My promo poster design for a Turning Leaf productions show called Almost Famous

For this poster, the only photo of the singer that was available was about 120 x 160 pixels, which if it had been printed at high-resolution might’ve covered a quarter of a postage stamp. TLP and I had run into this problem with this singer before, though it was never with her as the headliner, so there were other photos to focus on. Not this time.

So I replaced the photo with an illustration I based on it, and made the poster shine with elegant typography. I’d been trying to sell TLP on a less-is-more approach for a while but hadn’t been given the chance to pursue it till now, and they liked it so much they had the entire summer series named after this show, and had me do their brochure for the season in the same style.

My promo poster design for Franc D'Ambrosio's Brodway, presented by Turning Leaf Productions

This was the first of three shows in TLP’s Harborview Performing Arts series. It was an upscale series taking place at the Charlotte Harbor Event & Conference Center, which was not TLP’s usual venue, so they aimed high. They started off with Franc D’Ambrosio, who was the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Starting with the second show the series turned to the Dinner-And-A-Show format.

My promo poster design for TLP's Outlaw Country Jamboree.

Second in the Harborview Performing Arts Series

I am usually contracted to design posters, logos and direct-mail brochures and postcards for these shows. Valerie also contracts me to do her personal promo materials for trade shows and magazine advertisements when working away from TLP’s home turf.

This is all freelance work, with short deadlines and little or no provided art: the performers often don’t have any high-quality promo photos of their own, so I must improvise, and quickly.

My promo poster design for TLP's Valentine's in Vegas show.

Third in the Harborview Performing Arts series.

My logo design for TLP's Harborview Performing Arts Series.

A doofy shark meets a new friend - a clever little fish with a big toothy disguise.

This is the original illustration I created for this website’s landing page, though obviously I modified the depth of field. One day I just felt like drawing a shark, so I did. Then the idea just kind of built on itself and turned into this.

This was my first post-college illustration, for an opinion story about oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

This was one of the first things I did for the Pantagraph, and it was kind of a wake-up call. I went through the entire process I had developed at college for the creation of digital illustrations and got told I was taking way too long by the editor. I was dumbstruck, because I didn’t break deadline and I got it done in a fraction of the time I usually had at college. None of that mattered; they were unnerved by the idea that I’d spend that much time on one art package, though that was what they hired me for. I still think it’s the strongest thing I did there, and it won an award, but going forward they didn’t want full quality, they just wanted it done.

That’s the reality staff artists face at most newspapers. More often those positions don’t exist anymore; everything is stock art. They brought me in because it was hard to find that for many opinion page subjects.  Nevertheless, faster with less development was the rule.

This was one of my first uses of Adobe Illustrator in college. I still like it, so I still keep it in my portfolio.

This one was named by a friend who sat next to me in class while I was building this in Adobe Illustrator. Yes, this is student work, the only one I still cling to in my portfolio, because I honestly still like it enough to do so.

It was my second use of Adobe Illustrator ever, though I’d been toying with the pen tool in Photoshop for years. During an internship at The Boston Herald, one of the page designers learned that I knew how to use it and I spent weeks doing all her image-clipping work for her, which at the time I honestly didn’t mind, and it gave me lots of vector practice.

Some of my fellow illustrators shake their heads at me in concern for my mental health when I say the pen tool is an easy thing to use. I stare right back in disbelief. These are the same people who know the right way to mix oils, solvents, pigments and varnishes with bits of hair attached to sticks and produce a work of art from it. Vectors are much simpler.