I was asked by a client to re-design a print ad laid out by someone else.

The original layout (above, left) was cluttered and confused. The ad, for an author’s book signing events in upscale communities in Los Angeles County, was going to appear in a local cultural magazine. What was needed was a visual solution that supported the specific message (from Nazi Holocaust victim to survivor to thriving psychologist and author), was informative, and that appealed to the intended audience.

The original raised a lot of concerns: it lacked structure, hierarchy, a relevant color scheme, a headline, appropriate type and typographic design, proportion contrasts and visual “heroes”. Additionally, it included a poorly contrived re-creation of the Barnes & Noble brand identity, which is really not appropriate. The actual identity should have been used.

I designed my make-over from the ground up. I began with a formal structure to unify the various elements and imposed a symmetrical balance. Through hieratic scaling and isolation I made the author and her book the heroes of the design. They are now the focal point of and the visual entrance into the design.

I created a real headline from a block of text in the original and reduced the number of fonts to two, scaling the various text to appropriate sizes. I incorporated a color scheme that was neutral, warm and stabilizing, and which didn’t compete with the text. I revised the entire layout to establish a natural flow of information and create an orderly presentation. The result is a simpler layout that is easy to understand. The ad is now unified, appealing and relevant to the author, the book and the intended audience. The perceived value is increased.

Dr. Erica Miller web site.

I have been working with writer/director, Tim Kanter, to promote his play, One Life, a multi-media theatrical performance. Its synopsis is that there’s a global pandemic that is killing everyone, no one is immune, and it is going to wipe out everyone. They find one cure – in the blood of one man. Here’s the trailer featuring my logo at the end.

The print promotion includes posters and program shells.

The play will be presented at Lighthouse Church in Newbury Park, CA on April 3 & 4.

This painting was created for Pregnancy Resourse Services in Silverdale, WA for a benefit auction. This was a directly commissioned piece; something I was asked to do. I was given a verbal description of what they were looking for, and the rest was up to me.

I didn’t do many preliminary concepts; I developed one and went from there. Since the painting was proffered to the organization it was my choice as to layout.

Here is the basic concept quickly sketched out in my sketchbook:

After a few stages of thinking and reworking I have a refined drawing enlarged onto tracing paper. From there it was transferred onto 4-ply Strathmore:

After the frisket paper is applied, I cut away to reveal part of the drawing, then begin to paint the background areas. At this point I’m using transparent watercolor. Gouache is added on top for depth and opacity.

I decide to complete the angel first, before tackling the couple. I cut away frisket leaving only the couple covered. I don’t always work with frisket, but in this case I needed to do some work on the background and angel without affecting the couple.

The couple is now laid in. At this point I’m using both watercolor and gouache.

The finished work prior to releasing it from the board. I’ve worked colored pencil in to add detail, color subtlety and texture. I’ve accented and darkened certain areas with gouache and colored pencil to add greater value contrast. Overall, I wanted to achieve the effect of the image glowing with light from within.

All images in this post are © Alvalyn Lundgren. All rights reserved.

Since I practice two separate but related disciplines, I am very aware of the commonalities and differences in the process of each. For me, graphic design tends to be more evolutionary in that I start with concept sketches and develop from there. My illustration process is a bit different, because I almost always have the image complete in my imagination before I begin to sketch it on paper. Things may change a bit as I go, but generally speaking I iterate an image onto paper rather than explore and develop options. This is true whether it’s created for a client’s project or for myself.

My illustration of the Lion of Judah, an icon of both Judaism and Christianity, was no exception. I saw this painting fully-formed in my mind and then brought it into being on paper. I made a couple of sketches first, then enlarged and transferred the drawing to watercolor paper.

The concept sketch:

The finished work created in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil on paper:

Some background on the work: Judah means praise. Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and it was out of his line that Jesus Christ came. Judah was referred to as a lion in Genesis, and it is the Lion of Judah, referring to Jesus Christ, who is worthy to open the scroll in Revelation.

This is the concept rough from my sketchbook, which is not finished enough to be considered a comp, and the finished artwork. The illustration was created in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil, on Arches 140#.

Most depictions of David, the hero king of Israel in the Old Testament, show him fighting Goliath of Gath. A few show him in his later years, and several tell the story of his affair and murderous cover up. In reading about David’s life, he comes across as an all around flawed hero: determined, passionate, sometimes fearful, as capable of screwing up as each of us is, but always trusting in God. I decided to portray David as an intense, visionary and epic young man who was aware of his destiny but sometimes unsure he would achieve it.

The illustration was done for a packaging project – a wrap-around cover for a CD album. The “five smooth stones” are on the back of the package where the audio titles will be placed.

My concept sketch for David illustration and CD album cover

Finished Illustration in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil

©2009 Alvalyn Lundgren

Last weekend I was over at the local Borders bookstore and cafe. I sat down with my sketchbook and began drawing the folks at the table in the center of the room. They were all older, and were discussing films and the movie industry, spending a good portion of their conversation contrasting the three Pride and Prejudice movies (Lawrence Olivier, Colin Firth and Keira Knightly versions). I overheard their conversation as I drew, beginning with this gentleman. By the time I had finished drawing him, all but one of his companions had left. He was left alone talking about engineering with a lanky Asian who had recently joined the group.

So at least I got the guy captured on paper. One thing I remember about him was that he didn’t sit still… he was constantly fidgeting and changing positions. And he never looked my way or gave me a full profile. 

By the way, the best Pride and Prejudice opus in my book? The BBC miniseries with Colin Firth.

Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara ©2008

I enjoy watching people. My frequent jaunts upcoast often include visits to piers where there is an abundance of both commercial and private fishing activity.

This was one of two young men who evidently spend a lot of weekend hours fishing from the pier. He takes his catch home to his family in a 10-gallon painter’s bucket. From the amount of fish already in the bucket I deduced he was having a very good day.

Wishing you peace in the midst of it all. ©2008 Alvalyn Lundgren. All rights reserved.

My holiday greeting this year was created in response to the upheaval of many of our trusted systems, both domestically and internationally. We live in perilous, uncertain times and have much to be worried and anxious about. We don’t know what’s coming next. It’s been a banner year.

My design, titled Peace In The Midst, was born of a simple desire that we’d still celebrate, that there’s still reason to be hopeful rather than fearful and confident rather than shakable. I chose words taken from conversations, newscasts and blogs – representing things and activities that create stress in our lives. I selected several typefaces and arranged the words is a sort of square cloud with a void in the center. So, even surrounded by the pressure of activities, jobs, parenting, school, etc, the hope is to have peace in the midst of it all.

I’m getting into the habit of keeping my sketchbook close at hand all the time. I take it with me to my design classes at UCLA because a lot of times it’s easier to sketch a point than explain it verbally. The students will watch me draw and their light bulbs start flashing. Oh, duh!

I sketch fellow students in a class I’m taking. I aim to be unobtrusive and I try to avoid staring at my subjects while I’m drawing them. One thing I noticed is that, while most people will quickly realize when a camera is being pointed at them, they will be less aware of being drawn. They think I’m just taking copious notes. Most of the time they won’t notice at all until the person next to me happens to glance at my book and exclaim, “Oh! That’s Rick. You drew Rick.” And then, of course, Rick will have to come check it out when class ends. A lot of conversations have started this way, because of something I drew in my sketchbook. It’s almost like a social networking app, but in person and with less technology.

A few weeks ago someone sitting near me (who doesn’t know me) asked to look at my book and commented, “Hey, did you every think about doing this for a living?”

Old Man at the Pier

I noticed this guy when I was at the Santa Barbara Pier. He was sitting motionless, looking half asleep over his lunch. So I opened up my sketchbook and drew him.