Jamestown Community College (JCC) Rolls Out NEW Logos

Jamestown Community College has recently gone through a "rebranding" with new logos for the college itself, and for the sports teams on the Jamestown and Olean campuses. For the most part the new logos are successful, but what is it about the Olean Jaguar that they just can't grasp? For many years, the blue, black and white logo for the jaguars was the hideous sock puppet shown in the image. Although the new jaguar is an improvement from the old design, I can't help but feel they still missed the mark again. The silhouette of the new logo isn't remotely cat-like. The snout on the mascot is too long and narrow like a canine or hyena. It's expression is a little vague too. I threw together a quick jaguar with the same general logo treatment, just to compare. With a little more time and effort, I would simplify the spots and details to make it less illustration and more graphic. What happened? It's hard to say, but I have found that sometimes graphic designers get caught in the stylization of logos and lose those aspects of the image that communicate its identity. The reverse is true sometimes too. Illustrators can get caught up in the details of an image and lose their way to a truly good logo. Somewhere between the two extremes is a great logo, but the new JCC Olean Jaguar just isn't great.

I Don't Love You Too - 10,000 Maniacs

The Last Few Strokes...

So here we are, almost October and almost finished with the "California, Here We Come" mural. It is big.

With two more outdoor mural projects this season, it will be a race with the weather to the finish line. Stay tuned...

Where to Draw the Line...

I am nearing the end of a monster sized project, and I was thinking about the time it took to do. Around the first week in August, we finally got the okay to begin a 1,600 square foot color "I Love Lucy" mural.

We certainly could have finished it more quickly, but there was some rain and a few other distractions during the process. The distractions were a few minor projects done for some clients, portraits and an interesting local sidewalk chalk drawing festival. Last Saturday (a day when mural painting was ideal) I took a day off and created a 62 foot long forced perspective piece of Michelangelo's "David" on a section of sidewalk. From the reverse angle it looked like this...

...but when viewed from the other end it looked like...

It was a great weekend. Over the span of this mural, I have also worked on a ton of freelance projects, and I started to wonder "How much work is too much?" I guess for everyone, the answer may be different, but I for one am excited to wake up every morning, knowing I have a ridiculous amount of things to accomplish. As a busy artist, I think the best place to draw the line, is where ever the next one goes.

SPRINGY...

So an uncharacteristically mild winter in western New York has given way to an unusually early and warm spring!

Here's a design for the Infinity Performing Arts Spring showcase.

I was looking at a bunch of Magritte paintings this week and became inspired. I was also looking at some Art Nouveau borders and old seed packet and fruit crate artwork.

The end result is a poster which combines the green rebirth of spring and the blooming of young musical talent.

A good poster doesn't need to communicate everything about an event. It really just needs to visually draw you in for a closer examination.

Three Little Pigs

Here's a few animation tests I have been working on.

Shaking Through...

Blog about something... PLEASE! ANYTHING!

Historically, the months between January and April is the most depressing time of the year for me. I'm truly trying to get up off my ass and create something. Combine the lack of creative incentive with the soul-crushing lack of incentive dripping out my 9 to 5 pay envelopes, and you have a real recipe for disaster.

So what can an artist do to fend off the pre-spring blahs?

I'll post some artwork... that's what! Yeah, I've been uninspired, but I have been plodding along with a few freelance jobs here and there. Lookit.