Diana Ross

It's been a while since I posted something on here. Sorry about that. There were a few performers I wanted to paint since the last time I did a portrait for TGIF. Sadly, it just didn't work out. Some just slip through the cracks and sometimes stories get dropped. Some big regrets. But I was glad to do this one of Diana Ross.

Here's some details —

Here's the full cover —

See more on this story at honolulupulse.com

Return to Sender

Sometimes, when I'm cooking, I have way too much time on my hands.

Manti Te’o

Manti Te’o was nearly awarded the Heisman trophy. As a tribute, we ran an extensive profile in a special section by the Star-Advertiser Sports staff. They asked me to do a cover and this is what they got. Not very happy with the left side. Would have been remedied if I had more time to work on it. Though the same could be said about Notre Dame's offense. OH!

Here's a detail:

Myriad Joe

I love doing ambigrams. I also love the font, Myriad Pro. Why not combine the two? So I did with my name. It's a constant battle with myself and my ego. Conceded.

EDIT: Guess I should put my last name up here too. Different styled ambigram.

Wampire!

Anyone else look at a "w" and think "vampire teeth"?

The Nutcracker

Hawaii Ballet's "The Nutcracker" has a really great logo they've been using for a few years now. Designed by Wall-to-Wall Studios, it features a brilliant double image (http://www.walltowall.com/news/view/71), which is something I love doing. This was most evident in my TGIF cover for Phantom of the Opera, pictured below.

For "The Nutcracker" cover, I tried the same approach. I don't think it was as strong as the Phantom cover, but I think it was decent enough for a blog post.

Here's the final version with text. It feels more complete with a font on there:

I really think Wall-to-Wall Studios designs are far more superior. Sadly, I only had an hour or two to work on this decent cover. Trying for better next time.

Melissa Etheridge

This cover really helped me establish how I wanted to treat these portraits. Simple color(s) contrasting with the detail of the subject. I think I'll be experimenting with that more.

Click on the photos see a larger version. Here's a detail.

Here's the cover. For the story, visit honolulupulse.com.

Smokey Robinson

Normally, it takes a day for me to hate a piece of art I've done. Everything you see on this blog I pretty much look down on. This piece makes me happy. Maybe it's the scarf done in a different style? I think mainly it's because I changed my process in making this one. I did this all in grey tone then colored it.As always click the images to see in full. Here's a detail of the face.

The eyes were really fun to do! Hell, everything was fun to do. And below is the full TGIF cover.

Visit HonoluluPulse.com for the full story.

Titanic Illustration

I've never posted a layout package. A special occasion here because I was comically twirling my 19th Century, Irish mustache with such pride ("Mwahahaaa, oh clever me") as I designed the centerpiece for Sunday's Today section. Here's the original illustration below:

It really shows how text and the illustration are sometimes nothing without the other.