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Caricature, Illustrations for Special Events,

Executive gift illustrations

Golin Public Relations hired me to create a large illustration for their Chairman Emeritus, Fred Cook.

Three of their executives in Chicago called and we discussed ideas, and then worked from photos and materials that they provided to create oncepts and a sketch. After that was approved, I finished the artwork and added color.

The final piece was printed on 14 X 17" bristol, and then matted and framed. It was was presented to him at an awards celebration and dinner.

From the New York Times: "Golin PR's  founder, Al Golin, made a cold call to Ray Kroc and McDonald's that began a 60-year relationship and helped turn the fast-food restaurant with the golden arches into a household word. With over 50 offices worldwide, Golin PR is now the leading public relations firm in the world."

 Created for Capgemini, the Paris, France-based global leader in utility and biotech.

20" X 28" illustrations, high resolution emailed to the client, then printed, matted and framed...and presented as gifts to exectutives celebrating career milestones. 

Click to enlarge

My process for creating these illustrations is detailed at the bottom of this page.

Part of a series of 12 custom caricature illustrations created for the prominent IT security firm, Zscaler. These depicted the executives of several of their top clients, including the City of Los Angeles, and various Silicon Valley tech companies. I was comissioned by a design agency in San Francisco to draw these in 2022-23. They were printed, then matted framed and presnted to each executive, as a gift.

A couple of years back, I created a series of caricatures and humor for the Ralph Lauren Polo Bar restaurant in New York City. It was a project that continued for a while, tying in with RL's advertising and social media.

The owner of a new, upscale dinner club in Norwalk, Connecticut had seen these cartoons and caricatures, and contacted me to discuss something similar (in terms of caricatures) for his establishment.

He hired me to create a series of 80 8"x10" illustrations of the dining club's members, which were framed and hung throughout the restaurant. (Each couple also received a framed print of their own.)

Caricatures and artwork comissioned for the Atlantic Monthly magazine.

                                                                        Click to enlarge

Retirement gift illustration cmmissioned by global executive placement firm, Heidrick & Struggles. This was created for a executive who had spent 30 years with them, and presented to him at his retirement party. Finished size: 11 X 17, then matted and framed. I was provided with photos and subjects to cover, ideas for milestones, etc. - B&W ink with watercolor.

This is a specialty that I have offered to other companies, and the format I began using two years ago has since been requested by several other companies. (Another illustration created in that format is discussed below as an example of my process.)

I often create custom cartoons and illustrations for companies and individuals who want a special gift for a friend or colleague.

My process:  We can discuss your illustration through email or over the phone, and arrange the particular details. I will need a few clear (front and profile) photos of your friend or colleague.

I'll provide you with sketches via email. After making any needed revisions, I'll proceed with finished artwork, sending you high quality digital files that you can have printed locally at a Kinkos or local print shop, on a high quality printer.  I create the artwork in sizes that allow for easy framing.

Please contact me for more information.

Cartoons written and drawn for a memoir about an executive of a

prominent investment firm, and colleague of Warren Buffet. 

An illustration of the executive Vice President and Head of Marketing of Public Storage, Inc. (He is also skier and a fan of one of my favorite ski towns.) This was commissioned to be presented to him as a gift. I created it at  18" X 24", and it was printed on canvas in high resolution, and framed by the client.

                                                 (Clicken to embiggen)

One of several humorous illustrations of recording artists, "The Swon Brothers", created for Arista Records and used in album artwork, social media and promotion.

This appeared in The Atlantic, (back when George Clooney

was still a serial high-profile dater and perpetual bachelor).

An example of my process:

The following illustration one of several created over the past few years for global utility and biotech leader, Capgemini. (The Paris-based company has twice as many employees as Google, and I'm embarrassed to say, I had previously never heard of them.)

They celebrated the retirement of one of their top executives recently, and I was commissioned to create a gift illustrating several key milestones during his tenure. I was given a outline of his achievements personal hobbies, and asked to write and illustrate funny vignettes, to highlight them in a lighthearted manner.

Reference photos

First step: I worked  with Capgemini's Vice President of Marketing in creating the concepts...and then began drawing the B&W first draft. After discussing the sketches, some minor revisions were made, and a few more scenes were added.

Final art was drawn in ink, and color was added in the form of digital watercolor washes. The artwork was sent as an 11 x 17 high resolution file, which was printed and then matted and framed by the client.

A photo of the gentleman, his assistant, and another Capgemini executive (whom I worked with on the piece), at the celebration in Toronto. (Click to enlarge)

A cartoon illustration created for a family in Los Angeles, who framed it and gave it to their obstetrician, (whose heroic efforts saved their baby.)

A piece created for the "White Marlin Open", the world's largest

ocean gamefish tournament, held annually in Ocean City, MD

A regular part of my corporate client work consists of creating illustrations to help communicate the benefits of new products and technologies.

These cartoons and illustrations are used in advertising, marketing and presentations. One of my specialties is finding effective ways to portray concepts, and adding humor to maintain audience interest.

 15 illustrations created for a presentation to McDonald's

executive management at their Chicago headquarters,

introducing a new technology being implemented.

An illustration created for a presentation by CitiBank/Citgroup

            Here is a blog post with more commisioned illustration samples and further explanation of my process.