mcillustrator blog

It's time to VOTE!!!

2012-01-23T09:23:00.000-08:00

PLEASE HELP ME AND VOTE FOR MY "FRIDAY I'M IN LOVE" ILLUSTRATION!!!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE PLEASE >>> http://tlnt.at/vwTFQ2 <<<<

The Talenthouse website just asks to access your facebook page and then you can simply vote for my piece "Hopeful Cure". Thank you! You can also vote with twitter!

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS "EVENT" AND PASS IT ALONG TO FRIENDS!
Every vote helps! Thank you!

Dexdeer

2012-01-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

Coming off our recent Dexter marathon (my wife and I watched up to Season 5... please don't spoil Season 6 for me!) I of course was very inspired to do a caricature of Dex. He's such a great character and Michael C. Hall has such defined features that I had to do my own version. Then the other day on my way to work I was cut off by a jerk in his huge truck with hunting stickers all over it and the idea hit me! I thought it would be great if there was a vigilante deer out in the woods, like Dexter, settling the score for all animal-kind. I think I want to make at least one or two more Dexdeer illustrations with other characters from the show in them: Deerbra Morgan, Beartista... and so on. Stay tuned!

Friday I'm In Love Project

2012-01-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

This illustration is for the project Secret 7"- the design is for The Cure's single "Friday I'm In Love". Winners of the project will have their artwork displayed on sleeves of actual vinyl 7" records! Proceeds go to Teenage Cancer Trust! Please vote for my design: http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/aff4fadbd63f7252933052ccf4d45609/373

The Cure was the first band I expressed an interest in as a teenager. I was in seventh grade and up until then I was just a casual fan of music on the radio. The very first Cure song I heard was “Killing an Arab” the opening song on the album “Staring at the Sea” and it changed my way of listening to music forever. I had that album on cassette and I listened to it every day. At that time in my life I was working my first job at a campground mowing the lawns. I had that “Staring at the Sea” cassette in my walkman turned up so loud so I could hear it above the roar of the lawnmower, I’m surprised I didn’t lose my hearing. I felt like I was going to go deft, however, after my first concert a few years later- The Cure’s Prayer Tour. I remember the music was so loud that my ears were ringing for a few days after and it was completely worth it.

To me at the time, and for probably many other fans, The Cure was the anti-radio band. Sure, their songs were played on the radio and MTV, but they were not your typical pop fair. The Cure’s music has dark undertones that are not necessarily to make the listener feel hopeless, but for me it actually evoked a sense of hope; that it’s ok to have a different feelings other than what is conveyed by silly love songs on the radio. They were “alternative” before the media started using the word and they basically created what is now “goth” and “emo” music. If you really listen to The Cure’s catalogue, even within a single album, they are musically eclectic. The one thing that really ties their songs together is the distinctiveness of Robert Smith’s voice. His yelp-y, throat-y singing is unparalleled, and to hear it one automatically knows they are listening to The Cure.

I can’t count how many drawings I have made in notebooks and sketchbooks with The Cure’s lyrics or Robert Smith’s famous hair. That is the concept I had in mind when I created this piece. I started listening to my Cure CDs and just sketched the way I would have many years ago. The illustration also makes a nod to the video for “Friday I’m In Love” with the changing backgrounds and the band acting like they are in a sort of play. I always thought “Friday I’m In Love” was a different direction for The Cure because the message is more optimistic than their usual songs. Robert is declaring to the world that he is happy and you can even see him smiling and having fun in the video. So I drew him, for the first time in my personal history of art, with arms outstretched and a grin on his face. Instead of my past drawings of a gloomy Robert Smith, slouching and with arms bent down.

I am so thankful to even be able to participate in an art project with The Cure being the inspiration. I am still, and will forever be, a huge fan of theirs. Their album “The Cure”, released in 2004, was just as exciting to me as hearing “Disintegration” for the first time in 1989. I couldn’t imagine a better cause than the Teenage Cancer Trust. I have lost cherished family and friends because of cancer, including my Stepfather, and I only hope there is a cure for this disease in the immediate future. What a great way to celebrate a legendary band and support a necessary foundation!

Thank you,
Jim

Busy Christmas Season!

2011-12-28T07:26:00.000-08:00

I had a busy Christmas season for custom illustrations! Here are just a few of the portraits I have created in the past couple months! They all have a water/ocean theme!

pongtopia!

2011-10-18T06:36:00.001-07:00

here's a ping-pong paddle i painted for "pongtopia!"- world-class players battle it out as one-of-a-kind painted table-tennis tables & paddles go on sale to benefit operation design. a dynamic mix of the sport & art of table tennis in the spirit of charity & education.

title: i know what love is
media: oil on wood

here's what operation design's website says about pongtopia!:
"Renowned graffiti artist Billi Kid, of Public Works Department, will curate the artistic components of the event, an incredible trove of one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork and a live auction to be held on Thursday, November 3rd. Pongtopia! will display extraordinary, creatively painted Ping-Pong tables and paddles by high-profile street and graffiti artists. Each piece of table-tennis art will be available for purchase and proceeds will go to support creative programs in selected New York City public schools through Operation Design."

Presented by Brookfield Office Properties,
in partnership with SPiN Galactic.
Curated by Billi Kid.
Supported by Public Works Department.
www.publicworksdept.com

hope you enjoy it! and i hope operation design raises a lot of money for NYC public schools!
-jim

The Pop Shop's Grilled Guild

2011-09-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Yay! I won The Pop Shop's Grilled Guild contest! The Pop Shop is a great diner-esqe restaurant in Collingswood, NJ- known for their old fashioned soda pop menu with a wide range of options... including over 30 different grilled cheeses! It's one of my favorite places to eat.

McArt à la carte: the elusive dinosaur minifig! (assignment #1)

2011-08-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

McArt à la carte: the elusive dinosaur minifig! (assignment #1): last night on our weekly trip to five below (legouesday= lego + tuesday) i found the elusive dinosaur minifig! it took a lot of bag feelin u...

Turtle PSA

2011-06-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here's my piece for The Autumn Society's SHELL-SHOCK (A TMNT ART SHOW & TRIBUTE). I was inspired last weekend when I saved a turtle from the middle of a busy road. He was right on the yellow line, hiding in his shell. Growing up in a beach town, we used to help turtles out all the time. So this became my Public Service Announcement... felt like middle school all over again- designing PSA posters!

Food Truck Pod

2011-04-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

4/20/11 - Orlando, FL - Food Truck Pod @ Firestone Live

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Unofficial)

2011-04-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

The Feelgoods finished the song! I love it, hope Ellen does too!

Dancing Ellen!

2011-03-22T18:43:00.001-07:00

Black Swan - White Stork

2011-01-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Keep-A-Breast

2010-10-25T12:59:00.000-07:00

I finished my Keep-A-Breast cast in honor of my Aunt Pat!
You can see the album of my progress on my facebook page:
keep-a-breast

etsy

2010-09-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have a new etsy page for our photography: http://www.themchughview.etsy.com

We have other etsy stores for our artwork:
illustrations:
http://www.mcillustrator.etsy.com

jewelry and jewelry displays:
http://www.pocketedesigns.etsy.com

We also love going to yard sales and thrift stores, this is our vintage etsy store:
http://www.thevintagency.etsy.com

Thank you!

Star Wars!!!

2010-07-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Three new Star Wars pieces! I have been busy with the custom caricatures lately and love doing Star Wars stuff. More on the way!

twitter

2010-07-20T05:40:00.001-07:00

so i caved and signed up for twitter... i really don't understand it still. all i know is there are a lot of people i have done caricatures of on it, and i might as well attempt to contact those people. i love hearing reactions! so my first response was Giada DeLaurentiis and it was a classic!!! "@mcillustrator LOL!! Boy I have a BIG Head!!"

http://twitter.com/mcillustrator

the alex bennett show!

2010-07-13T06:17:00.001-07:00

I got to talk to Alex Bennett on air June 29th about this caricature I did of him! He loved it! It's currently his facebook profile pic.

My good friend, Bryan Sigmund, recorded a couple of original songs specifically made for the Alex Benett Show. The songs are great little groves for an intro to the show or lead-in to commercial. We send his cd with the music and my illustration as a package to Alex with much excitement. The next day Mr. Bennett called Bryan to thank him and the following day he started out his show by mentioning my caricature and thanking me! He said he was going to call me later to thank me in person but I beat him to it by calling in. I never talked on the air before, it was interesting. We talked about where I found pics of him (facebook) and he was saying I nailed the eyes. He also said something about E.T.'s eyes were modeled after Albert Einstein, never knew that!

It was a great experience... only thing is, I don't think Alex listened to my friend's music!

Jurassic Bark

2010-06-14T07:06:00.000-07:00

This was my entry for the Autumn Society's 90s Show last week. The theme was 90s tv shows, movies & video games... I think I covered all three!

Lady Liberty (Tam Tran)

2010-05-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

An illustration for the OC Weekly... Local undocumented college students mark the passing of one of their own, Tam Tran, by continuing her fight. Tran was a member of the DREAMERs (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) who died last week in a car accident. Please read more about her in the story: OC Weekly

The Interactive Drinking Game (Who That Dude?!)

2010-05-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

here's my first video on youtube. i got together with the feelgoods to make this "drinking game" that involves my art. you have to guess who the caricature is and if you get it wrong, you take a drink. that simple. the music is great, check it out!

two new caricature/pet combos

2010-05-10T05:27:00.000-07:00

i just finished back-to-back illustrations of friends and their cats. the more recent one is the two yukna kids, dylan & lia, as luke skywalker & princess leia with their cats as stormtroopers. it was a mother's day gift from my friend, brian, to his wife xena. he couldn't have picked a better theme, i love star wars... i had lots of fun making this one.

the other caricature was for my friend, sean, who commissioned me to make the art for his new wife, teena, as he is away from her on military leave. the rest is top secret. the one thing i know is there are four cats... maybe five.

the feelgoods!

2010-03-25T05:55:00.000-07:00

i did this album cover for a new friend of mine, bryan sigmund and his band. bryan had the whole idea outlined and sketched out for me- better than any art director i have ever worked with. i loved the idea, a band literally making music notes in a shop. it took me a while to do caricatures of all those guys and the whole time i had not heard one note of their music as it was still in production. i had finished the art a couple of months ago and it was sent out to get printed. bryan brought a few cds to me yesterday with my art on the cover (this image above is a little different as i spelled "the feel goods" wrong and they added bryan's signature microphone & speaker to his legendary guitar.) i was blown away by the sound, they put a lot of thought into each track as they blend together so well and yet the songs are very eclectic (thanks erin.) i'm no music reviewer but i think they live up to their name as it's one of those perfect cds for listening to when the sun is shining on you and you're driving with the windows down.
check them out at- lovingmusic.org , or on itunes!

tegan & sara 2

2010-03-16T08:12:00.001-07:00

i first did this painting of tegan & sara (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegan_and_Sara) a few years ago but was never really happy with the hair i gave them... and they needed tattoos. so i decided to "fix" their hair and give them tats and added other elements that better convey my original idea: to have them as sea sirens luring ships to the rocks. i think part of the idea came from their song "so jealous" where they sing about the ocean and the other part is that their music is so beautiful, yet sad. they rope you in with their voices but you crash on the rocks of the gloom. something like that.

the original "original painting" tegan & sara actually own. my wife, who was my new girlfriend at the time, got me tickets to see them on my birthday. possibly the best birthday present ever! we met them after the show and i gave them the painting. now i have to get them this copy... lol.

Classic P.B. & J!

2010-02-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

i had started this jim & pam illustration a few months ago and got too busy with paying jobs to finish. then recently my wife & i were doing an office marathon (her mom has every season on dvd... we hope to have them all one day soon) and i got inspired to finish it. i love the office, mostly the older seasons like 2 & 3, that's why i wanted to illustrate them from back then, before they were dating, married, having a baby...

jimmy fallon

2010-01-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

My wife and I went to the Jimmy Fallon show last Friday. We had a great time. At the last minute I decided to do a caricature of Jimmy and attempt to get it to him somehow. We got asked to "dance" behind the musical performance (profiling.) It was an alternative band called "Beach House." They were good and we were able to see me in the shadows for a split-second! haha. But because we were "dancers" we had to sit in the way back. I put my caricature of Jimmy on the seat next to me ready to hand off to him but next thing I know a security guy grabs it and says "no autographs." He then realizes it's for Jimmy and tells me he'll take it backstage and give it to Jimmy's agent to give to him. Don't know why he can't just give it to Jimmy, but I'm going to pretend he got it;)

lucy & ricky

2010-01-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

lucy & ricky are my mom's chihuahuas. they are funny and don't use steps... so i decided to have them sitting on the top step of my mom's porch, where they will never go down.

pugs!

2009-12-28T13:29:00.000-08:00

new illustration of pugs for a friend of a friend (she is a principal of a school, hence the chalkboard.) i fell in love with these guys, teddy (on left) and rudy (on right.) they remind me of my two boston terriers, that are also small, short-nosed, snorty dogs.

new pet portrait- snowy

2009-12-07T19:02:00.001-08:00

my friend barb had me do this illustration of her dog, snowy. my first go at it i had my usual trademark black outlines around the entire dog. barb asked me if i could take out the black lines as they didn't make her look soft & fuzzy like she should. so i tried it... using slight white outlines and i think the results turned out great. i'm glad she brought it up as i plan to render many more fuzzy pets in the future!

new mcillustrator website!

2009-11-30T11:39:00.001-08:00

my website is up & running again. after a long time, and the help of my friend, jack (http://www.jkdesignconsulting.com/), it's finally in the shape i want it. it has been a busy year for me and i am proud to get all of my new stuff on to mcillustrator.com. just the "custom portraits" and "pet portraits" alone are from this past year, as well as a few new "famous caricatures."

here's an example of a "custom portrait" of my friends dana & bobby.

my step dad, terry

2009-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

he was the life of the party, like a rodney dangerfield without the all the goofiness (most of the time). his humor was usually based on what kind of mess he would get in, like the time he sawed off his thumb and drove himself to the hospital. his presence was always known and i miss the heck out of him!

the middle finger was his way of saying "bye" or "hi" or sometimes it just meant what it was supposed to mean.

rudy & fatty

2009-10-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

these are actually my second illustrations of rudy & fatty, we had all of our pets (3 cats & 2 dogs) on our wedding invite as caricatures. but these are the first official rudy & fatty portraits. i'm using them for my "pet portraits" double-sided business cards.