Happy President's Day 2013

"I've become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, in the shade of my own Vine and Fig tree."

-George Washington, 1784

Of course he was the first great President, but first and foremost he considered himself a modest farmer. His journey from Virginia planter to General and Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, then finally to President, is one of the great American stories. It's been a while since I've last tried, but here is my latest attempt at illustrating George.  I gave him a cream colored oval frame, inspired by the White House's interior gilding, bundles of tobacco leaves decorate the base. 

* linework detail

Pohick Church

This one's especially for all the hand-lettering people out there. If ever you find yourself driving into D.C. through northern Virginia's Richmond Highway/Route 1.  Keep an eye out for old Pohick church, a little red brick Colonial, just off the road and surrounded by trees and a cemetery. This Episcopal church has stood at these crossroads for over two centuries. Both George Washington and George Mason attended services here, their family's pews are still marked. Although the interior is a must see, with it's 18th century wood paneling, what I actually find more intriguing about Pohick, what speaks to me the most, requires a closer look outside. As you walk up to the church's stately entrance, you don't see them at first... 

but just as you're about to reach for the door knob, you notice all the writing, chiseled into the stone like ornamental relief.

During the Civil War, the church was occupied by the Union army, at one point it even served as a horses stable. Soldiers looted the interior and scratched their names and rank (some rather elegantly) onto the exterior stonework. It's as if they were saying to posterity, we were here. Remember us too. As you can imagine there were many critics of this 19th century vandalism in it's day, probably even a few today, but I think it's beautiful. The hand lettering is distinctive, with all of its serifs and flourishes, almost artful. Like little whispers in time, the names seem to call out to you from the stone, ghosts from a conflicted past. We were here, remember us too.

Inauguration 2013

We gathered at dawn,
standing shoulder to shoulder,
under that old dome,
it's ring of pillars glistening in the new day's light.
A million souls.
A million dreams.
A million heartfelt cheers, raised up to the cold January sky.

Whole families with grandmas in shaws and bundled babies,
school children laughing,
fathers and sons with their boyfriends,
heads bowed at prayers said in Spanish,
all standing together, proud and strong.
Today is our day.

So wave the flags and snap pictures to remember,
these moments shared with smiling strangers–
kindred souls in the long struggle.
God bless President Obama,
and may we all show love for one another,
this our American family.

-thoughts on the Inauguration

Family Circle Magazine

My illustration in this month's Family Circle, out on racks now. I'm in love with their idea, hanging your tv on the wall with your framed art, just wish I had a house with high ceilings to be able to do it! : )

from the desk at Lindgren Smith

 L&S title page in 2013 Directory of Illustration

Script lettering options

 

*sketch concepts

 L&S logos

 *L&S logo concepts

I've recently worked with my illustration reps, Pat and Piper to develop some fun new promotional work for the agency.  For the Directory of Illustration cover, I included the sketch options I presented, just to show the process and how it came together.  More recently, we worked to develop new logos for use with social networking, Facebook, Twitter, etc. As an illustrator, my first thought was to come up with icon ideas for the logo, fashion objects, NYC related subject matter, some of the ideas I communicated to Pat over the phone got a little complicated.  But in response, she said, "Hmm, actually Jamey, let's just keep it clean and simple."  Keeping that request in mind,  I think we came up with some really sharp options.  To see some of the fun things happening at Lindgren and Smith, check out the L&S blog here.

doodles

I have much to share, but I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and post some doodles from the last several months. These were mostly drawn on envelopes or other scraps of paper while talking on the phone or goofing off. I have tons more, but some get a little raunchy, so I'm not sure what to do with them.  Either way, I think I'll post more soon.

Happy Holidays!

New York Times

*detail

*detail

 

*detail

*concept sketches

Hey check out today's NY Times! I have a cover illustration in the business section accompanying an article by Andrew Ross Sorkin, concerning Wall Street and it's impact on the rest of the world.  Obviously, I am beyond psyched about this one and want to extend a huge thanks to AD, Uong Minh for this opportunity, and for his great eye and sage art direction.  I'm also posting my sketches for the job. As you can see, the first version was oriented more vertically and the borders vignetted in an oval shape.  Expanding the 'epic' skyline to the full page was definitely the right call.

You can see the full article on the NY Times website here.

Eye-Likey!

Hey! Check out Eye-Likey, I'm so happy to be their current featured artist.  We did a Q&A and everything! The best part, all of the amazing and inspiring talent gathered together in one super designed spot.  It's my new favorite blog! To see go here.

NYC skyline

I created this stacked cityscape by piecing together parts from a NYC kids travel journal I recently completed. When I get the time, I'd like to expand the scene horizontally and add more buildings, filling the entire screen!

baking is an Art

buttermilk doughnuts with powdered sugar
Are you guys familiar with Stonewall Kitchen? The charming kitchen supply and specialty foods retailer out of York, Maine.  We are huge fans of their entire line of homemade doughnuts and made these yesterday for breakfast. As someone who takes baked goods very seriously, I was very happy with how these turned out and had to snap a shot with my phone in the morning light. : )

My Favorites:
1. Blueberry Glazed
2. Pumpkin with Maple Glazed
3. Cinnamon and Sugar

Asheville Fall 2012

Asheville, NC
I always have so much fun playing around in ivideo.  Here is my latest little project, videos and pics set to music, from our recent trip to Asheville, NC. I LOVE this little bohemian town nestled in the mountains!

sneak peak at my new children's book

 

I wanted to share a little preview of a children's book series, I just wrapped up for Capstone Press. Each of these stories are centered around a quirky origami character, and offer a fun take on the science of our everyday world. The samples here are from the first book, in which a 'dirt diggin' pup and his earthworm friend, explore the ecosystem of a traditional Japanese garden. More info and samples to come!

While working on the project, I came to rely on some great origami resources online. Check out the following links.

http://en.origami-club.com//animal/index.html

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-dog.html

National Trust for Historic Preservation

full landscape

west coast

east coast

 interior scene

 farm scene detail

 Golden Gate bridge detail

 western scene detail

NTHP Promotional Materials: folders, business cards, note cards, and banners

design: Mila Arrisueno

illustration: Jamey Christoph 

 

We also developed a storyboard concept with an animated version of the NTHP logo for internal use. I'm hoping we will develop it further, down the road.

This was a very cool job for an organization very near and dear, The National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Collaborating with Mary, Creative Director at NTHP and Mila, Art Director at Grafik here in Alexandria, we created a collection of 'bright and sunny' scenic illustrations to freshen up the NTHP identity. The challenge was unique, to design a sort of super landscape composed of historic elements from the eastern shore line, the interior, and west coast of the country. It was designed to work in its entirety (potential mural) or as individual scenes for use in publications and promotional material. After a lot of hard work,  I'm happy to share our efforts here today - heartfelt thank you to Mary and Mila for the incredible opportunity.  

Let's save and treasure our beautiful historic buildings and sites!

Workbook 2012

 

Just got the Fall Workbook in the mail and wanted to share here, along with my page from the Spring Workbook.  Very nice page design and layout Pat and Piper! I like how the script lettering contrasts with the clean design, kudos to graphic designer, George Zipparo!

morning views of Washington

August 19, 2012
I wanted to share a few other photos I recently shot of the Washington skyline. My day began insanely early that morning, thanks to my restless dogs.  Rather than watch tv, I grabbed my camera and headed out for a morning drive.  I'm not usually an early riser, but this felt like a special occasion and I would soon discover why.  As I walked up the hill to the Netherlands Carillon and looked down at the view of the city, all I could see were clusters of colorful flowers everywhere! Jackpot! Minutes later, I was almost giddy, laying in the slick grass to get the best angles. Visually, it was almost overwhelming, the way foreground colors and textures were relating to the day breaking sky. Each flower seemed to lend something different to the iconic DC skyline.  Sure it was way too early in the morning and the white polo (I was wearing) will probably never be as bright white, but these pics made it all worth while. : )

Cursive Writing: Around the World in 26 Letters

Royal Yacht, Britannia

 

The Acropolis, Athens

 

The Great Wall of China, Bejing

 

The Temple of Heaven, Bejing

 

Tokyo Subway

Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar

 

Jeepney Street Scene, Manilla

Olmec Head

Ha' penny Bridge, Dublin

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

Uspenski Cathedra, Helsinki

National Monument of Pakistan, Islamabad

The Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall, Jerusalem

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, Prague

Hundertwasserhaus Apartments, Vienna

St. Mark's Church, Zagreb

Yay! The georgraphy themed handwriting book I mentioned a while back, was just released!  You can find it on Amazon here.  So much hard work went into it, it's a treat to see in print.  BIG THANK YOU to Merideth at Sterling for this opportunity! You can order copies here.

skater boy stickers

It's been a super busy Summer and as it begins to wind down, I'm reminded that I have a lot of catching up to do here on the blog. First, I'd like to share a recent collaboration with Peaceable Kingdom Press. I got these samples in the mail a few months back and was so happy with how they came out. Kinda funky cool right? I guess little skater and bmx boys/girls want stickers too. : )

Papa's Day 2012

Happy Father's day to all the Dads, Papas,  & Pops out there!
This was a kinda funky-cool card series I developed with card planner Christine Wierzbicki for American Greetings. I liked their unconventional styling and feel, different from the usual mix. As you can see, each layer of the scene is cut out and assembled like a shadow box. I'm not sure where they were sold, or if they even made it out there, but I had fun with them and wanted to share here.

Weekend in Williamsburg

Governor's Palace, Williamsburg

Spencer and I out front of Moore House, where the British Surrendered the last battle of the American Revolution

We finally had the chance to get away, heading south to the colonial Williamsburg area this past weekend. What a treasure! A little hamlet of a place - truly suspended in time. I put together this little home video of the trip, more for my personal enjoyment (down the road), when the passing of time and all the margaritas have taken their toll. I'm posting it here as things on Alley Cats and Drifters have certainly taken a more architectural and historical bend. ...and in the second half, Spencer and Owen go to the beach! Good times. : )