Issue 17 Hits the Newsstands

Our international issue features artists from Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom. As much as they offer different  approaches they all speak with a clear voice as storytellers. Italian artist Alessandro Gottardo provides us with a clever minimalist approach by eliminating the unnecessary and distilling ideas to their bare essence. A low-key palette provides a subtle backdrop to his heady solutions. Starting in a far different style he chose the pseudonym, Shout, to distinguish his new work; he hasn’t stopped since with work featured in major publications in the States and abroad. His clients include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, Esquire, Newsweek, Condé Nast Traveler, The Atlantic Monthly, Forbes, Wired,,Runner’s World, Random House, Penguin Books, Viking, DDB UK, Young & Rubicam UK, BBH UK, Fallon US, and TWBA. His work has been gathered in three tomes and this year he journeyed to Los Angeles for a major retrospective of his work. Couple that with awards from the Society of Illustrators—including gold and silver medals, Society of Publication Designers, American Illustration, Communication Arts and 3x3, Alessandro continues to amaze and enthrall. Artist, and Alessandro’s mentor, Guido Scarabottolo provided the text.

When you’re looking for cast-of-thousand crowd scenes there’s no one better than, A. Richard Allen. Though he’s grown weary of repeating himself, he still enjoys putting together the odd Where’s Waldo piece. You’ll see how he’s moved past that. Richard’s palette runs the gamut from cyans to chartreuses; lines are used with economy, color and texture separate planes and fields. His work has appeared in Plansponsor, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Utne, The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, Esquire, Reader’s Digest, BBC Worldwide, Nokia, Siemens and books for Folio Society. And he’s been recognized by the Association of Illustrators, Society of Illustrators—both New York and Los Angeles, Communication Arts and 3x3. Richard’s article was provided by fellow illustrator Steve Wacksman.

Paper. Rock. Scissors. Artist Stephanie Wunderlich uses paper and scissors, the results rock! Originally an art director in Vienna she decided to leave advertising, move to Hamburg and pursue illustration full-time. Her work appears in magazines, advertising, books, textiles and newspapers. Clients include Stern, Cosmopolitan, New York Magazine, Das Magazin, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Manager, Bertelsmann Verlag and Reader’s Digest to name a few. Her work has been honored by Lürzer’s Archive, 3x3 and the Art Directors Club Germany. Nora Krug wrote about her fellow German illustrator and friend.

This issue’s Icon is most probably the first Japanese artist import of note. Kinuko Y. Craft arrived stateside in the early 60s; by 1970 she had embarked on a solo career as a highly sought after illustrator. Whether morphing herself into a Renaissance painter or exploring highly-detailed fantasy illustrations, Kinuko’s work has well stood the test of time. She must first feel the flavor of a story before she can interpret it in paint. Her paintings take months to complete—from reading, research, the idea, the watercolor underpainting to the layers of glazes, she is obsessed with her paintings. While Ms. Craft devotes most of her time to paintings for Fantasy books and private commissions her clients have included Time, Newsweek, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, US News and World Report, Playboy, Morrow Junior Books, Sea Star Books, Platt & Munk, Follett Publishing, the Dallas Opera and AT&T.

He didn’t start out to be a magazine art director but since taking over the reins at The Atlantic, our art director profile Jason Treat has seen two redesigns and numerous awards for both design and his use of illustration.

In this issue we re-start our Op-Art series with Istvan Banyai’s view on the state of print. CareerTalk takes on the controversial issue of stock. And we’ve added a brand new feature, Survey Says, with answers to international illustrator income.

Rounding out the issue are our Showcase and Gallery sections.

Cover illustration by Alessandro Gottardo