congratulations, you may already be a winner...

Hey Blog, what it is. My Memorial Day weekend was filled with beer-ified outdoors-iness, along with at least one t-shirt change due to a hose and water balloon related wetting. Good times had by all.

Anyway, if you've been on my site you might notice I've added a couple of new shots of this year's Altpick Double Deck. And not for nothing, but switching to a scrolling galleries is so money, and so much better IMO than clicking through images. It makes me want to preplan my imagery and think about it comprehensively, instead of simply plugging it in.

Also, since Summer is rapidly approaching, the Altpick Awards are nearly here! The official announcement has not yet arrived, but I just finished the banner for it so I wanted to give you guys a sneak peak. I've seen the list of judges too and its pretty badass, great crop this year. Anyway, while nothing is official as of yet, here's the banner.

This was my second attempt, and much more focused and iconographic than the first. Its the sixth year, so the "six" became my icon. Honestly, I think I got too rigid on the first try, and tried to shoehorn in some stuff that just didn't work out. In the end, simplicity ruled the day, and it was better to inject some explicit playfulness. The approved version is MUCH better, and I smirk to myself whenever I open the file. So as I highlight my successes, I'll highlight my failure too and show you one of the early versions.

This is the most colorful of the early versions, and I never actually showed it to anyone, as this was right before I went back to the drawing board. Its ok, just not great or memorable. On a related note, I'm trying to figure out how to bring in more illustrative elements to my design work without it feeling too heavy handed. The two are really separate for me right now; design elements service the image, and vice versa. This early attempt was trying to fuse them both, but it didn't really gel properly.

Anyway, diggin' the final product! And getting ready for some life changes so I'll keep you posted. Until then, later blog.

All That Jazz... The Fundraising Edition

Sup Blog. Yea that's right, I'm blogging on the regular now so you better keep up. I recently got another call from WBGO Jazz88, the best jazz station in the NJ/NY/CT area. This year is their 30th anniversary, and like always they depend on contributions from their loyal listeners, as they're a non-profit organization. Anyway, part of their fund raising includes neighborhood and community interaction and they needed some banners to be displayed outdoors.

Its fairly simple, and incorporates elements on their logo (the sax player) as well as their official purple. Its about 2 feet tall, so they'll be displayed at a good size.

Also it goes without saying, but WBGO is easily the best jazz station in the NY/NJ area, and they need support to keep doing what they do. If you want to contribute, you can click here. Also, tune in to 88.3fm to hear awesomeness.

Till Later Blog.

Ad CamPains

Hey Blog. So graduating with a Master's Degree is a long and arduous process. Who knew? The past couple of weeks have been full of galleries, gowns, goodbyes, and something else that probably starts with a "G". Once I clear out my studio/storage space then it'll really be goodbye. Two crazy years of MFA Illustration will make for a big notch on the ol' art belt.

On the work front, last week I received a commission from Business Week for a piece on ad campaigns in the current social and economic climate. Due to both the recession and the present state of media consumption, ad campaigns are no longer using television ads as their centerpieces. This makes a lot of sense, as I rarely even watch television anymore in favor of online streaming (God bless you Hulu).

My approved idea was to have an unseen individual pulling the plug on a television while still surrounded by adverts from other sources. Here's the approved sketch:

and the final:

The simple palette felt like the way to go and I'm proud of the results. Many thanks to Nick Torello for the alley-oop on that.

That's it for now. Later Blog.

P.S. The show comes down today. Manual labor!

Some Pictures of Somethings

Hi Blog, quick entry today. I am notorious for not being a "photo guy" in that I rarely ever use my digital camera. Only recently have I started using it for things, like my roadtrip (photo albums available Here and Here). Anyway, here's a small number of pics from the gallery where "Let There Be Stuff" is hanging as well as the SVA portraits.





I know, I'm terrible. Anyway, that's it. I finished a piece for Business Week recently and I'll be posting that soon. Also, the Altpick Decks are here! So as Jack Donoghy would say, get yours.

finally...The Altpick Double Deck

Hi Blog. First off, tonight is the opening reception for the 2009 MFA Illustration as Visual Essay Thesis Show. The gallery doors have been open since May 1st, but its official tonight, with lots of wine and cheese. I've posted a couple of previews but will post the full series on my website soon.

Speaking of websites, I haven't updated it in a while, but that'll change today as I've updated it with all my recent projects. Also, I've put my blog link first, since I post on here fairly regularly. I plan to integrate the blog into the site soon, but just not this second.

Anyway, the third edition of the Alternative Pick Double Deck has arrived and if you're a working creative and want to receive a copy email me. I wanted an architectural theme, and was inspired by the lines of several classic structures to create the look. Instead of a slipcase, we opted for a side-by-side shipping carton, which has a semi-gloss finish along with the a similar print on the inside. The boxes themselves are roughly the same dimensions as last year's and feature a spot uv coating on the front titles.

Something that's different is the inclusion of several accordion folded cards which feature the winners from the 5th Annual Altpick Awards. Unfortunately I don't have pics of these, but trust me they're pretty cool. Here are some pics:






Also, I was privelaged to get two cards, one for illustration and one for design. I've posted the design card here because I got to get a white bordered front with a black bordered back, which I thought was pretty cool. So many thanks again to the Alternative Pick and Maria Ragusa-Burfield especially for her guidance on this project. I really feels different from last year's and both stand strongly on their own.

So that's it Blog, see you tonight at the show.