More art and some fun news...

Hi all! Here's another Tony related piece I've drawn, this time celebrating the "special theatrical event" category. I'm enthralled by the diversity in this eclectic category: the show bizzy and pizazzy Liza at the Palace, the pop political wackiness of Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America, the fascinating European clowning traditions (and tons of paper snow) of Slava's Snowshow, and the wildly physical Soul of Shaolin. Fun category. Liza should win the Tony even though Will Ferrell has been on talk shows calling her a communist. Ha ha!

A couple fun mentions of the art lately:

1. Ryan O'Connor (host of the online Ryan O'Connor Show) gave me a happy shout out on his Broadway Space edition of his show. See it here. He shows a sketch at the tippy top and then talks about the art towards the end. Thanks, Ryan!

2. Peter Filichia (columnist for Theatremania.com, critic, and president of the Drama Desk) is giving me a mention and a link in his column coming up on Monday. I'll repost the link once it's actually up, but if you want to see his current column, click here. Peter plugged my work back in 2003 after he visited Music Theatre of Wichita to do an article on the resident company, and we've kept in touch. I'm so grateful for his support!

Well, I've been drawing a LOT lately, so I'm headed out for a bit of an escape at the Descanso Gardens. Maybe I'll take my Camelot script and work through some lines. And then I look forward to meeting up with friends this evening for some dinner and jazz... Jack Sheldon. Remember him from Schoolhouse Rock? That voice is comfort food.

Anyway, take care all! Peace and love.

Monday is a Tony day.

Does anyone still use the word "tony" when referring to something stylish? Seems like its heyday has passed, but why not bring it back now and then. Anyway...


Here is my latest piece over at Squigs Knows His Lines: The 2009 Tony Award musical nominees! It's the latest in my Tony series. Next week, I'll be watching the Tony ceremony and sketching some key and favorite moments. I'll then post the results by Monday morning. And in the days leading up to Tony day, I also anticipate posting another squiggle or two.

As far as who and what is featured in this piece, here ya go: Best Musical: Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, Rock of Ages, Shrek. Best Revival of a Musical: Guys & Dolls, Hair, Pal Joey, West Side Story. Leading Actors: David Alvarez/Trent Kowalik/Kiril Kulish, Gavin Creel, Brian d’Arcy James, Constantine Maroulis, J. Robert Spencer. Leading Actresses: Stockard Channing, Sutton Foster, Allison Janney, Alice Ripley, Josefina Scaglione. Featured Actors: David Bologna, Gregory Jbara, Marc Kudisch, Christopher Sieber, Will Swenson. Featured Actresses: Jennifer Damiano, Haydn Gwynne, Karen Olivo, Martha Plimpton, Carole Shelley.

I've been drawing a lot lately and I look forward to taking a bit of a break this evening and catching my friend Meloney's jazz show at MBar in Hollywood tonight. It's also her birthday, so happy happy, Mel!

Take care, all! Peace and love.

Quick post: Waiting for Godot...

Here's the result of a little color experimentation. The piece was inspired by the wonderful Broadway production of Waiting for Godot starring Bill Irwin, Nathan Lane, John Goodman, and John Glover. The look of the show is rather monochromatic and dreary, but I tossed in some color in the way of metaphor. Anyway... I'm off to draw at a prom this evening. Take care, all! Peace and love.

NYC!

I'm exhausted! I have blisters from an unwise shoe choice and walking all over Manhattan. And I'm still glowing from a really spiffy trip to the Big Apple. I know I mentioned in the last post that I would post from the City, but when I did get a chance to get online with the ol' computer, I just had time to wrap up some quick business... and to post my weekly sketch (see below).


The weather was actually a glimpse of summer in the city... a couple days of 80s with more humidity I'm used to. But the plus side was that I never wore a jacket the entire trip. That was fun and convenient. I had the chance to meet up with lots of friends. First off, many thanks must go out to pallies Eric and Jess for the hospitality for the first couple days of my stay. It made me so happy to see them doing so great. And throughout the days, I was so happy to see ol' friends Roller, Pakler, Betsy, KBW, Leslie, Steve, Aaron, Michael, Leslie, Anne, Ed, Heidi, Kevin, Alice, Shannon, Bobby, Larry, Frankie, Heather, Colby, Garrett, Kilty, Annie, Christian, Bryce, Merwin... And I got to meet some folks I've drawn and/or just chatted with online – Tom, Brian, Jennifer, Adam, Aaron, Clarke, Lucia, Victoria... I didn't get to meet up with everyone I had hoped to. It just gives me incentive to head back again soon.


As far as adventures I embarked upon... I saw seven shows (Next to Normal, Billy Elliot, Hair, Mary Stuart, Waiting for Godot, The Toxic Avenger, and Reasons To Be Pretty). They were all great, and I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity and the amazing storytelling. I really enjoyed seeing the Letterman taping with my buddy Ed. Amy Sedaris was my favorite guest at the show. I hit a couple exhibits – The Folk Art Museum and the Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship show (wow). And I was able to witness my art adorning an Off-Broadway theatre. (It's a bit shady how it all ended up on ol' 46th Street, but I've learned my lesson. It's still some nice publicity.)


I spent quite a bit of time in Central Park listening to amazing busking and experiencing the vast activity of a city experiencing great weather. Sheep Meadow is absolutely CRAZY on a holiday!! I ate well and drank well but lived on four or five hours of sleep a night. So much to see and do... and friends to catch up with. And I did have to spend a couple late nights finishing up the Monday sketch (see below).


Yes, one of the craziest Monday sketches of the year fell during my stay. I had hoped to finish it up before I flew out, but I had to finish sketching at E and Jess' place where I was fortunate to get to use their scanner. Here's the piece... a tribute to the Tony Award nominees in the play categories. Next week will feature the musical nominees.

Well, that's just a quick overview of the last week. I could write paragraphs on each experience. (Side note: Brenda, Next to Normal was really amazing and Bobby was fantastic. If you want more of an update, drop me a line.) But brevity is the soul of... oh, heck, I don't know that phrase, but you get my point. Take care, all! I hope you're heading into your summer with lots of fun stuff lined up. Peace and love, ya'll!

The quick-sketch gig...

Hey there! Here's another glimpse into my quick-sketch sideline venture. I drew at another prom on Saturday, and got to work with colleagues Greg Dohlen and John Alex (and another caricaturist, Ian). Greg was stationed right next to me and took pictures when I wanted to document something. Here are the results. (Thanks Greg!!) Each couple sketch was executed in roughly four minutes.

The gig was at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It was really great to have four artists because the kids didn't have to wait more than 15 or 20 minutes to get drawn so they could get on to the dancing and whatever else the prom offered.

I'm going to the wall with my deadlines this evening. I just completed late phases of a couple different projects, so the commissioned work is done for the evening. I've got to tackle the next Monday sketch and finish it before I fly out tomorrow morning. Here I go...

I'll be in NYC in 24 hours. As of now, I already have tickets to Next to Normal, Billy Elliot, Mary Stuart, and Letterman. I look forward to catching up with friends, and I can't wait to be in the city again. Love that place!

Anyway... take care, all! The next time I post will be from the Big Apple. Take care! Peace and love.

Crazy busy... with fun results.

As I've mentioned in recent posts, I have quite the work load on the ol' drawing board. Here are a couple recent projects...


First, here's the Music Theatre of Wichita staff, drawn for this summer's playbills. They often have fun portraits taken by wonderful local photographers, so I'm honored that they would trust me with their likenesses this year. Thanks Nancy and Vickie in the office, and Mikey for the photo reference.


Second, here's a logo I created for an entertainment endeavor with friends David Engel and Tami Tappan Dammiano. It's a concert featuring, well, exactly what the title says. Nicely done, David and Tami! The goal was to give a wee hint to the actual performers but sticking with a stylized representation of two dancing lovebirds. Thanks, David, for thinking of me for this.


Third, here's some art I created for a new walking tour venture in NYC, Guerrilla Tours. My friend Justin Roller roped me in on this, the idea being a gorilla hanging off of a skyscraper (King Kong-ish) wearing a guerrilla cap. Thanks, Roller, for trusting me with this.

I have more to do. A last minute caricature commission came in the other day in addition to four more pending projects I have to complete before I head to NY next Wednesday. I'm finding I've been able to stay in the zone, though, and when I do try to take a break, my mind constantly wanders back to the drawing board. The projects are diverse and fun, and I'm so grateful.

Soon to be in NYC...

Am I just a posting fool or what? Two in a day! Wow.

I don't know if I'm mentioned it here, but I'll be heading to NYC next week. In fact, this time next week I'll be on the plane. I'm excited to be catching up with friends, seeing shows, building some professional relationships and making contacts. I'll be there May 20-26.


The instigation for this post was some fun news I got today. I won tickets to a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman. Should be fun. I applied online a while back and they called today and asked me a trivia question: "Where does Rupert Jee work?" And there's a photo I took with Rupert in 2004 in the Hello Deli. Ta da!