I just finished working on a really fun and unique project for a new entity called the Public Media Platform. The PMP is a collaborative digital content-sharing system that was just started and that will allow all the different public media outlets (so, PBS, NPR, Public Radio International, etc) to share content for the web and mobile apps. It’s a great advancement that will mean better access to all the awesome stories, videos, audio files and text that these public media folks produce.

Since I’m a huge PBS and NPR fan, it was really exciting to be asked to work on an illustration that promotes the PMP and explains what it does, all in one colorful visual! I worked with the very smart and talented Kristin Calhoun, who is the executive director of the PMP, and together we figured out the best way to say what the PMP does, in picture form. The end result is above. It was fun imagining a sort of “PMP machine,” gathering and bringing together all the different content, going through the PMP and delivering it to the consuming public! A big thanks to Kristin for the opportunity and for being so great to work with!

In honor of St. Patrick’s day I thought I’d share this illustration which I recently created for the March issue of Connecticut Magazine. It’s a full-page opener for a story called Irish Yearning by David Monagan. The story is a personal essay about the journey of irish immigrants in Connecticut, from his own ancestors arriving during the great potato famine in the 19th Century, to how they assimilated and did well for themselves in the 20th Century, and finally how he moved to Ireland with his family in the early 2000’s. The concept that was chosen shows the back-and-forth nature of the migrations between countries, with details from the story populating each continent. It was a fun story to illustrate, and I particularly enjoyed drawing the 19th century Irishman leaping from his homeland into America. Thanks so much to AD Stacey Shea for choosing me for this job and help it to go so smoothly!

Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to work on the cover of the second book in Denise Swanson’s Devereaux’s Dime Store mystery series, called Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death. The book, published by Signet, is now available on Amazon.com and in book stores! It was a fun project to work on, particularly the contrast of the mysterious bullet hole in the shop window with all of the easter decorations in the shop. I based the front of this shop on the facade of an old hardware store in my neighborhood, to get that authentic vintage feel. Thanks to AD Mimi Bark who was a delight to work with!