A surfboard art contest

The winner gets their art airbrushed onto the longboard. The illustration shows top and bottom. I also wrote this diatribe:

Octoboard
Ancient seafarers from Europe to Asia used the octopus as a symbol for the dark mysteries of the ocean and the deep unknown. Their tentacles wrapped around many wooden ships and crushed them like fragile shells. The survivors depicted their perils and fed the lore with fantastic tales.
Today, the tides have turned and we are the threat. The devious tentacles of industry tangle with the generous ocean resources. Petroleum-based companies (including most board blank and resin manufacturers) add to the concoction, materials that weaken the ocean environment. The fisheries are over-harvested and will eventually haul in empty nets.
We as humans may have good intent, but without action it's worthless. Like the tentacles of the octopus, we reach out in all direction with little thought of consequence. The monster of the sea is ourselves, the fear we have is internal, and the sooner we confront it, the better our oceans will be.

• The longboard is a personal symbol of wisdom knowledge and respect for the ocean.
• Is that octopus ink or remnants of an oil spill?
• The fishhook is a symbol for “The one that got away."
• The plastic 6-pack holder is the classic symbol of our disregard for consequence outweighed by cheap convenience.

Needless to say, I lost.

Happy Friday!

http://www.yourlogomakesmebarf.com/

Central Coast Cycling Classic (C4)

I finished the logo design for the Central Coast Cycling Classic (C4) brought to you by cencalcycling.com.
Below is the process in getting this illustration Just so:


The Parameters:

1. It should reflect the classic spirit of the race
   
2. It should hold up well in a variety of promo material from website, garments, street banners and posters for the Fourth of July event weekend.
3. It should suggest the familiar and memorable "C4" moniker so promoters don't go hoarse repeating such a long name.
   

This is bound to be a great event and will set a precedent for future races and civic involvement in Downtown San Luis Obispo. Thanks to Shaba for her visionary plan to make cycling more than it is currently perceived.

Life in Hell

Binky, Bongo, Akbar and Jeff...
Before there was Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie there was "Life in Hell" a punk strip put out by Matt Goering back in the 80's. Here is a Killer collection. Comic Book Junction talks about it's history in this article.

It's been ten years...

I worked at Computer Currents Magazine for four years while living up in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the time, the computer industry was booming and this newspaper /magazine tabloid was riding the wave. It had a top notch editor and good writers contributing regularly to what was basically an advertising catalog for companies like EggHead. Computer Currents was one of the magazines to have a website and sell banner ad space to its advertisers.
In 2000 Computer User bought them up and folded the doors. The last year I was there in '99 I did all of the covers. Below are most of them in their Photoshop 5.0 glory:

Billi Kid stencil & sticker collage, published in The New York Magazine, March 23 2009

Billi Kid stencil & sticker collage, published in The New York Magazine, March 23 2009
Originally uploaded by Janet Bike Girl

The street artists are rising above the surface and getting their props. Billi Kid made the full page spread of new York Magazine and Janet Bike Girl is part of the collage background. She is a Flickr friend and fellow contributor to our annual bike art show. Look for it in May!

I Love this stuff...

Aloha Airline brochure promotes tourism to Hawaii back when the prop planes took 12 hours to get there. This was the big push to get snowbirds out to the tropics and the nostalgic heyday of Hawaiiana.


Car sticker window for my Woodie (yeah right)!

I found ArtBistro to be an informative site with a decent breadth of articles. This one caught my eye today: How to Overcome the Isolation of Working Alone.

Recovery.gov Logo Unveiled

Our new administration has branded the recovery plan with a new logo. This is the first time I have seen it but certainly will not be the last. They plan on using it on many of the programs rolling out for infrastructure and other public projects.

"These emblems are symbols of our commitment to you, the American people -- a commitment to investing your tax dollars wisely, to put Americans to work doing the work that needs to be done," Obama said. "So when you see them on projects that your tax dollars made possible, let it be a reminder that our government -- your government -- is doing its part to put the economy back on the road of recovery." read more...

Many are comparing it to FDR's Works Progress Administration which put millions of people back to work and started the New Deal public arts project that commissioned wonderful art in public spaces across the United States. The Smithsonian just opened their exhibit titled: 1934: A New Deal for Artists.

Freelancing

Sometimes I feel like I'm working in a bubble - Ok, most of the times. This helpful site reassures me of things I know, and always the articles are just long enough to keep my attention. It's called Freelance Switch.