illustration

Illustration helps when a picture isn't clear enough.
I have wide range of illustration styles.
Hand-drawn, vector, and digital - and everything in between.

Illustration is a vital tool used to draw attention, to convey a complex idea in a simple way, or even to get people to attend your event. I have made it my life's work to define, refine, and add to my range of illustrative styles amongst my varied projects. Can you tell the difference between an illustration made by a talented human being and an illustration made by AI? Most people can.

Coffee House Flyers

Penny Post Cafe

After taking a year of college with a focus on art, I dropped out and started my one business cleverly named Flyers for Hire. Often with no information about the band other than a name and genre, I came up with a high contrast, high-impact illustration, photocopied them onto brightly colored paper at the university, and put them up around campus. I made these without the use of a computer using magic markers and a few fine point pens to cap the lettering so the tips of them were square.

Here's a collection of my favorite illustrations. Disclaimer: no accounting for band name taste (except for 27 Wishes, that was my old pop band).

I made these between the years 1988 and 1990. Do you think they stand the test of time, or do they look dated to you?

SCUL Emblem Illustrations

A smirking blonde man in blue aviator sunglasses shows off his vest covered in one inch buttons, each with a different design on them.

SCUL is a the bicycle chopper gang I founded in 1996. Each time a SCUL pilot completes a ride, they are awarded a mission pin with an emblem symbolizing the event. This tradition didn't start until 2012 when a pilot named Piranha gave out special bee pins after her honey-themed mission. This evolved into the mission pin we use today. The only criteria for a SCUL emblem is that it needs a stardate in YYMMDD format - which connects the pin to the mission report on scul.org.

I've led over 400 SCUL missions, so my SCUL vest is covered in mission pins. I don't particularly enjoy flying with it since it feels like your riding with chainmail on.

I've made a few hundred emblems for SCUL missions. I also help out other pilots who want to take on the role but don't have the technical skills to realize their ideas. Some of the designs are made in Illustrator, some are hand drawn, and some use a variety of techniques such as adding glitter or printing on fancy paper or even clear plastic to show the metal pin. Making these little designs once a week helped me push my boundaries and try new ideas.

Select Mission Emblems

Here are a select gallery of mission emblems I have made for SCUL, listed in reverse chronological order: Remember that each one of these emblems represents a SCUL adventure. Can you guess the theme for any of these missions based on their design?

Select Illustration Portfolio

Honk! Illustration for Poster and Tee Shirt

This is a tee shirt design used for the Honk! festival activist street bands. I was honored to have my design chosen for their tenth anniversary. Does anyone else uses rest symbols in their graphic illustration of music? I wonder if any of the musicians noticed.

The Puddle Is Everything

The first thing you need to learn to order to weld is to 'see the puddle': it's not nearly as easy as it sounds. I used this illustrative design for one-inch buttons and fridge magnets to be given as thank you presents for those who completed my TIG welding class.

Halloween Ride Poster

This print poster is used to promote SCUL's annual public Halloween ride: each season I repurpose the design by updating colorways, which works well for an annual event. We've drawn people from all over New England for this ride.

Orbital Pass

SCUL pilots can get a seasonal 'orbital flypass' which covers all mission dues for one pilot for one orbit around the sun. As proof of purchase, they are issued these fancy laminated cards.

The designs were updated each season with the collector in mind - some pilots fly for decades!

Cup Crusher

Playful Illustrations

illustration of a girl on a bicycle chopper about to run over a paper cup with the word 'SCUL' on it.

I made a half-dozen of these doodles to be used for cheap stickers: this one is a good representation of the playful, loosely inked style.

illustration of a girl on a bicycle chopper about to run over a paper cup with the word 'SCUL' on it - on a red tee shirt.

Recently the 'cup-crusher' made the big-time as a tee-shirt and musette bag design.

I can make your ideas come alive.

Get in touch with me to start a conversation.