foolish fire » Sketchbook

Un uomo e la sua automobile blu

James — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:54:50 +0000

I love the proportions of man to machine in this painting from a vintage photo I’ve had hanging out in my files for a while. I think it may actually may be taken in France or the Netherlands but the title sounds better in Italian, as do most things.

Ode to Helvetica

James — Thu, 05 May 2011 17:58:15 +0000

If one font can be responsible for one’s choice of career path, in my case it would be Helvetica. This is just a playful tribute to Max Miedinger and the Haas foundry.

Who says door hangers can’t be sexy?

James — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:56:47 +0000

One of our ISP clients requested we design a printed sales piece to accompany a door hanger campaign they’ll be waging in a neighborhood within their service area. They wanted something generic, but themed around a rocket motif, which has meaning for them because part of their name in Italian means “rocket”. I did some retro looking posters for them a few years ago which I liked for their look and feel ( and how fun it was for me) but probably had little marketing punch.

So the challenge was to reprise the rocket imagery but give it an update and also create a piece that contained some actual useful information. And personally, I’m so used to seeing Round Table Pizza menus and realtor ads on my doorknob, something that actually looked like “art” might have an instant “read me” effect, thus the “mini poster” below.

The play is the thing

James — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:48:05 +0000

I’m lucky enough to have some uber talented relatives, most notably my cousin David Wally, playwright, former movie mogul and Facebook political soul mate. David is producing his second play, “In & Out: The USofAlienation” in association with Brian Rasmussen at Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks and I’ve been helping out with the promotional materials design. We also collaborated on the design for his previous offering “Six Degrees of Fornication”. Anyway, this stuff is nine kinds of fun for any illustrator/designer so I thought I’d share. And if you’re in the LA area on a Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in July, be sure to come by and see David’s latest comment on relational life in America in 2010. Email him at dramedy6@gmail.com for more info.

Cellography

James — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 15:54:03 +0000

A recent excursion out the front door and down to the bike shop, yielded these cell images.

New Work

James — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:14:47 +0000

This category of new work is a journal of sorts chronicling the roller coaster ride that has always been and continues to be my spiritual evolution. It’s no small thing. It’s a working out of some difficult equations. Some heavy lifting, some loosening of the grip, some wriggling free. Trying on new clothes, new lines, new colors, new textures.

Click on the image to enlarge.