Manhattan sketches

I was in New York City last week, doing some design and illustration work for a publishing project. I’d love to share some samples with you, but the project is being kept under wraps until closer to launch. Instead, here are a couple of drawings for your enjoyment.

I walked towards this view of the Manhattan Bridge on-ramp every morning. The history-encrusted Lower East Side always reminds me of French science fiction artists Philippe Druillet and Moebius.

In Midtown, I came across a classic Modernist building (350 Park Avenue) with its perfect skin removed. Three panels of the curtain wall had been taken out to allow a crane to access the interior.

Walpurgis Night

April 30 is Walpurgis Night, Hallowe’en’s fiery twin, falling on the calendar exactly halfway from that better-known festival. It’s a northern European thing with deep pagan roots,  celebrating the real end of Winter (and the evening before May Day) with bonfires and gluttony. It seems like something the Spanish would come up with. Perhaps riot-happy Canada could use some scheduled chaos in its calendar?

Neon anagram

I have been working on the title sequence for a video by sign-obsessed artist Gary MacLeod. I’m pretty happy with the soundtrack I mixed, featuring samples obtained from freesound.org users Stomp, tigersound and Julien Matthey.