"Hobby Trip" for USA Today

New for USA Today's travel guide: Hobby Trip! The article by Lisa Davis lists several interesting travel packages for hobby enthusiasts including archeological digs, wine making, and (shown above) knitting cruises to Hawaii. Expert art direction provided by the amazing Erin Aulov. Thank you, Erin!

First Assignment for the Globe and Mail

In the ten years I've been illustrating, somehow or other, until very recently, I had never worked for the Globe and Mail. This is a little odd because AGM (my agency) is based in Montreal, and the Globe and Mail is a Canadian paper. I've worked for plenty of other widely circulated newspapers (The New York Times, The Washington Post, etc.), but all here in the states. It's not that the Globe wasn't interested; I've had to turn down several of their offers over the years due to schedule conflicts. When a call came in late last week for me to illustrate a travel article for them, I was thrilled! I accepted the job even though we were on our way out the door for a weekend in Atlanta. Got sketches approved before we left and completed most of the final art in the car on my husband's laptop. Those of you who know me are very impressed right now, aren't you? (I get car sick at the drop of a hat; as a rule I can't look at anything in the car while we're on the road). This time I was so excited about the job that I just decided not to get car sick. I was a little wobbly when we arrived in Atlanta, but felt fine after a good night's sleep. All in all, it wan't too bad.

The article is about traveling without luggage; I posted one of the rejected ideas a few days ago. I'm extremely happy with this image: went for the concept of traveling light, of being as light as a feather.

Here is the image on my website, in case you'd like to see:

http://violetlemay.com/artwork/833421_Traveling_Light.html

Something for the Fellas

Several weeks ago I was working on a full page illustration and two spots for Fitness Magazine. I just finished this image, which was one of the rejected spot sketches. Of the batch (I sent quite a few), it had been my favorite. Because of it's decidedly masculine vibe I thought I'd go ahead and flush it out, as a challenge, and for the sake of balancing out my girly portfolio. In case you haven't noticed, my work tends to be a bit feminine (understatement).

The article was a list of tips for increasing the amount of fat burned during an average day. The tip shown here: climb stairs two at a time.

Soaring: Mastering the Art of Traveling Light

This afternoon I found myself with some unexpected time in the middle of a very hectic Monday, and decided to relax by making a new image. I drew this idea last Friday morning (I had accepted a bit of a rush job for the Globe and Mail Thursday evening) and submitted it with a few other sketches; this particular concept didn't make the cut. I like the image though and filed it as a personal project for some future rainy day. I knew it wouldn't take long to realize—just an hour or two—so I gladly sat down in front of the computer and brought up the file to make good use the extra time I'd been given today.

Funny, it's been raining buckets for the past twelve hours here in Savannah. Who knew my rainy day would come so soon!