posted: March 12, 2010

Three of Drawger's finest held a standing-room-only audience in rapt attention as they presented their work, their wisdom and a smidgen of joviality last evening as a part of NYIT's Design Watch Series. Along with illustrator/educator/fine artist Lynn Foster, our own beloved Zina Saunders, Nancy Stahl and Chris Spollen guided delighted attendees through their individual journeys in the exhilarating, though frequently frustrating transition from old to new media.
 
Among the themes of the evening, in addtion to empowerment and struggle, was a discussion regarding the blurring of the line between "fine" and "applied" art and the emphatic agreement among the panel that drawing is more essential today than ever in light of the awesome capabilities of digital tools.
 
Judging from the enthusiastic titter at the reception following, sponsored jointly by NYIT and the New York chapter of Siggraph, many departed from the event sans stockings.

For one and all

posted: March 9, 2010

It feels good to be among those who always give freely of their time and energies when help is needed. I can't wait to see the 100 heads for Haiti poster assembled from a roster of people both talented and generous. This is my contribution.

For one and all

posted: February 23, 2010

Talk around town is, the "adjustments" to our business fed by changes in technology and multiplied by the contraction in the economy, might not be just a temporary "blip" in our otherwise satisfying and rewarding careers. Students and professionals are asking where illustration is headed. Educators who teach illustration are questioning the validity of rubrics based upon outmoded business models and, lately, I hear from some savvy art directors and designers that they too are beginning to see the "writing on the screen."
 
In times like these, I think it is very useful to look at the big picture, realize that change is incumbent upon all of us and vigorously pursue a bountiful future, using the creative thinking which we have always applied to our assignements.
 
While the venues for applied art are changing, I believe the need will never diminish as long as vision and imagery is used as a means of communication. Nearly everything that exists can be imbued with meaning and value by the eloquent application of imagery. In fact, no small number of things are valued based upon the cogency of their formal appearance alone.
 
So, look around you and see the ubiquity of things in ever-increasing quantities which can beneift from your skills, once reserved for the rapidly declining printed page. But, don't just sit around, hoping for an invitation. "All things come to him who waits" is propaganda to mollify the competition from folks who are out there hustling right now.
 
Herewith, some recent examples of my efforts to remain viable:

For one and all

posted: February 10, 2010

I, as much as anyone, love to put on my thinking cap and solve an arcane, ethereal problem that can barely be described in words, however, often as not, my assigment is to take a piece of everyday business and do something to make it interesting.
 
I am ever-grateful that we manage to obsess over milestones, anniversaries and accumulations of things that must be represented with numbers and are not that well served by photographs of tender starlets, juicy hunks or tricked out automobiles. Then comes my opportunity to make the image itself a thing of interest and beauty rather than merely a depiction of some beautiful thing.
 
It has been my good forthune to do several annual covers for Pensions & Investments "the International Newspaper of Money Management" and I treat each one as something cherished and precious, use as many cues as possible to stimulate interest including visual, tactile and, perhaps most important of all, stored memory to create an inviting, sensual experience, not just another piece of business.

For one and all

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