Bill Murray (Color Pencil Demo)
I have been teaching Illustration this Summer at the Art Institute of Las Vegas. This is a color pencil demo I recently did in class of Bill Murray. It is Prismacolor pencil on tinted matboard.
Comedy Isn’t Pretty
Who is this guy and why is his foot in a jar of mayonnaise?
This is a portrait I painted of Comedian Matt Champagne for Vegas Seven Magazine. Matt writes about his recent gig doing stand-up for a week at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. Mr. Champagne doesn’t mince words when it comes to his complete loathing for the Riviera (and Sin City for that matter.) As for the mayonnaise, just read his article about the experience—after all, he’s a comedian and you could probably use a laugh.
Bring it, 2010!
The Las Vegas Weekly advises “Let’s forget the epic suckage of 2009; here are 36 reasons you should give next year a chance…”
This is the first time I have gotten a chance to paint Barry Manilow–have to say, he and that nose made the job fun. Having a cover illustration is a very nice way to end the year.
Celebrity Misbehavior
Art Director: Ryan Olbrysh for Las Vegas Weekly
This Illustration for the Las Vegas Weekly comes in response to the city’s desire to build and promote a museum in honor of the mob’s history in Las Vegas. The theory being: if a Mob Museum is acceptable, then why not a museum of Celebrity Misbehavior? A result of this line of thinking concludes with OJ Simpson being immortalized in a museum exhibit where his riveting audio tape (recorded during a robbery where he held up a sports memorabilia dealer in a Las Vegas hotel room) gets replayed.
What, you’d rather see an exhibit of Paris Hilton peeing in a potted plant?
Chatting with Artie Lange
Art Direction: Ryan Olbrysh at the Las Vegas Weekly
A spot illustration I did of Artie Lange who is performing in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock on June 27th.
The article contains gems such as this one, “I had a bad cocaine problem in the ’90s. The last five years have been heroin. Opiates and booze.”
Bill Gates
Back in February 2009, Bill Gates unleashed a swarm of mosquitoes at the TED conference in California. It was apparently a noble effort to highlight the dangers of malaria. It scared the (rich and famous) attendees and resulted in my receiving an illustration assignment from Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, so all’s well that ends well! (I’ll even go so far as to add that more celebrities should act out in similar fashion, so long as it will end up as a steady stream of interesting work for illustrators like myself.)
Art Director: Benjamen Purvis for Seattle Metropolitan Magazine
Credit for this spot should actually go to Benjamen Purvis. Ben has a splendid website and blog which you should make certain to review at your earliest.
Vegas Currency
Art Director: Ryan Olbrysh at the Las Vegas Weekly
This week the Las Vegas Weekly posed the question, “If Las Vegas ever prints its own currency, what will it look like?” Their question was factually based on the recent trend in several cities in which scrip is printed in an effort to keep tighter control of the local marketplace. While I was brainstorming ideas, I recalled a video that Penn Jillette made about being an Atheist Dad:
So there is my small homage to Penn Jillette—because I think he (& Teller) are money.
Sketch of The decline of the late-night talk show host
Unapproved sketch of devolution
The first sketch was not an instant hit, but here it is:
All’s well that ends well… I think the changes improved it a lot!
The decline of the late-night talk show host
Art Director: Ryan Olbrysh at the Las Vegas Weekly
This is a spot I did for the March 12 – 18, 2009 issue of the Las Vegas Weekly. Here is a tearsheet of the printed page:
Las Vegas Weekly, page 35
The Killers
- Art Direction: Ryan Olbrysh at the Las Vegas Weekly
Back in December of 2008, Ryan Olbrysh at the Las Vegas weekly requested an illustration for the review of the new Killers’ album (stipulating that they be illustrated to resemble the four main characters from the Wizard of Oz.)
The Bronze Fonz
Art Director: Anne Baesmann for Milwaukee Magazine
In the June issue of Milwaukee Magazine I produced three spots of celebrity statues for their “Insider” page.
Here is the magazine tearsheet:
Milwaukee Magazine tearsheet
Las Vegas personalities
- Art Director: Beth Schwarz for Luxury Las Vegas Magazine
Luxury Las Vegas profiled four Las Vegas personalities and had me illustrate each one’s portrait.
Pictured are Governor Kenny Guinn, President of UNLV Carol Harter, Sheriff Bill Young, and Richard “Dick” Morgan dean of UNLV’s Boyd School of Law.
Tina Fey (Color Pencil)
Tina Fey (unfinished)
The medium is prismacolor pencil on tinted paper. It is unfinished, but what is done took about and hour and a half.
Dave Chappelle (oils)
Dave Chappelle
Another in-class demonstration I did in February of 2007 for my Illustration students at the Art Institute of Las Vegas.
This Dave Chappelle painting demonstration is built for speed.
It utilizes some techniques that were made famous by legendary illustrators Bart Forbes, Bernie Fuchs and others.
Norman Mailer
Art Director: Benjamen Purvis at the Las Vegas Weekly
This is a full page portrait of Norman Mailer. It was for an article detailing Norman Mailer’s enduring influence:
Samuel L. Jackson
Art Director: Benjamen Purvis for the Las Vegas Weekly
Snakes on a Plane—or as I see it, a chance to draw Sam Jackson!
Las Vegas Weekly (August 17–23 2006)
Martha Stewart builds “Marthaville” in Las Vegas
Art Director: Benjamen Purvis for the Las Vegas Weekly
Apparently, Martha Stewart agreed to sell her name to a home construction corporation in Las Vegas—clearly in an effort to add some Martha style clout to their brand. This was my snarky take on what Martha might actually bring to a home building project.
Star Jones
Art Director: Benjamen Purvis for the Las Vegas Weekly
Star Jones was in Las Vegas for a book signing—so the request was to draw her eating several copies of her books as though they were a delicious sandwich. I think this is one of those cases where mean = funny!