ILLUSTRATION
By definition, illustration is a graphical representation of an idea. There is a story or intention involved. Sometimes that idea boils down to just a general mood, but the goal of any illustration should be to convey that feeling. Storytelling is an inherent part of why I create art, so the distinction between my art and my illustrations is blurred. Art is often described as being a glimpse into the artist’s inner world, but for me, my inner world is a collection of stories and ideas. It makes sense that my art is illustrated.
Let's Tread on Them - Political Illustration
I created an illustration reflecting political malfeasance and the reactions some radical conservatives had in regards to the insurrection at the White House, January 6th. It features a blue eagle, attacking a yellow rattle snake, with the snake yelling "But my rights!" The eagle is meant to represent Twitter, and the action they took to de-platform users who used the app to spread misinformation and propaganda. The snake is meant to be the rattle snake from the famous "Don't Tread on Me" flag.
I was heavily inspired by the World War I illustrations created by Charles Livingston Bull. The way he uses visual shorthand with large birds of prey is really interesting iconography. I also pulled from Andy Warhol's work, taking a lot of influence from pop art, comics and his own commercial work. Combining the work of these two lends itself to the graphic approach I took in rendering the eagle and rattle snake. Approaching a contemporary topic like this, it was interesting to synthesize the work of Bull and Warhol into a piece that displays some of my opinions on the insurrection.
I really struggled with how subtle is too subtle. I like the idea of burying the meaning behind a visual work, so that it takes some time and introspection to fully appreciate. But, it seems like political illustrations and cartoons today are incredibly blunt about what they are trying to say -- even outright labeling characters so there's absolutely no confusion. I eventually figured it was better to be more obvious than ambiguous, especially in a digital age where people might only look at this post for 10 seconds before they continue scrolling. I think a blue bird, being an eagle for the patriotic symbolism, was easy enough to be interpreted as the Twitter icon but I had considered simplifying it to being almost literally the mascot in the logo. I also felt like with the bright yellow on the snake, it should be easy to identify as the "Don't Tread on Me" snake, but I considered adding common white power, neo-nazi and other alt-right imagery onto it's back like a diamond-back pattern seen on some rattle snakes. I didn't actually go that far with it though because it felt uncomfortable spreading those hate symbols, especially if someone interpreted the illustration to mean Twitter was unjustly violating their rights. Ultimately, I think I struck a good balance with the subtlety because I was getting the right kinds of responses when posted on social media.
DOOM Meets Animal Crossing - Fan Art
Commissioned by a fan of both games "DOOM" and "Animal Crossing" the client wanted me to do a dramatic, but humorous illustration of mild mannered Isabelle from "Animal Crossing", a simple lifestyle game about living on a peaceful island, stancing up to take on the final boss, the Icon of Sin from "DOOM" in the dystopian ruins of some future civilization. The illustration was meant to commemorate the anniversary of the day both games were released and garnered a good bit of attention online from fans of the games.
Olympia
Inspired by the Modernist painting by Manet of the same name, I wanted to cast a fantastical version of myself in the place of Olympia. The numerous controversies surrounding Manet's work made me want to show that I do think female forms should be included in spaces like the academy, even if those depictions may seem raunchy or inappropriate. I chose to deviate away from Manet's purely human imagery and introduce the elements of a satyr. Satyrs in Greek mythology represent not only duality, but also indulgence which I think lends itself even more to the controversy that affected the Olympia. The 2nd image is an animated version with subtle tinkling and shimmering of the gold elements.
A Psychologist & An Engineer Walk Into a Bar...Podcast
I was asked to concept and create a podcast image for an interview series where topics are discussed through the lens of a left-brained mechanical engineer and a right-brained psychologist. We went through several rounds of ideation before leaning into the possibility of using caricatures.
