"Hey Girl" journal for Chronicle Books

This is the second job I did for Chronicle books, which was a series of portraits of Ryan Gosling for their Hey Girl journal. I now have more reference photos of this man than one ought to, but this was a ton of fun. Thanks to Emily Dubin for the commission and direction!

Also, I was thrilled to see the journal on display at Urban Outfitters. Although both this and Film Listography are sold through Urban's site, this was the first I'd seen in store. 16 year old Jon would be proud!

Below, a link to the book on Urban's site, but do me a favor and buy it at an independent business like DIESEL Bookstore when available Feb 19th : http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=26879676&parentid=SUGGESTIVE+SEARCH+RESULTS

Hooked on a Feeling

Here's another one dealing with pollution & plastic, titled "hooked on a feeling". I'm jealous of Mr. Hasselhoffs hair.

Selected for The Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles

I'm thrilled to have learned my portrait of mitt romney (seen enthusiastically battling hurricane isaac) has been selected for the los angeles society of illustrators upcoming annual!

here's a link to their site : www.illustrationwest.org/51

Thanksgiving card for Grist.org

This is a Thanksgiving Card I did for Grist.org, a site that deals primarily with climate change. They wanted this card to have sort of a classic editorial feel, which is something I don't normally do, but certainly had a great time with. Thanks to Mignon Khargie for the direction, and Michelle for modeling! Gobble Gobble.

Below are a couple detailed shots :

I'll Huff, and I'll Puff, and I'll Blow down this House

I don't normally paint haunting subjects, but The Shining is one of my favorite films, and the rain today put me in the mood.

Found this strange drawing I did for the 2008 Election

Don't forget to Vote!

Here's where to find you're polling place

Portrait of Rousas John Rushdoony for California Magazine

A portrait of Christian Reconstructionist Rousas John Rushdoony for California Magazine, I'm sure there's crazier shit in his head than this, but I figured the outlandishness should be kept to a purely abstract level. Thanks to Michi Toki for the AD. Acrylic and pen on illustration board.

This was super fun to work on, and look, they printed my name HUGE.

Here's a link to the full article.

Yesterday Seemed Kinda Odd - New Portraits of 1990's icons on display at Local 123

I've done a new series of portraits, all 1990's rappers. They'll be on display/for sale at this spectacular place called Local 123 in Berkeley. Come by for the opening on October 11th, from 7 - 10pm.

Local 123, 2049 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley

Awkward Family Photo for Bloomberg Businessweek

It had been a while, but I was so happy to get a new commission from Bloomberg Businessweek. This time I was asked to illustrate an awkward family photo of Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Warren Buffet, Brad Pitt, and Rush Limbaugh, all posed together as if they went to the mall as a family in the 1970's. The article is about ancestry.com, and it's questionable lineage claims. Thanks again to Robert Vargas for the direction.

Here's a link to the full article : http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-20/ancestry-dot-coms-genealogical-juggernaut

Also of note, this is the second time Businessweek has put an impressive frame around my work. I'm speechless.

Friend Me

This is for another Bold Italic article about the difficulty of meeting friends in San Francisco. I got to illustrate lots of bears, you bet I was pumped! Thanks to Jennifer Maerz and Melissa Small for the AD.

Here's a link to the full article :http://www.thebolditalic.com/alliepape/stories/2206-friend-me

Some of the spot illustrations are below.

Portrait of Carly Rae Jepsen for MTV

For MTV's upcoming Video Music Awards, I was asked to do a portrait of Carly Rae Jepsen. If you don't already have "Call Me Maybe" in your head, you are welcome. Thanks to Tamar Anitai for the commission, I was so stoked to do this.

I also gave a brief interview along with the painting, here's an excerpt:

"I love the way this song truly embodies summer. It's in the same category for me as 'Feel Me Flow' by Naughty by Nature, which I remember watching on MTV growing up and thinking 'damn, I want my summer to go like this.' I think we've all been in that position where we do silly things to attract our crush, (this video certainly makes me want to do more sit-ups so that I can attract my hot, car-washing neighbor), and I wanted to capture that aspect of summer with this painting."

Here's a link to the page:

http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2012/08/22/vma-best-new-artist-illustration-carly-rae-jepsen-jon-stich-art/

Portrait of Clay Hensley for the SF Giants

I was asked to do a portrait of relief pitcher Clay Hensley for the San Francisco Giants. Part of the deal was that I scored a couple tickets to a Dodgers vs Giants game. I'm from LA but I don't bleed Dodger blue, I'm more of a Lakers guy, so bring it haters. Thanks to Jake Watling for the art direction. Here's what it looks like in the magazine.

Panhandling For Gold - Opening Reception on Friday August 3rd

I've got some work in a show opening this Friday night at Famous Four Colors in Oakland. Come on through, there'll be mostly new work, plus some great stuff by painters Scott Leddy and Max Kauffman. Below is part of a mural I did for the show. Hope to see you there!

Bizarre Mash-Up for General Mills' Reese's Puffs Cereal

When I was asked to combine any two things I wanted for this Reese's Puffs Cereal Ad, this is what I came up with. Thanks to Elias at Zeus Jones for the commission.

Nudie Foodie for The Bold Italic

Another set of illustrations for The Bold Italic, this time for an article about the menu's at SF's finest Strip Clubs by food critic Lauren Sloss. Thanks again to AD's Jennifer Maerz and Melissa Small.

Here's a link to the full article. http://www.thebolditalic.com/laurensloss/stories/1948-the-nudie-foodie

Some samples below :

Promotional Overload for the Bold Italic

I was commissioned to do some illustrations for a Bold Italic article about the inundation of bad marketing received by Anthony Bedard, music booker at SF's Hemlock Tavern. Thanks to Jennifer Maerz and Melissa Small for the Art Direction!

Here's the article : http://www.thebolditalic.com/AnthonyBedard/stories/2062-promotional-overload

Some of the illustrations :

Portraits of Synesthesia for University of Denver's Digital Library

I was commissioned to do a series of illustrations for University of Denver's digital library on Synesthesia. Synesthesia is the phenomenon of experiencing stimuli across more than one sense. The prevalence of synesthesia among many well-known artists serves as the foundation for this project. People experience the world in different ways, and nothing illustrates differences in human perception quite as dramatically as synesthesia.

Below are some examples of the work. Thanks to Grant Outerbridge (who is also a fantastic musician and writer) for the direction.

The Intemperance League for The Bold Italic

The Bold Italic asked me to illustrate members of San Francisco's Cocktail Lab as superheroes. I busted out my copy of The Infinity Gauntlet for reference, and dorked out quite a bit during the whole process. Thanks again to Sarah Han for the Art Direction, always a fun time.

The full article is here

Publication Party for Film Listography

I'm having a publication party tonight for Film Listography, a journal that I was fortunate enough to illustrate this past year. The book is geared towards film lovers, and features over 70 of my illustrations. It makes a great gift too.

The event is tonight at 7pm at my favorite Oakland bookstore:

DIESEL, A Bookstore

5433 College Ave (near Rockridge BART)

Here is more info on the event : http://www.dieselbookstore.com/event/oakland-publication-party-film-listography-jon-stich

Here's the facebook event thing too : http://www.facebook.com/events/371589546218845/

I'll do some podium time, then some Q & A, then some socializing. There will be booze, books, and hugs all around, and I'm going to bring in most of the original art to display.

Hope you can make it!

Indiana Jones and the Feast of Destiny

The Bold Italic asked me to do a series of illustrations for an article about a group who goes on "Food Adventures" in San Francisco. The group essentially dines only at extremely exotic and strange venues. There were 10 in all, and the google image searching was quite eye-opening. Balut was the most difficult to stomach. I went with a familiar adventure-esque theme in doing this job, some samples are below. Big thanks to Sarah Han for the assignment and direction.