Broadway Bound

My illustration is up at the Nederlander. Reeeallly cool. What they did with the separated street signs on the marquee looks nice too. I'm batting .000 when it comes to "getting work from other work," but surely some Art Director will see this and like it.

Right?

Reclaim, Renew, Reuse

My sister has a piece in the show Reclaim, Renew, Reuse, opening today at Ball State University. Obviously, she has more patience for detail than I do. She made the individual links of newspaper one at a time by rolling thin strips, and finished off the back with links of plastic drinking straw. I think it's pretty cool.

Bolt does it again.

If a guy does too many amazing things in a row, does it continue to be amazing? In this case, I think so. Another World Record in the 200m, running 19.19 to break his own 19.30 WR. He went all out in Beijing to get the 19.30, and a year later, becomes the first man to run under 19.30 and 19.20. Stunning.

GP Boston Interview

Three explanations: 1) Magic was not really my debut as a fantasy artist. MML gave me the first shot. www.metalmagicandlore.com 2) This interview was done right after the most hectic part of the day, so I'm surprised I was able to answer any questions at all. 3) The interviewer asked great questions, but he held the camera at about waist height, so I didn't know where to look. So it looks like I'm watching a housefly dart around. But they did a great job of editing so I sound fairly coherent. Thanks Professors!

Usain Bolt is not human.

9.58. It took 30 years to get from 10.00 seconds to sub-9.90 seconds. It took 1 year to go from 9.70 to sub-9.60. It's the biggest drop in the 100m WR since electronic timing was introduced. Simply, without question, the greatest sprinter in human history. And P.S. Tyson Gay ran an amazing American Record 9.71.

Three Year Improvement

Well, here it is: The New York Times ad. Serino Coyne did a great job with the design, and the art came off pretty well on newsprint. (You can click the image to see the ad closer; my credit is down in the lower right corner running vertical, as most illustration credits are.)

In addition, theneilsimonplays.com has the illustration splashed all over it, which is pretty cool.

My dad has a print of the ad tacked up to the door of his office. By contrast, hanging on the door to my studio is my first published piece. In March 2006, I illustrated a monthly article, Mary's Farm, in Yankee Magazine. I still think its a pretty good concept and fairly well done.

It was done before I learned to use oils. Before I started painting on a large scale. Before I figured out what brand of paints work best. Before I figured out how to prepare a canvas, how to varnish a finished painting, and how to photograph work. Before I bought a camera, lights and a printer.

It's been a long journey in three short years. Yankee Magazine to the New York Times.

Marathon Training: First 20 miler

I'm too tired to write anything good, and I have to get to the studio. Since it was a zillion degrees and a zillion percent humidity last night, I decided to put off this year's first 20-miler until this morning. Good move, but didn't make it any less painful. At the end, I had veins popping out of new places on my legs (Did you know you have veins on your kneecap?). Here's the map of where I ran. Still raising money for ALSa, and fundraising is going very well!