Pride & Prejudice, 11 x 17 in., 2010

Caroline, Or Change, 11 x 17 in., 2011

My Fairytale, 11 x 17 in., 2011

39 Steps, 11 x 17 in., 2010

Hairspray, 11 x 17 in., 2011

Peter Pan, 11 x 17 in., 2010

Maria Centrella, art director
adMinds, agency
PCPA Theaterfest, client

Test the Timber of My Heart: Tattoo (Color), ink and digital, 7 x 10 in., 2011

I was asked to design a tattoo based on a Joe Pug lyric. The concept was too incorporate a tree, a heart with veins, and the text “The timber of my heart.” Sounded easy enough until I realized the homonymic pun – is it spelled “timber” or “timbre”? Since that’s the beauty of lyric, why ruin it? So I dropped the text. Onto the next problem – symmetry. Having tree branches rising up and veins flowing down looked too symmetrical for my liking. So I abandoned any depiction of a tree and decided to represent it as wood grain on the heart. The final tattoo references the song lyric without being all too obvious.

And I’ve come to roam the forest past the village
With a dozen lazy horses in my cart.
I’ve come here to get eyed
To do more than just get by
I’ve come to test the timber of my heart.
Oh I’ve come to test the timber of my heart.

Full song lyrics

Test the Timber of My Heart: Tattoo (Grayscale), ink and digital, 7 x 10 in., 2011

Studies, ink and digital, 7 x 10 in., 201

The University of Rock & Roll, digital, 10.5 x7 in. @ 300dpi, 2011

Founded by Stephen Stern and Mark Schulman (of Foreigner), The University of Rock & Roll is everything from corporate keynotes and private performances to recording workshops and rhythm classes. I was hired to create an illustration and logotype to help brand the website. The assignment required an image that expresses a direct, neurological connection between a musician and their instrument, in this case a guitar. I can’t imagine how you would do that with drums.

Detail 1

Detail 2

West Side Story, 11 x 17 in., 2009

Songs for a New World, 11 x 17 in., 2010

The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, 11 x 17 in., 2009

Curtains, 11 x 17 in., 2009

Sylvia, 11 x 17 in., 2010

Maria Centrella, art director
adMinds, agency
PCPA Theaterfest, client

Distracted, 11 x 17 in., 2008

Les Miserables, 11 x 17 in., 2008

A Midsummer Night's Dream, 11 x 17 in., 2008

Music Man, 11 x 17 in., 2008

Music Man, Alternate 1

Music Man, Alternate 2

The Spitfire Grill, 11 x 17 in., 2008

White Christmas, 11 x 17 in., 2008

Maria Centrella, art director
adMinds, agency
PCPA Theaterfest, client

Tshirt

Iron Bridge, vector illustration, 14 x 16 in., 2009

Tshirt placement

Alternate design

Source image 1

Source image 2

Source image 1

Source image 2

Lance Howard, art director
Iron Bridge Tools, client

Stretch, vector illustration, 108 x 60 in., 2003

Process

What started off as a simple self-portrait soon turned into a seven-panel scene reminiscent of a Japanese screen. I was originally inspired to do a life-size portrait similar to 80′s artist Robert Longo. But eventually, Salvador Dali’s elephants (with elongated giraffe legs) came to mind. Once that spike shape became my legs, I started repeating it in several of the panels. A fish windsock, found on a sushi menu, also found its way into the image. The fish eye itself developed into a pattern, nod to Takashi Murakami. The final Illustrator file was printed on an Epson 9600 wtih Smooth Fine Art paper, then mounted on substrate, and floated off the wall.