Short & Sweet

I don't know what I like most about collecting vintage postcards to use in my work. Is it the imagery, or is it the writing on the back? I am fascinated with the opportunity to peek into the lives and thoughts of people who lived so long ago. Here's a card depicting one of my town's landmarks, Minnehaha Falls. It's dated 1942, and a woman wrote the following on the back:

"Dear Mother,

It is Wednesday and I am very surprised. Everything is fine here.

Love,
Your daughter"


That's it! Oh, wait. There's more under her signature.


"If I have received any mail open and send it to me. Hope you are well mother dear. If you don't answer Welcome home."

Short and sweet. And mysterious....

Bird Girl

My next collage will feature this little lass. What struck me when I saw this photo in a a thrift store bin (without the bird and background) was the necklace. Some proud mama dressed her baby up in her finest clothes and jewelry so that that moment, nearly 100 years ago, would be captured and treasured in memory forever. And so it will be!

Stanford Social Innovation Review

Here's the final illustration, composed of the elements shown previously in progress. The lobbyists were toned down in monochromatic brush strokes to give them a more non-real appearance. And just for fun, check out the pink Caddy below. This is a reference to Mary Kay, who used to give away pink Cadillac convertibles to her hard-working employees as sales incentives. I'll go for that!

Lady Lobbyist

Here's the last transformed figure in the illustration I am working on.


She started out looking like this. I liked this blue suit. I liked this amiable-looking businesswoman, too, don't get me wrong, but I need an original figure.


Then I substituted this woman's hair...


And lastly, new eyes. And I have been staring at my computer monitor for so long, I too, could use some new eyes.

One More

Here's another figure in my ongoing illustration project. That side burn mark is a goofup, and doesn't appear in the final version. He didn't start out looking like this. Here's the progression:


First I found this photo. But he's dressed too casual, and needs new features.


Here's a suit that looks like it would fit him. (after I decapitated the original owner/wearer)



I borrowed this man's lips, eyebrows and moustache to create a totally original figure.....

After a bit of tweaking, I have a new figure for the soon to-be-done collage.

Brown Coat man

Here's a composite figure for the illustration that I am currently working on. I thought it would be fun to show the other faces that I used to create him.


Here's the original photo I started with, a model in a fashion magazine. But I don't want a model, I want a real person. No wait, I don't want a real person, because this is an illustration, and a surreal one at that! So with the magic of Photoshop, I added the following body parts of other men. Each photo had to be in the same position as the first, which was the tricky part.


I used this man's hair....


and this man's lips....


and nice eyes!

New Figure

Here is another element in the photo montage illustration that I am working on at the moment. This is the original photo.


Here is the same man, magically changed by adding features from another man. I was going to add that photo, too, but my work space is so cluttered now, I can't find it!

I'll be adding 3 more figures, so stay tuned!

The Chosen Sketch

This is the sketch chosen for the illustration to be done in collage style. The art director ruled out the vintage figures in front, and my instructions are to replace them with more modern figures. I totally agree, it is the reason I wasn't totally happy with this sketch - it looked like a bread line in the Depression instead of lobbyists! The art director laughed when I said that, and remarked that perhaps, in today's economy, this was the more appropriate choice....The pink Caddys flying around the Capitol refer to the article's mention of the Mary Kay company habit of rewarding the hardworking staff with pink Cadillacs as work incentives in the 1960's.


Here is the first photo that I'm working with, unchanged.


Here he is after some Photoshopping.

Butterfly Man

This is one of several sketches I submitted to an art director yesterday. The assignment is to illustrate a feature story for a magazine, and the subject matter is "CSR", or corporate social responsibility. In a brief summary that doesn't do justice to the author's writing, the article suggests that big businesses that want to do charitable donations or philanthropic deeds need to think of the big picture rather than just dumping money into a cause so they look good. This means lobbying for social issues that are critical to society, being careful of the "footprints" they leave behind, and making improvements that benefit global concerns as well as their own. It's a win-win situation, and how we need that right now in our current situation!

This sketch came from the idea of the butterfly being a symbol of transformation, and relates to the effects of lobbying for beneficial changes. The money circling is representative of how the cash that is sent out by corporations will also return to them as well as make positive changes in the world.

I don't know if the art director will choose this sketch, but we shall see.....