Papillon Press

Chantal and I are proud owners of a Chandler and Price letterpress (circa 1953). It is an amazing machine. For the last few months we've been working on illustrated designs to offer on invitations and stationery.

We hope to eventually offer art prints as well, and printing services for artists and illustrators who don't have access to a letterpress (we can print your promo cards, business cards, etc...).

The image above is something I drew for one of our logos. I will post more drawings and info about the company, Papillon Press, in the coming months.

Copper Cliff

Copper Cliff is a pretty interesting neighborhood in Sudbury, Ontario. It is home to the Superstack, the tallest chimney in the Western Hemisphere, which towers over one of the largest nickel smelting operations in the world.

Surrounding all of the industrial centers, smelters, stacks and mining facilities is the residential neighborhood with quiet, curving streets and old homes.

Imagine this was your backyard? I hope to be back to Copper Cliff for more sketching again soon.

Cheating Politicians - Las Vegas City Life

I was recently contacted to paint a spot illustration for a Las Vegas City Life story about cheating politicians. I sent in a couple of sketches and the art director liked them so much that she wanted one of the sketches to be used for the cover, the other for the spot. This news made my day since I especially love painting covers.

I decided to try a different technical approach to these illustrations. I inked the drawings first on very smooth Bristol paper (above) and then traced the inked drawing onto watercolor paper using a light box. This was no easy task, as I had to ensure that the areas I painted lined up perfectly with the ink drawings. I had to be very careful to color within the lines.

After I finished the paintings I scanned them and the ink drawings and combined them in Photoshop. It was tricky to register the color layers within the ink layers, but with a bit of patience it worked out.
I love how the cover was designed around my illustration. Thanks to Maureen for a great assignment.