Working for the folks at the Apple Support YouTube and Twitter channels provided me with many opportunities to grow as a designer and illustrator. One of my main roles as one of the team’s graphic designers was to concept and create illustrations and designs for Apple device applications that appeared in the team’s educational motion graphic videos. Many of the graphics were created within application tools to achieve the most accuracy.

Longtime friend and playwright Angela Hanks reached out to me to design a cover for her 2018 play “Wilder Gone.” Angela and I have collaborated before, but this time a big time publishing company was in the mix. I was ecstatic to create this cover supporting my friend’s career growth and humbled that she asked me to do it. The published work will be released in Spring 2023 and I’m excited to share it with the world. If you’d like to be delighted, keep an eye out for tickets to one of Angela’s plays.

In 2021 I was honored to be asked by director Hamilton Boyce to create psychedelic visuals for the West Coast all-women, all-amazing, surf rock inspired, band La Luz’s upcoming music video “Metal Man” (a single off of the self-tilted album La Luz). Hamilton and I worked together researching the underground world of liquid light shows. While nodding to the 60’s history of the art media, I also wanted to keep the colors vibrant and ambiance current to support the song’s timeless energy.

“Metal Man” by La Luz
Director/Cinematographer: Hamilton Boyce
Video Producer: Danny Hahn
Art Director: Amy M Huber
Production Assistant: DLB

A design exploration revival of “Morning Sketching” where a new environmental illustration is created each morning using the digital application ProCreate. Design focus includes using a set color palette, combing geometric and organic shapes and experimenting with new media techniques.

Follow along with daily progress at Morning Sketching.
See related series Geometric Gig Posters for comissioned designs.

Working and collaborating with other creative artists is a joy of mine. For this ongoing poster series I experimented using geometric shapes, bright textures, simple lines and timeless typography to create postmodern inspired designs that showcase each musician’s style.

The Geometric Gig Poster series is an extension of an experimental daily digital illustration project that I am currently working on. See more designs at Morning Sketching 2023.

During 2020 many of us were (are) quarantined at home and feeling ready to mingle but with health-minded restrictions we are limited. With more time on my hands and a desire to help lift moods and create connections among people, I decided to design a set of humorous quarantine-themed postcards. The United States Mail service is also struggling a bit so this is a great opportunity to make a difference by sending postcards to those we can’t spend time with right now.

Each postcard was lovingly conceived, designed, and printed in my downtown Los Angeles, CA home studio. I hand-illustrated each drawing with ink and highlighter. I then digitally scanned and used software to create final designs.

Voting is an important part of the democratic process. People have fought, marched and died to have the right for their voices to be heard and to be able to implement leaders and laws best representing them. Even if a process has flaws we must keep voting because we care and because we believe in change.

I’ve created this poster to share. Please feel free to print and posts around your city.

All I ask is that you a) don’t take credit b) do not make a profit off my design c) do not copy and take as your own design.

“The Adventures of Kona & King” is a book delightfully written by Joanne Cooper. The original illustrations – created by her 11-year-old grandson Zachery Cooper – are accompanied by hand-drawn and digitally altered backgrounds by me. The book design and layout were also created by me.

It is an interactive book written in a rhyming poem format, asking questions to stimulate children’s imaginations and initiate conversations. The two stars of the story are two real-life Labrador Retrievers named Kona and King.

NYX Professional Makeup is an American cosmetics company that is a subsidiary of L’Oréal. The company was founded in Los Angeles by Toni Ko in 1999. It was named after Nyx, the Greek goddess of the night. NYX Professional Makeup is certified and acknowledged by PETA as a cruelty-free brand, and they offer a wide range of vegan-friendly products. NYX products are sold in over 70 countries at thousands of retailers, ranging from specialty beauty and fashion stores to freestanding shops and the brand’s corporate website. (Wikipedia)

During my time with NYX I worked with their lovely team to co-create display and environmental designs. The company focuses on diversity and inclusion through makeup and self-expression. The Epic Wear campaign features edgy graphics that emulate tattoo design and have a long-lasting life.

Peter Donovan of the Seattle band, All the Real Girls, approached me to design the cover of his upcoming single “Good to Be Alive.” As I learned more about this project I was elated. As a part of the Bushwick Book Club – Seattle, Peter based his song on the popular children’s “Frog and Toad” book series by Arnold Lobel. “Frog and Toad” was a favorite childhood book of mine and I asked Peter if he wanted the album art cover to be based on Lobel’s illustrations. Since Peter’s lyrics beautifully echoed the book series I decided to use the naturistic subject matter and 1960’s color pallet in my design. I used a flat illustration style, hand-inked drawings, and textured watercolor-painted paper strips which I combined – along with type digitally.

The lovely animation was created by Bradley James Lockhart.
Song by Peter Donovan & Elijah Ocean

Hamilton Boyce – Harmony Vocals
Peter Donovan – Vocals
Zach Jones – Piano, Harmony
Vocals Curren McDowell – Drums, Percussion
Elijah Ocean – Guitars, Bass, Organ, Harmonica, Harmony Vocals

Jay’s Garage is a unique automotive shop in the heart of Ballard, Seattle. Co-owners Jay and Austin contacted me with the need for an updated bright and shiny sign to hang on the nearby Ballard Bridge. The goal was to quickly to catch the driver’s eye while commanding attention. The garage had a simple black and white typographical logo and sign which I used as a starting point. The inspiration logos that Austin provided showed strong letters and yellow and black color pallets. For the redesigned options I used fonts that echoed the impact of the reference logos and a similar color pallet. For continuity, I utilized the same typeface from the original sign for the informational copy. Once the clients chose their favorite logo I designed the signage, provided alternate color options, and created a brand guide as reference for optimal design.

Plants clean the air in your home and give joy to your soul. They give you something to take care of and bring life to a dull space. One of my personal projects is to create illustrations of the plants in my home and frame them with vintage frames discovered at thrift and antique shops. Recently I’ve enjoyed finding ways of weaving these hand drawn and painted plant portraits into the digital world.

Eddie Bauer is a Seattle area based outdoor clothing company that began in 1920. The company has a rich history than started with the owner, Eddie Bauer opening a tennis racket shop in downtown Seattle.  The shop eventually expanded to include award-winning outdoors gear. His wife Christine “Stine” Heltborg, also an avid outdoors-person, implemented the women’s outdoor wear line. Their products are now geared towards outdoor enthusiasts with an emphasis on hiking, rain and snow-wear.

During my time with digital design team at Eddie Bauer I created visual marketing media through email, various social media outlets, website product pages and digital banners. By using E.B. brand standards and guidelines and adding modern visual aesthetics I created designs that keep with the history of the company while appealing to evolving design trends.

The Garden Series, a personal project, is inspired by the imaginations of children and how we often lose our sense of wonder as we grow into adulthood. In my home I’ve acquired many plants, and my partner and I have small figurines scattered throughout them. In this series of paintings, my houseplants become jungles and miniature toys become adventurers in strange lands.

Zulily is an American e-commerce company headquartered in Seattle that sells clothing, toys, and home products. Their target audience is young and tech-savvy mothers on the lookout for unique brands and products for their children.

For this project I was asked to create a custom font for their special online event Brights for Baby. The creative font is based on the brand’s main typeface, Futura. Layering bright blocks of color throughout the design and onto product photographs creates a modern cheerfulness that appeals to Zulily’s client base. A sense of glee and optimism is achieved in these children’s nurseries as they enjoy their brightly colored clothes and accessories.

Over six days, the annual New York Short Film Festival showcases work from around the world at the historic Cinema Village theater in Greenwich Village.

I worked with New York City short-film director Noel Day Bishop to create the branding for the festival’s 2016 marketing campaign. For the event, we wanted something eye-catching that represented what a New York film festival is about. The design I provided gives a nod to the interesting historic origin of the independent movie theater hosting the festival. Before becoming a theater in the 1960s, the building, built in 1898, was a three-story fire-engine house. By using an illustrated image of a Dalmatian capturing social change on its vintage film camera, we whimsically alluded to the theater’s beginnings and the ever evolving character New York City.

Veelo is an interactive online application designed to help businesses grow. Veelo provides a platform created to guide company sales teams. This includes virtual coaching, sales content management, and better prospect engagement.

I have a small obsession with vintage trucks, which I blame on growing up in Texas. This ongoing personal series started unintentionally as I found myself taking Instagram shots of the vintage trucks and trailers around my Seattle neighborhood. Across the city many displaced people live in these trucks as homes. At the same time, my father, who lives with extreme mental illnesses, was also living on the streets, and I wanted to find a way to help those experiencing homelessness in my community. With my limited monetary resources, I began painting my Vintage Truck Series based on the photographed trucks with the goal of sending a portion of the art sales to a local organization advocating for those experiencing homelessness in Seattle. I approached the owners of the boutique Velouria with the idea of a fundraising event, and they were immediately on board to host.

A portion of all Truck Portrait sales continues to support Facing Homelessness, and if interested, you can purchase an already created illustration or request a truck/car portrait of your own. See more details in my online shop or donate directly.

Featuring local and traveling artists, the Stay Sexy fundraiser provided financial support for Planned Parenthood in 2017 when it was losing governmental funding. My friend Lanka DeSilva and I hatched the idea of the fundraiser as a means to take positive political action around an issue we felt passionate about.

With our friends Hillary Allison and Chris Atherly, we planned the volunteer-driven event, which took place at LO-FI Performance Space and raised nearly $5,000 for the organization. As the fundraiser’s visual designer, I created the event branding, including collateral such as posters, handbills, and digital marking materials.

For over 25 years, TCS World Travel has hosted guests on adventures of a lifetime. Their high-end, all-inclusive journeys deliver unparalleled and meaningful experiences in unique destinations around the globe.

Each year, the company collaborates with an illustrator to create a calendar for their clients that celebrates world travel. In 2016 they hired me to create detailed illustrative snapshots of their beautiful featured vacation destinations. I brought scenes from around the world to life using bright colors and a style I adapted for a more realistic depiction of the locations. I created the illustrations using a combination of gouache, watercolor, and my favorite black Sharpie pens, with any edits made digitally.