67. Barack Obama

It was election day, cut me a break.

I used the same photo as reference that Shepard Fairey used for his famous Hope poster.  Certainly one of the most iconic graphic images created in the last 20 years.  Once it was clear that the image was going to have a continuing cultural and historical impact the AP, who own the rights to the original photograph, insisted on getting a cut of the action.  Fairey sued them on the grounds of fair use and the parties ultimately settled before going to trial.

Fairey and I both went to RISD.  I don't know him, he's younger than me.  But we both learned the same thing: that all images are fair game.  Everything is in the mix.  As an artist I can do whatever I want.  When I interpret an image, I am making a new thing.  It's mine.

The AP can go fuck off.

66. Elana

Muse #2.

Elana and I went to RISD together.  We should have been best friends because it turns out we have a million things in common.  But after freshman year everybody went off in different directions and lived in separate worlds.  Especially the Apparel majors.  They had their own dimension.  ;)

But she was with me on this all the way to the end.  Always encouraging and positive, her enthusiasm and feedback carried me through the darkest days and the coldest streaks.  It's no surprise she's a great mom.  I could not have done this without her.

Thank you, Elana!

65. Frankenstein

It was Halloween, cut me a break.

Thought I was tossing myself a Frankenstein softball here but the cold streak continues.  I should be able to draw Frankenstein in my sleep, right?

Not right!  Wake up!  I had to make amends!  To Frankenstein!

Ah screw it, gimme a beer.

64. Dylan

Brother of Michael and Matthew.

One of the things I learned about myself while doing this project is that I go through hot streaks and cold streaks.  It's bizarre because my skill level is pretty constant, and at this point in the project I've been drawing every day in a row for two straight months.  But some days I just don't have it.  I don't know why.  I was cruising for a while.  Until now.

Now I'm cold.

63. WWW

My little pretty.

Still one of the scariest things I've ever seen in a movie.

There's a progression to the experience of the Wizard of Oz:  as a child it's amazing, as an adolescent it's a sentimental relic, as an adult it's a nostalgic metaphor for life.

And then you have a kid - and she watches it a thousand times and insists on wearing the Dorothy dress and the ruby slippers to school - and then it breaks your damn heart. 

62. Erik

Jon's brother.  Brother of my brother.

I have a confession.  I'm a friend poacher.  I'll friend your friend.  I'll friend your friend's brother.  I'll even friend your friend's daughter.  It's true.  I need all the friends I can get.

Every time I see Erik I'm amazed at what a great guy he is.  Smart, funny, a kindred soul.  I am lucky to know him.

By any means necessary.

61. William Shakespeare

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

60. Jim

Big Jim.  Father of Erin and Dylan.  Married to Janine.

Jim and Janine have a great ping-pong table in their basement.  One day I was in the middle of a particularly intense match with Mick/Mitch.  I was losing by a point.  We're both hyper-competitive and these matches usually get amped up way out of proportion.  You'd think it was the finals at Wimbledon or something.  After a frustrating stab at a cheap drop-shot by Mick the paddle flew out of my hand and smashed into a framed Jerry Garcia poster on the wall.

In addition to basic property damage, I soon discovered that breaking a Jerry poster has moral and religious consequences as well.  After confessing to Janine it became clear to me that I would Never Hear the End of This.  Apparently I have rage issues and it's hilarious.  As penance I agreed to do another drawing of Erin and Dylan.  Not sure if it was a fair trade but whatever.

I made amends to Jerry too.

59. Maria

My beautiful niece.  Sister of Quin and Christopher.  Actress, comedian, photographer.  She says she has a low voice and high hopes.  She also has a ton of talent and ambition.  So - just for the record:  I knew her when.

If you're going to do portraits you have to love to draw hair.  You have to respect it, you have to do it right, and you have to love it.  I love it.  When I'm drawing someone's features it's the equivalent to doing brain surgery, but when I'm drawing someone's hair I feel like I'm finger-painting.  Feels like freedom.

Don't think Maria liked this drawing much.  But I wanted to get out of the box a little, do something different.  And draw some hair!

58. Alfred Hitchcock

Lucie and Hitch have the same birthday.  She's very proud of that.  And she loves his movies, which makes me proud.  Normally she refuses to watch old movies on principle.  If it's in black and white, forget it.  But for Hitch it's okay.

I admire the way Hitchcock was able to exploit his twisted vision in the context of popular entertainment.  I don't think he thought he was creating art, but he was certainly an artist.

Now I feel like watching Vertigo.  Or Strangers on a Train.  Or Psycho.  Or.....

57. Matthew

Michael's older brother.

In retrospect, having the boy squint into the sun wasn't a great idea.  If someone asked me to draw their kid right now, I would never do this.  That being said, I love it.  It's rock solid.  Can't do much better than this.

BTW - I still have the drawing.  Mitch.

56. Michael

Mick (Mitch) went through a bad patch and owed a favor to his friend Dave, so he asked me to do portraits of Dave's kids as a gift.  Dave has six boys.  Pretty amazing in this day and age.  And a direct parallel to my own life, since I have five brothers.  How could I resist?  I said sure.

I did three.  Couldn't work out the logistics for all six.  Shit happens.  Drawing is pretty good - I'm not sure it looks like him though.

BTW - I still have these drawings - Dave never got them.

Way to go, Mitch.

55. Sue

One of my Muses.

When I started posting these drawings on Facebook there were three people in particular who were very supportive and really helped keep me going. The three Muses.  Sue was one of them.  Knowing that I had friends who appreciated what I was doing and looked forward to seeing it everyday meant so much.  I wanted to say thanks, so I made them a part of it.

I went to college with Sue.  We knew each other but we weren't great friends.  That's a shame because she's a great person.  She's also a successful graphic designer, a wonderful mom, and has a beautiful family.

Thank you, Sue!

54. Superman

After I left the ad agency I worked nights as a waiter at a hotel near Princeton.  One night Christopher Reeve came in for dinner with his wife and mother.  He's a Jersey boy too.  My buddy Scott waited on them.  I think he had the Veal Chop.

After they were done my manager invited him to come back to the kitchen and say hello to the staff.  He was gracious about it and had an awkward conversation with the chef about veal chops and then he shook hands with everybody.  He was very tall.  I could tell he was just a guy trying to have a nice dinner with his mom and I felt bad that we were intruding on a private moment.

It must be tough to be a movie star and a celebrity, to embody a character that's larger than life, to become a pop culture icon - and then go back to being a regular joe.  But he was cool, he did the right thing.

He was Superman, like it or not.