Rosario Dawson

This is my entry for the Rosario Dawson challenge on FaceBook's Caricaturama 3000. Painted in Photoshop.

Happy Birthday Walt Disney

Happy Eleventy-First Birthday Walt Disney!

Leader's Edge spot illustration

I have a new spot illustration in this month's Leader's Edge magazine. This is Peter Drucker, author, teacher and business guru, who quite literally wrote the book on modern business practices. He is worshipped like a god in many business schools, which is what I was trying to reflect here. Thanks to Ted Lopez for another fun assignment.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Here's my sketch of the day -- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Johnny Cash

I wrapped up a commissioned illustration, which I can't show you, but here's a painting of Johnny Cash that I can show you.

Boris Karloff

Here's my sketch of the day featuring the late great Boris Karloff, who just had his 125th birthday come and go on Nov. 23.

George Virl Osmond

Here's a spot illustrationI did for this month's Leader's Edge magazine. This is George Virl Osmond, father of Donnie, Marie and the rest of the Osmonds. Thanks to Creative Director Ted Lopez for another fun assignment.

Halloween

I always try to get in at least one Halloween painting each year. This year I painted a tribute to one of my all-time favorite horror movies, John Carpenter's Halloween. I've probably seen it a dozen times over the years, and I'm sure I'll watch it a dozen more before I've shuffled off this mortal coil.

Freddy Sketch

Here's my sketch of the day: a quick little sketch of Freddy Kreuger. Trying to get into the Halloween season.

New York Observer

My latest NY Observer cover is on newsstands today. The article ties in the 50th anniversary of the musical Annie with the unlikely idea that anyone can be rich one day. Here's Mitt "Daddy Warbucks" Romney, Honey Boo Boo and her pet pig Glitzy. Thanks to Ed at the Observer for a fun assignment.

Leader's Edge Election Cover

Here is my first cover for Leader's Edge magazine, an insurance industry publication. Creative Director Ted Lopez was great to work with--easygoing with a clear vision what he was looking for. The cover article is about the many possibilities for the insurance industry that could result from this year's presidential election. The editors wanted to see Obama and Romney nearing the finish line to the presidency with several winding paths all leading to the White House.

I submitted four sketches, seen here, and they ultimately chose the marathon runner theme, seen in sketch #2.

This one would have been fun, mostly for the chance to paint the little Paul Ryan in the doghouse on top of the car.

 This is the sketch they went with, but as you can see, although Obama is pretty close to what appears in the final art, Ted thought Romney's figure looked a little odd with the giant water bottle, so I completely redesigned him during the process.

 This was probably the safest of the four sketches.

This would have been fun just to draw Obama and Romney in a fight to death on top of a cliff.

One more image you might be interested in, early on throughout the process the idea had been to make the final art much darker and gloomier. A late editorial decision resulted in me changing the background and overall lighting entirely to something a lot happier (think--Wizard of Oz, as I was told). I have to admit I kind of miss the cool stormy sky I painted below, but I'm overall very happy with how this turned out. It was a lot of fun and I hope to get a chance to work with Ted again soon.

Hellboy

This is a personal project I've been working on for a while now. I had to put it aside for a couple of weeks while I tackled some other jobs.

Oh Clint, Clint, Clint...

My sketch of the day. I've seen the footage of Clint Eastwood's rambling and semi-coherent performance at the Republican Convention several times now, and it just makes me sad to see one of my favorite movie heroes grow old.

Ghoul Power!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love horror movies, good, bad and everything in between. One of my gateway drugs into my personal obsession with horror was the Ghoul, who hosted a late night TV show featuring some of the worst horror movies ever made when I was just a kid. So it was a no-brainer when the supremely talented illustrator Mitch O'Connel invited me to contribute a piece to the Ghoul Power! show at the Kollective Gallery on September 8.

http://www.facebook.com/events/364096523659704/

Jack Kirby

My sketchy painting of the day is the one and only Jack "The King" Kirby, who would have turned 95 years young this coming Tuesday.

Star Wars Prints

I just added two new tattoo-themed Star Wars prints to my Etsy store. "Droids Don't Cry" and "Maul" are available now as signed, numbered, limited edition prints on high-quality, acid-free art paper. The droid print, you may notice, is actually my take on the famous Norman Rockwell illustration "The Tattoo Artist."

New York Observer Cover

This is another fun cover for The New York Observer. The article is titled "Our Cheating Hearts" and deals with society's pervasive attitude toward cheating. Depicted here are Kristen Stewart and the good old Wall Street Bull. Thanks as always to AD Lauren Draper for another fun assignment. Here's a link to the original article. http://observer.com/2012/08/our-cheating-hearts-honor-integrity-and-playing-by-the-rules-are-all-out-of-style

Marilyn Monroe

I know, the world needs another Marilyn Monroe caricature like I need another hole in my head. But at least I used a reference shot of her that's more Norma Jean Baker than Marilyn. This was painted in Photoshop. I have to say, I'm particularly proud of that umbrella. :)

The New Postcards Are In!

I'm getting my latest postcard promo mailing ready. If you'd like to be added to my mailing list, shoot me an email at mark@markdraws.com.

Rich Pineda

This is a caricature of my new bud Rich Pineda. Rich is a really amazing tattoo artist. I first became aware of his work when he tattooed my Bela Lugosi painting on someone. Check out more of Rich's  work on Facebook.