Cowboy Cactus packaging illustration

This was one of those really cool jobs that I love to do. It was sort of like illustrating a Flow Bee ad!

 

I recently illustrated the label for a cactus dressed as a cowboy that goes on your car's antenna. What a crazy product but apparently this thing sells like hotcakes and it was time to update the antiquated packaging (see below).

And, before you ask, no I didn't get a free Cowboy Cactus so don't expect to be able to spot my car in the mall parking lot.

This is how the old packaging looked. How hard is it to read the text printed over the cactus? And what's up with that guy's mustache? My version makes it easier to understand where the cactus goes and although I offered an option with a less silly guy the art director chose to go without him.

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Faces 6

More faces and a whole tiger. OK, so I didn't draw the tiger- my son put a sticker on my drawing and I thought it was cute...

Campaign logo in orange and blue

I recently designed the logo for candidate Jim Henderson for Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts.

Jim (an Independent) chose to keep away from the usual red white and blue and go for something a little less usual for a color scheme. Beyond that I was left alone to create a few different concepts from which Jim chose and requested revisions with the final version being the image at the top.
(BTW- in order to create this stylized version of the state of Massachusetts, I first drew an exact profile of the state, and let me tell you, it's a very wavy, inlet-y state! See all the way below)

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Since there would be occasion to print the logo on orange shirts I was asked to create a (nearly) reversed version.

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Jim's business card includes a number of bar codes (on the front and back) to allow people to scan the card to learn more, make a contribution, join the team or get a reminder to vote. Very cool.

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And then the sticker design for his campaign:

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Finally, the detailed version of the Mass. Map I mentioned above:

 

Let me know what you think!

(and if you're interested in learning more about Jim, here's his website: http://jimforsoc.com/)

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Eddie Spaghetti with the Meatball Eyes

My submission to theydrawandcook.com was accepted! You can find mine here or go to the main page to check out all the other recipes.

If you haven't see this site yet, it's a blog where artists submit a recipe they illustrated and already they've had submissions from all around the world. My friend, Lisa, turned me on to it and now I check in a few times a week to see what's new! BTW- Check out Lisa's Girls Rule prints. They're really beautifully designed.

The style of my illustration is a little different from my usual stuff- I was paying homage to a wonderful illustrator, Bob Staake, who uses very bold shapes to form his characters. So the chef is either made up of or cut out of a lot of different ovals. then everything was layered and shadows were added sparingly. Check out Bob's illustrations- I think you'll realize that you've seen him around (most notably on covers of the New Yorker).

Oh, and yeah- those are real meatballs. I defrosted a bunch that I had made, photographed them and then ate the evidence.

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