I guess it’s safe to post this, Sports Illustrated Players article (June 27th issue). New one starts tomorrow morning for me.

Thanks to the rabid fans of Wizards of the Coast for screwing up my relationship with them. By posting my only 2 illustrations I’ve done for them in 10 years on a big message board you just made it my last job I’ll probably ever do for them… so yeah, “thanks” fuckers, luv ya.

Some more Mermaid Parade stuff.

These are a few pencil drawings in my sketch pad. Just a few people I see on the subway.

I took about 200 digital pics at this year’s Mermaid Day parade in Coney Island Brooklyn. I won’t dump them all at once here.

This was about steroid  problems in the NFL. It mentioned a player for the Patriots who is rumored to be an informant. Just a personal side note about the illo. The poster on the inner door of the locker is a classic pose of Arnold from 1979 in Sydney, Australia before he won his 7th Olympia. Arnie has always been open about his steroid use.

In other news, I took some pictures of melting Crayola crayons melting on the hot sidewalk as I walked over to the art supply  (SoHo Art Supply) in my neighborhood. I’ll put some up if they came out OK. I haven’t downloaded them from my camera yet.

This was just the BACK entrance!

Notice where we waited to get in.

If you ever go to big comic book conventions, you’ll mostly notice the publishers. Artists lucky enough to have a popular style may be found at these publisher’s booths for a few hours during the day to sign the latest issue of whatever. Well there are lots of other styles that one can find appealing.The convention organizers, realizing that people attending the con, might actually want to meet these talented folks, have (my impression) begrudgingly set aside an area commonly called artists alley. Artists alley is usually an after thought in most conventions. Artists tend to just scrape by. I think people who create underground comics are lucky to even scrape by, they are sneaking by. Maybe even burrowing by! Then again some are doing quite well. But the majority can barely afford a table at a comic convention. So they get a discount. And as it’s true, “you get what you pay for”, they get stuck in basements, corners, and completely different floors that are hard to find unless you are looking for them. Not so true at MOCCA! I heard someone explain MOCCA as one big Artist Alley. Although bigger this year, it was more intimate, well run and almost relaxing compared to the New York Comic Con.

Some friends stopped by, Steve Ellis, Travis Louie, Dan Springer, Dave Elliot, Irene Gallo, Gregory Manchess, and a bunch more. My girl Molly Crabapple had a table next to mine. I had quite a few people who read The Week Magazine who stopped by. Lucky for me they all seemed to like my covers. I had a caricature portfolio and a black and white fantasy portfolio out on my table. Molly’s friends Kate and Ben stopped by. Ben comissioned a convention sketch. I did a portrait of him. He was my only customer as I think my prices were too high. Just as well. Sports Illustrated called with my next assignment so I started doing sketches.

Lady J watching Molly’s table.

Of course as I was going to transfer the pic I took of my sketch for SI from my camera into my laptop, the fire alarm went off! 2 hours before the con was over, they kicked EVERYONE out of the nice air conditioning and in to the 6000 Kalvin degree temperatures on the street while the fire dept. made sure no one was on fire INSIDE the building! Surprisingly, it seemed just as busy after they let us all back in 20 minutes later. Art Spiegelman stopped over at Molly’s table and had a good talk with her and Joe Stanton stopped over and talked to me before we packed up.

Two jobs, two very different images. Sports Illustrated wanted a caricature plus a horse. Big Brown in this case with his owner, Michael Iavarone, riding him. The Week Magazine wanted a landscape. I don’t do much architectural rendering. I just wanted to get the character of the White House. The sign was the main point, so I blurred the WH and laid the fence that I painted on another paper over top of the blur. It saved me a bit more time. I could work on a landscape painting for ever if I didn’t have a deadline. I tried not to spend too much time on this so I didn’t get too attached.

Sports Illustrated…

… and The Week Magazine.

If you are in New York City this weekend, please stop by my table at MOCCA!

I participated in the American Scottish Society’s annual John Muir charity golf tournament. I guess the money raised supports the summer youth employment at the Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. I got off the train dressed for golf in a white golf shirt, plaid shorts, white hat, and bag full of golf clubs. I think I might have stuck out a little. I seemed to be one of the only people who took the train. I felt like I snuck up on the people at the registration table. They were set up to receive people from the front entrance where the parking lot was. Regardless, they took me right in. I bought 20 raffle tickets since they were helping employ kids in the area. I got some food and put my tickets in to the cups I wanted a chance to win a prize for. Met Warren, my friend at the Society of Illustrators. He introduced me to his friends I’d be playing with in our foursome. Houston and Jimmy. After a short ceremony reminding everyone who John Muir was and that the course was the oldest public course opened in 1898, we were off. Girls in golf carts full of beer drove around selling beer and my game got steadily worse. My big shot? Why, thanks for asking! I came about 19 inches from making a hole in one at a par 3 hole. Other than that, I lost about 10 golf balls.

It’s nice not doing a politician again! Unless Charles Barkley decides to run for some office. Not sure when SI comes out, so hopefully this isn’t a spoiler.
This is what will be printed.

I fiddled in photoshop a little to make the BG dark. They still went with the first one. Except for a few tweaks in PS it’s gouache on bristol.

I did this the night before. Cover for The Week Magazine. The editors anticipate Obama finally being delared the winner, or something like it. Turned this in early Wed. morning. Wed. night I went to the opening for the J.C. Leyendecker show at the Society of Illustrators. After-which,
I walked with my friends Steve, Kurt and Zelda  down to 42nd St.  All the coffee shops were closed so we went down to the East Village to a 24 HR Diner, Around The Clock. We talked about the show and drew in each other’s sketch pads while drinking coffee and eating calamari. I got home late. I then worked on my spot illo for Bank Tech News.

My next door neighbor is an artist. In 3 years we’ve barely spoke. Today while coming in the door of my building, he sees me approaching and opens the door for me. I didn’t expect that! As I fumble with the pause on my I-pod, he asks how I’ll react to the Orphan Works bill presently getting rammed through congress if it passes. I haven’t talked with the guy in at least a year and this is his opener! He asks if I’ll be taking down all my images on my website. I hadn’t really given it much thought considering I have so much stuff out on the web already. I guess I might. Then I’ll have to get really good at describing each illustration I do instead of just showing it to people. Then I can embellish and come off sounding like the Rembrandt of caricatures! Maybe this won’t be the nightmare it most definitely will be for EVERY artist.

Until congress FUCKS the freelancers like me, I’m the new guy on the “Players” article for Sports Illustrated every week. Here is the first of probably about 50 illustrations for them.

Every time there is a possible critical turning point in the Democratic race between Clinton and Obama, I get the fortunate task to do an extra back up illustration for the cover at The Week Magazine. Being really busy for my fine art show coming up, it’s like suddenly working 2 full time jobs! I imagine they used the Clinton piece with the running out of gas metaphor. Both ideas reflect on the voters falling for the tax holiday on gas… or not.