Andy Perez Illustration

Moving on Up!

2010-02-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone, this blog has moved! This address is no longer hosting new material. You can now find all of this content and ALL NEW content at my new blog site www.andytheillustrator.com/blog. My new blog is more integrated into my website and will hopefully eventually offer a better reader/viewer experience. Thanks for reading!

Books as Holiday Gifts

2009-12-17T10:15:00.000-08:00

This is an illustration I recently did for The Texas Observer. It is the header of the Holiday Book section, offering gift book ideas. They wanted to have an image incorporating books into common holiday decoration. After a few sketches I came up with this idea. Very simple: A snowflake, book, and christmas ornament. The juxtaposition of the book image with two very Christmasy images creates a sense that books are part of the holidays. Collage and acrylic paint.

Halloween Promo Email

2009-11-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

Below is an image I used in a self promotional email a few weeks ago. Daylight savings time ended on Halloween this year. So I thought I would send a reminder to "Fall Back", keeping the spirit of the season in mind. The image was accompanied by:

Just a friendly reminder that Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend. Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour or who knows what might happen...

You can see a web version of the actual email here. If you would like to sign up for occasional promotional emails from me you can do so on the contact page of my website or my facebook page.

The New Republican Party

2009-11-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

This illustration is based on this blog post from The Texas Observer. It is printed in the current issue. The article discusses new republican activism and the major players behind the movement. One being American Majority (the name is a little deceiving), a super conservative group training activists and candidates. Below is an excerpt from the blog by Josh Berthume:

Ryun is practicing the ancient art of political organizing, a tradition once thought lost in the age of television campaigning. But after the Christian Right and the Obama Left reinvented personal politicking for the 21^st century, the old wizardry is making a comeback. After the Tea Parties are over and the Fox News van has skipped town, American Majority is training activists to organize their communities and win elections. When conservatives talk about taking back Congress, and eventually the White House, this is how they plan to do it.

Storm the Border Patrol Cover

2009-08-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

This is a cover illustration I did for The Texas Observer. You can read the cover story from the magazine here. I have been thinking about doing some work using only color and images cut from magazines, for this piece I started to try out this idea. There are a few pieces of this image cut from painted paper, but probably 70% of this piece is using color cut from other printed material. Let me know what you think.

Cruise Themed Spot Illustrations

2009-07-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

I recently did some spot illustrations for AAA Traveler Magazine. These illustrations highlight some of the must do's on board and ashore for your next cruise. These cruise illustrations are made with painted paper, collage, and a few drawn marks. The will be printed much smaller than they are showing on screen.

Blue Footed Boobie

Brand New Ship

Century-old Tiki God

Celebrate on board

Life preserver with rope for opener of article

Killed Summer Books Cover

2009-07-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

This is a recent cover piece I did for The Texas Observer. The items on the front all relate to summer or something from the books reviewed within. Completed with collage and acrylic paint. With so much going on, I used a limited color palette so the copy would be very legible. I left room at the top for the title and a space for "Summer Books" in the middle, and for teasers under that. Unfortunately, just before press time, this cover got killed and replaced with some artwork from one of the books reviewed.

A Bag for Books

2009-06-16T18:09:00.001-07:00

This is an image I created to be used on book bags for Ingram Book Company. The bags were given out at Book Expo America (BEA) 2009 in New York City. We wanted to make an attractive bag that would draw people to the Ingram booth. Also, to make something that would remind people of their time in the city. Done with painted paper collaged together.

Crusin' for a Cause 2009

2009-06-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is an illustration I did for the May 2009 issue of Knoxville Magazine. The illustration is for Knox Life page. The article is about a motorcycle ride from Knoxville to New Orleans, lead by two prominent college basketball coaches. Click here for more info. The final is completed with collage and painted paper. Below is the initial sketch.

Presentation, Portfolio Review, and Show

2009-04-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

Last month, fellow artist/illustrator/designer Bill Elliott and I were invited to participate in some exciting opportunities at Itawamba Community College. On March 6th, 2009, we packed up some work and made the trip from Music City, USA to Fulton, Mississippi. We gave a presentation describing the creative work that we do to a group of 1st year art students. After the talk we reviewed portfolios (It was interesting to be on the other side of the table). After the reviews we hung some artwork in the gallery on campus, where it stayed for a month long show. I would like to extend a big thanks to Bill, Tom and ICC for making this happen!

Reviewing a students portfolio

Presidential Eagle

2009-04-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

I bought a couple pieces of scratchboard the other day. I haven't really used this medium much. I had a little time this weekend so i decided to try it out. An image of the presidential seal was printed out, sitting on the floor in my studio. I have been looking at that thinking about making a black bald eagle image. Here it is...

Stevie on the Web

2009-04-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

One of my recent pieces (seen in my last post) is also online.

Check it out here.

Cut It Out, Stevie

2009-03-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is a recent piece I did for The Texas Observer. They wanted to do a paper doll idea using the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue in Austin, an iconic Austin landmark. The illustration is accompanying memories/impressions of SXSW. Stevie can be adorned with some of the articles that out-of-towners brought with them, like skinny jeans and an iphone.

Environmental Film Festival image

2009-03-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

The image below is a piece I did for the March issue of Knoxville Magazine. The article is advertising the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival hosted by the Tennessee Clean Water Network. I wanted to use water in the image since there are so many waterways in the area. The water and a factory make up a movie camera from a birds eye view.

Bringing Stupid Back

2009-02-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

Below is the current issue of The Texas Observer. W has returned to Texas. As you can see there are only a few happy to have W back. Executed with acrylic paint and collage.

Cowboy Monotype Prints

2009-02-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

For the past few years I have been fascinated with cowboy stuff. I don't really know why, but it's true. I have recently been working on some monotype prints using cowboy imagery. Here are a few of them below. These have been really fun for me because they are almost the exact opposite of the work I normally do. Don't get me wrong, I love collage, but its fun to change things up every once and a while. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

Green House and Garden

2009-02-02T15:52:00.000-08:00

Here is an illustration I did for the current issue of Knoxville Magazine.
It is in reference to the Dogwood Arts Festival's House & Garden Show featuring speaker Sara Snow, and her presentation "Small Steps to Save a Big Planet."

A Couple Recent Paintings

2009-01-31T07:41:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple noncommissioned paintings I finished recently. I found two canvases with children's paintings on them at Goodwill. I painted over the existing paintings keeping some of he work and adding my own elements. The imagery is inspired by Spanish vocabulary flash cards that I have had for as long as I can remember. (Sorry, the pics are not that great)

el Toro - acrylic on canvas 16''x20''

el Gallo - acrylic on canvas 16''x20''

Holiday Commissions

2009-01-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!! Its been a while since my last post. I wanted to share some work I did for holiday gifts. First, below is an image of Elvis Presley's Graceland for my parents. This is done with painted paper collaged together. It doesn't really translate on the web, but gold paint makes up the interior of the mansion.

Next, This is a secret commission from an individual for his wife for Christmas. The couple was married in Vegas. The image is of the Paris Hotel. The gift was a hit!!

West Hartford ad in the news

2008-12-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

As you previously read, I completed an illustration project with Go Media for the West Hartford Center. Today I was referenced in a blog discussing the center and the ad. Check it out.

My First Commercial

2008-12-11T17:09:00.000-08:00

Recently, I connected with the folks at Go Media in Hartford, Connecticut. I worked on a project with them for the West Hartford Center. They wanted an image that could come to life in a broadcast ad. The objective was to show the shopping center and some of the cool stuff one could experience while shopping there. I created separate collages and compiled everything digitally, delivering a layered photoshop file as the final product. Below you can see the sketch and final image. Click here to see the video.

Recreation (Vehicle) in Nashville

2008-11-22T06:38:00.000-08:00

This is a piece I did for the Nashville Scene's Annual Manual early this year. I was tasked to create a section leading illustration for the Recreation Section of the directory. The idea is that a guitar shaped R.V. is driving around Music City. The final illustration and initial sketch are below. You can see this image a little larger on my website.

Toll Booth Perry

2008-11-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

This is a recent piece I did for the Texas Observer. The issue it's in should be out soon. The article is about how Rick Perry, the governor of Texas, would like to privatize major highways and turn then into toll roads. The magazine lwanted to use an actual photo for Perrys's face. The final is done with collage and acrylic paint. The final and the rough sketch are below.

Hello World

2008-11-12T21:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog. I am an illustrator and designer. My illustration website is AndyTheIllustrator.com. And just to let everybody know, I was Andy the Illustrator way before Joe the Plumber and every other "first name the occupation" came into light. My intent for this Blog is to keep everyone up to date with my recent work, as well as give a behind the scenes look at the process of my work. I would also like to share interesting pieces of culture I find along the way. I hope you enjoy.

I will be posting new work soon. Until then please let Kevin Carroll inspire you to change the world by playing. Below is a video from his blog.