Some projects are more delicious than others. While illustrating new menu boards for local burger shack "The Hintonburger" I sampled nearly every item in order to reference them for the menu. Check out their website, or stop by the shop at 1096 Wellington to have a look at the new menu designs.
In Memory of Ian Noble
I was saddened to hear about the death of Ian Noble in January. Ian was head of the masters of typo/graphic design program I attended at the London College of Printing. Ian was also one of the main reasons I chose this program. When I first met Ian I told him about my interest in illustration and comix — and how some of my design professors during undergrad allowed me to produce comix for final projects. Upon hearing this, Ian promptly rolled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of Tintin running along his bicep. This moment alone was enough to convince me this was the right grad program for me.
Ian, you will be missed.
Tributes:
Jack Layton: Thoughts from Metcalfe Street at Midnight
Today, August 22, 2011, Jack Layton passed away at the age of 61. If you're Canadian, you already know this.
A few hours after noon, I biked up to Parliament Hill, just a few blocks north of my apartment. There were already dozens of flowers, candles and a few signs sitting alongside fencing near the Centennial Flame. I'd estimate a hundred mourners stood around, and the same amount came and went over the next hour. I looked up at the Peace Tower, and the flag at half-mast stopped me. I've never been affected by a flag at half-mast before.
I pulled out my skechbook and leaned on the wall on Wellington St. I did a few quick sketches of the peace tower, and the flag. One of the sketches I left amongst the flowers. It rained shortly after and got quite windy, so I suspect it is now gone. I kept the best sketch and took it back to my studio (only after trying to make it to another job, which I quickly gave up on, due to rain, and the nature of the day). Once in the studio I wanted to work with the sketch a little more, but only slighty. The result is below.
After posting the image on Facebook and generating a lot of "likes" very quickly, I printed the image at my local shop, and eventually brought them back to Parliament Hill, when we attended the vigil around 8pm. There were hundreds, if not thousands of people there tonight. Hard to get a real sense of numbers in the dark, with people coming and going. There were hundreds of candles, flowers and notes along the fence by this point. We walked around the crowd, and eventually made our way to light candles and place prints of my illustration. I saw Paul Dewar, and gave him the only signed copy.
I've had a few people interested in re-publishing the image. As usual, with my work, you're welcome to re-publish the image, provided it's for non-commercial purposes. Title of the image is Parliament in Mourning, courtesy Patrick Alonso. Here is a higher-res download of the image, linked. Also below, an image of me lighting candles tonight, courtesy my girlfriend Amanda, as well as a photo of the print.
A stunning example of Confectionaries changing
One of the corner stores I illustrated has replaced it's sinage in the past week or two. The store is Giovanni's, and the old sign was rusted, with crumbling paint, and two vintage 7up logos on either side. In between the logos, there was so much decay, the name of the store had long since washed off. It was, in a word, gorgeous. I knew the signage was going to be changed after speaking with the owner earlier this summer. I understand why he felt this was a necessary thing to do, and I hope it helps his business. However, I feel like removing the crusted old sign was removing a landmark, and I'm glad (in a melancholy sort of way) that I illustrated the place before the change was made.
Profile in Dharma Arts about Street Sketching in Ottawa
Online magazine Dharma Arts has a nice little profile about myself and fellow Ottawa artist, Julie Cruikshank. The theme of the profile is street sketches, which is a major focus of both Julie's work and my own. Julie recently moved to Ottawa's Chinatown district, where I've done quite a few of my own drawings. We met on a scorching August day to do the photoshoot for this piece.