State of the Union :: Post IV

Lane Smith


Nathan Ota


Jim Auckland


Thomas Woodruff


Mark Ryden


James Jean


Jeff Soto


Greg Simkins


Camille Rose Garcia


Glenn Barr



Some Illustrators whose work I admire and whose careers I would possibly emulate.
Also is a list of some of their clients they work for.

{Camille Rose Garcia}
BLAB, Juxtapose, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, Glue Magazine, Flaunt Magazine, Nylon

{Greg Simkins}
Disney, Mattel, Upper Playground, Juxtapoz, To Die For, Vans, Converse, AFI, Saosin, Gym Class Heroes, Pennywise, STRANGEco, Ningyoushi, Kid Robot, Zero Friends, Epitaph, Dark Horse, Iron Fist and Pulse International.

{Mark Ryden}
Umbigo, Elegy, Cyber Zone, 200%, District, Helio, LA Weekly, DPI, LA Artland, Panik Magazine, Arte, Tear

{The Clayton Brothers}
Res Magazine, New York Times, Paper City, Various Group Exhibitions and Solo Exhibitions.
view link

{Nathan Ota}
Newspapers: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, San Diego Union Tribune, Sacramento News & Review, LA Weekly, City Beat.
Magazines: Business Week, US News & World Report, Writers Guild of America West, Mix, Jazziz, Electronic Musician, Guitar Player, Music & Computers, Swing, Request, Keyboard, Movieline, Computer Life, Computer Gaming World, Stocks and Commodities, Financial Executive.

{Jim Auckland}
Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Studios and Columbia Pictures. He has created portrait collections of famous athletes for NFL Properties, The Upper Deck Company, The Franklin Mint, The Bradford Exchange and the NBA. His paintings are included in the collections of The Buffalo Bills, The National Football League, Hughes Aircraft Company, General Mills, and The United States Air Force.

{Jeff Soto}
ArtWeek, Hi Fructose, Giant Robot, Beasts!, Juxtapoz, American Illustration, Paper, Art Prostitute, Streetwear Today, Print, Communication Arts, Stop Smiling, ID Pure, Lifelounge, Cal Magazine, Romantik, Beautiful Decay, Langages de Rue, XFuns, and Lodown Magazine. Sony Music, Warner Bros., The Broken Wrist Project, Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, Esquire, City Pages, Tor Books, Morrow Snowboards, Nickelodeon magazine, Field and Stream, Spin, Toy2R, The Portland Mercury, Disney Adventures, Macskinz, Coors, Visa, F Communications, Wired, The Boston Phoenix, Juxtapoz, Critterbox toys, United Airlines/Fallon, Fast Company, Wired, and Outside Magazine.


{Lane Smith}
books published
His titles with Jon Scieszka have included the Caldecott Honor winner The Stinky Cheese Man; The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs; Math Curse; and Science Verse. Lane's other high profile titles include Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky; The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders; Big Plans by Bob Shea; and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. In 1996 Lane served as Conceptual Designer on the Disney film version of James and the Giant Peach.

{Thomas Woodruff}
Art News, Art Talk, The New Yorker, New York Times, Art In America, Vogue, Harpers, Juxtapose, Art Papers

{James Jean}
DC/Vertigo Comics, New York Times, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Records, Playboy, Nike, and Target.

{Glenn Barr}
Mad, DC Comics, Paradox Press, Ren and Stimpy Show, Bjork's I miss you, Woody Woodpecker, Juxtapoz, Erotica and Film Threat Magazine.

Ten Magazines I could work for
• Cooks Illustrated
• Res Magazine
• Art Papers
• Rolling Stone
• New York Times
• Panik Magazine
• Juxtapoz
• No Tears Magazine
• Paper City Magazine
• Time Magazine
• New Yorker

{Dream Jobs}
Random House
Harper Collins Punlishing
Golden Books
Disney
Warner Brothers
Nickelodeon
Colombia Pictures
Sony Music
Target
Entertainment Weekly

This is a small selection of some of my all time favorite dream jobs. They have always had artwork published that I feel I could be a part of producing as well. We all have dreams, why not go for them?

Solo and Group Exhibitions later in the future.

• If I had to form a magazine that focused on the likely hood of my survival.....well then I would probably be covering the entertainment industry. This I mean I would be constantly having articles about celebrities, hotspots, films, music. etc. This would encompass the film and music industry because no matter what Americans love escapism and forms of alternate reality. They love to feel as if they are a part of the popular culture. The look and feel of the magazine would not be quite as goddy but would evoke a bit of a mainstream design.

State of the Union :: Post III

• My creative process would be one that is done very methodically. I begin with writing down the thoughts relating to the concept I am trying to achieve. Next, I usually begin looking at reference images and art to help inspire me. I begin taking into consideration all of my research and developing thumbnails. After sketching, I take my clearest ones and try to refine the composition and figure out the best way to execute my concept. After my thumbnail has been selected I usually like to work on woodpanel or illustration board and paint my piece with acrylics. This method is typically my most favorite.
I feel that my process could be more efficient if I planned ahead with more thumbnails and references. Usually I get 'writer's block' and can't develop certain ideas as far as I would like to. I could also pull on collected images that I have gathered previously in anticipation for just such a project. Being so critical I know I could always do better. Something that I strive for as an Illustrator is perfection. A goal that will never be fully achieved but still is my target.

• I admire professional film director, Steven Speilberg's creative processes for a number reasons. He is a very prolific person, with a very imaginative mind. He will never run out of ideas because he allows the story as well as the actors to inspire him for creative and unexpected results that veer from any mechanical methodology. He is in other words prepared to allow others on a day to day basis to inspire him with creativity. His creative process includes writing ideas down to something workable on paper, discussing the work detailed by taking those ideas to action sequences and finally taking that to film.

State of The Union :: Post II

• What would be my favorite piece? I have to say that my recent favorite piece would be a political satire that I made of THE CEO of the Memphis Zoo. I depicted him as the grinch stealing the trees of Overton Park. I took this into a series of die cuts and assembled it in a shadow box. I had a lot of fun with this piece. I normally work only two dimensionally. The work is two dimensional but the idea of making work in a series of layers in three dimensional form was something that I would love to continue in a series of works.
• I really haven't ever been told what piece people like the most. Recently I haven't been given much input on that.
• The piece that suprised me the most was an interactive adult censored children's book I made. I didn't think that the piece would come together as it did, but at the end everyone loved it. AND it functioned well.

• My five doodles sketches.

State of the Union :: Post I

• My favorite media to work in is acrylic. I like to work in Oils, Watercolor, Pastels, Dry Media such as Charcoal, Conte, etc.
• I am not a particular fan of working in Chalk Pastels because it tends to be too messy.
• I would like to work in Gauche. I think that could be a fun medium to experiment with.
• Three classes that have influenced my illustration are Digital Imaging, Interactive Media, and Communication Studio IV. Digital Imaging and Interactive Media have helped push my concepts and execution of work in a different way of Illustrating. I was able to experiment with creating work Digitally and even using ways of incorporating the user in the pieces. Comm. Studio IV was with Cecil Kim in Los Angeles which really helped me to push my painting skills even further without the purist method. I am very much inspired to create the same style of work in process but instead using the computer as a medium.
• The work of my peers has helped with the way I think and also allowing me to step back and see my work from another angle. I believe my peers have helped influence my thoughts and processes to be less narrow and widen the range of work that I create.
• I love pop music, techno, and soft classic. Also, depending on the mood I am in I can really listen to anything.
• I love to sing, and Act. I love running, Yoga, dancing. etc
Something I like that I don't think anyone else does is Disney Films.
• The three pieces I would love to own would be the Nike of Samothrace, Monet's Waterlilies, and The Mona Lisa.

{Postage Stamps}

:: Irish Culture ::

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

links to visit

:: Irish Culture ::

:: Irish Culture Wikipedia ::

:: Persistent Stereotypes ::

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

:: Postage examples ::

{Celebrity Project}

Our Second Project is covering an Illustration based off of a celebrity in a current movie. The film I have chosen to cover is called 'The Duchess.' Keira Knightley is the actress playing Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. The film is a startling portrait of a seemingly naïve young woman who enters the world of power and politics. A compulsive gambler who will eventually die in debt, she nevertheless enjoys the thrill ride of challenging the conventions of her times. In which women play more the role of an heir producer and dowry bringer.

{Three Reviews}

The L.A. Times {movie review 'The Duchess'}

Film.com {movie review 'Keira Knightley Talks Duchess'}

Future Movies {movie review 'The Duchess Movie Review'}

Cinematical.com {movie review 'TIFF Review : The Duchess'}

09.01.08 {Death Penalty Position}

When looking at history and at the situation of the world today, it embarrasses me to see that the United States is one of the very few countries that have the death penalty on its books. We share the ranks with such countries as Iran, China and North Korea. Even countries like Japan and France, the masters of the guillotine, have abandoned the death penalty in recent decades. When it comes to making a stand on the issue of the death penalty, I find it unsettling that America has only international ‘thugs’ as spiritual friends.
In recent years, with the advancement of DNA analysis and other high-tech forensic technology, quite a few people on death row were found to be innocent. These wrongful convictions may make up a substantial number of convictions, many of which are attributable to over zealous prosecutors and district attorneys. Often evidence is being withheld from police, juries bias, and especially in smaller cities simply not accustomed to dealing with the complicated capital punishment case. While some states, especially in the northern U.S. no longer have the death penalty, others in the south, especially Texas seems to have an express lane for those accused of capital crimes. The majority of all executions are performed in Texas, which has less than ten percent of the U.S. population. It is unsettling to think that the death penalty is handed out in a random manner and that in the past; possibly one out of ten prosecuted were executed innocently. When talking about the death penalty, the biggest issue that I have with supporting it is the prevalence of wrongful convictions, which seems to be unavoidable. One could argue that somebody could be released from prison after serving a lengthy term, but not be brought back from the dead.
The United States has a disproportionately high population, making up one percent of the general population. Many of these are violent and repeat offenders. Something within the structure of what we refer to as America may be inherently wrong to create an ever growing number of social outcasts. Our national inclination to support the death penalty may have its roots in some odd place such as early high school days in which the winners and losers, the stars and the outcasts are prematurely selected. Crime rates in most developed countries are significantly lower, prison populations disproportionately smaller with relatively few offenders guilty of a capital offense. All these speculations and thoughts about opposition to the death penalty and the origins of such prevalent violent crimes are brushed aside with some of the most violent cases of recent history. Some offenders are virtual poster children for the death penalty. Case and point Edward Duncan III, a convicted child molester with apparent previous child killings under his belt. The details of his most recent crimes are too horrific to list here, but it involves the killing of four individuals for the purpose of molesting two children. In his sadistic manner, he apparently created snuff movies of himself raping and violating the children. In court he was convicted of murder as the jury had to watch the horrific recordings of his acts. He showed no remorse. Seeing a case like this I cannot only say that I derive great comfort from knowing that the execution would rid the world of a potentially escape prone predator from ever walking the earth again. I must admit that the discussion of cruel and unusual punishment, in his case, has a ridiculous ring to it and that I must restrain myself not to devise appropriately barbaric methods of punishment. This however is part of most people’s human nature, and when all is said and done, I say I wish we would live in a world where the punishment could be stashed with other relics of our history. However the reality is this society seems to be barbaric, so barbaric measures seemed to be destined to stay on the books. Maybe in the 22nd Century America will not need the death penalty anymore.