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Newseek cover?
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 10:37 am on April 14th |
oil 14"x18" |
"The Greening of the White House" - You should avoid representations of McCain, Hillary and Obama -- this is more about the office of the presidency and not a campaign story. We'd like to see something atmospheric representing the presidency -- perhaps the White House covered in leaves, vines, trees with birds and butterflies around or maybe the podium with Presidential seal with same treatment. But we're definitely open to different concepts if you have them...
This was the art direction from Newsweek. I had 2 days to finish. It was for an inside full page illustration and the AD said it could possibly be the cover. THE COVER OF NEWSWEEK! I was so excited about the chance to be on the cover of Newsweek. It's been one of those dream editorial jobs that are top on my list. I got to work. Sent in these 3 sketches. The oil painting was scanned, sent and approved. I waited anxiously over the weekend to see if it made the cover. I even told a few friends and family members that I might have made the cover.
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Well, I jinxed myself. I went over to the newsstand and found out that I didn't make the cover or the inside. A few other illustrations and photographs accompanied the article. It was very disheartening. However, I feel like I'm a bit closer to a goal that seemed so unattainable a while ago.
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Thistle
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 10:11 pm on March 12th |
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"Thistle" oil on paper 10.75" x 12" |
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Finally, that AD, SooJin, hired me for a job. Funny, she has the same rare last name as me.
The story was about "ETFs", short for exchange-traded funds. Thank goodness, SooJin, deciphered the story into one word, "hybrid". She knows me too well. I love mixing creatures and creating new beasts. One of the perks of being married to the AD is that I get first dibs on the articles and then sometimes I get those last minute desperate ones. It's been a while since I worked for PLANSPONSOR, I've been busy on a few ad jobs, and I really wanted to impress her. I love it when she comes home from work, walks into the studio, peeks at the piece, and squeels with glee.
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Love and Sex
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 7:42 am on February 14th |
I've been waiting a long time to post this one. The Santa Fe Reporter asked if I could illustrate the cover to their special Valentines Day Issue 07. How often do you get a job to illustrate Love and Sex? I wish I had more.
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The AD was really great to work with. I tried to push for the the 2 pugs humping but the editor wouldn't go for it. Darn! I'll save it for a rainy day and I'll add some slobber. Since this job, I've been asked to do a few Pug portraits. Happy Valentines Day to all!
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Babe
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 9:00 pm on January 21st |
An AD called with a really refreshing job, nothing too conceptual. Illustrate the tale of Paul Bunyan and his big blue ox. It was for Southwest Gas Corporation annual report. The AD chose 3 illustrators to illustrate 3 famous campfire tales. The cover was illustrated beautifully by Marc Burckhardt.
I've spent many summers fishing in the northern lakes of Minnesota and frequently passed through the home of Paul Bunyan—Bemidji, MN. The town has a huge statue of the giant lumberjack and his neon blue ox. For me, its always a bonus that I can personally relate to the job in some way. Sometimes really bending the concept to make it work for myself. I would fish everyday if it weren't for the fact that I live in NYC. I love fishing, even if the fish aren't biting. Something about being on a little motor boat in the middle of a misty lake, loons wailing in the distance, watching my bobber slowly sink equals heaven.
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My cousin David and my favorite fishing hole. That boat was ready to sink at any moment. |
The AD also wanted type and a border on the illustration. Uh-oh! I'm horrible with type and picking out a font. I have very little computer design skills. I feel so much more at ease when I just paint the type without too much planning. So that's what I did.
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sketch 1 |
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Sketch 2 Close-up of Babe's face with geese flying over eye |
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Sketch 3 |
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Final drawing on Arches |
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Babe close-up |
One more little story. When I first graduated from RISD, I had to pay the rent, so I went begging to Society of Illustrators for a job. I think it was Terry Brown, who gave me the very prestigious job of re-varnishing the baseboards and floors on the 2nd floor for the summer. I've entered into the show every year since I graduated. I made it into the book a few times. I was even asked to judge last year. During the judging I discovered just how hard it is to win one of those medals. Then this year, I found out I won the Gold in the Institutional category for this illustration. I couldn't believe it. WooHoo! I just went back into my saved e-mails to double check that I actually won.
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Angels and Tears
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 6:52 pm on December 11th |
CBS records called and wanted a cd cover illustration for their new artist, PJ Olsson. They said that he wanted an image of angels flying over New York City. While I worked on the project, I listened to the new album that they sent over. I also got a chance to speak to PJ over the phone about the details of the imagery. PJ expressed that he really wanted my visual interpretation of some of the lyrics in his music. It was great speaking with PJ, a really nice down to earth guy. The one request that he wanted was "a lot of angels flying over the Twin Towers." I cringed a little at this request. It was like revisiting a deceased friend. The Twin Towers were my view outside my east village studio windows. I said I would try to fit it in. Anyhow, this was supposed to be a holiday-ish post. Happy Holidays everybody. Here is how the job went.
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Sketch 1 Angel surfing on taxi |
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Sketch 2 Angels battling over NYC |
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Sketch 3 Angel Giant over the glow of Empire State buildling. |
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Cover |
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Cover of CD |
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Wraparound CD sleeve |
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Halloween God
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 6:43 pm on October 30th |
12 Things You Need To Make Peace With |
About every other month I illustrate a section in Men's Health Magazine. The varied subject matter is a great break from the usual serious subjects. The AD is also very flexible with my choice of imagery.
This one was for "12 Things You Need to Make Peace With."
The items ranged from; Your mortality. Your rock-star fantasy. Not enough hours in the day. The neighbors’ holiday party.
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Salary Beast |
"Double Your Salary"
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Workaholic Cities |
"Does Your City Need a Vacation"
This was a list of the top workaholic cities. They analyzed the employment rates in each city as well as how much overtime its inhabitants work and the amount of vacation days they use.
Manchester, NH, San Francisco, CA, and Denver, CO have the most workaholics.
Milwaukee, WI, El Paso, TX, and Rochester, NY know how to chill.
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Centenarians |
"Where You'll Live to 100"
This list was the top cities with the most centenarians, i.e., guys who are 100 proof.
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Prostate Cancer |
"Prostate Cancer"
This one was a tough one. At first, I just imagined scientific drawings of the prostate.
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24 Things a Man Should Never Do |
Your To-Don't List
24 Things a Man Should Never Do
Here are a few
1.Check your BlackBerry in bed. To a woman, that's like having a threesome with your boss.
2. Ask for a kiss. Her eyes will say yes or no, and nothing kills the mood like asking for a translation.
17. Hang anything -- your cellphone, your keys -- on your belt. You'll never get laid again. True story.
18. Pluck your brows. It's okay to groom. It's okay to like a woman who grooms. It's not okay to groom like a woman.
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Beijing
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 12:49 pm on October 4th |
Close-up of Koi/Dragon Gate |
I was hired to paint four poster images for United Airlines' new service to Beijing. The illustrations were based on ancient Chinese fables and they are to coincide with the upcoming Olympics. So far, I have seen the images in the United Airline Magazine and on their promotional emails. Friends have seen an animated version on their in-flight movie screens and on huge posters in various airports. It's great when friends/family recognize your work without the credit name. I am always scared that my work is not immediately recognizable.
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Koi/Dragon Gate |
The dragon was big hit with the ad agency and the client in China. So the rest of the paintings also included a dragon. However, they did not want the dragons to be similar.
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Great Wall Dragon |
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Close-up of the Great Wall Dragon |
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Foo Race |
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Dragons Lighting Olympic Torch |
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TIME for Fall!
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 8:48 am on August 27th |
TIME called and wanted a cover illustration for the Fall Preview Arts page. Fall Arts included upcoming movies, television shows, theatre, books and music. The AD did not want to include any of the specifics for each section. However, she mentioned, "unveiling and a glimpse" other then that it was open to my own interpretation. I tried to keep the ideas simple, however, I threw one in there that included all of the Art sections. Here are a few of the sketches and the final. The squirrel getting a glimpse inside the glowing acorn was my favorite.
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Catching the first falling leaf of Fall. |
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Squirrel cracking open a glowing acorn and getting a glimpse of .... |
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Unveiling |
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Music detail |
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Movie detail |
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Detail |
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The finished design |
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TIME cover
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 4:38 pm on July 2nd |
It has been a dream of mine to make it on the cover of time. I finally made it! Well, hopefully it's a start.
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I was hired by TIME to illustrate the Art section opener. The only direction that I was given was that the editor wanted Harry Potter on a broom with money coming out of it. I thought I could sneak in a couple of different ideas. But, in the end, the editor won. Here are a few of the money sketches.
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Also the AD wanted the painting of the full body Harry Potter but wanted the option of cropping the image if the editor went for it.
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SummerBirds
Posted by Chris Buzelli at 12:01 pm on June 20th |
I am a huge fan of music CD cover art. I used to buy CDs solely based on the cover art. Most of the time the art was better then the music. The web and itunes have ruined the fun for me.
Earlier, this year, I posted some of my favorite bands on illustrationmundo. To my surprise, I recently got a phone call from one of them. SummerBirds In The Cellar asked if I would like to illustrate their new album. They are a great new young band. http://www.myspace.com/summerbirds
I met them at one of their concerts in NYC to discuss details. They were doing the struggling band thing and living in their van and sleeping on various couches. The job was for free. However, I was happy to do the job for a band that I love, especially while I paint. The title of the new album is "Druids" and one of the the songs is titled "Ghost Collector." This gave me the visual spark for the image.
They also wanted me to do the cover type. I did a few different versions. They actually came back and told me that they liked the cover image too much to cover it with type and decided to put the title on the back. I can't wait to see the printed CDs and t-shirts.
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