table doodle

I drew this little guy on the paper tablecloth at Macaroni Grill the other day.  I liked something about him and wanted to share here. He's like a cross between Charlie Brown and a little urchin from Gangs of New York.  Maybe I'll make him into my mischievous alter-ego.  No names for the guy yet...  I'm open to suggestions.

a simple favorite




 

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

-Ben Franklin



I get asked if I still do any freelance work for American Greetings? I do, in fact I enjoy the work very much.  Here is a recent and simple card out on racks now, it's one of my personal favs.  I hope drunken Uncles everywhere, get a little kick out of it.  : )

origami kid's books


Roger, Kitanai, Rudie, Stickman, Charlie, Mag-3000, and Gordon

Family and friends can probably attest, these quirky characters and books were my life, last Summer. I'm so happy with how they came together and excited to share with you today! Big thank you to Ashlee at Capstone, it was a true and fun collaboration, and I look forward to working together again soon. As I posted before, each of the stories center around an (easy-to-fold) Origami character, and offer young readers a fun glimpse into the every day science all around us.  I recently learned that we will be doing four more books, so there's more to come down the road!

more fun from Zamorano!

page from my children's book, Diggin' Dirt.


children's collages assembled together


I wanted to share the latest amazing work from the gifted children at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy.  Don Masse's kindergarten class recently created collages inspired from the leaves and branches in my illustration above. It's such a fun idea, you can tell the kids are having a blast. I wish I could have been there. He then assembled the children's pieces into the charming panorama below.  Check out all the beautiful work and more at shine brite zamorano.

for mom

This made my week, so I just had to share.  I recently learned that the piece below, had been the focus of a project in Don Masse's second grade art class at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy in San Diego.  It's a fun idea, Masse, looks to contemporary artists for inspiration in planning lessons and posts the beautiful results on the aptly named blog, shine brite zamorano. You can check out the wonderful landscapes and all the other fun work here, each tells a story as unique as the talented little hands that created them.  Enjoy!



Happy President's Day 2013

"I've become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, in the shade of my own Vine and Fig tree."
-George Washington, 1784


Of course he was the first great President, but first and foremost he considered himself a modest farmer. His journey from Virginia planter to General and Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, then finally to President, is one of the great American stories. It's been a while since I've last tried, but here is my latest attempt at illustrating George.  I gave him a cream colored oval frame, inspired by the White House's interior gilding, bundles of tobacco leaves decorate the base. 


* linework detail

Inauguration 2013


We gathered at dawn,
standing shoulder to shoulder,
under that old dome,
it's ring of pillars glistening in the new day's light.
A million souls.
A million dreams.
A million heartfelt cheers, raised up to the cold January sky.

Whole families with grandmas in shaws and bundled babies,
school children laughing,
fathers and sons with their boyfriends,
heads bowed at prayers said in Spanish,
all standing together, proud and strong.
Today is our day.

So wave the flags and snap pictures to remember,
these moments shared with smiling strangers–
kindred souls in the long struggle.
God bless President Obama,
and may we all show love for one another,
this our American family.

-thoughts on the Inauguration


from the desk at Lindgren Smith

 L&S title page in 2013 Directory of Illustration

Script lettering options



 
*sketch concepts

 L&S logos

 *L&S logo concepts

I've recently worked with my illustration reps, Pat and Piper to develop some fun new promotional work for the agency.  For the Directory of Illustration cover, I included the sketch options I presented, just to show the process and how it came together.  More recently, we worked to develop new logos for use with social networking, Facebook, Twitter, etc. As an illustrator, my first thought was to come up with icon ideas for the logo, fashion objects, NYC related subject matter, some of the ideas I communicated to Pat over the phone got a little complicated.  But in response, she said, "Hmm, actually Jamey, let's just keep it clean and simple."  Keeping that request in mind,  I think we came up with some really sharp options.  To see some of the fun things happening at Lindgren and Smith, check out the L&S blog here.

doodles


I have much to share, but I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and post some doodles from the last several months. These were mostly drawn on envelopes or other scraps of paper while talking on the phone or goofing off. I have tons more, but some get a little raunchy, so I'm not sure what to do with them.  Either way, I think I'll post more soon.

New York Times



*detail

*detail

 
*detail


*concept sketches

Hey check out today's NY Times! I have a cover illustration in the business section accompanying an article by Andrew Ross Sorkin, concerning Wall Street and it's impact on the rest of the world.  Obviously, I am beyond psyched about this one and want to extend a huge thanks to AD, Uong Minh for this opportunity, and for his great eye and sage art direction.  I'm also posting my sketches for the job. As you can see, the first version was oriented more vertically and the borders vignetted in an oval shape.  Expanding the 'epic' skyline to the full page was definitely the right call.

You can see the full article on the NY Times website here.

NYC skyline


I created this stacked cityscape by piecing together parts from a NYC kids travel journal I recently completed. When I get the time, I'd like to expand the scene horizontally and add more buildings, filling the entire screen!

baking is an Art


buttermilk doughnuts with powdered sugar
Are you guys familiar with Stonewall Kitchen? The charming kitchen supply and specialty foods retailer out of York, Maine.  We are huge fans of their entire line of homemade doughnuts and made these yesterday for breakfast. As someone who takes baked goods very seriously, I was very happy with how these turned out and had to snap a shot with my phone in the morning light. : )

My Favorites:
1. Blueberry Glazed
2. Pumpkin with Maple Glazed
3. Cinnamon and Sugar

sneak peak at my new children's book



 


I wanted to share a little preview of a children's book series, I just wrapped up for Capstone Press. Each of these stories are centered around a quirky origami character, and offer a fun take on the science of our everyday world. The samples here are from the first book, in which a 'dirt diggin' pup and his earthworm friend, explore the ecosystem of a traditional Japanese garden. More info and samples to come!

While working on the project, I came to rely on some great origami resources online. Check out the following links.

http://en.origami-club.com//animal/index.html

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-dog.html