Weight of the world…

I found this concept while going through some of my work recently. It was done a little over two years ago when I was first working up ideas and graphics for "Hands Across the Ocean" A project that was part of Wyland's last whaling wall that took place in China before last years Olympics. Although this concept was never used, I still like the illustration I did, and the size and shape of the poster. I don't know why, but I alway tend to favor a panoramic view in a lot of my work.

Joy Ride

Here is the poster that was used last year for the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concourse on the avenue, in fact, the client liked it so much that they are using it again this year, thus the date! I like this one, but not as much as the lamborghini/tiger shark poster I posted earlier this week. I am hoping that we'll do something new for next year.

Something Fishy

I've been a little busy the past month buried under deadlines, but I am starting to see the light. So hopefully, I can get back to at least a weekly post. Anyway, here is a poster concept I did for a client. It was done last years for Carmel-by-the-Sea Concourse on the Avenue. This was not the artwork the client went with, I'll post that one next, but I still liked the idea of the Lamborgini-Gallardo, as a tiger shark. This may be a year old, but it's still a great poster. There was more that I wanted to do with the car, this was just a quick mock up to show the client. I wanted to remove the graphics off the car, and work the gills of the shark into the intake just behind the door. I may go back in and rework the file, if I get any time!

Earth Moving

Here is another concept I worked on. This was from a photo I took for a class project when I was back in college. I scanned the photo, and worked it up in photoshop. I was feeling very experimental at the time so I used a lot of different filters and layers. I built the file pretty large, and I'd liked the way this one came out, I've always want to print this out, but it's been cost prohibitive because of the size; it's 40" x 30".

Minimal Wheels

I've been going through all my artwork to create a new website, and I've come across some old stuff that I may or may not put on my site. This piece, I titled "minimal wheels" was inspired by some old Hot Wheels backer cards. I was so into hot wheels back when they first came out. and I still think that the old packaging designs are far better then what they are coming out with today. I wanted to make this into a limited edition set, just as soon as I can come up with some extra money. Hope you like this, and some other things I'll be posting in the coming week.

Shark Tees

Here are two of the tee shirt designs I created using a vector version of the shark illustration I posted last week. These are more concepts for tees that have not yet been produced, but I am still hoping that we'll get them printed some day.

Hot Water

Boy, talk about being in hot water if you saw something like this swimming at you! Here is an illustration I did a couple of years back when I was working on some new tee designs. I was looking at tribal tattoos and motorcycles at the time to get some inspiration. I used it in a couple of designs with some type treatment, in a team mascot style. It came out looking pretty good. I'll have to post the logos next.

Fine Art Drawing

Here is a one of four drawings I did of a large Scraper tire. they are 34" x 68", and drawings in charcoal. When you hang the four images together, there is an energy almost as if the tires are moving. These are part of a larger series of artwork I've been working on the feature a Caterpillar Scraper.

Book Cover Illustration

Just a quick change of pace. I'll add more tee designs again soon. I just wanted to share this illustration I created for a book Cover that almost got published. Funny story behind this artwork. I was asked to come up with a new concept for a cover for a book we were doing at work that was fun an whimsical, something that would stop someone in a bookstore and make them want to pick up the book to read it. At least that's what the creative brief said. So I worked up a couple of comps, and since the book was about the health of our water, and frogs are like the proverbial canary in a coal mine for that, I settled on the image above. The publisher loved the image and it tested really well with all of their sales force, they were all set to publish, and at the last minute, their was a change. There's a story there too, but I'll tell you another time. Anyway, the cover got changed, and I didn't get my big break. Oh well, I still think it would of made a great cover.

Deep Burn

Here is another tee shirt logo design I created, but have not made available to be put on tees.

Tee Shirt Design 2

Here are a couple of the Tee concepts with the logo design I posted last week. More to come

Tee Shirt Design

Here is a design I did for a Tee shirt. Its one of about three or four dozen designs and ideas I have for tee shirts that have gone unpublished. I have had a number of my designs put on tees, but I have so many more that have gone unpublished. I've done a lot of tees lately. In fact, I have a lot of tee-shirt and surfboard art that is just sitting around collecting dust. There good designs, or at least I think they are. I just need to get them seen by more people. So, I'll try to post some of the designs on the blog. I am curious to know if the art is as good as I think it is or if it needs to be tweaked a little or if it's just bad and I should start over. I look forward to your feedback.

Hammerhead Lounge Logo

Here is a logo I created. It was for a cocktail lounge. I think this would look real nice on a tee!

Surf Board Art

I have been giving my illustrations to a surf board maker called Blue Water Surfboards in Huntington Beach for over a year, in hopes that they might put one on a board. I must have created about 20 different designs for them, and this was the one that they wanted to produce. I first created this as a pencil sketch, and then the drawing was scanned, cleaned up, and colored in illustrator.

Blue Water is dedicated to bringing the highest-quality hand made surfboards with materials that are recyclable and far less damaging to the environment than traditional polyester surfboards. Go check them out at www.bluewatersurfboards.com. These hand crafted boards are done by legendary shaper Mike Minchinton and up and comer Kevin Wear of Huntington Beach. These are not from China!

Playing around can pay off

Although this is not typical of kind of work I usually do on my job, it is typical of the time frames I am given to work with and the strict image requirements. We had received a request from someone heading up a trade show we were headlining to create a special poster for the Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony. I had only that day to concept the design and get approval. The poster had to use the cover image from the trade show brochure, and it had to show and image of the award that would be given out at the gala dinner. I was surprised at how quickly the idea came to me, and how easy this was to crate. I guess my playing around with images when I concept for my own artwork payed off.

Remembering A Sad Anniversary

Here is a new, but old image. I did this one 6 years ago at the start of the Iraq war. At the time I was working on a little self promotional piece for my freelance work. I was thinking about using the tag line "if you need a small army." I had taken some shots of a handful of plastic army men to use it the project, and then war broke out and I didn't think it was appropriate. So, I crate this piece as a personal comment on the war. It's hard to believe that the war has been going on for 6 years.

Another concept

Here is another recent piece I am working on. Sometimes, I like these digital versions so much that I choose just to keep them this way and not work them up as a painting. For these, I am thinking about doing limited editions. Very small numbers of course.

It Begins

It all has to start somewhere. So why not start with this image. It's a sample of a current project that I am working on for myself. When I am working on a new piece of art, I like to sometimes start with the computer to create my comps. Working in this manner allows me to change the color, content or composition of the concept quickly, and still be able to save all the versions I create to see which is the best. I find it to be the fastest way for me to get ideas out of my head and down on paper. I hope to not only show more of these types of works in process to get feedback, but also show other projects I have competed for myself and for clients.