Louis L'Amour Western Short Stories

I am currently working on an ongoing series of covers for Louis L'Amour western short stories and novels, which Random House is repackaging. L'Amour wrote over a hundred novels and short story collections, beginning in 1950 until his death in 1988. My understanding is that all of them are still in print. Below is the first approved cover collage. Below that are two of the unused preliminary ideas.





CLIENT: RANDOM HOUSE
ART DIRECTORS: BEAU L'AMOUR, SCOTT BIEL

Returning Vets: The War Within

Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have a difficult time readjusting to family life, especially those with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injuries. That was the subject for this illustration for the Military Officers Association of America, in which I am trying to convey the vulnerability and isolation many veterans and their families struggle with.

CLIENT: MILITARY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
ART DIRECTOR: ROSE RICHEY

Summer of Tough Love

Oh, I have been a bad blogger, I have not posted in over two months. I have been busy, which is always nice. Unfortunately, several of my recent efforts—for various reasons— never made it to press. Here are three projects which all died a premature death at comp stage:

These are two variations of a poster for a production of A Christmas Carol at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis:



CLIENT: GUTHRIE THEATRE, SPOTCO DESIGN
ART DIRECTOR: DARREN COX

This is a sketch and two comps for a novel about a dying young woman and an introverted, emotionally wounded young man transformed by love.



CLIENT: PICADOR
ART DIRECTOR: LEEANN FALCIANI

And here are two rejected versions of a paperback cover edition of a best-selling novel:



CLIENT: RANDOM HOUSE
ART DIRECTOR: ROBBIN SCHIFF, PAOLO PEPE

“The Pirate Captain's Daughter” Book Jacket

In this young adult novel by Eve Bunting, fifteen year-old Catherine disguises herself as a cabin boy to join her father on his pirate ship. Told in the first person, the book reads like an historical diary, vividly portraying the nuances and flavor of the time and place, as well as capturing the coming of age and emotional life of Catherine.

We explored a several options in the sketches below, eventually deciding on the close-up of Catherine, with the torn historical map as a border. Many thanks to my model, Lily L., for making a perfect Catherine.



CLIENT: SLEEPING BEAR PRESS
ART DIRECTOR: JENNIFER BACHELLER

God of the Desert Illustration

Writer Richard Rodriguez' new book is about the role of the desert in the formation of the Abrahamic religions. This illustration accompanied a profile of the author in Sojourner magazine. Art director Ed Spivey, Jr. left the concept up to me, as long as I included an image of a desert and a photo of Rodriguez. I was visiting family in Ohio while I was working on this project, and while Ohio is very flat, it really is not a desert. So I made a very mini-desert in my mother's garage for the illustration, which was fun.

CLIENT: SOJOURNER MAGAZINE
ART DIRECTOR: ED SPIVEY, JR.

“Beautiful Disaster” Book Jacket

Beautiful Disaster, by Laura Spinella, is a romance/suspense novel set in Athens, Georgia. Art Director Rita Frangie asked for a romantically beautiful country road scene with a lone figure and a motorcycle in the distance. The tricky part for me was making the southwest Florida countryside look like northern Georgia. Some diligent location scouting and Photoshop helped me out on that score.

CLIENT: BERKLEY BOOKS
ART DIRECTOR: RITA FRANGIE

“Edges” Book Cover Illustration

Edges, by Léna Roy, is a coming-of-age novel for young adults set in the breathtaking canyons of Moab, Utah. In the story, two teens grapple with family relationships as well as addiction and recovery. Above is the finished artwork for the cover. Photo of the juniper tree and rocks© Cliff Walker iStock Photo.

CLIENT: FARRAR, STRAUS & GIROUX
ART DIRECTOR: ROBBIN GOURLEY

“Reserve Fund” Magazine Illustrations

The financial crisis has affected not only individual homeowners, but condominium associations as well. Many of these associations find they do not have enough cash reserves to properly maintain their structures. Thus, many have fallen into disrepair, some to the point of having to be condemned. For this article on the subject, a cover image with some sort of “ticking clock” or hour glass was requested, along with an opening illustration suggesting the deterioration of the buildings. This was a fun one to work on because I love the look of objects and surfaces that are old and damaged. I made miniature sets out of dollhouse materials and created the damaged walls by covering cardboard with spackle and Golden Crackle Medium. Below are the original sketches presented.



CLIENT: COMMON GROUND MAGAZINE
ART DIRECTOR: CORI CANADY

“Sackett Brand” Book Cover Montage

This was to be the first of a series of six cover illustrations for reprints of Louis L’Amour western novels. The idea was to recreate the look of the great photos Edward Curtis made of western subjects and landscapes. Art director Scott Biel requested five cowboys riding towards the viewer with a “black mesa” in the background. The montage was built from the stock photos below, along with my own sky images and hand-painted textures. Unfortunately, the series has been put on indefinite hold.



CLIENT: RANDOM HOUSE
ART DIRECTOR: SCOTT BIEL