If there this one guarantee when you enter into the freelance illustration business, it is that you will be dealing in a lot of visual cliches. Yesterday had another crack at drawing a caduceus for Barrons, and I’ve done plenty over the past 27 plus years. Like their good friends: Uncle Sam, Lady Justice, the Top Hatted Millionaire, the Cap and Gown Graduate, The Bear and the Bull, and too many others to mention, they pop up again and again. Below, I’ve collected a sampling of caduceus illustrations from other clients (Wall Street Journal, Newsday, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Chicago Magazine, among others) just for fun.
Chicago Magazine
Picking Up Steam?
Chicago Magazine, ChronicleHE
An unusual summer for me. The past few summer seasons have been unusually slow, but there has been a slight upward trend around here coming into the 4th of July. I had just finished up a large book project earlier in the month, and it now looks like I may be starting up another in the near future for the same publisher. I also heard from a new client this past weekend, Chicago Magazine, for whom I did the illustration above on ‘alternative medicines’ (and I was pleasantly surprised to find them choosing ‘my concept’ over their original idea of a ‘patient in gown in a hospital corridor’). Then while I was awaiting the approval on the sketch for the above piece on Monday, I got a call from one of my regulars looking for a rush job to accompany an article about the recent Supreme Court decision, which ended up being two rush illustrations by the time the dust settled (both are pictured below). Hopefully this trend continues.
And on the music front, my band finished up vocal recording this past weekend, and I’ve begun putting together the final mixes for our upcoming Sophomore CD release. Hope to have these in hand by mid to late July.
Sketch Day
AHMM, Chicago Magazine, Green Prints, US Catholic, WSJ
Things have slowed down a little bit around here since I completed that last book project (which I still suspect may have some revision work in my future, but it’s been quiet on that front for the past two weeks), but in the meantime, I’ve had an assignment or two from some of my regular clients, plus an assignment this week from a new client. Today was ‘sketch day’, and I’ve posted several of the rough sketches for upcoming projects due in the coming weeks. At the bottom of the post are a few finished illustrations I completed earlier this week (one for the Wall Street Journal and another for US Catholic).