Current Issue

One of the most fun parts of my job is to find artists to feature in the magazine; it’s tough to narrow it down to three artists when the talent pool is an ocean. In this issue all three artists have called New York home at one time or another. One was born in Taiwan, raised in New Jersey, educated in New York and now lives and works in Los Angeles. Another grew up in Canada, was educated in New York and now lives in New Jersey. And another was born in Texas, grew up in Florida and Colorado, now resides in Brooklyn. All have made transitions in their lives before arriving at their present status. The famous illustrator and comic artist is moving on and away from illustration into the world of fine art and self-published work. A watercolorist enjoying a highly-lucrative career moved from painting scenes of pleasant English cottages to collages of girl gangs fighting under a nom de plume. A graphic design student graduates, works in several design studios, gets fired and starts a new career as an illustrator. Each has created his own path, each is immediately recognized by their work, each represent the cultural influences of our times.

James Jean INTERVIEWED BY AUTUMN WHITEHURST
Thanks to the lyrical musings of Autumn Whitehurst we’re taken into the world of her friend James Jean.  James’ work has ranged from a long series of covers for Fables to a block-long interior wall graphic for Prada and most recently his first solo show at Jonathan Levine Gallery here in New York. James is busy designing books---his DC comics covers collection just came out and he has four other book projects in the pipeline with Chronicle Books. He’s moved from being a hired hand to promoting himself as a brand working with other branded products like his limited-edition t-shirts for Gap RED™.

Eddie Guy INTERVIEWED BY NATHAN FOX
Eddie Guy started out his career working with James McMullan before turning to collage. Not wanting to upset his current clients he assumed a new identity with his new style which took off like a rocket. Eddie’s work can be seen in major publications and ad campaigns; his clients include Nike, Coca-Cola, Coors, AT&T and Sports Illustrated. His work recently became part of the Smithsonian’s collection. Readers will get a sneak peek at a brand new style Eddie is developing.

Christopher Silas Neal INTERVIEWED BY SAM WEBER
Artist Sam Weber introduces us to his friend and studio-mate Chris Neal. A former graphic designer turned illustrator Chris’ work can be seen on numerous book jackets and editorial assignments. Clients include Knopf, Random House, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Dwell, Metropolis and TBWA/Chiat Day. He has been honored by AIGA, Communication Arts, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, Society of Publication Designers, Print and the Society of News Designers. He is currently doing a weekly column for the The New York Times.

ICON: Henning Wagenbreth
This issue’s Icon is also this year’s 3x3 Educator/Illustrator of the Year. Henning Wagenbreth is a noted international illustrator who studied graphic design before becoming the master of merging the expressiveness of underground comics and Eastern European illustration. In addition to editorial assignments he has had group and individual exhibitions in Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Tel Aviv, New York and Lisbon. Since 1994 he has been an instructor at Universität der Künste Berlin.

CareerTalk: Diversify!
We are all too young to have experienced a recession of this magnitude. Are you lacking work and panicking with every news bulletin? You might not be able to control all the economic ills, but you can control your response to them. We asked some seasoned illustrators what they do when times are tough. It was interesting that the universal response reflected our own thoughts: diversify!

Profile: Nicholas Blechman INTERVIEWED BY RONDA KAYSEN
This issue’s Profile is illustrator, animator, graphic designer, author, publisher and art director of The New York Times Book Review  Nicholas Blechman. The son of illustrator/animator R.O. Blechman Nicholas moves gracefully between illustration and design. Whether it’s art directing the cover of the Book Review or illustrating, designing and publishing Nozone, you can always see his deft hands at work.

Campaigns: FUSE INTERVIEWED BY RONDA KAYSEN
In an age when music television has become an oxymoron, FUSE TV is the great exception: a channel that actually plays music all day long. So it was only natural that its latest ad campaign, created and executed by the ad house The Brooklyn Brothers, would pay homage to the emotional impact music has on our lives.

Brooklyn Brothers tapped a handful of artists to execute the campaign, which was a series of six TV ads and eight print ads. Each artist was given a word -–rebellion, heartache, salvation, freedom, aphrodisiac-–and asked to create an ad about music. The result was a cacophony of artwork.

The Showcase
This issue features the diverse work of Catherine Denvir, Italy; Orlando Hoetzel, Germany; Kerry Meyer, USA and Neil Webb, United Kingdom. See more images here.

The Gallery
This is a special international gallery featuring the works of Sofia Dias, Maja Bechert, Drushba Pankow, Viola Welker, Stefan Venbroek, Jan Feindt, Kerstin Stephan, Antje Herzog, Krister Flodin, Damyeong Yoo-Hartlaub, Felix Stumpf, Linda Lubbersen, Stéphane Goddard, Eric Giriat and Matthias Gephart. See more images here.

COMING IN ISSUE THIRTEEN
Our next issue features the work of Nick Dewar, Sara Fanelli and Nigel Buchanan. We’ll be naming our Icon and and our art director profile and ad campaign features are in the works. And of course more outstanding examples of fresh talent and recent work of our leading illustrators.

Be sure to visit our blog for up to the minute happenings at 3x3.

The Illustration Academy www.illustrationacademy.com
Morgan-Gaynin www.morgangaynin.com
Bernstein and Andriulli www.ba-reps.com
Barbara Nessim www.barbaranessim.com
3x3 Gallery www.3x3Gallery.com
Folio Planet www.folioplanet.com

The Society of Illustrators www.societyillustrators.org
The Association of Illustrators www.theaoi.com
Illustration Mundo www.illustrationmundo.com
DRAWN! The Illustration Blog www.drawn.ca
Drawger www.drawger.com
Fecal Face www.fecalface.com
Communication Arts www.commarts.com
Illustration Friday www.illustrationfriday.com
Creative Latitude www.creativelatitude.com