A screenshot of a book cover folder.

This is the row of houses I mentioned in the Nov 5th post. Outside of the context for which they were made (a row of houses in Dublin as backdrop for a portrait) I found that many of these partially rendered layers maintain an interesting quality of their own. The large brownish washes served the purpose of facilitating the seamless merging with other layers in the collage process.

Irish writer Flann O'Brien's suite (see Nov 5th post). The initial idea behind this vertical format was to move from the "bust crop" to a full figure portrait and extend the likeness to the body language and clothing style of the subject. Working on separate layers came out of the need to maintain alterability when confronted with a more complex image and the time constraints of a deadline.

Dublin

Background of a Dublin street for a Portrait of the Irish writer Flann O'Brien. The vertical image contained the whole figure, and at a later stage the wall and window to the left gave away to a row of working class houses. It was originally published in the New Yorker in 2008 and has recently been republished on a cover for the book: 'Is it about a bicycle?' Flann O'Brien in the Twenty-First Century

Dwight Macdonald

Portrait of literary and social critic Dwight Macdonald (1906-82) for the New York Times Book Review.

Every so often the outcome of the final expression is determined by minute differences in the eyes and mouth.

(In this case Macdonlad's right eye. The published piece is on the right)

Another detail from a color proof posted on September 27. This series of prints focuses on different playgrounds and the groups of figures that move within that space.

Raw detail from a color proof for a new series of prints. MIxed media 2011

A screenshot of a scan for a John Mcain portrait for New York Magazine(2010). The read more link will show several variations on the mouth and eyes. The version with a closed mouth was ultimately the one that made it to print.

View of Sarajevo. Background layer for an unpublished portrait of Bosnian-American fiction author Aleksandar Hemon. Each piece for this project was painted seperatly and then jointed in Photoshop. (2009)

Another image form a series of drawings from my daily commute, mostly on the 2/3 subway line in Manhattan and the 7 train to Long Island City. As mentioned in the previous post (sept.22nd) some of the drawings functioned as a base for the series of fictionalized portraits for the book covers "l'amore nei nostri tempi"-"love in our times", published in Italy.

"L'amore ai nostri tempi": a current series of ten novels put a contemporary twist to traditional love stories. Most of the drawings and portraits for these stories originated during my daily commute to the studio. Then, with the help of the synopsis of each book I looked to a match the main character of the story with a fitting drawing from the sketchbook. Published by La Repubblica / L'Espresso.

Another image from the same series of gouache paintings I had described in the previous post. In the city of Mantova
a medieval tower is supported by a light  metal tube structure with a transparent green resin roof.

From the Archive: A detail from a series of works that focused on urban typography and building materials, mostly in Italy and Germany. "Untitled, 2005". A courtyard in Bremen,Germany. Red brick, blue indigo tyle, and copper roof.  (Gouache on wood approx. 18x22 inches 2006-10)

For this drawing of Gustav Mahler ("When Mahler took Manhattan",May 2011, NYT OP-ED) I went back to previuos light and shadow sketches and combined them with his face. Parallel and grid like shadows are casted by the elevated train track structures. The high contrast reminded me of the many characteristic B&W photographs of such locations in the 1930s.

Assassine per Poirot: unpublished studies for a series of Agatha Chrisitie Bookcovers. Mostly B&W Pen & Ink Drawings inspired by Faye Dunaway in Polanski's "Chinatown".

Writer Elisabeth Bishop's drawing for Harper's Magazine got wet because of a leak in my studio during the recent hurricane. The water partially dissolved the ink and left an intersting effect behind.

Robert Byrd

Unpublished Portrait of Senator Robert Byrd for the New York Times OP-ED Page

From the Archive: A screenhot of the work for a Patrick Stewart portrait  in a modern adaptation of Macbeth, set in Soviet Russia. (BAM, The New Yorker)

Anon Bruckner, line art for the New Yorker

Color proof for a print called "Recital" 2009/10

First out of 4 layers.Color variations and studies for a Brooklyn landscape. ADAC Germany