Here’s this week’s cover for The Economist on the issue of Obama’s first year in office.

Here’s a recent effort for The Economist to draw Senator Joe Lieberman. The senator has a face made for caricature and I enjoyed exploring his crevices and wrinkles with glee.

The Maryland Film Festival held a Gala fundraiser featuring Baltimore native filmmakers Barry Levenson (Rain Man, Wag the Dog, Diner, Liberty Heights), John Waters (Hairspray, Serial Mom) and David Simon (Homicide, The Wire).

I was asked by the festival to create drawings of the three heads (with foreheads) to use as promotion materials and auction items. The drawings (see above) were used in several capacities throughout the evening. An enlarged print of the artwork was signed by the three guests and myself then auctioned off.

My favorite use was a special edition of M&M candies that were made with the images of each of the 3 filmakers embossed of the candy shell.  Clearly the smallest reproduction of my cartoons to date!

Above is John Waters signing his caricature and below is me (on the right) with old chum, fellow Baltimore Sun alumni and creator of HBO’s “The Wire”, David Simon.

This cartoon is an illustration for an article in this week’s edition of The Economist about the politics of health care in the US.  The House, represented by Nancy Pelosi here, passed their version of reform last Saturday. Now the responsibility for Reform has been passed onto the Senate (hence the baton) represented here by Harry Reid. I enjoyed drawing the two caricatures here… quite a contrast in faces.

Here’s a rough sketch I have created for the Maryland Film Festival.  The Festival is having a major fundraiser celebrating three of Baltimore’s film-making stars: Barry Levenson, John Waters and David Simon.  I am producing special artwork for the evening which will be auctioned off to raise funds for the cause.  I will post the final artwork in the weeks ahead!

I have noticed recently how President Obama, like all his predecessors, has aged at a rapid pace in his first months in office. Above is a cartoon from The Economist that reflects on that observation.

This summer I will have an exhibition of my cartoons in Belgium in the coastal resort town of Knokke-Heist. As part of the promotion for the arts and cartoon festival in town, I was asked to supply a cartoon for the poster.  You can see the art above. I will post the finished product later in June.

I was searching through an old thumb drive and found this digital version of a cover I drew for The Economist 11 years ago.  It was during the early discussions of a stock market “Bubble”.  Fed chairman Alan Greenspan was talking about “Irrational exhuberance” in the stock market (and no one was listening).

I had completely forgotten about this cover… it is always interested to see old work… like re-discovering an old friend.

While much attention is focused on how we cartoonists are adapting to the new president… there is another person whom we must master. The First Lady may not dominate the news as her husband, yet Michelle Obama is clearly becoming a household personality.  I enclose one of my earlry versions of Michelle Obama from this week’s Economist.

I had the privilege to draw the cover for this week’s edition of The Economist. The cartoon involves caricatures of European leaders Angela Merkel of Germany, Nicholas Sarkozy of France, and Gordon Brown of Great Britain. The cartoon did develop quickly during the 24 hours that I had to create the piece… particularly the waiter on the left.  

My first attempt in the pencil sketch had a fellow that was not instantly recognisable as a waiter. My second attempt (on the color art below) created a better waiter but he was perhaps too large and had the potential to distract from the main characters.  

You can see at the top of the post the final artwork with a diminished waiter-like character inhabiting the scene.