Toward the Gleam

So, what to do with a book which features a protagonist based on a rather famous author but who is never named?

Well, in the case of Toward the Gleam I thought of evoking the author's art without copying it. Trouble is, I am not talented enough to do it myself.

But I did know someone who is.



Here's the sketch I sent off to illustrator and artisan Daniel Mitsui. He sent back a much more detailed sketch which needed only minor revision, and the final artwork arrived very soon after.

You can see the original black and white illustrations he did here. (I loved the cover so much that I got permission to have him do a title page as well)



Here's the final cover. It's in solid spot colors: black, cream, and metallic silver and gold. I had to create separate "plates" for each color in Photoshop and layer them to get the effect you see. It looks even better in person due to the spot-gloss.

Padre Pio Under Investigation

A new book detailing the Vatican investigation of Padre Pio, with documents from the Secret Archive.

I wanted Padre Pio to look isolated and lonely on the cover. The crucifix at the top is a photo I took in Lisbon, from a cathedral that collapsed in the big earthquake they had in the 18th century.

Manalive : book version

Click for a bigger view. I previously designed an audio book version of this.

I wanted the lettering to look hand lettered, but also wanted more precision than I had on the audio book. I laid out the type, printed it, and traced over with pen by hand to get the look I wanted.

Belgian Abbey Tripel

This is the second year that I've brewed a Christmas beer to share with friends and family. This is the label for this year's brew.

The Inklings, Tolkien, Williams, and Lewis

Sketches created for the Looking for the King website and trailer.

Recent DVD covers

Puttin' on the Ritz

My cover for the Ignatius Critical Edition of Frankenstein gets a nice review at Frankensteinia: The Frankenstein Blog. Just in time for Halloween!

Looking for the King

Another cover that was worked, reworked, etc.



The initial draft was based on poster designs from the 1930's. I did a rough version (incomplete faces and hands on the figures, illustrated in Adobe Illustrator with textures added in Photoshop), but it was thought that it looked a bit too cartoonish.


After a few more drafts, we ended up with the final, which brings together several scenes and themes from the book. I used several photo elements, including one photo I took myself (the figure with the spear). The end result looks a bit more "Narnia" and less retro. The author was a great help in identifying things that needed to be on the cover.

Illustrations for Gilbert magazine

These two are for the "Summer Film Fest" that Gilbert magazine does every year.

Paths of the Messiah

I actually designed this cover a year ago, but delays in editing held it up.

BART sketches

Pages from my sketchbook. I often sketch book / dvd cover ideas as well as my fellow passengers on the BART train.

More recent work

The Reluctant Saint is a fun little film about St. Joseph of Cupertino, who was known for levitating. For this cover I had my brother-in-law jump for the camera, then added in the Italian village and clouds.

This cover uses images I found via Flickr--again. I got in contact with the photographer and worked out a deal for image usage.

Support Education and Art!

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, here's a chance to support education and add some art to your home! An Evening with G.K. Chesterton features a performance by Chuck Chalberg as well as a silent auction with art from Ted Schluenderfritz, Ellen Price, and myself. You can own the original drawing from The Well and the Shallows! Come join us this weekend!

Two recent DVD jackets

Not quite out on DVD yet, but the jackets are done! For the "Joseph" DVD, I was trying to make the title look carved out of wood in Photoshop. It failed, so I ended up carving it for real on a piece of scrap wood.

St. John Nepomucene Neumann

The hap hap happiest writer

A sketch of Evelyn Waugh. He loved kittens*, babies**, and the films of Shirley Temple.***

* possibly a lie
** definitely a lie
*** well, yes, another lie.

The Curé d'Ars Today

A design for the re-release of this book, first published around 25 years ago.

St. Raymond of Penafort

You may be asking, if you saw my post at SmallPax today, why Dominican Saints are so awesome. The answer: I don't know.

Anyway, here's St. Raymond of Penafort. According to legend:

Aside from his scholarly pursuits, Raymond preached with untiring zeal to the Jews and Moors (Arab invaders of Spain). He also acted as spiritual director for King James of Aragon and Saint Peter Nolasco, whom he aided in founding the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (Mercedarians) for the ransom of captives from the Moors.

King James valued Raymond so highly that on several occasions he sent him on missions to the Holy See. At one time, however, he stoutly resisted Raymond's admonitions regarding chastity, and a miracle was required before the monarch consented to reform his life. This miracle took place during a visit to Majorca on which Raymond had accompanied the king in the hope of strengthening Christianity there. They had been on the island only a short time when Raymond discovered that the king was involved in a sinful love affair with a woman of the court. The king refused to listen to Raymond's protests, and when Raymond threatened to leave the island, the king threatened with death anyone who would give him passage.

Thereupon, or so it is said, Raymond spread his cloak on the water, set up his staff as a mast, and, having rigged up a corner of the cloak as a sail, boarded this miraculous "boat," setting his course for Barcelona. He arrived there the same day, having covered 140 miles in about six hours. A great crowd assembled at the waterfront witnessed the end of this marvelous voyage, which inspired numerous conversions.

Read more here. Though it isn't official, I would say he is the patron saint of windsurfing, having originated it.

Half-hour cover: A Short History of the World

A Short History of the World by J.M. Roberts is a pretty good overview of history, which mostly consists of peoples and nations beating the crap out of each other.

Mick Wiggins

I was introduced to Mick Wiggins' art via the cover to My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. The Caustic Cover Critic has an interview with him--he does this great retro-looking art in Photoshop using a mouse. Sort of a high-tech luddite, in a good way. Check it out!