and some absolutely insane deadlines but the freedom to bypass the traditional chain of command and go it alone with clients has been magnificent. As a result of this liberation, I have my fair share of sleepless nights. Waking up at three in the morning and not being able to go back to sleep because of ‘the fear’ which ranges from little things like “I don’t know InDesign well enough and I need to draw looser like so-and-so,” to grander, more abstract worries like “Have I made the right choice and where will I be in five years?” Yet, I try to remind myself that everything is exacerbated by the darkness and silence of night, and with the morning light I’m usually less plagued by these demons. In the daytime, I take a much more pragmatic perspective in regards to my career choices. When the responsibilities of the day are laid out in front of me I am able to shut out most of the discord in my head and hunker down on the work that is actually the key to generating a career worthy of pride and hopefully prestige. There are so many components to being a successful entrepreneur but getting tangled in the technical aspects of business leaves little time to generate the quality ‘product’ that is required of an artist-for-hire.

Creating art professionally puts one in a rather precarious position. Let alone the difficulty of commodifying one’s art, any dismissal of an artist’s work can be perceived as not only a disapproval of visual idiom but also a renunciation of the creator himself. It is akin to the viewer saying to an artist: “You have nothing to offer.” And since we are obviously such a temperamental and sensitive bunch, you would think that we’d all be better off taking our Series 7 tests and painting on weekends. The most favorite of existential subjects discussed over many a cheap beer amongst my fellow aspiring illustrators is how to find that balance between professional and personal satisfaction. How can I receive financial remuneration all the while staying true to what comes naturally to me? Perhaps the reason that balance remains so elusive to most in this field is because it is no small feat to create unique, multi-faceted work that belies no influence, while also being a marketing director, accountant and contributing member of the artistic social community.

The truth of the matter is that no illustrator is a master of all of these. It’s healthy to be inspired by the abilities of our heroes but we must be mindful not to get mired in social comparison. The illustrators that we admire most display a disproportionate amount of talent, vision and/or business savvy. The rarity of perfection looks quite imposing perched atop the mountain. Still, it is important for every artist to remember that his or her stories are worth telling. Particularly for those mere mortals who haven’t been blessed with genius it is essential to pick up the slack in other areas, ensuring that their trumpets resound from the valley below. For example, I know unequivocally that I will never be James Jean (if you are not familiar with him – DO NOT google him; save yourself a broken spirit), so where I lack his virtuosity I compensate with hard work, consistency and good decisions. As professional creatives, we need to simultaneously exist as practitioners of realism and as unabashed idealists in order to carve out a workplace for us to thrive.

And yet, though we have chosen a rather difficult and highly specialized field to work in, the rewards are infinitely plentiful. There is something intoxicating about having your work exist within a specific, albeit temporary, context and knowing that there are thousands of people out there interacting with it. The prevalence of tight deadlines prevents quiescence and the opportunity to work on many different kinds of projects over a short period of time. Unlike performing on stage, our art can exist solely on its own and it is up to us if we want to step forward and make our identities as creators known. The field of illustration is a warm and nurturing place to exist in, and the giants that hover high above the rest of us scrambling about below, remain approachable and benevolent. And while each of us tries to leave an individual imprint on illustration, the business continues to twist and morph. In many ways it is daunting, as the familiar model fades. But I truly feel that illustration is in the early stages of a renaissance, with a seemingly renewed interest in hand-created imagery reappearing for the first time in many years. With the expansion of digital media platforms, new avenues are ripe for illustrators to explore and exploit. Where magazines fold, interactive agencies are born. While editorial commissions stagnate, media companies create new opportunities for illustrators to help bring their visions to the masses.

Over a decade ago, a blasé decision set me down a path that I did not fully understand at the time. It was not until very recently that the realities and requirements of that decision came into my full view. In all honesty, I don’t have enough self-doubt or even sensibility within myself to walk away from this thing now.

The Flaming Heart Show August 7-13 2011

A painting of mine will be on display at The Art Bazaar (175 Seventh Avenue @ W.20th St) this Sunday August 7th through next Saturday August 13th alongside some fantastic other artists. All proceeds will go to benefit MarbleRoad and National Health Center Week.

Unused Intro for Tattoo Age

This was a sample I did a while back for a possible intro to Chris Grosso's Tattoo Age on VBS from an original piece by Charlie at Read Street Tattoo Parlor.

David Brooks Painting 1600%

Here's my first time lapse video of me doing a painting of the NY Times David Brooks for the illustration below.

Poor lighting? Check.
Lack of tripod? Check.
Weak editing skills? Check.
Funky, funky soundtrack? Check.

New Illustration for Businessweek

A new one for an article about a ponzi scheme in Indianapolis in this weeks Bloomberg Businessweek.




Thanks to Robert Vargas.

A Barrage Of Opinion

I read the op-ed pages alot. Not only for the fantastic spot illustrations but I like to get pre-digested opinions from real live intellectuals to help inform my own. The columnists who supply the perspectives run the gamut in political perspectives but always seem to be coming from rational and grouded places, never seeming to be overly-driven by political affiliation blustering red-hot hyperbole that pervades our televised news. Daily I try to immerse myself in the conflicting musings of Krugman, Friedman, Brooks and Co. in an attempt to remain progressively centered. It is pretty obvious that I am not a political scholar disguised as an illustrator such as the biting and articulate Steve Brodner but I do feel a responsibility to be fairly well-versed in my country's doings. But sometimes I wish that I could blindly pick a side and run with the rhetoric. Being centered and open to the perspectives of both sides is at times too disorienting for the political amateur.



Illustration in ink, gouache and digital composite.



My first stab at layout and in a while. Alot of fun.

Life Is A Job

С ДНЁМ РОЖДЕНИЯ

A gouache painting of the lady who keeps the crumbs off my shirt. Happy Birthday, comrade!

Sparks In The White Night Sky

Love is like this city - deep and flowing, with endless corners and shadowed crannies to get lost in.

Magic

Thanks to Tyler at Gypsé Eyes zine hit me up to do an image for the upcoming Magic Issue. The mag itself is printed in b&w but I just had to do a full color version as well.





Based out of Brooklyn, Gypsé Eyes is a limited run art publication connecting love, sex and design. Great work by this lot.

Summer Snow In Moscow

The day that me and V arrived in Moscow was a mild and dry one. We dropped off our bags at her grandparents apartment with a 14th floor view of the city and headed out for a cruise along the Moscow River. On our way there I couldn't help but notice this white fluff gently floating in the air over the entire city. From what I read this only happens a couple of days a year when the seeds of European willow ripen and blanket the city. All along the ground the fuzz scuttles about gathering into bunches - which I'm told is actually very helpful when sweeping up the street due to it's ability to snag any other detritus.

It only lasted a couple of days before the first rain came but it was beautiful while it lasted.

Carne Magazine #10

You can find an 8-page feature of my work in this month's issue of Carne Magazine which is available online for free. Carlo does a great service for new & emerging artists with his image-only magazine. Much appreciation!

New Elvis Paintings for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

It was 'round the clock work to get this batch out before the trip to Russia but thanks to Ellen at Late Night and a fairly streamlined process it went off without a hitch.

Midtown - Looking East From My Block

Unused TimeOut NY cover

I was asked to create a cover alongside several other illustrators for TimeOut NY's Date Issue which features 100 single New Yorker profiles to be conceivably snatched up by someone in their readership. In the end they editors went in another direction but the initial idea was to convey "single in the city".

Being single in NYC can be tough. The city is chock full of good looking and interesting people who are either taken by someone else or unavailable for one reason or another. I immediately acquainted this to trying to hail a cab in Manhattan which, other than time shared with a quality partner, is just what a New Yorker wants to find on a bustling Friday night.

We've all been there: endlessly you see a taxi turn onto your street six blocks away and as it gets closer you see that it's either off duty or taken. Finally you see that one open taxi and as it gets within hailing distance somebody else snatches it up.

So that's what I saw this date issue as - your lucky night. One of those random pink taxi cabs that you see around town looking available and inviting (with a prospective date inside) as other prospective but unavailable cabs blow by. For the ad space on the cab roof I put a placard flush with roses - the standard flower for date night. The light atop the cab, unlike the others, flashes available.

A nice idea that maybe was a little too subtle for the cover. Oh well, I'll get them next time.

New Illustration For ESPN Magazine

ESPN's Kenny Mayne interviews 6 oft-penalized professional athletes. Thanks to Lou Vega for another sweet gig!

New Illustration For Spin

I was psyched when Devin from Spin buzzed me to do an illustration for the Reviews section. Spin was a favorite of mine as a teen and after sending Devin my stuff for the past couple of years I finally got a call from him. The album to be featured was Toronto's hard-core show-stoppers Fucked Up's new album "David Comes To Life". This band is nuts live and it was agreed that the illustration should feature them in the frantic environment of the stage.



Initially, I wanted the lead singer/savage Damian to be clutching his baby like I had seen in so many pictures but that got shot down. Also the raging expressions didn't really match up with the bands love vibe so I had to cheer their mugs up a bit.

The turnaround was pretty quick but Devin, as expected was fantastic with his direction.

Big Apple Muff

The best of the worst!

One from the archives - Kiss Alive, Almost 65.

The light in Rieti

How seldom I do full-on paintings nowadays. But when I do it sure feels good.

After Osama Bin Laden...

After reading Nicholas D. Kristof's illustration-less Times op-ed, I decided to give it one.

Frank Sinatra Has A Cold

Wildstreet T-shirt

Here is a fun t-shirt I did for New York masters of sleaze rock Wildstreet.

March Madness Food Fight

Hi there! One of my new favorite blogs The Daily Meal did an awesome article entitled March Madness Food Fight which pits the biggest players in the food biz against each other. A bracket broken up by TV personalities, industry players, chefs and food media matches up respective contemporaries to duke it out for the final title.

I don't know about you but I loved the idea of Michael White fighting off David Chang. And anything was better than the sludgy photoshop illustrations they had on the page.

Stone Deaf in the USA

Man, oh man Obama's in a tough spot. He's gotta deal with the tea party raging about federal spending cuts. The GOP is complaining about health care reform. Liberals are screaming about him extending the Bush tax cuts. And after this weeks confusing speech on Libya, Obama's approval rating is hitting a new low. It would seem that President Obama isn't listening to anyone.

The Decision

Here is a short film for John Frieda Hair Color starring Katie Holmes. The remarkably nice guys at Dorian Orange had me come in to work on the storyboards for a script written by Bradley Young.

Peep my boards here.

Out of the shadows

I don't even know where this one came from. Perhaps it's the bulk of watercolor paper that I have inventoried right now or that it's been raining for a full day. Either way - this was a pleasant surprise. Must see where this goes...

Infighting

I've enjoyed my first year working freelance immensely. The music selection has been perfect everyday and the coffee catered exclusively from Amy's Bread on 9th avenue is always fresh. Still, there are times I miss the daily interactions and banter with the people you spend your work time with. Working in the advertising field with insane deadlines and constant pressure always seems to attract an extremely colorful and friendly cast of characters/nutcases. And in the late nights, deep into OT, when the client has pretty much done a 180 - it's that cast of characters that get you through.

But the one thing I do not miss is the inadvertent tunnel vision that people working on insane and endless projects can get. Such undertakings require multiple gears to move simultaneously, propelling the entire machine forward. But when the hours get late and the conference calls keep on being scheduled people crave that chunk of time in which they can hunker down and bang out their portion of the project. Sometimes this craving is so great that communication gets overlooked. People forget that they are of the same stripe and are working together to one common goal - to nail this job! When this happens it's like pulling the rug out from underneath yourself.

I recently noticed this happening within the crew I was working alongside on a recent job and it made me appreciate this past year working solo. At times I miss the office absurdity and energy but I must say that I really have a good working relationship with me. No static at all.



here is the final version.

Japan wakes up this morning...

Tsuyoi, Nippon ga!

Tuesday Experiment Continued

Monday experiment

Higgins brown waterproof, Parker quink with a little Dr. Phil's bleedproof white.

TimeOut NY

From sketch to finish a new illustration I did for TimeOut NY about earning extra cash in NYC.

What happens to the Velvet Elvis' after the show?

I always thought they were shredded & snorted by Tracy Morgan.

It's a simple question, really....

From the archive - RFC preshift 2003