On Sight: A Cultural Plan for Tacoma

On Sight, A Cultural Plan for Tacoma, was a large magazine format  with a color glossy cover.

In 1992, I was asked by graphic designer Julia Field to create illustrations for the Cultural Plan for Tacoma.  This was a unique project in that Julia and I attended planning meetings for the plan and over the course of several months the illustrations and look for the document were developed along with the writing.  It was an excellent process, and the resulting publication was quite impressive.

This piece was done for the section on individual artists.

This is an illustration for the Arts and Cultural Section.

An illustration of a cultural map for the section on Neighborhood and Cultural Identity

Flying tickets for the Marketing and Cultural Tourism section

"Artistic risks can be taken with the support of a financial safety net,"  from the section on Cultural Organizations.

From the section on Neighborhood and Cultural Identity.

From the section Arts and Cultural Education.

A "live/work space" for the section on Individual Artists.

Illustrations for Guitar World

Eric Clapton in 1992

As graphic designers who had worked in the creative freedom of The Rocket moved on in the quest for greener pastures in publishing, they often brought along their illustrator contacts.  Jesse Reyes took over at Guitar World and featured a number of Seattle illustrators including myself.  Here are a few of the pieces that I did.

Eric Clapton in 1994

Robert Cray

Thrash metal

More '80s Illustration

This center-spread illustration for the first edition of the Northwest Extra was for an article about the pesticide hazards faced by farm workers.

An illustration for an article on red tides in the Seattle Times.

Illustration for an article on computers and Wall Street in the Unix Review.

Hamlet on Wall Street for Stocks and Commodities magazine.

Illustration for an article on fraud in the commodities market in Stocks and Commodities magazine.

The cover of King County Written Arts, 1986.

The cover of King County Written Arts 1988.

A spot illustration in the Seattle Weekly for an article on Seattle landmarks. 

Posters from the '80s

I designed and printed this LP cover sized dayglo poster for a benefit for CANTO that was held at my studio on Wall Street. It was a great event with great radio DJs.

I designed and printed this dayglo poster for a benefit for Radio Freedom, the outlawed underground voice of the African National Congress.

I designed this offset poster for a concert by Nigeria's legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his Egypt 80 Orchestra and Dancers in 1986.

Scratchboard Illustrations

In the mid '80s I discovered scratchboard, which ultimately became my primary medium for illustration. Here are some samples of work from the mid to late '80s.

This piece was done in 1986 for an article on corporate murder in Portland's Clinton Street Quarterly. While the author suggests that corporate executives who knowingly produce products that kill ought to be prosecuted for murder, he also recognizes that that will not happen in our private enterprise system. This story echos louder with the recent Supreme Court decision regarding corporate influence in politics.

This illustration for the article "Requiem for the American Empire" by Gore Vidal was published in the Summer 1986 issue of the Clinton Street Quarterly.

The cover of The Rocket's first annual Northwest Music Directory, 1987

Cover for The Rocket, August, 1988

Illustration for an article on the Bob Dylan tour with Tom Petty

T-shirt design for The Rocket

Done for an article on the management of the ferry system in The Seattle Weekly

This piece was done for the Seattle Weekly for a story on Boeing.

Another One from the Vault

It's all Hallows Eve so here's some spooky fun from 1992:

A Scary Blast from the Past:

In this spooky political season I am digging into the vaults for a couple of fitting pieces from 1984.  

This cover of the November 1984 issue of the Rocket got the paper banned from Pacific Lutheran University.

The "Take the Mask Off" graphic for the bus ad campaign 

“Take the Mask Off” was done for a bus card campaign produced by a group of Seattle artists and arts supporters who formed the group WADA, Working Artists for a Democratic Alternative.  Money was raised at a fundraiser where we watched the presidential debates on a wall of televisions.  I did the illustration and Dale Yarger did the graphic design.  It ran on 26 busses and was available as a poster and t-shirt.

"Take the Mask Off" on Third Avenue

On the bus 

This is the wrap-up spread that WADA sent to all of the supporters.  It documents the press, letters and timeline of the project. 

The screen printed poster.

P.S. (added on the Centennial of Ronald Wilson Reagan's birth): 

I want to remind people why he was associated with 'Teflon.' Reagan presented the American people with a happy face, which was deftly suited to politics. He seemed to many like an upbeat nice guy. But behind the mask, the Reagan administration defunded public programs, emptying mental institutions and expanding homelessness. Meanwhile the military budget was dramatically increased and the 'Military Industrial Complex' became much more deeply entrenched. The expanded roll of the School of the Americas, the illegal "secret" Contra War against Nicaragua and US support of dictatorships left a legacy that we still face. Sadly, these still do not stick and he is remembered for a buoyant economy and his "Shining City upon a hill..." I am still glad to have been a part of the effort many years ago to speak truth to power.

ILLUSTRATION: Other

Promotional card for The Workshop

Original Art for 30th Anniversary P-Patch T-shirt

Original art for P-Patch 20th anniversary T-shirt

Illustration for Act Theater poster

Illustration for Act Theater poster

Three pieces for Warner Brothers

ILLUSTRATION: Tacoma Cultural Plan

These Illustrations were created for the Tacoma Cultural Plan