Monday, July 28, 2008

Heath Ledger

I drew this portrait of Heath Ledger earlier this year, after he died. Now his movie "The Dark Night" is a huge box office hit and Heath is not around to enjoy it.

Carpe Diem, people.

7 x 10 inches. Pen, brush and ink on 80lb Strathmore 400.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Black Book Portraits


Mike Longo over at Black Book Illustration asked me to draw portraits of the entire staff for the masthead of the Black Book 2008. I worked with designer John Dill of Pickled House, who did a fabulous Job designing the book and the interior sections.

The original inking were done right in my sketchbooks, one of them is small 6 x 8, the larger sketchbook is 11 x 14. Some portraits were draw with brush markers, others with pen and ink.




In addition to illustrating the masthead spread, Mike Longo asked me to design an 18 x 24 inch point-of-sale poster, using the 12 portraits used in the book, plus an additional 4 staffers. That's 16 matching portraits for this project. Nice.

Each Black Book staff member needed to have a "code name" to go with their portrait, and I got to make them up. Giving people nicknames is one of my favorite things to do. So, it was pretty neat be use that ummm "gift" in my work.




Joe Resudek: Cobra: Even though he looks 16 years old , he's the CEO and runs the show.












Maggie Lipson: Viper: Maggie is the VP of Black Book.










Mike Longo: The Closer. The Art Director on this project and an all around nice guy. When not stepping in as the AD for special projects, he is charge of marketing.








Joe Paul: The Muscle: Joe is the designer over at Black Book. They never let him out of the cage because he designs everything over there, but this is what he looks like.









Linden Hass: Ruby: Linden worked production on this project; she is also the photo editor at Loft Life Magazine. Busy girl!







You can see all 16 portraits on my website or in my illoz portfolio: http://www.illoz.com/graham.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Rolling Stone Magazine




Coldplay - Viva la Vida. Illustration: Graham Smith for Rolling Stone Magazine, June 2008.

Senior Art Director: Steven Charny

I was stoked when Steven called and asked me to illustrate Coldplay for the Review section in Rolling Stone Magazine.

I drew each Coldplay member: Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland and Will Champion on 11 x 14 inch paper using pen and ink. I used a regular pencil for the under drawings and inked right on top. To finish the illustration, I choose red, white and blue to match the theme of their new release, Viva La Vida. The CD's title appeared to be painted with bold brush strokes, so I used a bold brush stroke to color this illustration, continuing the theme.


Boston Marathon


Runner's World Media Group throws a huge party every year for the Boston Marathon. I was asked to illustrate portraits of 3 Marathon champions "Amby" Burfoot, Joan Benoit and Greg Meyer for the Runner's World Boston Marathon Party Invitation. Traci was a delight to work with on this 3 panel illustration.

Art Director: Traci Conrad-Nicholas

"Amby" Burfoot, on the left, is the founder of Runner's World Magazine and winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon . Joan Benoit holds the 1983 Womens' World Record for the Boston Marathon, clocking a mighty 2:22:42. Greg Meyer is the last American man to win the Boston Marathon, he did it back in 1983, running an impressive 2:09:00.

Loft Life Magazine Premiere Issue


Loft Life Magazine premiere issue. I was really happy to be asked to illustrate the Board of Experts for this stylish new magazine designed by Joe Paul.

I created a clean, open look especially for this series of portraits, so far I've illustrated 13 experts. The illustrations in the masthead interchange depending on which expert is contributing to each issue. If you look closely, you can see some of the original drawings on my desk behind the magazine.

Photo Editor: Linden Hass
Design: Joe Paul







Dr. Charna Mintz: Behavioral Psychologist. Charna lives in downtown Manhattan with her husband and 2 cats.










Florent Morellet: Restauranteur, Activist, Urban Planner. Florent, a living NYC legend was a major catalyst for the landmarking of the Meat Market and the development of the HighLine.








Dabney Doswell: Interior Designer. A regular contributor to Washington Life magazine and a D.C. native, Dabney works for interior designer, Barry Nixon.









John-Patrick McChesney: Real Estate Consultant. The president of the McChesney Group, Inc., John-Patrick was named "agent of choice for discerning clientele" by Atlanta Monthly.

LORE Magazine


Art Director and design guru Jürgen Mantzke of LORE Magazine requested a few portraits for an article about the first meeting of Industry Icons Dave Liniger and Wes Foster, two real estate legends locked in a battle of commerce for 30 years.

You can see my sketchbook and the original drawings under the magazine.

The original artwork 11" x 14". Pen and Ink.









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