About

I am a mostly self-taught illustrator and designer who began doing pencil drawings at age 21, then progressed to watercolors. Later, in an effort to create a PowerPoint résumé, I learned Photoshop and became obsessed with creating memes, photo illustrations and eventually portraits and other depictions that differ little, really, in methodology from the works I create with a pencil or brush. 

    The illustration of Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane that graces this site’s home page took about 70 hours, much of it sorting out, then re-creating, subtle details in the photograph it is based on, such as Trane’s embouchure. My sister, a musician herself, insisted that getting the puff above Davis’s upper lip just right was crucial; I struggled more with coaxing his eyes in the right direction. 

    Such works are done through a dozen or more overlays, which negates the pressure of getting it right the first time, but not the demanding task of doing so in the end.

    My illustrations have appeared most frequently in social media, but also in print media, academia, blogs and other outlets, including a line of T-shirts about running that I produce. In addition, I have worked as an editor at  Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and other publications.