http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/ Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:07:19 EST FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://drawger.com/_images/drawger_leo_logo.gif http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/index.php?section=articles&article_id=13078

I was hanging off the back of what would be an 84 mile death march bike ride with my new master's cycling team when I thought I'd snap a photo to post on Facebook. Before I could get the camera up on the phone, an email from the New York Observer's art director, Laura Draper asserted itself , asking if I could do a cover. "Sounds like fun" I shot back, snapped the photo, and proceeded to hold on for dear life. This is how business is done in the 2010's.   The story is pretty universal these days: How can examples of old media hang on to relevance in today's blossoming, expanding media and cultural landscape. It's a topic that's often discussed in my house and after hundreds of hours of debate, I still have no clue. Anyway, the idea here is to have NBC's Brian Williams trying his best to fit in with New York's hipster crowd.   A side note. Does anyone really like Pabst Blue Ribbon? I mean come on, all irony aside, that stuff brings the taste of high school excess back to me in a room spinning wave of nerves that make me think I need to start cleaning up before my father gets home.



]]> Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:07:19 EST http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/index.php?section=articles&article_id=13018

Here's a relatively quick turn around piece I did on the eve of the New Hampshire primary. Lauren Draper from the New York Observer called asking for a spoof of National Lampoon's Vacation, with the candidates in the beat up station wagon. The GOP elephant on the roof is a nod to the story of how Mitt Romney would put the family dog in it's travel case and strap it to the top of the car when the family would head north to their New Hampshire lake house.   This has been a surprisingly fun, entertaining primary season. I hope Mitt doesn't wrap it up too quickly.  Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment of " Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican" has devolved into a Tarantinoesque Mexican standoff, with capiotalism, shockingly, being one of the weapons aimed against Romey. What a soap opera.



]]> Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:56:57 EST http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/index.php?section=articles&article_id=13009

I was happy to hear that Andrew Nilsen and I have snagged a bronze medal from the L.A. Society of Illustrators Illustration West for a cover I did for SF Weekly last spring. Thanks to SI LA and especially to Andrew.

]]> Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:40:57 EST http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12945

When Texas Monthly art director TJ Tucker called last month to ask if I was available to illustrate the cover for their annual “Bumsteers” issue, I felt as though I had received an early Christmas gift. I’m a bit of an obsessive magazine fiend, and Texas Monthly has long been on my radar as one of the great regional magazines in the country from a design perspective. With a slew of all star art directors through recent years including D.J. Stout, Scott Dadich, and now T.J. Tucker, it was both intimidating and really exciting to get the gig.  The Bumsteers edition is basically the Texas Monthly version of the Darwin awards – the “winners” being those who rode the horse over the cliff so to speak. T.J. presented an idea that I loved – basically hammering home Rick Perry’s signature moment in his campaign thus far, the “oops” debate.   The subject matter, venue and T.J.’s relaxed direction made this one of my favorite assignments of 2011. I was determined not to make this an “oops” moment.









This was a nice way to end 2011. Maybe not for Rick Perry though. Maybe he'll be too busy campaigning and prepping for debates to notice this boot in the rear.

]]> Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:18:32 EST http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12928

Tim Luddy from Mother Jones called last month in the nick of time. I was just finishing up a series of small, complicated illustrations that were taking on a guest who won’t leave position in the small pile of deadlines that were accumulating. Tim said that they were doing a story on Wall Street, the Occupy movement, and the idea of “Dark Money”. That phrase alone could launch an entire illustration show, and it gave me an idea for a short story that I’ve begun writing. My preference is always a simple strong image rather than a scattershot Cecile B. DeMille production, so this solution was a relief.



Here are some ideas that were tossed around. The concept of course is the monied power class selling out America and Americans.











]]> Tue, 13 Dec 2011 14:56:24 EST http://www.drawger.com/dalestephanos/index.php?section=articles&article_id=12837

Here's a fun, quick turn around job I did this week for Lauren Draper at The New York Observer. The story is about Cain's varied fund raising streams in New York. So what does a bone dry topic like that need? That's right, pizza. I've found that pizza can make almost anything interesting. Someone wants an illustration on mortgage backed derivatives? Throw a classic Pepe's pizza in there. Oh, you want a picture that explains stem cell research ethics? How about a nice Regina's pizza? I hope to god I don't get a call for a Penn State illustration, because it will ruin God's Greatest Food for me forever.   Working for the Observer is always fun because it allows the 12 year old me (my natural state) to just do his thing, but with fancier, techier crayons. Guess what's for lunch?



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