smokey draws!

BIG UPDATES SOON

2011-07-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, I've been having some computer problems, and some computer-literacy problems, but once I get these bugs worked out, expect updates galore. Including stuff about my involvement in the Cheaper Show! that's me and my paintings at 0.58, and at 0.22 in photo form by photographer friend Robert Fougere!

High Level Bridge

2010-12-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

This here is a promo image I was pleased to draw for the film "The High Level Bridge" by Trevor Anderson and Fish Griwkowsky, featured at the AFI Fest and Sundance. Congrats, pals!

Display Magazine

2010-11-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

my cribbage boards were featured in Display Magazine after this past Royal Bison Fair.
see here.

New York Times

2010-10-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

things have been all sorts of a strange kind of busy over here, largely due to a persistent foot injury that's keeping me from head-clearing fall walks. but, happily, i just completed a job for the New York Times. the article covers an unfortunate diminishing of childrens' picturebooks. apparently the modern parent is so consumed by the future success of their children that they're forcing their four year olds to read books with little to no pictures in them, clinging to some archaic belief that images are not as intelligent or important to a child's development as the written word. this, in turn, is seeing publishers refuse new picturebooks and shelve many old ones.

NEW Woodland Follies Set!

2010-04-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

here's a new set of Woodland Follies magnets i'll have at the Royal Bison this weekend.

OSR CPR

2010-04-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

this guy's for an article about reviving that blamed oil industry.

walled in

2010-03-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

another OSR illustration, this time for an article about bringing ideas from immaterial concepts into reality and the obstacles between. only less philosophical and more about oil production.

more OSR

2010-03-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

here's two spots for OSR's 'Year In Review' and 'Looking Ahead' portions of their annual directory.

olympigus comic 15 LAST COMIC!

2010-02-23T00:31:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 14

2010-02-23T00:29:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 13

2010-02-23T00:27:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 12

2010-02-23T00:26:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 11

2010-02-19T10:39:00.001-08:00

olympigus comic 10

2010-02-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 9

2010-02-17T00:39:00.000-08:00

i'm finding that consistency of style has become, if not an issue, worthy of consideration. i enjoy the experimentation this comic challenge allows, but i wonder if i'd easily settle into a consistent style were i to, say, pursue a career in syndicated comics.

olympigus comic 8

2010-02-17T00:38:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 7

2010-02-17T00:36:00.000-08:00

this was my contribution on valentines day.

olympigus comic 6

2010-02-17T00:33:00.000-08:00

this challenge is really bringing out the best in me.

olympigus comic 5

2010-02-17T00:32:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 4

2010-02-17T00:31:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 3

2010-02-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

olympigus comic 2

2010-02-17T00:28:00.000-08:00

Olympigus comic 1

2010-02-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

so, i've been part of a 15 day comic Olympigus on some friends' blog Chamber of Comics. this was my first contribution, i'll post more soon.

Christian Bök

2010-01-07T15:56:00.000-08:00

here's the first page of a 6 page comic i was commissioned to do by Unlimited magazine about Canadian avantpoet/genius Christian Bök. this piece not only won me the friendship of its own subject, but the Western Canadian Magazine Award for its category and now has been reprinted in part in the Norwegian Literary Review. it can be viewed in it's entirety here.

early works

2010-01-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

these are a couple drawings i did for one of my first solo exhibitions in edmonton. this was curated by my soon to be good friend Norman Omar, at a smoky university hangout. the bottom one is a portrait of infamous sasquatch hunter Rene Dahinden and was the start of another friendship with the current owner of the piece, fellow illustrator Raymond Biesinger.

VUE covers

2010-01-07T15:29:00.001-08:00

apparently vue weekly is/was taking votes for past covers. upon perusing said covers, i was a little pleased/embarrassed to see how i'd progressed as an artist. these were among the first graphic jobs i'd done. that said, here are two images i did for them that i quite liked. the frogeyes one was, i believe, the first cover i did, and it's maybe surprising that it's closer to the drawing style i've settled into than most jobs in between (though i was still using those blamed technical pens). the bukowski one was one of the first jobs i did where i was comfortable to be messy, an important development.

foiled

2010-01-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

a couple years ago my friend sean borchert started putting on shows in his basement, dubbed the 'Birch Heart Basement'. these shows were a great way for great artists with little to no initiative to show off works while drinking their terror into oblivion while great bands distracted everybody in attendance.
these are some pieces i contributed to his portrait show. they're busts of friends of mine that smoke one substance or another, collaged out of cigarette foil. i believe the show was entitled 'Good Intentions, Poor Traits.'

MTV Cribs

2009-11-18T12:24:00.000-08:00

above is a sample detail for a cribbage board i designed and will be selling (along with those woodland follies magnets and some other things) at the royal bison this month. for more deets look here.

future buckets

2009-10-26T21:20:00.001-07:00

new OSR spots.

Shark Attack!

2009-10-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

I drew this for Vue Weekly last fall, I believe. It came together really quickly, as it should. By really quickly, I mean, while my lady got up to press 'Play' on the VCR.

Big Chief

2009-10-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

This here's an image I did for a sponsored t-shirt that fell through, thanks to shitty production and exhaustion of budget.
Also, currently my avatar.
Also, likely the image for my upcoming postcard.

Labourers

2009-09-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished this one for OSR.

Woodland Follies

2009-09-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some magnets I designed a while back. They're printed on 8 1/2" X 11" industrial magnet sheets and can be cut up to make amusing scenes on your fridge or lunchbox, or can be enjoyed as a fantastical piece of packaged Canadiana. I really hate that word.

Pub Grub

2009-09-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Some promo posters for the Prohibition Pub. All the typefaces used here are culled and collaged from scanned sources, except for those I did by hand.

Try, Try Again

2009-09-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

So, in order to get more efficient in the face of daunting web updates and to get more personal-like, I'm starting up this blog. I believe the act of uploading and showing off should be much easier this way and let's face it, I'm an illustrator, not a web designer.

I hope this serves as an excusable and enjoyable romp. Perhaps it'll turn into a something of an exercise in exhibitionism, too. At the very least, it's turning out to be an exhausting an embarrassing eye-way into alliterative elephantiasis.

OSR

2009-09-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

These are some jobs I've done for an insider rag called Oilsands Review.