A recent illo for the Wall Street Journal economic forecast report, which is obviously not predicting a rosy scenario. Right after I finished the pencil drawing for this I came down with a stomach virus. It was a rough slog dragging myself back and forth from the couch to the computer trying to finish it in the few hours I had before it was due. All and all I was happy with the outcome.

In early January Kristina and I spent an amazing week snowboarding at Powder Mountain which is situated west of Ogden Utah and is about an hour and a half from Salt Lake City. It was some of the best riding we’ve ever experienced and was six days of plundering powder for days on end. Powder Mountain has over 7000+ acres of skiable terrain which is the most in the U.S.

There’s a portion of the mountain named Lightning Ridge and is accessible via snowcat and costs a mere $12 – which is a total bargain as it covers a 700 acre area of often-varying terrain from woods to bowls to steep chutes. We found the mountain to be completely uncrowded with a friendly mellow staff.

I’d intended to do some sketching but instead stuck to a strict schedule of riding all day, consuming cheeseburgers and beer, watching a Hitchcock film and passing out by 9pm.

One night we received a foot of snow and by morning the mountain was enshrouded within a dense cloud. I stuck mostly in the trees to get a lay of the land but would often find myself out in the open areas where there was nothing to see but a foggy whiteness. The low visibility, abundant snow and Jedi skill-set made for a peaceful and incredibly fun day of riding. We stayed at the Columbine Inn which was a great little place directly next to the main lodge and we were shuttled out there by Wasatch Crest Shuttle who were great in getting us up the snowy and steep road to PowMow.

Here’s a drawing from the top of Giralda Cathedral. The view from the top is spectacular, and overlooks a couple of domes with stone roofs.
I’ve decided to build a stone dome over my house. If you see some rocks that would look good on my roof, please let me know.
On another note, the rocks used for stonehenge were moved 250 miles to the site. I’ve got an idea! let’s move some giant rocks 250 miles today!
This drawing was done with a fountain pen, and then smeared with coffee. It was drawn in a new micro size Moleskin Book which I bought in Barcelona.

Here’s a quick sketch from the Cathedral in Sevilla. We climbed to the top a few weeks ago. The tower has a ramp instead of steps to reach the top. I recommend. The Giralda Cathedral is the largest gothic church in Europe.
Sevilla is a beautiful city lost somewhere in time. Ancient moorish buildings mixed in with great shops and restaurants. We took the train to Granada and spent a day at the Alhambra.

Just finished this illo for the Wall St Journal economic forecast report. It was the first time I’ve ever drawn Barack Obama and it’s thrilling to know his presidency is looming only hours away now. This inspiration for this illo probably came from all the ‘Top Chef’ viewings I’ve had as of late.

A fun illo for Newport Beach, CA based Orange Coast Magazine about how parents are trying new tactics when teaching their teenagers to drive. Some methods include advanced driving courses and GPS trackers that keep tabs on the young driver’s speed and route driven. Art direction by Justin Long.

Just finished an a interactive guide for wsj.com of these bowl game mascots facing off. We’ve been looking to do projects which could incorporate lots of illustration and the BCS match-ups seemed like a good candidate. Big props to my colleague Susan McGregor who did the animating and interactivity. Below is a look at the final layout which has a slight comic book cover composition going on.
Click on the images to view larger and here to view the guide.

Below is an early sketch done before match-up announcements were made.

I’ve been shooting Panorama photos for a number of years but have never had more fun than the new stitching factor in Photoshop CS3. In fact, it has taken over my life.
I try to go out every day and shoot.
There are some drawbacks with storage, cameras, printing etc. but most have been overcome. I have 13 terrabytes of storage here in the studio and more CF flash cards than most Best Buy Stores.
If you haven’t tried it yet, try this: CS3 photoshop> File> Automate> photomerge> choose open files> Voila!
Then I tone map the images using Photomatix to bring out the lights and darks a bit more.
Take a look at http://www.mrpanoramaman.com
The long image above is about 48 inches wide and nearly a gig in size. It’s made up of 34 individual photos.