Recent Illustrations
These images were painted in the last couple of years.
You will see that even now, I have a wide interest in the old school techniques both in illustration and fine art. Much of what I’ve learned about methods came from studying traditional basic approaches. Yet at the same time, I looked over the shoulders of a great many contemporary illustrators, paying special attention to those I met and interviewed at the Society of Illustrators, as well as digging through what information I could find in the remarkable written history available thanks to those artists who took the time to reveal their secrets and advice in dusty corners of the library shelves around the country.
A lifetime later, this website is the result.
The Year of the Dragon. I remember attending the Dragon Festivals where Chinese teenagers danced, wearing huge puppet heads. The conventional dragons I saw often populated the sketch books of teenage artists struggling to tame their adolescent turmoil. Unlike the malevolent, fire-breathing dragons of Western folklore, Chinese dragon are actually noble, benevolent, wise, and kind creatures associated with luck and prosperity. People born under this sign are thought to be destined for success and greatness. This picture suggests the tensions between those ideas and modern cultural norms.
"Politicians Hotfooting Into the Future" 2025 PhotoShop. This is no endorsement. This is just the way it seems to be for the power grabbers, as they jockey for more and more of what never seems enough. Their hubris will be their disgrace.
"The Year of The American Snake" Valkyrie Gallerie. 2025. Acrylics on Gessoed Board. My entry for the Chinese New Year Show "The Year of the Snake".
"Thurston's Assistant " I was inspired by my Aunt Anna Murphy, who was regularly sawn in two by Thurston the magician, on the New York City stage. She was never actually harmed and lived to a ripe old age. Yet, it was also true that her father had died (likely killed on the docks) when she was a preteen and so she was cast out into the world, into a new reality, with her three Irish sisters, to make a living to survive in the early days of New York City.
A submission for the Valkyrie Gallery: The Year of the Water Rabbit. Oil painting on wooden panel. 8" x 8". With those sensitive ears, hearing everything, knowing when things are off key, never knowing why the dogs were chasing him into the ocean, this rabbit is a cautious, vigilant and kind hearted soul, able to bounce back from whatever challenges he must confront.
"Worried Robot". Demonstration in pastels, colored pencils and oils on illustration board. RMCAD. Do robots dream of pot roast? Or are they concerned about the socioeconomic consequences they represent?
"Chaos Had A Busy Week" PhotoShop 2025. An observation about the first weeks of the new administration's actions.
"Clown Car 2025" PhotoShop. D.O.G.E. Clowns driving too fast in a thunderstorm can't be a good sign. The exaggerated savings, ineffective implementation and troubled staff appointments are not associated with serious government reform, but rather a theatrical hype meant to appeal to the political base.
Clown with Chainsaw. First reactions to D.O.G.E. and Musk's grandstanding threats portray its methods as recklessly destructive and haphazardly nonsensical. Originally, Musk framed the chainsaw as a symbol of cutting away bureaucracy.
"Robot Unplugged" PhotoShop. The story of a new Frankenstein, a super intelligent slave, engineered with human empathy , tragically doomed forever to an unloved existence. The robot exists in a state of permanent, unrequited love, where it can be programed to provide affection and comfort but can never genuinely receive it..
The Sleepy Winter Dragon waking up deep in the icy forest, meets a surprising visitor. Why was the forest unnaturally cold for so long? Will the dragon see the visitor as friend or foe? Since his slumber, how has the world changed?
"Riding the Waves" in warm nights. I have had a number of clairvoyant visions about rising sea levels and melting glaciers despite all the mind-numbing conversations about the new Cracker Barrel Logo controversy... yet a water dragon is traditionally a positive sign about the future of environmental consciousness.
The Gnarly Man L. Sprague de Camp 1939. A Neanderthal is struck by lightning, becoming immortal, and roams through time , until one day he is spotted in a Side Show, by a scientist. The scientist is curious to the point of stepping over the line of human decency, when she engages her scientific colleagues in her discovery. From the anthology "Lands and Legends".
"Mountain Gorilla Family in the Forest" Acrylics on masonite. 2024. Years ago I started some drawings at the Denver Zoo, then began this painting, but got distracted. Found it in a storage room last year, and I thought it would be a good exercise to finish it up. The mountain gorilla population is small and faces threats from poaching, habitat loss, and disease. This is a critically endangered species in a fragile ecosystem.
"The Dream in the Castle of the Parrot Queen". Oil on canvas. 2025. The Queen seeks COVID advice and counsel in a surreal world.
"Parking Lot Scene in Glacier" Plein air with studio touch up. Oils on canvas board. 11" x 14". This is really a surrealist fantasy, based on a site in Glacier National Park that I transformed partly to a dry Southwest location. The tranquil lake contrasts with the harsh and waterless reality that confronts the realities of a rapidly warming future. 2025.
"The Golden Mountain Near the Prince of Wales" The home of the gods. A place for the supernatural.. Plein Air, touched up in the studio. Oils on canvas board. 9" x 12"
The Mouse's Tail" A brief encounter brings an enduring friendship. Acrylic on canvas. 2023. Sometimes a little sketch gets carried too far to be called a sketch anymore
"It Was A Night Like No Other" Proposal drawing for children's book, " How The Music Factory Blew Up."
"The Bug Train" A children's book story about a little boy who hangs out with bugs. Digital.
"A Western Encounter" Oil on canvas. 16" x 20" An imaginary composition, really more of a dream than a reality.
In the Rockies" Originally a plein air study, revised into this Surreal landscape, with little mountain goats. Acrylic on canvas.