Editorial assignments are generally fast-moving targets, and having one good shot seems like the best you can usually hope for. So the chance to take two swings at the same subject for two different assignments was unexpectedly nice. The assignments were book review illustrations for Michael Cunningham's new novel "By Nightfall," in which the main character, a successful Manhattan art dealer, begins to question the life and career he's built after the his wife's younger brother enters their lives.
The first call was from Nick Vogelson at OUT, and the focus was on a specific chapter in the book to accompany an interview piece with the author. Below are the sketches, a few color phases and the finished piece.
Shortly thereafter, I got a call from Paul Gonzales at the LA Times to do a piece for their book review with a broader focus on the overall story. It's rare opportunity to do a second finish on the same concepts and characters so in the LA Times piece, I tried more of a designed poster format. Below are the sketches and the finished piece, where the main character is being pulled between two worlds with his wife on his arm and a young and bright figure drawing his attention behind him. Overall a lot of fun to do both, much thanks to Nick and Paul for being great ADs as always.
