The Nation, Fall Books Issue

I was really excited to be asked to do these two interrelated pieces for the fall books issue of The Nation. The challenge was to come up with a cover concept that could have a feeling of excitement and anticipation, and also contain imagery that might be appropriate for the interior illustration. After a few rounds of sketches I hit on the idea of a high wire performer balanced by books. The circus imagery seemed to have a lot of possibilities for the interior article, "Deal Breakers" by Kim Phillips-Fein, about the derailing of democratic activism (donkeys) by the conservative movement (elephants). I had a lot of fun doing both of these. I painted both in a bunch of different layers and media, then assembled them digitally to get some vibrant juxtapositions in color and texture.
Editors: John Palattella and Christine Smallwood

A.R.T. and Nature

This piece was done for an article in The Nation titled "ART in America" about artificial reproductive technology (ART), written by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow. I wanted to do something playful that would combine the tale of the birds and bees with lab equipment, so I mixed all the imagery together with different styles to make something not quite natural looking.
Click here to read the article
Art Directors: John Palattella and Christine Smallwood

This short article in the New York Times travel section says that fall is typically a good time to apply for a passport or renew your old one. It was fun to just try to get the atmosphere right in this piece. To keep the colors and different textures sharp and clear, I painted a bunch of separate watercolors, drew template shapes, then assembled everything in photoshop.
Art Director: Rodrigo Honeywell