Drink It In! Shirley Temple Illustration at Gallery Show and in PSI Drink Directory

My Shirley Temple piece is hanging in a couple shows this year (details in a minute, hold your horses) as part of Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators Drawing Under The Influence media blitz. The group just released its latest artist directory and this year it also happens to be a bartender's guide/drink mix recipe book. It's a handy little guide to both mixed drinks and some of Pittsburgh's most talented illustrators. I have two spreads in the book -- both non-alcoholic -- and I'll be breaking down my process for the Shirley Temple in this post.

First, more on the shows. There are, at this point, two planned shows. Drawing Under The Influence is going on right now at Gallerie Chiz in Shadyside. The opening was last night and it was very crowded and very loud and I barely got to talk to anyone. So, if you came out to say hi and I missed you, my apologies. Crowded rooms make me feel like Dr. Banner fixing a flat in the rain. The show at Gallerie Chiz runs through October 1st and features a lot of fantastic illustration by local artists as well as my Shirley Temple and Sleepy Hollow pieces. The next show will be at Art Institute of Pittsburgh and I'll post details about that when they shore up.

Now, more about the book. Close to 60 illustrators from the Pittsburgh area have spreads/drink recipes in the book. The range of contributors runs from some newer talent to some of the most seasoned illustrators in the business. Most of the time, when I work on an illustration, I'll share my early sketches and progress with other illustrators to get their valuable opinions. It invariably makes for a better piece in the long run. Lots of the illustrators that I bounce ideas off of have spots in the book and they look great -- talented illustrators like John Blumen, Pat Lewis, Jamie Huntsman and Craig Mrusek to name a few (Craig doubled as bartender/mix master at the opening last night and did a great job). These books are available at Gallerie Chiz while the show is running and will be available at our AIP show as well.

Below are my Shirley Temple work-in-progress images and some shots of the directory. Cheers! -v