My Debut in the New Republic

I did this double portrait of Bono for the New Republic that's on the newsstands now. I did about a dozen illustrations in all for the Lists Issue. Bono is on their list of "pseuds". Not having spoken with Bono recently, I can't say whether he's any phonier than other rock musicians who have political opinions. He does have nice eyewear though.

Here's another, this one depicting the overcoverage issue. Too much media attention about the usual non-topics. I've been an admirer of the design and the writing at the New Republic. The design is by the estimable Joe Heroun.

Wedgewood

I did this illustration for Shambhala Sun magazine, art directed by Liza Matthews and published out of Nova Scotia. (Who knew N.S. was a major center of Buddhism?) The story told how one man's peace and quiet was disturbed by a neighbor's rock music, and how he restored peace. The suburb he lived in happens to be called Wedgewood, which suggested the ceramic metaphor.

Chateau

Besides being the worst driver in American literary history, Nathanael West also etched an interestingly surreal portrait of Hollywood, the town where he spent his twilight years. The surrealism amounted to dead accuracy, of course. Scenes of cowboys and Indians seated at café counters and fairy tale cottages planted adjacent to miniature haciendas in the Hollywood Hills. When I finally arrived in L.A. I was disappointed to discover there wasn't actually an immense building spelling out "20th Century" like the one that preceded pictures by 20th Century Fox. There was the Hollywood sign, however. And this authentic chateau located on Sunset Boulevard. Where Jim Morrison used up the eighth of his nine lives and Helmut Newton and John Belushi died and F. Scott Fitzgerald nearly did, where Garbo and Montgomery Clift and James Dean and Hunter S. Thompson slept.

Crystal Ball

I did this for an indie rock magazine called Death + Taxes, published out of Miami. Creative Director Joey Parlett. Story about a guy contemplating trends and other metaphysical shit. Sorry, I meant to say stuff. If you lie down with rock journalists, you wake up with a more colorful vocabulary. This reminds me of that Philip Guston painting of the eye staring at the whiskey bottle. It also reminds me of my short sweet gig doing biweekly illustrations for Rolling Stone. It was thirty years ago and Jann and I were much younger. This is a revisiting of the style I used then. Loopy, offhand, with the occasional disembodied head.

Jacko (1959-2009)

I did these two illustrations for my semi-regular gig in the LA Times Weekend Calendar. The question being asked was "What will Jacko do next to revive his career?" I had several ideas, but the Country Western album and Vienna Choir Boys concert tour were the funniest––and not entirely implausible.