Larry Ross

Mailer, from the day...

2007-11-12T03:08:54+00:00

Some recent business illustrations

2007-09-23T07:04:03+00:00

I splashed into the Drawger Community Pool a year ago today!

2007-08-28T14:45:38+00:00

Sailing anyone?�

2007-08-08T01:31:52+00:00

I don’t know the first thing about sailing but when the publisher of a sailing magazine emailed me asking if I’d become one of their regular cartoonists I jumped on the opportunity to try it out. Most of my career has been as an illustrator and/or humorous illustrator. Most of the cartoons I’ve had published were in the purely conceptual visual-only vein. I had hardly ever done a gag cartoon and that’s what they wanted so I took the challenge. They’ve given me free reign and I’ve been enjoying myself doing them every month for 3 years. I’d have thought I would have run out of sailing ideas long ago. Here are some of them. (see more in my sailing gallery on the right.)

A few weeks ago we flew out to Colorado for my son, Ben's graduation..

2007-06-12T18:14:16+00:00

I had my sketchbook with me on the trip and a couple of different size felt tip pens. This was in the Newark Airport waiting for our flight to begin.

I had a window seat and as we flew over the Midwest there were all these puffy little clouds floating over the landscape. I always love seeing the geometric patterns on the land defining the various farms, etc. As we flew farther west more and more of these irrigation circles that look like “crop circles” get mixed in with the rectangular divisions.

This one's for JD....

2007-06-04T16:21:15+00:00

...the city boy who loves his farm life, all his animals and his roosters who "make a racket all day long"...

Ideas about learning to read....

2007-05-23T01:12:52+00:00

Here are some simple, direct pencil line sketches that the client used as finished illustrations. We were working under a tight deadline for a grade school teacher’s guide book and I was glad she agreed that this would be an efficient approach. I think it’s a gratifying way to get very close to showing the raw unembellished concepts.

PLAY BALL!

2007-04-01T22:05:31+00:00

Spring training is overe and the official Major League Season begain today! Here are some color and B&W sketches that I've been doing between jobs over the last few weeks.

A couple of recent business illustrations

2007-03-02T19:50:36+00:00

These ran relatively small on the page and therefore required simple and direct concepts. I like the challenge of condensing everthing down to the essential elements and summing up the intent of the article in a humorous direct manner.
These are also the first two illustrations that I've had published that I did all the color in Photoshop. I might transition over to doing more stuff that way and I figure, I'll start out with smaller jobs.

Here are some thumbnails and sketches.

Articles that feature lists of "ten ways to", or "12 reasons for", can be deadly but, at the same time, I enjoy turning numbers and/or letters into characters and giving them personalities, if the art director is open to that kind of solution. This one was 12 reasons why it pays to hire older ,"Golden Aged" ,employees.

Pitchers and catchers report this week.

2007-02-13T15:50:35+00:00

Bundled up for my daily walk...

2007-02-07T18:28:40+00:00

I'm pretty good about going for a daily walk but the last few days has been a challenge. I've found it necessary to bundle up with all kinds of extra layers. My biggest bulkiest coat, sweat pants over my jeans, my fattest gloves, a hat pulled down to my eyes and one of those stretch scarves that are like turtle necks that I pull all the way up under my eyes. I'm basically a thin person but anybody passing me on the street would never know it.

A photographic taste of Florence, Rome and Tuscany from my recent trip.

2007-02-02T02:30:15+00:00

Here are some pictures of my trip to Rome, Italy and Florence. I've tried adding a link here to my gallery but if it isn't here "scusi" my tech ineptitude and go to my "Italy" gallery here on Drawger to see the rest of the pictures.

We're finally getting some skating weather...

2007-01-24T02:03:43+00:00

...here in the Northeast! I don't know about any of you Drawgers but I used to love putting on the old skates and spending time with my friends out on the local frozen pond when I was growing up in Pennsylvania, and later in Central Park when I lived in New York. I haven't done it for years but the cold spell we're finally getting has me thinking along those lines. This is a promotional illustration I did years ago that Newsweek picked up and put on train station posters all over the country as part of their old "Quote Newsweek" campaign.

Sketchbook images and doodles from my trip to Italy...

2007-01-04T23:27:15+00:00

It was our third trip to Tuscany and it was as beautiful and exhilarating
as ever. One day we drove out from florence to the medieval town of
San Gimigno...

While we were in Rome and Florence we saw tons of great Renaissance paintings and sculptures of saints and sinners. Some fully draped and some not so fully draped.

There were lots of motor scooters zipping around all over the place!

Plazas and fountains abounded.

The art and food all had a heavenly quality to it.

And in the midst of it all, I more or less learned some Italian.

Ho-Ho-Ho-Hiiiiiiiioooooo!!!!!!!

2006-12-24T21:10:36+00:00

This one's just for fun. It's a fold-open card I did for Marcel Schurman
a while back that I put on a loop.

Peace

2006-12-23T15:44:07+00:00

This is a picture we took in St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome on our recent trip to Italy. We'd like to wish all you Drawgers a happy holiday and a peaceful new year.

Back to beautiful Italy.

2006-11-29T15:34:16+00:00

We got married in the spring of 1970 and that summer we took a 5 week honeymoon trip to Europe. It was a lot cheaper then. We traveled through 7 countries with our Eurail Passes which were a total of $200 for both of us. We had a great time taking in all the beauty and culture over there. Here's a ketch I did of my wife while were were riding a train in Italy. I was sketching away as the train was rattling along and the hot summer air was blowing in the window. There wasn't any air conditioning on the trains in Europe in those days. Notice the Renaissance print that's framed and attached to the wall above the seat. You would never see anything like that in America. This Thursday we're going back to Italy for two weeks! So I won't be around Drawger for awhile. Hopefully, I'll get time to do some sketching or at least to take some pictures to share with you when we get back.

Off to new England...

2006-11-20T14:53:21+00:00

We're off to New England for the week (by car and with coats on). This is another sailing cartoon I did for the sailing magazine. Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! See you next week!

Smooth sailing ahead....

2006-11-18T02:30:36+00:00

Here's a little something I just did for a regular client. It's a business magazine and the headline for the article is Smooth Sailing Ahead. The subtitle is, "How to encourage positive thinking to improve productivity." I thought it might be a good drawger thought for the day.

What's a Harlin Quist?

2006-11-16T04:00:41+00:00

Thanks again, Randy, for mentioning the great, long forgotten Harlin Quist Publishing house. And for inspiring me to post this story that I’ve been thinking about putting up for a while. Harlin was a unique, rebellious, quintessentially 1960’s individual who published the kind of books that were ground-breaking. He introduced European illustrators like Etienne Dellesert to an American audience and his books appealed to adults as well as children. They were sophisticated at a time when most children’s books were in the Dick and Jane mode. It wasn’t until I had seen some of them that I ever even considered illustrating children’s books. I didn’t know it until later but this distinguished publisher ran his business on a shoestring. He had taste and principles that were more important to him than making money. He would spend extra money to get quality printing when it might mean he wouldn’t make a profit.
I hopped on my motorcycle sometime in late 1968, strapped on my portfolio and took it over to the Quist apartment/office in lower Manhattan where I showed it to Harlin’s assistant. He liked it and said he would recommend me to Harlin. A few month’s later Harlin called me back, looked at my stuff and handed me my first children’s book to illustrate. It turned out well and Harlin wanted to do another book based on some drawings of mine that he had seen earlier. I went over to the “office”, I spread out some of the drawings on a coffee table that was between two opposing couches. As we were looking at them and discussing some possibilities, something happened that pre-stages the story Randy told here earlier. The doorbell rang. Harlin glanced at me, put his finger to his mouth in a “quiet” gesture and got up and quietly walked over to the window, pulled back the drape and very carefully peeked out the window down at the doorway. The doorbell rang several times again and this famous publisher just stood there. Finally, it stopped ringing and he straightened himself up and came back to the couch opposite me, sat back down and calmly said, “Bill collector.” At that point I was glad that I had been paid for my first book. I went on to illustrate over 30 children’s books after that but that one is still my favorite. There’s a warm place in my heart for that book and for the very special publisher with the unique name of Harlin Quist who had a vision and hid from bill collectors.
Harlin moved his headquarters to Europe several months after that. Probably right around the time Randy dropped off his portfolio. He continued to do great books from there. Those were the days.

Fall in New Jersey.

2006-11-03T01:50:15+00:00

I loved living in the city and always had mixed feelings about moving to the much maligned Garden State. But I've been here long enough now to really appreciate it. One of my favorite things is the large Japanese Maple tree that sits smack dab in the middle of our back yard. I wanted to share it with you when it's in all it's brilliant fall glory.
I shot this in the late afternoon yesterday looking down from the back window of my third floor studio.

Great show in Chelsea....

2006-10-29T20:28:56+00:00

I spent some time in Chelsea last week and saw some exciting art. My favorite was by the artist, Elisabeth Murray, at Pace Wildenstein. Most of you probably know her work. She's been doing her distinctive cartoon inspired bold graphic paintings for years. Most of those presented in this show were done over the last few years while she has been bravely fighting cancer. Many of the canvases are large, from 6 to 10 feet. The show ends on November 11. Catch it if you can!

Spook creepy nightmares...

2006-10-28T18:39:05+00:00

As the days grow shorter and the dark shadows grow longer, the dense foreboding night can lead to...Halloween nightmares...

String theory...

2006-10-01T15:12:26+00:00

I did this drawing of a "string man" after reading an article about the theory of how everything in the universe on a sub-atomic level is composed of vibrating strands of energy (called strings)....

Spaekeasy....

2006-09-27T13:46:25+00:00

It is wild over there, Bob! This is a self portrait I did after spending perhaps a bit too much time over there...

A chance meeting...

2006-09-24T22:21:35+00:00

A motorcycle guy.

2006-09-20T00:39:10+00:00

A dog with a Suisse passport....

2006-09-14T20:18:56+00:00

Damaged Sam...

2006-09-12T15:49:28+00:00

Happy to join drawgers!

2006-08-30T01:29:24+00:00