ISPOTTERS IN THE ATLANTIC

Edel Rodriguez visually realizes the manic intellectual world of mid-20th century writer Arthur Koestler for a book review in the December issue of The Atlantic. Koestler, says the article, was written off as "a much afflicted scribe of his time, greedy for pleasure, haunted by guilt, who enjoyed a short vogue and was then forgotten."

ISPOTTERS IN UTNE READER

The January-February 2010 issue of the Utne Reader has five very different, but equally captivating, illustrations by members of theispot.com.

MATT DORFMAN: URANIUM

Alan Kuperman, the director of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Program at the University of Texas, believes that our only remaining option to get Iran to cease enriching uranium for nuclear weapons is to bomb them.

A few NY Times readers see things a bit differently; Matt Dorfman illustrates this Letters to the Editor topic today.

ANDREA LEVY: NEW YORK TIMES, HOME COVER

Andrea Levy captured the overwhelm of gift giving perfectly in this December 24 cover assignment for the New York Times' Home section.

MATT HERRING: NET(WORK) EFFECTS

Matt Herring illustrated a thought-provoking article for the Economist that draws parallels between the effect of the telegraph in the 1800’s and the Internet today on the health of the newspaper industry.

JOSH J. HOLINATY: BEHOLD THE HIPSTER

Josh J. Holinaty weighs in on the never-ending myth of the dying hipster for EYE Weekly in Toronto. Cheers, Brah!

ANDREW R. WRIGHT: THE ART OF AIRSHIPS

Andrew R.Wright will be part of an aviation-themed group exhibition next month at Gallery Nucleus in California.

JEANINE HENDERSON: MADE DRINKS

Pretty fruit illustrations by Jeanine Henderson are being used singly and in combinations on the Made Drinks blog. The artwork will also appear as branding for in-store signage and displays.

JOHN WALKER: GULLIVER’S TRAVELS

John Walker has recently completed work on a new Random House edition of Jonathon Swift’s satiric commentary on human nature, Gulliver’s Travels. John took a very simple approach to creating the drawings for the book, using nothing more than an HB pencil on Strathmore paper. The finished drawings were then scanned, imported into Photoshop, and saved as PS files for delivery to the client.

CHRIS GASH: NY TIMES REGULARS

Chris Gash’s weekly illos for the Business and Science sections of the NY Times challenge him to keep it fresh, for both the reader and himself, on a regular basis.

KEVIN SPROULS: EUROMAN

Kevin Sprouls’ WSJ hedcut style got an international workout recently from Euroman, a lifestyle magazine in Denmark. First up was a portrait of Danish literary lion Jorgen Leth...

TEETERING BULB: KOSMONIQ

DJ Jomai Etu commissioned Teetering Bulb to create a cover for his cosmic new space album, Kosmoniq.

DON TATE: BATTERY ADVICE

Don Tate rose to the challenge of creating an intriguing visual to accompany an article on battery advice for The Statesman in Austin, TX.

JING WEI: PLAN SPONSOR / PLAN ADVISOR

Jing Wei recently had the pleasure of completing two assignments for SooJin Buzelli, art director of sister publications Plan Sponsor and Plan Advisor. “SooJin's assignments are always fun to work with, due to the amount of creative liberty they allow,” enthuses Jing.

VIKTOR KOEN: NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION… HAVE FUN NOW!

Viktor Koen illustrates a resolution worth keeping for the Science section of today’s New York Times: Don’t wait- have fun NOW!

MARK SUMMERS: TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR COVER 2009

Mark Summers’ signature engraving style was the perfect medium for this ripped-from-currency cover portrait of Ben Bernanke for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year issue. “The story of the year was a weak economy that could have been much, much weaker. How the mild-mannered man who runs the Federal Reserve prevented an economic catastrophe...”

RANDY POLLAK: GUEST OF CINDY SHERMAN

Randy Pollak’s poster for arthouse film, "Guest of Cindy Sherman," was selected as one of the year's Top 80 movie posters by Picksflix.com, based on creativity, design concept, appropriateness to the story, excellence and movie marketing perspective. Popular vote for the Top 10 is now underway stay tuned!

JEM ROBINSON: FAILURE AT COPENHAGEN

For her weekly feature in the UK Independent, Jem Robinson was asked to illustrate the perceived failure of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference by creating a distressed, cracked and patched up version of the Mermaid of Copenhagen.

PHILIP BANNISTER: HANCOCK’S ANTIQUES

This exquisitely executed watercolor is the work of Philip Bannister, who was commissioned by London antique dealers, Hancock's. The illustration has a magnificent timeless quality, perfect for the antique market, and will be used in all of Hancock’s company literature and correspondence material.

BILL GREENHEAD: MAGIC HAMSTER BALL

Reached a crossroad in your life? Bill Greenhead has an app for that—in the shape of his Magic Hamster Ball creation!

TIM FOLEY: WILD WEST INVESTING

One of Tim Foley’s favorite illustrations of the past busy week is this quick turnaround for Barrons. The story concerned investing in shaky regions of the world, which the article's author described as 'wild west investing'. Tim was able to find very little photo reference for the particular angle he had in mind, so the final came out of thin air and pure imagination.

ALLAN BURCH: CATHEDRAL AT ALCALÁ DE HENARES

Allan Burch was commissioned by University of San Diego to create a painting of Cathedral at Alcalá de Henares, Spain, a building whose late Gothic style is the inspiration for the campus architecture, also known as Alcalá Park.

ALANNA CAVANAGH: STYLE AT HOME FEATURE

The February 2010 issue of Style at Home Magazine in Canada features Alanna Cavanagh’s mural created for Toronto boutique, Hollace Cluny.

STEPHEN SAVAGE: THE FATHERS ARE COMING HOME

Stephen Savage's timeless and tender children's book illustrations have earned him the honor of creating images for a previously unpublished story by Margaret Wise Brown, “The Fathers Are Coming Home.”

BRYON THOMPSON: SHOW ME NOW

Bryon Thompson contributed a wide variety of illustrations to the latest fun series of SHOW ME NOW books by publisher Weldon Owen. Bryon's illustrations guide readers through all of the important things in life: How To Bring Up Baby; How To Be Cool; How To Make Love; and How To Survive… not necessarily in that order.

TYLER JACOBSON: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Tyler Jacobson's latest pieces for Dungeons & Dragons that just went live: The Bronzeknuckle Brothers and The Traveler.

TEETERING BULB: THE TEMPEST WAKENS

Tor.com has devoted this December to everyone's favorite cosmic tentacled thing-that-cannot-be-described from Vhoorl.

Teetering Bulb's Cthulhu contribution is their newest comic, "The Tempest Wakens."

CRAIG WARD: IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE

Contributors to the 4th annual 'If You Could Collaborate,' which opens at the Rochelle School's A Foundation Gallery in London next month, have been challenged to produce a piece of work with a partner of their choosing, from any profession or background. The line-up thus includes some very famous names from the creative industry, plus several up-and-coming talents.

Along with the exhibition a 312-page catalogue will also be produced documenting the processes the various artists used to create their collaborative piece of work.

Ispotter Craig Ward collaborated with Sean Freeman & Alison Carmichael to produce this piece.

PEGGY FUSSELL: MILLION TREES PROJECT

Peggy Fussell created this illustration for TreeBalitimore, an organization that advocates the planting of urban trees in Maryland's capitol. The image, to be used on a website promoting the Million Trees Project, is a diagram showing the various types of locations where trees can be planted in order to increase the city’s green space.

TRACI O'VERY COVEY: HOORAY FOR HOLIDAY!

Traci O'Very Covey used warm gold to create an elegant yet woodsy feel in this illustration for TriFecTa, a floral, events and gift shop's holiday reception.

VALERIA PETRONE: CYBIL AWARD

Valeria Petrone's charmingly illustrated Clarion book, Two at the Zoo, has been nominated for a Cybil Award.

KATHRYN RATHKE: GERMAN NEWSPAPER

Kathryn Rathke does two portraits or so a month for the German newspaper "Welt am Sonntag." Alistair Darling is one of her recent subjects.

VAULT 49: NY TIMES HOROSCOPES

Here are a couple of illustrations Vault 49 just created for upcoming issues of the NY Times on the subject of horoscopes, particularly Aries and Virgo.

STAN FELLOWS: SOUTHERN LOVEBIRDS

Stan Fellows created this beautiful watercolor for an article called “Smitten with Mississippi” for Southern Living Magazine.

CHRIS GASH: NY TIMES REGULAR

We love seeing Chris Gash's deceptively simple take on things each week in the New York Times.

ROB KELLY: TERRY GILLIAM

Rob Kelly's Hot Seat portrait for Time Out New York this week is director of dreams and Monty Python member, the one and only Terry Gilliam.

STEPHEN SAVAGE: A FISH OIL STORY

"What's the deal with fish oil?" begins today's NY Times Op Ed feature. Stephen Savage illustrates the conflict between the evils of overfishing and the virtues of omega-3 fatty acids.

STEVEN SALERNO: PANTALOON

Steven Salerno just received his advance copy of "Pantaloon," the 1951 Little Golden Book classic that he re-illustrated for 2010 release by Random House. The story is about an energetic poodle who is determined to become the Baker's new assistant, and will stop at nothing to do so...

JORGE MASCARENHAS: NUTCRACKIN’

Jorge Mascarenhas rolls out a tasty batch of self-promotion posters celebrating this special time of the year.

ISPOTTERS IN THE NEW YORKER

This week’s Holiday double issue of the New Yorker has three very different, but equally captivating, illustrations by members of theispot.com.

JOSH J. HOLINATY: MY LOYAL LOSER CRUISER

You can find this light hearted illustration by Josh J. Holinaty in Canada's The Globe & Mail today. The article is about the memory of a soccer mom's long lost good pal: a minivan with the heart of a rally car.

ZARA PICKEN: HANDS-ON LEARNING

Zara Picken was commissioned by Futurelab to create illustrations for their main feature in Vision Magazine. The article is about a hands-on, creative and participatory approach to learning and education.

ISPOTTERS IN AI5000

It is a wise art director, indeed, who knows that the power of a well made illustration can lift even the driest material and transform it into a fascinating must-read article. SooJin Buzelli at Asset International is one such wizard, and we’re very proud that she often turns to theispot to find the artists who help her spin straw into gold. Here are some of SooJin's picks for the Winter 2009 issue of AI5000.

LYDIA HESS: BIONIC LENSES

Lydia Hess created this image for an article on developing bionic contact lenses. We already see a future in which the humble contact lens becomes a real platform, much like the iPhone is today, with lots of developers contributing their ideas and innovations.

JING WEI: AMERICAN WAY

Jing Wei created an opener and five spots for an upcoming issue of American Way, the in-flight magazine for American Airlines. The article was about authentic Italian cooking and its inimitable results, which are largely dependent on the quality of the ingredients.

CARL WIENS: LOCAL TALENT

Canadian artist Carl Wiens' illustrations can be found worldwide, but there is plenty going on in his own backyard that keeps him busy as well. When the Olympic torch passed through his Prince Edward County community on its way to the Vancouver 2010 games, Carl was proud to contribute the illustrations for the celebrations guide, to be held at the Crystal Palace on the town's fairgrounds.

STEVEN NOBLE: IT’S THE REET THING

Steven Noble is helping Fentimans, an independent UK- based soft drink company, tug Coca-Cola's long white beard this Christmas. Steve conjured up an old-fashioned illustration of a Fentimans Santa wearing the colors of Curiosity Cola and workman's boots, standing victorious over a chubby Father Christmas lying prostrate and dressed in his customary red outfit much championed and featured by Coca Cola.

PETE RYAN: ROTTEN TOMATOES

Pete Ryan whipped up these images in less than 48 hours for an article featuring the website, "Rotten Tomatoes." Not familiar with the site? You should be! It aggregates movie reviews and posts the findings on a "Tomato Meter" from fresh to rotten. The focus of the article was the site's Oscar predictability.

PETE MCDONNELL: SUPER SAVER TO THE RESCUE!

Pete McDonnell created this Super Saver character for a recent Milwaukee Magazine cover. The story was about the inherent thriftiness of the average Milwaukee resident… Frugality is something of an art in that town, apparently!

ANTHONY FREDA: WORK MAKES YOU FREE

Anthony Freda's second one-man show at the Trifecta Gallery in Las Vegas, “Work Makes You Free,” is coming up in January.