One of the projects that kept me busy for a large portion of November was Q Without U. If you own a copy of the now ultra-rare International Beauty Saloon 3, you may recognize this tale of love and letters written by Omar Mouallem, a.k.a. AOK in the world of hip-hop.

Crudely drawn when it first appeared in IBS3, Omar and I thought we’d re-examine the tale with some added colour, some freshly drawn imagery, and some killer hip-hop to see how it stands on its own as a children’s book / rap album. Yes, included within the contents of Q Without U is a download code that enables you to download AOK’s newest album. Talk about keeping it real in the digital age. It was released this past weekend at the Royal Bison Art + Craft Fair with great success, in part to Omar’s handy ways with press releases. What a guy.

So go ahead, support local independant music, and art, and buy your copy of Q Without U today for only $10.

Also: I have a copy of the book to give away! Be the first to leave a comment with a word that involves both letters Q and U, and I’ll mail a copy your way, complete with a little drawing on the inside by yours truly.

Things on the go! The Royal Bison Art + Craft Fair is approaching. This time around it is completely organized by myself and two others swell pals, Vikki and Jeanie. Perhaps I’ll see you there, on November 27th and 28th? You can expect to see chapter 3 of We Hate This Place Here premiere at the Bison, as well as International Beauty Saloon: 5, AND a revised and updated version of Q without U that is not only a children’s book, but also an upcoming album by A.O.K. Above, a selection of submitted drawings for Chris Kuzma‘s upcoming Complex, which you will see more of, I assure you!

The Globe & Mail recently had a redesign, and it’s created a bit of controversy here in Canada. There seems to be bit less content word wise, and it comes in on a slightly smaller format, but on the other hand, everything is in colour now and with a hint of gloss (more so on the cover page), and finally, it has a lot more visual content. You can almost call it a magazine now, but it’s not. My personal verdict: illustrations look extra sharp on its pages. If they can maintain using high-quality photos / info-graphics / illustration, then everything should work out just fine in the cut throat world of print.

Above: an illustration found in yesterday’s Globe & Mail about a writer’s son who was bit by the h1n1 virus. I thought I’d play off the stressful element of the story where the writer travels last minute from Vancouver to Edmonton in the early morning rain, with a hint of detective story and film noire. Also just a good excuse to throw a big chunk of black into a layout – something I always like to see. Thanks again to Cinders. She makes work fun!

(you can see this illustration isolated from layout in the editorial section of my portfolio)

Today in the Globe & Mail’s LIFE section you can find this trailer face. It looks like it’s showing up a bit wonky on their website, but that’s just another reason why you should go out and buy a physical copy of the news. Regardless, I feel pretty good about this image. It’s graphic, a bit confusing, and hey, it’s a face made out of trailers! Thanks goes to Cinders for getting in touch with me for this one.

In the mean time: another illo for the Globe & Mail due tomorrow for Monday’s paper, and some roughs due for an upcoming issue of Owl magazine.

maisonneuve is one ****** awesome Canadian-made, quarterly magazine. Besides the bajillions of nominations and wins and accolades every year at the National Magazine Awards for their editorial and illustrative content, maisonneuve is run only by a small group of folks on a very small ship (but a ship with taste!).  They always seem to be pushing the limit with every issue they put out. With that said, it’s not too often that I’m asked to take on portraiture for an illustration job, so Anna Minzhulina (the AD) thought she’d put me to task.

Their cover story for the current issue is “The Music We Hate”, so Anna thought it would be “fun” to have me create some unflattering portraits of the bands / musicians at stake. A total of 10 portraits – definitely a bit of a challenge maintaining likeness along with crappiness / ugliness – but not to worry, Anna really knows how to lay that stuff out and make it make sense. You can see a few more on the olde site, but if you really want a “true experience”, I recommend you just pick up the current issue!

above: Sonic Youth. Below: Animal Collective.

Sidenote: This current issue of maissonneuve has a total of THREE (3) illustrators who have contributed to Genevieve and I’s International Beauty Saloon zine-zone. Cool! Nice work Byron, Victor and me.

Toronto was fun, and I met some nice folks. Shortly before I left, I whipped up a large diagram for The Studio Review about some of Disney’s currently held world records. It should come out later on this month, and when it does, I’ll show you the full sha-bang.

You can find this image on last week’s cover of FFWD Weekly. It would be the second cover I’ve made for their annual Summer Guide — and quite frankly, I feel I handled this one better than last year’s edition — a bit more graphic, a bit more rough around the edges, etc.  Something I’ve been working on as of late.

What’s keeping me busy: just finished a batch of images for the upcoming issue of Maisonneuve (hands down one of my fave magazines in Canada), working on a piece for the National Portrait Gallery show here in Edmonton, as well as a commission for the Art Gallery of Alberta. More info coming soon.

Just a little doodad about vinyl fairs / hardcore collectors for FFWD out in Calgary. Keep your eye’s peeled for this week’s upcoming issue as well, as I’ll have illustrated the cover for that one – Summer Guide!