For the first time in years we did not send out a custom family Christmas card. I was swamped with client projects, my wife and daughter equally busy with work and school...and just as we were catching our breath, unfortunately, our family dog passed away. I drew a card, but didn't have the heart, or the time to print it and mail it.
Without further pontificating, I'll share a few recent things.
First, some photos from a family Christmas trip to visit my Mom in Illinois..
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First, from the drawing board last month are two New Yorker cartoons.
The next project goes back to November. Most of my clients are out of state, and this was a rare local gig - a fun one at that. I was commissioned to write and draw five political cartoons to fight a well-funded initiative pushed by a group of real estate investment firms located outside Colorado.
Here are two of the five pieces...all were published in the Boulder Camera newspaper, and a in series of website pages, posters, mail pieces, etc.
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I just wrapped up a similar project for an executive at Golin Public Relations. Golin is a Fortune 500 company with 50 offices around the globe, (and I was admittedly unfamiliar with them.) Their HQ is in Chicago, where they occupy the 26th floor of the John Hancock Tower, one of my favorite buildings in the world.
The illustrations are a gift, commissioned to honor a career milestone for Fred Cook, the Chair Emeritus of Golin. I discussed the five scenes with two of Golin's management, via Microsoft Teams. Then I created sketches, and after approval, finished pen and ink drawings with watercolor washes. Everything was matted and framed in a horizontal layout of five scenes.
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I'm a car enthusiast and also a racing fan (Indy and CART series, not Nascar). The past two months worked out well, as I got a chance to draw several cars.
The first was for a 12-time winning CART series racing team. The owner of the team approached me about possibilities for a cartoon illustration the for his team's advertising, apparel and posters. The look he wanted was to be reminiscent of the old CAR-Toons hot rod magazines of the 70's and 80's. (I was familiar with them, having leafed through a few at the local drug store when I was a teen.)
This is a Sprint Racing series car, and to the casual observer, it looks odd with the plethora of wings & spoilers. Racing these is a blast, and many of the biggest names in Indy and Nacar (like Kyle Larson) also race these cars - simply because they are so much fun. 800 horsepower, light weight...magic.
Initial Sketch: