+++++ calef brown news +++++

Africa Reboots

2010-04-18T12:10:00.000-07:00

At top is my illustration for

a New York Times Op-Ed piece

written by Bono about his month-long trip

through Africa, and new developments there.

Below it is an earlier version featuring

portraits of Nelson Mandela,

Youssou N’dour, Kofi Anan
and others, but he rewrote the piece

with less emphasis on the people

so I took a more general approach.

You can read the editorial here

Recent Work

2010-04-18T11:50:00.001-07:00

Some recent commissioned work.

Click on the images for a larger view.

This is a small piece for Travel and Leisure,

about a program which automatically donates

a portion of your hotel fee to organizations

like The Bodhi Tree, which among other things,

helps protect Bengal Tigers and their habitat.

This, below, is also for Travel and Leisure.

The article is about how more and more people,

when they travel, don't just want to have a vacation,

but to interact with local people, volunteer,

and experience the place more directly

through it's citizens and culture.

Here's a recent piece for an article

in Common Ground magazine

called Potholes and Pitfalls which talks about

how many private communities are struggling

with the costs of maintaining their private roads.

An illustration for Natural Health magazine

about ways to keep your blood pressure

in the safe zone, including diet exercise and meditation.

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Update

2010-04-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a project

with The Library of Congress

and The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance

called The Exquisite Corpse Adventure.

As The Library of Congress site read.gov describes it:

Our "Exquisite Corpse Adventure" works this way:

Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature,

has written the first episode, which is "pieced together

out of so many parts that it is not possible

to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!"

He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators,

who must eventually bring the story to an end.

Every two weeks, there will be a new episode and a new illustration.

The story will conclude a year from now.

The roster of writers is very impressive –

and aside from Jon Scieszka also includes

Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket, Gregory Maguire,

M.T. Anderson, Nikki Grimes, and lots of others.

My fellow illustrators are Chris van Dusen,

Timothy Basil Ering, Steven Kellogg and James Ransome.

The National Children's Book

and Literacy Alliance site describing the project is here.

The interactive book on the Library of Congress site is here.

It's a really wild story,

I have illustrated Episodes 3,7, and 15 so far. Here are my illustrations:

A Poem for Halloween

2009-10-31T09:53:00.001-07:00

The Hawthorn Berry

Let’s take a trip
to East Londonderry
and pay a visit
to The Hawthorn Berry –
the last old gothic apothecary.
It’s a gathering place
for weary undertakers
to relax and chat
over nightshade boilermakers
and other odd toddies.
They talk about funerals
and dead bodies–
the tricks of the trade,
how crypts are made,
and helpful hints
like which tints of makeup
make cheeks appear rosiest.
Which headstones are costliest.
Which coffins are coziest.
Even the nosiest
eavesdroppers, gawkers,
and local loud talkers
find the atmosphere calming.
it must be the candles
and herbs for embalming
down at Hawthorn Berry –
the last old gothic apothecary.

© calef brown 2009

Harvest Festival Poster

2009-09-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

I created this artwork for poster, banner and print use

for the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco,

and their yearly harvest festival.

The Ferry Building is such a wonderful piece of architecture.

The repetitive arches were architect A.Page Brown’s symbolic nod

to the aqueduct in Rome. He wanted to represent the

importance of water and waterways to cities.

Dooce.com

2009-09-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

A very flattering and kind mention

of my book Polkabats and Octopus Slacks

here on the well known blog Dooce.com

Thanks to my sister Phebe

for introducing me to Dooce, one of her favorite blogs.

The Crystal Bowling Ball

2009-09-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

A short video I made of the poem The Crystal Bowling Ball from my book Flamingos on the Roof.

Read beautifully by JohnMcDonough.

The Audio CD is available too, from Recorded Books.

Attention Getters

2009-07-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is a recent illustration for Plansponsor Magazine.
The subject is job applicants going to great lengths
to get the attention of prospective employers.
Some of these strategies include showing up in costume,
including a shoe with a resume, (to get a "foot in the door"),
submitting a cake in the form of a business card, and the example
that I illustrated – washing cars in the parking lot.

Stanford Medicine

2009-06-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is a series of illustrations created

for Stanford Medicine magazine through David Armario Design.

Dennis McLeod art director.

The network of people at Stanford

is a huge part of the institution's reputation

for cutting edge research.

The subject here is three research labs

working simultaneously to solve a puzzle

involving the behavior of proteins inside cells.

This illustration is for a piece about the fact that

the scientific community has recognized the usefulness

of wikis and video for sharing laboratory protocols

but only a few researchers appear to be using them.

Automorphosis

2009-06-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Harrod Blank, filmmaker and art car empresario

has a wonderful new documentary out called Automorphosis.

I created art for the DVD cover and poster.

More information about the DVD and screenings here.

Some New Work

2009-05-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

A full page for Yale Medicine magazine.
Portraits of the twenty recipients of the Downs fellowship.

Two illustrations for Business Week
about the banking crisis - big banks taking
small ones down with them.

A CD cover for Low 90 , a Portland Maine band
with my brother-in-law Ed Cobb on drums.

Lucky 13

2009-01-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Thirteen Oscar nominations for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button!
I illustrated a handsome little hardback edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's tale,
which is available now from Harper Collins.

Green Muscle

2009-01-21T10:10:00.001-08:00

This was for an article that posed the question - Can greener automobiles still perform?

Number Cruncher

2009-01-14T13:21:00.000-08:00

For an article about interest rates.

Stomp!

2009-01-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

The musical dance extravaganza has now been on Broadway for fifteen years.
This piece was originally created for Los Angeles magazine.

Target Gift Cards

2008-12-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Two holiday card designs I created for Target Stores.

Home Shopping

2008-10-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

This piece was published in The New Yorker
accompanying an article on the rise of QVC
- The Home Shopping Network.

More Work with Lettering

2008-10-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

These are three pieces incorporating some of my painted lettering.
From top: Cover art for Sing America, a benefit CD sold to raise money for the
historic preservation organization Save America's Treasures.The CD
includes tracks by Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder.
The original painting was purchased by Hillary Clinton.

CICF is the Central Indiana Community Foundation,
which provides grants, leadership, and philanthropic advising.
I created cover and interior art for their yearly giving guide.

Lettering for the cover of a design studio promotional booklet.

Kids Who Love Reading...

2008-10-07T14:45:00.000-07:00

...Live Happier Ever After!
Five illustrators besides myself
created art for this billboard campaign
including beautiful contributions from
Jessie Hartland and Nate Williams.

Number 42

2008-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

A portrait of the late great Jackie Robinson
for the New York Times

Apropos

2008-10-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

And apt as well.I did this illustration for Business Week
a while back. You can tell it's an older piece
by the glass domed stock ticker thing on the broker's desk.
Those were phased out in '05.

Polkabats!

2008-09-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

The blog inspired by my childrens books
and other related nonsense, Polkabats.com
is back after a long hiatus.
Check it out.

The Bestiary

2008-09-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

This was created for a review
of The Bestiary, a novel
by Nicholas Christopher.
It appeared in the LA Times
Book Review section.

The White Boy Shuffle

2008-09-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

My cover for the novel
by Paul Beatty,
published by Houghton Mifflin.
It was also published in Sweden.

The Heroes of Yoga

2008-09-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

Classic ancient texts like the Mahabharata,
the Ramayana, and the Puranas are filled
with superhuman figures whose stories
have shaped the yoga poses practiced today.
From top, The Great Warrior Virabhadra,
Vasishta & Vishvamitra, Matsyendra & Goraksha,
Astavakra, and Hanuman.
These paintings were created to
accompany an article called Heroes, Saints, and Sages
in Yoga Journal.

Sixteen Souls

2008-09-25T10:20:00.000-07:00

This painting is my contribution to
the Regeneration Show and benefit auction
put together by Rich Jacobs and Alix Sloan.

The RTO

2008-09-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

This drawing was done for the New York Times
to illustrate a piece about The Really Terrible Orchestra,
billed as the cream of Edinburgh's musically disadvantaged.

CrazyNoisyUpstairsNeighbor

2008-09-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

My contibution to the Kokeshi Show
at Subtext Gallery last year.

Musicophilia

2008-09-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

An illustration for a piece on Oliver Sacks'
recent book about music and the brain.
It appeared in the LA Times Book Review.

Lost

2008-09-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

This pair of small paintings,
Dyspeptic Fog, and Itchycoo Alleywobble,
were, sadly, lost in the mail.
If you happen to see these two
characters, tell them to get on home.

Blab! Show

2008-09-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

My drawing Migration, which appeared in Blab! 17,
is being exhibited at the Mariana Kistler Beach Museum
as part of the Blab! retrospective exhibit.
Click on the image for a large view.

Flea Market

2008-09-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

My Poster for the venerable Berkeley Flea Market.

Two Scientists

2008-09-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Portraits of two up and coming scientists,
Doctors Saltzman and Lavic,
for Yale Medicine Magazine

Automorphosis

2008-09-24T06:41:00.003-07:00

This is the DVD cover and poster art I did

for Harrod Blank's new documentary

about the world of Artcars.

The film will be released sometime this fall.

TechHead

2008-09-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

This is an Illustration for Link Magazine

about choosing technology wisely.

New York Times Best Sellers List

2008-02-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

My book "Flamingos on The Roof" has reached the No. 1 ranking on the New York Times Best Sellers List for Picture Books.

6.01.07

2008-02-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Daniel Pinkwater's amazing new novel The Neddiad is out. It's a fantastic tale starring Neddie Wenworthstein, son of a shoelace magnate, on a wild adventure featuring a sacred turtle, a shape-shifting shaman, interstellar policemen (like their earthbound comrades, they enjoy donuts), a phantom bellboy, trains, planes and speeding Packard cars, an evile Hollywood mogul, (redundant, I know, but this guy is really evil).

I did the cover art, and seventy nine small ink drawings, one for each chapter. Check it out.

+++++ calef brown news +++++

Africa Reboots

Youssou N’dour, Kofi Ananand others, but he rewrote the piece

so I took a more general approach.

Recent Work

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure Update

A Poem for Halloween

Harvest Festival Poster

Dooce.com

The Crystal Bowling Ball

Attention Getters

Stanford Medicine

Automorphosis

Harrod Blank, filmmaker and art car empresario

has a wonderful new documentary out called Automorphosis.

I created art for the DVD cover and poster.

More information about the DVD and screenings here.

Some New Work

Lucky 13

Green Muscle

Number Cruncher

Stomp!

Target Gift Cards

Home Shopping

More Work with Lettering

Kids Who Love Reading...

Number 42

Apropos

Polkabats!

The Bestiary

The White Boy Shuffle

The Heroes of Yoga

Sixteen Souls

The RTO

CrazyNoisyUpstairsNeighbor

Musicophilia

Lost

Blab! Show

Flea Market

Two Scientists

Automorphosis

TechHead

New York Times Best Sellers List

6.01.07

Youssou N’dour, Kofi Anan
and others, but he rewrote the piece