March 2012
90 posts
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In 2009, I was working as Françoise’s assistant in the art department, when Jorge Colombo had his first New Yorker cover published. I remember how thrilling and strange the whole concept was at that moment: “He drew it on his iPhone and it’s going on the cover?,” I asked, as my brain exploded. Everyone, from the New York Times to ABC to Mediabistro, wanted to talk about Jorge, the artist behind the “finger paintings” that made it all the way to the top.
Jorge and I became friends and later that fall, we sat next to each other in the audience at Barnes and Noble, to see Françoise interview R. Crumb about The Book of Genesis. I leaned over to see what Jorge was doing on his phone, and it was another finger painting, of course: of the editor and the artist onstage.
” — Leigh SteinTheme of the Week: Spring Training
Every year from mid-February through March, Major League baseball players head down to Florida for spring training. It’s one of the many rites of spring and often The New Yorker runs a baseball themed image around this time. We tend to focus on our two home teams - the Yankees and the Mets. The Mets aren’t doing so great this year , even if they’re supposed to be celebrating their 50th anniversary. Think baseball, and send me your sketches!
To enter each weekly contest, please send sketches on this week’s theme. Use the submissions page or email your sketches to blowncovers@gmail.com. I prefer sketches to finished work and good ideas to good drawings. The deadline is Thursday at noon. The themes on the Blown Covers website closely mirror what I suggest to the New Yorker artists I already work with. This blog and contest are informal and not affiliated with the magazine but I’m always on the lookout for ideas. Please keep submissions confidential in case they are selected for later publication. The winning sketch (according to my own subjective whims) will be posted here on Friday.
Barry Blitt - October 30, 2000 - from around the time Hillary Clinton was running for senator.
Mark Ulriksen - April 12, 1999
Bruce McCall - March 30, 2009 — for the opening of the new Yankee Stadium
William Steig - July 11, 1936
UPDATE: The winners of this contest are now here
This week's cover
“Romney is a good-looking guy,” said Bob Staake, the artist who created “From State to State.” And good-looking people can be tough to caricature, but not as tough as Santorum, who looks “boring,” he said. “My wife, looking at the first sketch, said, ‘It looks like him, but you gotta have the sweater vest.’ And that was it. I put in the sweater vest, and, ‘that’s Rick Santorum!’ ”
Read more on the New Yorker culture desk blog
This cover has been getting excellent press:
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb: The Winner!
The winner is Joan Reilly’s idea of lions turned into lambs through psychotherapy. The transformation of one animal to another would resonate even to readers who are not thinking about the idiom or the weather. Then, on a second reading, one would have an A-HA moment and make the connection to “In like a lion, out like a lamb.” Part of what makes a good New Yorker cover is asking the reader to step in to complete the loop of a witty puzzle. This is more interesting to me than any image that just illustrates a dictum — especially since I’m looking for images that would appear without words or any other cues.
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb: The Runner-Ups
Here is a slideshow of the runner-ups for this weeks contest — you can mouse over each image to see the artist’s name and my comments.
Art by: Teresa Rodriguez, Chee Yang, Andre Slob, Andrea D’Aquino, Daniel Hertzberg, Delton Demarest, Erik T Johnson, Evan Waldinger, Matthias Aregui, John Sperry, Nancy Pierson, Stephen Price, Alex Fine, TSL and Toomuchcoffeeman
SuperLamb
I often find I get versions of similar ideas from different artists. Here are three images that all take place in a phone booth. I’ll be posting the winner of the contest soon….hang tight!
Art by: Boyd Burggrabe, Delton Demarest, Stephen Price
All the Lion and Lamb anyone could ever want
Thank you to all the artists who submitted. It’s inspiring to see so many artists actively searching for ideas. Here are the rest of the images that arrived this week. I believe artists can learn a lot from looking at each other’s thinking process. I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I did.
Art by: Maria Eugenia Longo, Bill Carman, Adam Koford, Enui, Diego Jourdan, George Bletsis, Jamie Carter, Dan McConnell, Andrew Wales, adpuchalski, Ahwon Min, Alex Fine, Michal Dziekan, Paolou Berti, Angie Wu, Artaksiniya, Delton Demarest, Christel Devue, Couty Julien,Daniel Warner, Facets of the Jewel, Fred Blunt, Fred Stesney, Guillaume Chauchat, Jeannie Lee, Karl Kotas, Kate Willaert, Marcelo Badari, Matthew Kalamidas, Michael Greaney, Mike Everett, Nancy Pierson, Nicholas Larkin, Philip McKenney, Robin Mork, Sascha Eckes, Tim Hamilton
Black History Month #29: Barack Obama
History moves fast… It’s not so long ago that I was searching for just the right image for the inauguration. Now it looks like a trading card from another planet.
The New Yorker, January 26, 2009
Cover illustration: Drew Friedman
February 2012
18 posts
March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb
A clarification for those who aren’t American, since I know how difficult idioms can be for outsiders: this is an old American saying (it dates back to the 1600s) that refers to the weather in March. It means the month of March often begins cold and windy (like a lion) and ends with gentle, mild weather (like a lamb).
Theme of the Week: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
“In like a lion, out like a lamb” — the March idiom that launched at least four New Yorker covers. Send me your March cover ideas — and feel free to mix your metaphors: tie in Jeremy Lin, global warming, the presidential race and more. Make it current, push the limits. I can’t wait to see your sketches.
Art Spiegelman - March 6, 2000
Barry Blitt — March 13, 1995
Lars Hokanson/Frances Cichetti — March 18, 1996
Lee Lorenz — March 13, 1989
To enter each weekly contest, please send sketches for possible New Yorker covers on the week’s theme. Use the submissions page or email your sketches to blowncovers@gmail.com. I prefer sketches to finished work and good ideas to good drawings. The deadline is Thursday at noon and the winner will be posted here on Friday. The themes on the Blown Covers website closely mirror what I suggest to the artists I already work with. This blog and contest are informal and not affiliated with The New Yorker magazine but I’m always on the lookout for ideas. When I find them, I’ll get in touch with the artist, all on a case by case basis. Thank you for your submissions.
UPDATE: the winner of this contest and the runner-ups are now here.
This Week's Winner
Thanks to Kevin Sylvester for this nice idea. This is exactly the scene in the Condé Nast cafeteria every day.
Thanks also to runner up Andrea D’Aquino.
I’ll post a new theme/new contest on Monday (hint: think idioms about the month of March)
Theme of the week: Eustace Tilley
Check out the 12 winners of the official New Yorker 2012 Eustace Tilley contest. One of these artists is 99 years old and another one (not pictured) is the grand winner whose image will be made into a Strand book bag (announcement of that coming tomorrow). I’ll take submissions for your Eustace Tilley sketches today (winner posted tomorrow) and announce my first Blown Covers contest theme here on Monday, February 27th. Sharpen your pencils!
July 2011
1 post
Coming Soon
This contest theme will be announced at 3pm on Friday, July 20th.
Submissions will be due at noon on Thursday, July 26th
