By day, I am employed as a Staff Artist by The Bergen Record , a newspaper based in Hackensack, N.J. Between illustration assignments the work isn't terribly exciting; lots of charts, graphs and locator maps with the occasional news or business page design assignment. But when the bosses decide to go with an illustration its usually an opportunity to shine, but very rarely do those opportunities include a full section front and a center spread.
Unfortunately, we don't quite have the ability to print double trucks
I worked with Elaine Isaacson, one of our super-talented page designers. She had the idea of illustrating this wire feature on the hidden treasures in The Everglades when the photos accompanied it were less than stellar. At least they made for half decent reference. That is a snowy egret, zebra-wing butterfly and Florida panther pictured above. (Although, neither the bird or the cat are nearly as cool looking as Nancy Stahl's work for the USPS.)
This is a sketch for the cover that was rejected. Elaine wanted to really focus on the gator's head. I think she was right, as in print the gators eyes appeared above the fold and looked kind of scary. There is something about the angle and shape of this that I like. Perhaps when I find some time I'll go back and finish it.