Tim Robinson Illustration and Design

the surreal deal...

2011-12-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

Having just finished up a CD package design for the brilliant new "Ghosts Before Breakfast" recording from Rob Morsberger, I have surrealism on my mind. This new promo image is a tip of the hat to that grand tradition of images that make no sense in ways that, in the end, are more profound than reason. Does that make any sense??

The Nation - FOOD issue

2011-09-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

The current issue of The Nation features my collage work on the cover (designed by Milton Glaser) and a series of 7 collage illustrations for the interior of the magazine as well. Always a pleasure to be a part of The Nation's good work and very nice to have the chance to work with Milton.

more on that...

2011-08-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is another from the same batch, the subject being Tunisia in this case.

2011-08-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

A recent illustration for The Nation, for a piece concerning the Arab Spring. Sadly, because of a little confusion at the magazine, it didn't run... so I'm running it here.

birds and books

2011-05-27T05:38:00.000-07:00

This is a recent promotional piece musing about books and birds and a certain kind of past-centuries nostalgia. The specifics of what is recalled here are entirely up to you...

another design from the music world...

2011-03-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is a cover I designed for a collection of songs, by various writers, that Suzanne Vega released just after 9/11. The intent was to keep it simple, reverent, and direct... the songs and the design.

when worlds collide

2011-03-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

Looking back at my own history a bit, following the passing of my friend, Jack Hardy, I recalled the many posters I had designed for him. My life as an illustrator and graphic designer fell nicely into place next to my life as a songwriter then. These are two of those posters, one for an outdoor festival, and one for a night at the famed Bottom Line in NYC.

The Nation

2011-03-29T14:33:00.000-07:00

This is a piece for a recent issue of The Nation which detailed the existence of a Guantanamo equivalent smack in the middle of Indiana.

Are we there yet?

2011-03-08T14:09:00.000-08:00

It's my understanding that the human race is evolving continually. However, sometimes I feel like we maybe got stuck halfway to wherever...

A Winter Phrenology

2011-02-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

So, what's on your mind? Yeah, me too.

drawing

2011-01-28T06:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's very refreshing to just pick up a pencil and remember how to draw. Computers are great, I'm using one right now, but everything I do started with drawing. This is a sketch of my boys, done on their snow day yesterday... they were drawing too.

Science Times today...

2011-01-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a piece that ran in the science section of The New York Times today. Sadly the page ran in black and white (that happens sometimes) but it was an interesting subject nonetheless (great word). Apparently, those who suffer an adversity level somewhere in the middle rise above it all most successfully. You would think those with the easiest ride would triumph, but... I guess they're just too busy relaxing!

Hey, I made one of those!

2010-12-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

Nice to be included in this fun list of favorite designer's holiday cards from Steve Heller @ imprint.

http://imprint.printmag.com/daily-heller/these-are-a-few-of-my-favorite-cards/

a strange machine...

2010-11-19T07:41:00.001-08:00

A recent promotional piece... we're all part of a strange machine.

a tough row to hoe...

2010-11-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our smart, reasonable, hard working President could use some help. Let's hope tomorrow's results don't leave him way up the proverbial creek. Everybody vote, early and often.

"Graphic" - a new book from Steve Heller

2010-10-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's a pretty big thrill to see my work in the pages of "Graphic", the great new design book from the prolific Steve Heller. Inside are select pages from the sketchbooks of some wonderful illustrators and designers and I am humbled to be among them. It's a treat and an education to see how these varied artists organize their visual musings - Milton Glaser, Marshall Arisman, Brad Holland, and many more. Here's a corner from the page about a guy named Tim Robinson.

one face, or many?

2010-09-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

This collage was done recently for The Nation. The story dealt with the positive qualities that various immigrant groups bring to the table, as workforces, voting blocks, and as tapestries of varied individuals.

balance

2010-06-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

I just fired off this promotional piece that speaks to the spill situation in The Gulf of Mexico. I wanted to create an image that put what's in the balance right up front, without being emotional or sentimental. Just the facts. I find that approach usually cuts the deepest.

PRINT magazine

2010-05-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

I find myself among very fine company in the June issue of PRINT magazine, in an article by Steven Brower about that group of visual artists who are also die-hard musicians. It's a thoughtful piece about a subject that certainly makes sense to me. As a bonus they chose to reprint two of my recent collage illustrations to accompany the text.

handling Iran is tricky...

2010-05-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

This collage was done recently for The Nation, to accompany a story by Robert Dreyfuss. How should we best move forward when it comes to the volatile situation that Iran presents? On the one hand, trying to get the Permanent Five at the UN to agree to harsher measures, in the face of Russian and Chinese reluctance; on the other, the administration's uneasiness at the firebrands in Congress who are in the final stages of crafting legislation that will probably compel the administration to take punitive measures against third parties (foreign corporations or countries) doing business with Iran. I don't dare say I know the best course, but I can see that the situation is potentially "explosive".

abstraction...

2010-05-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it does me well to create something with just abstraction as the goal. This collage is not an illustration of anything, just an exercise in balance and color. Keeps me sharp.

drill, baby... what?

2010-05-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

I guess the whole oil spill thing will be okay... Rush Limbaugh says the ocean will take care of itself. He's always "right", right?

posting a poster...

2010-05-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

This is a poster I whipped up for an excellent NYC songwriter and a friend of mine, Paul Brill. Paul mixes all sorts of sonic material together to produce his rich sound, so digital collage was a good fit for the promo image. His songs and band are wonderful, so do yourselves a favor and go check out the show if you're in town. All the pertinent information is here, in... the poster.

Are you listening?

2010-04-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

This image was done recently for a sales magazine. The subject was "listening". Any chance I have to delve into bird imagery is always welcome. I think we ended up with a pretty surprising and fun illustration, considering the arena. Anyway, the guy listening looks happy. It must be Spring.

Attention Deficit Dis... (what was I typing again?)

2010-03-08T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is a collage I just did for The New York Times "Science Times" section. I've long thought the pieces in that section were a good match for collage solutions and finally they seem to concur. Look for it this Tuesday. The subject of the piece is ADD, which is a serious thing, but there's a nice sense of humor in the writer's approach.

the book jacket trade...

2010-02-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

I'm just churning these images out, hoping to catch the keen eyes of book jacket designers everywhere. Maybe they all stepped out for a cigarette, or something, because a bit of that "tree falling in a forest" thing seems to be afoot.

Your Taxes (mine too)

2010-02-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

This drawing appeared last weekend in the "Your Taxes" section of The New York Times. I guess I have the Olympics on my mind, because I went with another winter sports image - your taxes being your "compulsory figures" and Uncle Sam busy carving out big chunks of the ice. Yeah, I know... they don't score them on compulsory figures anymore, but they still score you on your taxes.

a Valentine

2010-02-15T05:53:00.000-08:00

I've been making these Valentine collages for Margi for probably 15 years now, and there's no stopping me!

robot stuff

2010-02-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Like monkeys before them, robots are always good "go to" characters when I'm trying to have some fun and crank out an image. This was a recent promotional piece sent to collage friendly art directors.

windows

2010-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

A little visual essay on interior and exterior space... or something.

monkey print

2010-01-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

When all else fails, draw monkeys. Monkeys are a thing that can't go wrong. I'm pitching my illustrations for a kid's book and needed a few more images to show, so I took my own advice and knocked out this quirky primate, rounding out my all too human portfolio. This drawing makes me laugh.

occasionally, a portrait...

2009-11-24T07:01:00.000-08:00

Carving out a likeness somewhere between realism and caricature is tricky territory, but that's where I try to steer things. This is a drawing/collage depicting the great American poet Robert Creeley as a fairly young man. He only had one eye and was generally photographed with a patch, but I found this direct image of him, with the blind eye shut, to be more compelling. Robert Creeley died in 2005. Do yourself a favor and read his work.

"old school" collage

2009-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I used to make collage from tangible things, back when folks cared about the tangible. We've now moved our concerns out into the ether with all our gizmos. I wonder how that will work out in the long run... anyway, here's an example of collage made from street debris, bits of whatever and Piero della Francesca.

Friday the 13th...

2009-11-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

This guy seems appropriate for today, a day so laden with goofy portent.

seasonal stuffing

2009-11-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

This is a collage I've just finished, to send out as a seasonal greeting to clients. As the image evolved, it looked more and more like a medieval tapestry to me, so that's what I went with. Trying to make a turkey beautiful is quite an undertaking.

The New York Times Book Review

2009-11-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've had a piece in the NY Times Book Review, but I'll have one in an upcoming issue. The review, written by Geoff Nicholson, is of book called "Liver", by Will Self. This was my first chance to use collage in this forum and the book in discussion was a perfect fit. I think the resulting image is compelling and captures the strange subject matter of this set of four related stories. If you're a Book Review junkie, like me, keep an eye out for it.

book covers...

2009-10-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

I've been showing my digital collage work around with book cover assignments in mind. So far, some good responses. Here's one I did today that I think has the right qualities for that sort of gig. We shall see...

Charles Wright - for the NY Times

2009-10-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

This is a portrait of the poet Charles Wright that I drew for The New York Times Book Review when a collection of his poetry, entitled "Scar Tissue", was released. Likenesses are tricky territory, but I was pleased when a personal friend of the poet contacted me and purchased a print of my drawing to give to Mr. Wright as a gift. That kind of thing is very satisfying to an illustrator, because the work is generally sent out into the world with no expectation of response.

Joseph Cornell

2009-10-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

This man's work has always stopped me in my tracks. The meaning of it all is so evasive, I end up questioning all meaning. That's getting close to defining art for me. Google him if you're not familiar with his mysterious constructions.

the occasional poster

2009-10-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

Once in a blue moon, I get the chance to illustrate and design a poster. This one was done, a while back, for a production of Damn Yankees.

the mutual funds guy

2009-10-11T17:36:00.000-07:00

I've been doing these drawings for The New York Times Mutual Funds Quarterly for many years now and it's a great gig. First of all, what's funnier than Mutual Funds? Well... a lot, especially of late, but it's still the goal to produce something humorous that conveys the status of the current market. This last quarter was pretty darn great, but... can the bounce-back continue? Apparently there's a sea of doubt out there. The notion of those trampolines with the safety nets (I always need a grid to play with for these) came to mind. Maybe we can bounce back so high we'll have some problems...

Thanks to the section art director, Fred Norgaard, for always coming back to me with these.

The New York Times Book Review

2009-10-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

A while back I had a great assignment, drawing for a New York Times Book Review cover featuring Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a complicated story about a person who is both a man and a woman - strange, but great fodder for illustration. Steve Heller was designing those pages then and The Book Review has long been a great showcase for fine illustration. I'm always honored to be included there.

another food cover

2009-10-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

This cover for "Corn & Capitalism" has an interesting story. I had done a piece for the Op-Ed page of the New York Times dealing with the US corn industry and it's pervasive power. A while after that editorial ran, I got a call from The University of North Carolina Press. They had seen the Op-Ed and thought the drawing dove-tailed perfectly with a book they were releasing... so, the strange corn drawing got a second life. If only all of my the illustrations would circle back for a second bow. Once in a while these little bonuses crop up (insert corny joke here).

and, speaking of animals and records...

2009-10-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

This a funny logo I did for another songwriter's record label. I seem to know too many songwriters and not enough fortune 500 executives. The upside is this - you can be playful and design a scrappy-little-dog logo for a record label.

tiny little records, big fat pigs

2009-10-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Remember album covers? Well, I do and I miss them. I was too late to have ever had an assignment designing an LP cover, but I do occasionally design CD packaging and it's a satisfying (if tiny) undertaking. Sadly, CD's seem to be going the way of the buffalo as well, but that's another story. This particular CD cover went the way of the flying pig... it was done for a San Fransisco songwriter named Billy Schafer. I hope the pig has done well for you, Billy. I used a big, huge, ugly pig rather than the go-to cutey-pie. I think it serves to underscore the essential notion here, that anything is possible. Is that true? Hey, what's the greatest album cover ever? Please opine...

The Nation - Food Issue

2009-10-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

To the right is the cover for The Nation magazine's recent "Food For All" issue. I designed the lettering and Steven Brower did the cover layout. Inside the issue I did several illustrations and additional lettering as initial capitals. This was a great assignment to work on, and the articles included are all compelling. It was a special treat for me to do an illustration for a piece concerning Wendell Berry, one of my favorite poets, but also a very critical early figure in the sustainable agriculture movement. The piece shown above the cover illustrates a different article, by Dayo Olopade, "Green Shoots in New Orleans".

a flowery logo...

2009-10-03T06:17:00.001-07:00

This is a playful logo I recently created for a garden design business. I wanted to keep it fun and as un-corporate as possible, but still have it pack some identity oomph. I think we pulled it off.

A piece for The University of Minnesota

2009-10-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice big drawing I did for The University of Minnesota Foundation. It's tricky to find a humorous yet respectful solution when creating an image about a serious disease, but I think we ended up with a very nice result. I love working for University publications. They're outside the frenzied loop of commercial magazines so the art directors are always calm and easy to talk to.

I'm working in to very different illustration styles of late. This piece is the more traditional, humorous and conceptual. The newer style, which I have been doing more and more of, is digital collage (more to come on that).

So it begins...

2009-10-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

I am told I should blog, told this by those who do. So, in the grand tradition of leaping into pools of unknown depth, for the rush (if not a calculated result) here we go. I will be posting artistic musings, design and illustration work, opinions (yikes), and other stuff as I see fit and gradually muster my innate blogness. Please stay tuned.

TR

2009-10-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

This is a recent piece from my "digital sketchbook". I will post these as they are finished. They are surreal collages compiled from junk, web images, treasured scraps of this and that, and collected nonsense of all kinds. Towards the end they start to take on meaning. That's when I hit "save" and get out of the equation. The important question being, what does it mean to you?

TR