Uncle Goose Toys

Portrait Sketch & Surplus Biden Portrait

Delaware Today, Uncle Goose Toys

Rough sketch for a Delaware Today portrait that came in over the weekend. I’ve got a bit of time on this one (not due until 2021), but other than a few other assignments, and some book projects ‘on hold’ until an unspecified time in the future, there’s not much else going on at the moment, so got the sketch done early.

A couple weeks back, I did a woodcut Biden portrait, in the style of a series of presidential portraits for a set of President Wooden Blocks that I had done for Uncle Goose Toys many years ago. (They have contacted me over the past two elections for ‘updates’ of both the incumbent and the challenger, “Just In Case”). Turns out the President Blocks have been discontinued due to poor sales, so my Biden portrait wasn’t necessary. But that’s ok, it will be put to work in my Zazzle store, like the rest of the presidents from this series. Surprisingly enough, I sell a fair amount of merchandise of even the most obscure presidents in the series. Who would’ve guessed?

Presidents Continued: And This Guy

Dover, Skyhorse Publishing, Uncle Goose Toys

Donald1

 

And finishing up my posts for ‘Presidents Day’, we come to the current resident of the White House. Only a year or so into the ordeal and I’ve already got a lot of time under my belt drawing this face. Only time will tell if we’ll have much more to show in three more years. These come from various sources, a couple paper doll books for Dover, a coloring book project (of which I’ve only shown a few samples from here, they can be found elsewhere on this blog), a few assignments pre-dating the election by several years, a few self promotional pieces, and one already for one of the Penguin book projects (the debate illustration with Hillary).

Donald2

Donald3

Presidents Continued: Obama

Barrons, Dover, Uncle Goose Toys, US Catholic

Obama1The Obama years were times of change in the illustration industry. I found myself doing much less magazine, newspaper and editorial work, and more book publishing assignments, and ultimately, much fewer assignments featuring the president than the previous office holder. These are taken from various sources, including a few tongue-in-cheek paper doll books for Dover, a few magazine assignments and a few self-promotional images.

Obama2

 

Even More Presidents

Dover, Legal Times, Newsday, Penguin, Uncle Goose Toys

EisentoJohnson

 

Continuing this “President’s Day Tribute” with samples of every time I’ve drawn one of the Presidents in my career. Above we have Eisenhower through Johnson. Again, mostly from the Uncle Goose Presidential Blocks project, the Dover Presidential Caricature Stickers Book, and several illustrations from the Penguin books I’ve been doing recently (there’s also a leftover Theodore Roosevelt that I had skipped before, and an extra William McKinley). More to come.

At this point, we are getting to where the president was actually in office while I was working as an illustrator. I started illustrating full time in 1989, so George Bush Sr. was just getting started in his single term Presidency, and by the time Clinton came into office I had several clients that were regularly asking for illustrations featuring the sitting president. My only surviving George Bush Sr. illustration predates my ‘digital illustration’ days, and was a small spot cartoon featuring George and Barbara Bush for Christianity Today Magazine, from about 1991. When Bill Clinton came into office, I struggled for a long time with his likeness. Most of the ‘smaller samples’ on this page are from early Legal Times or Newday assignments, from back in the mid to late 90s. It was only later on, when I was getting more comfortable with the medium, that the larger samples come from (all done after he had left office). I have many more awkward examples of the early struggling days, but I think I’ll just leave them aside for now.

GBHBushtoClinton

 

And, as a bonus, here’s a few more Clinton illustrations I found. A page from the Hillary Clinton Coloring Book from a few years ago featuring Bill and Hillary in an ‘American Gothic’ spoof, and an early one from Legal Times (probably circa 1998 or 99) that also features Ronald Reagan, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and one other unidentifiable character.

Clintonextras

More Presidents

Barrons, Dover, Penguin, Uncle Goose Toys

TafttoCoolidge

 

Continuing with my series of posts showing every presidential illustration I’ve done (in honor of President’s Day falling on Monday this past week). Above we have Presidents Taft through Coolidge. Mostly from the Uncle Goose Wooden Blocks set (the woodcut style) and the Presidential Sticker Book for Dover (the caricatures), plus a few misc illustrations from the Penguin book on the Panama Canal, and a Barrons illustration showing Coolidge on a pair of skis (with a future president in the background, to be revisited later).

Below, we have Presidents Hoover through Truman (with a leftover Warren G. Harding hiding down in the corner, and a few future presidents in the margins).

HoovertoTruman