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While at Salina Technical College, I was fortunate enough to be accepted to continue for a second year in the graphic design course. My first assignment was to illustrate a vintage car that was extremely tedious, using small brushes and a ruling pen. This was my first time painting in such detail, and I couldn't help but admire it. They had us illustrate in a paint that has some of the characteristics as tempera paint called gouache, which came in tubes, unlike the blue squeeze bottles of liquid tempera we used to use in elementary and high school during art class. ❦

The assignment was to learn a technique to create wood grain and reflections in chrome. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to utilize this technique during my career. Better safe than sorry! ↓

The desk was created in much the same way as the dashboard. Each desk surface was masked off and painted with long strokes by a fan brush, creating wood streaks and even a wood-like texture. ❦

Another project from my second year that involved sketching from a photograph, and at the time I felt it looked fairly good. The young are easily impressed. ↓

Like the other drawing, I thought this one was exceptional as well. It's amazing how different you see things when you're older. ❦

My first job as a graphic designer was conveniently located in my hometown of Abilene, Kansas. The job was with Alco Duckwall, a discount store with 198 stores in 23 states. It centered around the Alco bi-monthly circular, with a fashion illustrator and me, the illustrator of everything else. That's all I did, every day, all day, illustrate black and white products for the circular. It was delivered to customers in and around each location as an insert in the town newspaper. ↓

The inside shows a sample of the “everything else” I mentioned previously. I illustrated radios, tools, stereos, furniture, and toys, to name a few. ❦

Tidbit: It was a late night in 1977, just outside my hometown of Abilene, on a curve of an old lonely highway sparsely lined with hedge trees. I had worked for only a few months at my first job as a graphic artist with Alco Duckwall discount stores when a car accident tragically ended two lives and profoundly affected the other.

On a Friday night with my 8-track blaring, I was driving my beloved green 1972 Chevy Nova, cruising up and down the two main drags, Buckeye and 3rd St, hoping to hook up with someone. This was the routine on weekends among Abilene's young people.

After completing a couple of courses, I pulled into the local Alco store parking lot that faced Buckeye, hoping to meet up with some chicks or one of my buddies to put down a couple of brewskis. It had been only a few minutes when two friends pulled up next to me and hollered over, “Hey, do you want to go with us to pick up some beer and cruise around?” “Hell yeah!” I said, so we bought some beer with their stereo cranked and began cruising the streets.

I had only known these two friends for a few years; Geno was from Galeton, Pennsylvania, and Nathan was from Bath, New York. A couple of hours had passed, it was getting late, and the cars were thinning out. Nathen was driving Geno’s car and decided to head out of town so we didn't have to worry about getting caught with open containers. At that time, the cops would only dump your open container on the ground, confiscate the rest of your beer, and tell you to go home. Geno’s car happened to be the same model and year as mine, except it was the sports edition called the Rally Nova with a larger engine and racing stripes. I was in the back seat, and we were heading east on old Highway 40 toward Champman, drinking beer and listening to 70s rock. We were about five miles out rounding a curve when I suddenly saw the headlights fixated on a single hedge tree. There wasn't much time to say or do anything except throw my arms in front of my face in a praying mantis-like fashion.

Upon impact, I felt as though I was diving through the air in slow motion off the top board of the Abilene city pool. I was unconscious for a short while, and when I awoke, there was silence for a few minutes, then it was broken by screams and moans of pain coming from the driver, Nathan. I was in shock and didn't feel much of anything until they put me in the ambulance on the stretcher. My uncle Daryl, my dad's youngest brother, discovered us and told me through the back window to hold on; he would get help. The passenger, who owned the car, expired instantly, and his buddy, the driver, died later at the hospital. I learned afterward the engine was partially in the front seat, and the speedometer had stuck at 110 mph on impact. See the newspaper article.

I was transferred from the Abilene hospital to the Salina hospital with multiple fractures, several broken teeth, and facial contusions. For most of my stay at the hospital, six weeks and two days, I was in traction. It was later expressed to me that they had been at a beer party earlier that night and were more than likely on their way to being intoxicated before we hooked up. I was eternally grateful to Alco Duckwall for their support and for allowing my employment to continue over several months of recovery. ❦

The Executive Marketing Director eventually gave me added responsibility to design the promotional signage for inside the Alco stores. The above exemplifies my extraordinary design abilities for an Alco poster and banner created with clip art (graphics clipped out of a book.) This was the beginning of my career, a time I like to call my DESIGN BLIND period! ↓

Tidbit: While working for Alco Duckwall, I went on a business trip with the Executive Marketing Director and Creative Director to Oklahoma City. We were taking the trip on an eight-passenger, twin-propeller plane. I was on a plane only once before, in the seventh grade. My dad knew a pilot and arranged for my brother and me to accompany him. My brother had fun, but I was a bit uptight because of my secret fear of heights, which I tried to hide. I enjoyed the experience, but at the same time, I was happy to touch down.

We boarded the plane at eight a.m. at the local Abilene airport, just outside town. I was nervous, not only because of the heights but also wondering what was in store for me on my first business trip. I knew just enough to be dangerous in the real advertising world. We got in our seats in that small flying coffin, and we were off to Oklahoma City. The flight was smooth and short. We arrived early because the pilot said we had a tailwind that day.

The meetings went well, and I didn't even get a chance to embarrass myself. Later that afternoon, we again boarded the plane to take the short flight back to Abilene. I was tired and ready to get home, but just as we reached our cruising altitude, we saw in front of us a vast expanse of isolated thunderheads extending as far as the eye could see. Immediately, the pilot’s voice came across the intercom and said we may have a rough ride home. I was thinking, "Oh great, my career could come to an abrupt end." The pilot began to thread the plane through the clear spaces between the thunderheads, trying to keep as far away from them as possible. As we flew between the first two clouds, the plane began to bounce lightly and shutter. I could feel my body tense up as my sweaty palms grasped the armrest. Suddenly, the first drop came out of nowhere, and we all glanced at each other, trying not to show fear. The further we went into this forest of thunderheads, the worse the bouncing and dropping became. We would sometimes drop hundreds or maybe even thousands of feet, I don't know, but it scared the hell out of me, and I'm sure the others, too! I could feel my stomach moving up toward my throat, and for a few seconds, when dropping, I felt weightless. I bet my hand impressions are still on the armrest of that plane. There was absolute silence on the plane. I could sense fear from the other two passengers as well, and I surmised they probably had never experienced turbulence to this magnitude before, but when they got off the plane, there was no mention of it. To this day, I have not encountered turbulence to that degree. ❦

These headers sat on top of the metal frames of the product price signs inside Alco. The artistic skill displayed here is absolutely stunning. NOT!

It's reassuring to know they are stored away for posterity at the local landfill. ❦

Good bye Alco!

Hello whatever comes next! ❦

An ABOMINATION! It's the worst ad ever created by a primate! This may be the first ad I designed in my professional career at The Professional Advertiser, also known as PA, in the late 70s in Topeka.

I think I was even proud! ↓

I designed this masterpiece long ago for Dale Sharp, and is now on permanent display at the prestigious Le Corndog Museum in Paris. Notice the date Jimmy Carter was president: there were no desktop computers, no smartphones, and gas was 86 cents a gallon. Bitchin' car, though! ❦

I designed this ad while I was with PA for one of our clients, Nelson’s Electronics Super Stores located in Topeka and Salina, Kansas. Nelson’s was one of our larger accounts at the time. Nelsons utilized all media, but the primary advertising vehicle was the newspaper ads, which were my burden. The Sacrifices was a famous quarterly sales event in which Nelson’s products were substantially reduced in price. I was the lucky one designated to create the Sacrifices, a full-page newspaper ad with listings of electronic products.

The owner, Jim Nelson, was large in stature and had a strong personality with a deep, intimidating voice. In meetings, we couldn't help but be a bit on edge. He would lean back in his chair at the head of the long conference table with his giant arms crossed over his burly chest, looking like he wanted to disembowel each of us. His minions would sit on one side of the table while we sat on the other. If Jim disagreed or didn't approve of something you said, he wouldn't hesitate to call you out in an intimidating manner, forcing you to explain yourself. Luckily, we

survived all future meetings without sacrificing our bowels or ourselves! ❦

Quite possibly, my first brochure. design while working for PA!

Kinda brings a tear to my eye. ❦

I created this beauty long ago, also at PA. Notice the sleek computer in the illustration.

The company claimed, “This incredible PC will make your work more efficient and has the amazing ability to grow your business.”

Sign me up! ❦

HomeStore was the local hardware store in Manhattan, Kansas. I designed and illustrated this promotional shopping bag in the early ’80s with “The Professional Advertiser.” This long-legged fellow sure looks dapper with his baggy pants and oversized clown shoes. ❦

"The Professional Advertiser is where my journey began with the same four people for over three decades, along with three agency name changes.

Tidbit: It was in the early to mid-80s when you could feel the tension in the office - the two owners' partnership had begun to fray. The founder of The Professional Advertiser started in Manhattan, Kansas, and shortly thereafter moved to Topeka. She was ambitious and dedicated to making the agency succeed. She worked long hours and wore many hats. The other partner, on the other hand, believed that hard work didn't pertain to him and that 8:00 to 5:00 was more than enough time to dedicate to the fledgling agency. He had to go! The only problem is he wouldn't, even when offered a generous buyout. So, the founder decided she would leave instead and create a new agency.

A few employees quit and went to work for her; even several accounts followed her to her new agency, Admark, Inc. She wanted us all but could not yet afford us, so we continued to work for the other partner, secretly knowing that when the time came, we would also leave The Professional Advertiser and go to work for Admark. To me, there was no question as to which partner I wanted to work for. I knew PA was doomed to fail because this partner didn't have the passion or mentality to run a successful business. Unfortunately, I was the artist who worked with his largest accounts, so he valued me and didn't want me to go with the other partner. He began to suspect my loyalty and surmised I might leave, too, so he started harassing me daily, trying to find out my intentions. He soon began calling me at home in the evening and even on weekends with bribes of significant salary increases. But I kept him guessing, not letting him know my true intentions because if he knew, he would fire me on the spot, and I would be without a paycheck. After several months, Admark was ready to take me and others in. Close to a year later, The Professional Advertiser closed its doors for good, and I opened a new one with Admark. ❦

Cover for Econo-Clad Books catalog, a national book company: The Egyptian burial chamber with a mummy reading an Econo-Clad book was my crazy concept, which implied that Econo-Clad books could last over 4,000 years - the time of the pyramids. The design turned out to be a big production for a client with a small budget. We built the sarcophagus, painted the hieroglyphs, and mummified a fellow employee. We did the photoshoot in the ruins of an old rock building west of town. This was my first experience at art directing a photo shoot. As you can tell by the props, we spared no expense! ❦

While with PA, I paraphrased Charleston Heston, who portrayed Moses in the movie "The Ten Commandments." Whenever I sensed skepticism aimed in my direction, I would let loose the phrase: "TEN TIMES you have seen the miracles of Larry Graham, and STILL, you do not BELIEVE!" The Pharaoh of Egypt, played by Yule Brener from the same movie, was another one I quoted when I felt strongly about my decision: "So let it be said! So let it be done! So let it be written!" I know I was mental! There was something about the film that stuck with me when I was a kid. My fellow artist found this drawing of Moses in a magazine and added the text with a picture of me at a costume party dressed as who else but Moses. When my therapist was informed about this behavior, he immediately demanded I be restrained and institutionalized. ❦

Tidbit: The Professional Advertiser's first office was on SW 29th Street, across from where I lived (Rain Tree Apartments in Topeka). I was one of only two artists with the fledging agency at the time. As artists, we wanted the creative department to look progressive, modern, and artsy. So we got fired up and designed a graphic of the word "Art" to be displayed on the creative department wall. It was in a classic 70s style, approximately 4ft by 3ft. We picked a three-day weekend so there would be plenty of time to complete the task. We used spray paint to blend the colors easily and masked off the graphic with tape. The immediate area was then covered with plastic trash bags, newspapers, and drop cloths.

We sprayed the wall graphic with red, orange, and yellow paint, blending the colors. We removed the mask once the paint had dried; it looked perfect! We then cleaned up, picking up all the newspapers and drop cloths. Just as we finished, the owner walked into the room. We were startled. We didn't know she was even in the office. She glanced at the graphic and said, "Why are my shoes sticking to the carpet?" We glanced at each other, then began explaining how we created the wall graphic and covered the carpet near the painting to protect it from the overspray. We admitted that the spray traveled further than expected, landing on the uncovered areas. We planned to get a carpet cleaner at the Dillons just down the street. Without saying a word, she then turned and walked out of the creative department every step, making a sticky carpet sound. It was apparent she was upset with us. We immediately hopped into the car to rent a heavy-duty carpet cleaner from Dillons. We were exhausted and still had several hours ahead of us cleaning the overspray off the carpet. We ran the machine over the sticky spots several times trying to get it to come clean. We knew our butts were on the line. Lucky for our jobs, it eventually came off! The owner later said she was impressed with the graphic and appreciated the effort we put in to make the agency look like a great place to work. ❦

Security Benefit Group is an insurance company that began in Topeka approximately 30 years ago. SBG offers a wide range of products and services, from retirement to life insurance. ↓

Security Exchange" was a bi-monthly news pamphlet for customers. Each featured various pen and ink drawings of wild animals in their natural habitats. ❦

Tidbit: There were two close encounters with crime at Admark on 7th and Harrison, near downtown Topeka. One of our copywriters and I were on our way to lunch, walking to our cars in the parking lot when an enraged man ran past us with something in his hand. Seconds later, an officer rushed by in pursuit, catching up with him a few yards in front of us. When the man turned around to face the officer, he revealed a large knife in his hand. The officer instantly placed his hand on his holstered gun. Swinging the blade back and forth, the man argued and threatened the officer. In a calm voice, the officer tried to convince him to put down the knife, but he would not. Soon, other officers arrived, surrounding him as he slowly put down the knife and gave up. The officer put the man’s hands behind his back and cuffed them. He then took him away.

The other incident was while our vice president was working in the office at night when a man broke in through a window. He heard the commotion from inside his office and went to investigate. He rounded the corner, locked eyes, and the man scrambled to get out the same way he got in, through the window, while our vice president called 911. By the time the police got there, the man was long gone and never caught.❦

Each month, as a self-promotional tool, Admark created a calendar for clients, prospects, and employees' families. Every employee had the opportunity to develop a calendar concept. It was up to the designer/illustrator to bring their idea to life and make it into an exciting and pleasing calendar. Mona’s concept reflects her passion for music and her love for the piano. Credits were listed on every calendar of everyone involved, along with the name of the paper and printing company. I designed and illustrated this calendar on the computer in an app called FreeHand. This vector-based program was popular with designers for a time but soon would be replaced with Adobe Illustrator. ↓

I admired Louis Armstrong for his unique voice and singing style, not to mention he was the G.O.A.T trumpet player. This painting became my calendar in September of 1982 (shown without the calendar) after forming our new agency, Admark, Inc. I painted Louis in gouache (similar to water-based tempera paint,) which made it difficult to blend because it dries quickly. To solve this problem, this will sound disgusting, but I would stick the brush in my mouth and wet it with spit, then mix it with the paint. The saliva would prolong the drying time just long enough to allow it to blend. I don't like to toot my own horn, but it worked pretty well!

I painted this when the agency was “The Professional Advertiser,” on 29th St., right across the street from where I lived at “Rain Tree” apartments. The painting was later chosen as a calendar once Admark Inc. was formed. ↓

My 1984 calendar was a graphic exercise in impossibility. If you examine the smaller cubes inside the larger cube and follow their path, you will realize that the perspective is impossible and does not make sense. Google, M. C. Escher, the king of impossibility to see even more twisted distortions of reality. ↓

This calendar is a tribute to the Native Americans and my dad, who admired them and their culture. Dad had two big enjoyments in life aside from family; one was electric trains, and he had many. The other was his love for Kansas history. He loved to hunt for Indian arrowheads with me and collect them along with other artifacts. He also enjoyed reading and educating himself on the history of Kansas. This concept was designed with a photo taken of the arrowheads we had found over the years combined with a superimposed vintage photograph of a Native American warrior. The ghostly image suggests that the Native American spirit continues on through their finely crafted arrowheads and artifacts. ↓

When I saw this young geisha girl’s photo in a magazine, I knew I had to paint her and do it in an unusual style. This is a photo of the painting without the actual calendar. I painted this in the basement shortly after I was married in our first house on Munson, just off Gage in Topeka in 1986. The watercolor painting was done in a loose but controlled style on a coated illustration board. First, I created a comprehensive marker drawing to determine the scale, color scheme, and detail. Then, a tracing was made and transferred to the illustration board. Before working on the finished painting, several studies were made to experiment with style and technique. I then used Windsor and Newton watercolors, keeping my brush full of pigment and water to allow the colors to run. It was done on an approximately 2ft X 3ft board, and took several weeks to complete. It won an award of excellence in the illustration category. ↓

The inspiration for this calendar was from our Audio/Visual production technician. It was a spoof on an old dramatic movie poster, loosely like “Gone With the Wind.” I wish I had more time with this calendar. There was still so much more work to be done especially to the faces. I count this one as unfinished. Oil paint was my first choice to illustrate this calendar. Unfortunately, it takes too long to dry, so that forced my hand to use acrylic. ↓

Our Chief Research Officer was the brainchild of this concept of a young boy being respectful to Old Glory and singing the national anthem at his baseball game. The photo/illustration was a high-contrast photo that I simplified on the computer. ↓

January Returns concept was output by the IT guy who was also my commuting partner back and forth to work from Topeka to Lawrence. I wanted to break away from the norm and make it more entertaining by illustrating it in a cartoon style. The calendar numbers are the “take a number” tickets for the clerk to call the next one in line. This was a kooky and corny calendar that was a lot of fun to create. It was created in pen and ink along with watercolor. ❦

In the mid-90s, we stopped the self-promotional calendars and launched the Callahan Creek art posters. This one was called “Prairie Air,” the answer as to where the hot summer prairie wind comes from, a concept by a fellow employee. Our photographer took a full-color panoramic shot of the prairie in the Kansas Flint hills and other shots of the fans and the serviceman. Even the sky was a separate photo. I composited the images in Photoshop, which looked pretty good. That could have been it, a beautiful full-color panoramic photo of the prairie with fans and a serviceman in it. However, I knew something was wrong. It didn't feel hot to even care about the prairie air, and it didn't feel dramatic at all. So I began to experiment with no success until it dawned on me: I’ll shift all the color to a warm, rich, golden brown, which would look and feel like a hot summer day and, at the same time, give it a more intriguing dramatic look, killing two birds with one stone and achieving what you see. The poster won awards and was published in “Communication Arts” magazine, an honor among graphic designers. It's the only entry I ever had published in “CA.”

Tidbit: Myself and other employees, especially in the creative department, would work late quite often and sometimes even the weekend. It's the nature of the advertising business; we did whatever it took to meet the deadlines, and sometimes that meant working around the clock. We persevered even though we were dead tired. One of the symptoms of extreme exhaustion was irrational behavior, which would manifest late at night or in the early morning hours. We would slowly become demonic and get this overwhelming desire to scare the peewaddens out of someone! There was the time when a female artist was finishing up a stat (a black and white image on photographic paper) in the darkroom and was about to exit the darkroom. The darkroom had automatic sliding doors that slid open from the middle. They would instantly open when the mat was stepped on, precisely like the old TV series Star Trek. When she stepped on the mat, the door instantaneously opened to reveal me yelling at the top of my lungs with a bright camera strobe light flashing in her face. She spontaneously broke into a run but didn’t go anywhere as she screamed back at me.

I felt a sense of achievement. It was glorious! Of course, I knew I made a grave mistake when she told me my days of serenity were numbered. Sure enough, there was another late night a few weeks later, and she was about to make good on her threat along with reinforcements, our photographer. I had gone into the darkroom to make a stat, and upon leaving, I stepped onto the mat. The door slid open, revealing two possessed people screaming at me and a bright flashing light in my face. This time, it was me that was horrified and running in place! How humiliating! I now felt betrayed by our photographer assisting my vengeful victim, and so I couldn’t leave well enough alone! One other late night, our photographer was coming out of the break room with a plate of food with Cheese Whiz sprayed on top. He walked through the door's threshold, and of course, I scared him. When the dust settled, he looked down and saw Cheese Whiz adorning his shirt; however, he somehow managed to hang on to his plate of food. Don't worry, he got me back! ↓

Young teammates huddled up to plan their next play to counter the offensive threat and defend their lead was a proposed agency poster concept. ❦

Tidbit: Shortly after we moved into our new building in a wooded area off of Burlingame, an incident made us believe we were in the tropics. However, the tropics don’t have seasonal changes, and we were well into Fall with all the leaves off the trees. One day at work, a fellow artist yelled, “What the hell is that!” as he looked out the atrium windows. The rest of us instantly lifted our heads and saw something bright green moving about in the leafless trees. We couldn't believe what we were seeing as it turns out, it was someone's pet parrot that apparently escaped and got away. I know their wings are supposedly clipped, but somehow, he managed to get up in the trees.❦

Prerogative initiative to capture the women's market and to position ourselves as an authority in marketing to women. The booklet has faces sliced into thirds. When a face section was flipped up, it would reveal that portion of another face below it. You could make all kinds of strange faces, and along with the booklet, there was an accordion brochure featuring the Prerogative women's faces. The Prerogative campaign won a couple of design awards. ❦

I hatched this concept for an announcement to let clients and potential clients know we now have two locations. On the cover was an image of a single egg. ↓

When the card was opened, it revealed the egg cracked open, releasing a double yolk with the Callahan Creek logo reflecting on both of them. ❦

When I designed this national magazine ad for Hills Science Diet Treats, it had an extremely hot deadline. I was told there had not yet been a photo shoot of the product's entire line and wanted the ad produced like yesterday. So, they charged me with creating 3D illustrations to create the ad. Yay! This ad went in several national magazines, and it also won awards. ❦

Hill's Science Diet offers a complete line of products, including dry and wet food, treats, and prescription diets for dogs and cats.

Taken from the brochure, this is a condensed version of the history of Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

Hill's Science Diet has a rich history that began in 1943 with Dr. Mark L. Morris, a visionary veterinarian who believed certain pet diseases could be managed through carefully formulated nutrition. Dr. Morris had the chance to prove his theory when a young blind man asked him if anything could be done to save his guide dog, Buddy, who was suffering from kidney failure. Dr. Morris formulated the first prescription diet, K/D, designed to help dogs with kidney disease.

Thanks to Buddy's recovery, Hill's Pet Nutrition was founded, and the field of clinical nutrition became the first of many milestones that Hill's has brought to the industry. ❦

Hill’s Science Diet is a well-known premium specialty pet food brand that is sold throughout North America, mainly in pet retail stores and veterinarian clinics. This booklet was introducing the new “Healthy Defense System” product. The half-page red cover was cut out in an arch along with the logo. Notice the subtle image of a woman on the red cover. ↓

With the cover opened, it revealed the full-color image of the woman. Hill’s was extremely pleased with this piece, and it ran for a couple of years.❦

Tidbit: Hill’s had gotten several positive testimonials from satisfied customers all over the United States who fed their dogs the Healthy Defence System dog food. I was assigned to direct the filming of these testimonials. The videographer, crew and I filmed in Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, and Florida for a week and a half. It seemed as though we were in the air and on the road most of the time. I remember one house we filmed at to get a testimony from the pet owner and clips of her dog. It turns out she also had cats, lots of them, and this was not a large house. Once the filming had wrapped up, I asked to use her restroom, to which she replied, “Sure, just through that door and to the left,” so I opened the door to enter the first room as directed when about my third step in I was instantly blasted with this suffocating stench, that practically set my nose hairs, ablaze! It was the pungent odor of ammonia from the cats' urine mixed with other disgusting smells. I held my breath with what little good air I had left in my lungs, made my way to the filthy throne, peed and hurried back to the door, opened it, and sucked in as much clean air as possible. I tried to hide my beet-red face from the dog owner and the crew until my lungs again took in clean oxygen. As we left, I told the crew about the gas chamber I invertedly wandered into to relieve myself. They laughed and said they weren't surprised by the number of cats she had lying all over the furniture and kitchen counters. It's a smell my olfactory gland won't forget!

The footage was taken from all locations and would later be edited into short promotional spots shown on social media and the Hill’s website. ❦

This is the Hill’s Science Diet merchandiser sales pamphlet for introducing the New Small Breeds dog food. It shows informative graphs, sales projections, and in-store promotional material. ↓

Hill’s Science Diet was sold as a premium pet food at “Petco,” “PetSmart,” veterinarian clinics,

and other select merchandisers. ❦

A Hill’s Science Diet merchandiser sales pamphlet is for introducing Simple Essentials Treats, which also shows informative graphs, sales projections, and in-store promotional material. ↓

Science Diet Simple Essentials Treats is a premium pet treat in seven flavors.❦

Tidbit: All of our client printed material was press-checked to ensure quality. I once press-checked a job for Hill's Pet Nutrition in Akron, Ohio, that turned into a nightmare on steroids. We usually assign our approved printing companies to our clients. However, this time, Hill's insisted that we use their cheaper choice. This press check should have been simple. The promotional material to be printed consisted of solid shapes of color that just needed to butt one another (it's called keeping the color in REGISTER) and is elementary from a printer's point of view. The first run went without a hitch, so I signed the press sheet for approval and went to lunch with the sales executive. When I returned, the pressman had one of the companion press sheets waiting for my approval and signature. However, the colors didn't butt; there was space between the colored shapes (out of register). I instructed the pressman to make the necessary adjustments, but it still didn't butt properly. This sequence repeated itself for hours, with the pressman growing more agitated with each adjustment. I decided to stop the presses, which is costly to the printing company and an insult to the pressman. I found out later that the sales executive bypassed me and cried to my office superiors and told them about the dire situation I put them in. The pressman shouted at me, "This is as good as it gets; this is within our printing standards," the sales executive said, "We've never had this happen before!" I told them this is precisely why I'm here: to ensure quality for our client. My office then returned a call to the sales executive, telling him they had complete confidence in my decision and that if they didn't meet OUR standards, we would pull the job and have it printed elsewhere. They complied and used a better printing press and pressman. Hill's agreed it was their mistake to use them and thanked us for fighting hard to keep their image looking premium. ❦

My package design for Hill’s Science Diet’s “Ideal Balance” formula dog food was to convey “premium”; hence, the golden letters of “Balance” and the green leaf implied “organic,” the food pyramid illustrated good nutrition. I was pleased with the outcome of this package and had a good time

designing it. ❦

Poster designs for one of many Hill’s Science Diet charities. ❦

The AmVestors Financial Annual Report and a billboard (not shown) on the turnpike between Lawrence and Topeka were the only pieces done for this client. ❦

The Sunflower Foundation is a state-wide healthcare foundation whose mission is to improve the health of Kansans. This 2003 annual report cover displays a soft monochromatic photograph of a sunflower. ↓

A thin ribbon of sunflowers stretches across the width of this 2004 annual

report. ↓

Big skies over distance sunflower fields on the Kansas plains. ❦

The folder carried informational material, stationary, envelopes, and a business card. ❦

It had been a handful of years since I had left Alco Duckwall in Abilene and working for Admark in Topeka when Alco reached out to our agency to update their storefronts. I don't know if they purposely came to my agency because of me or if it was a coincidence, but I like to think it was me. Alco, of course, no longer exists because of the likes of national discount chains like Walmart and Target. If this storefront I designed were in existence today, it would most certainly be in need of a drastic update! ❦

The first logo I designed was for an actual company, my own at the time. It was the Alco Duckwall corporate logo. I had done several other designs, but this is the one that floated to the top. Of course, I was pretty proud, being my first logo for a multi-state discount store. ↓

The Alco Duckwall corporate logo is constructed of wood on the Great Plains Theater wall in Abilene. The wood rendition, I think, enhances the logo and gives it a stately feel. ( I did not create the wood rendition, only the design.) ❦

One of my favorite logos I designed was the Spyder logo; the spider in the “D” is memorable and makes for a strong brand. This logo had a few variations depending on the usage. Spyder manufactures high-end power tool accessories and is sold nationally, primarily in Lowe's stores. ↓

This is the logo designed for the packaging created in Photoshop. The text was illustrated with beveled edges and a brush stainless steel surface. For the background, I used diamond-plated steel to give it a tough, rugged look. A fave! ❦

A Spyder sub-brand for a German-made saw blade that could cut three ways. The logo projects strength as well as progressiveness with a little attitude. ❦

Manhattan logo that I created several years ago, I sure it's been updated. ❦

The KU Buddy System encouraged students to have a travel buddy to stay safe on and off campus. ❦

The Yin & Yang “e” logo is a definite fave! The positive and negative double e intertwined logo captivates interest and makes a strong, memorable branding mark. I visualized this intertwined double e in my head, but materializing it onto paper was quite a different story. I burned many hours to get this logo across the finish line. ❦

Component Fabricators manufactured prefabricated homes in the 1970s. ❦

Internal brand consultant group specializing in marketing strategies focused on women. Notice the backward “R“- it's a woman’s prerogative! I still like this logo. ❦

I created this 3D logo for the Lawrence Performing Arts play, “Snow Queen, “displayed on posters to promote the play. What better way to express “Snow Queen” than with a crowned “Q” made of ice? ❦

MERCY! Looks like this logo is in need of an ambulance! Stat! ↓

The old logo portrayed a recovering child receiving a loving hug from a parent. Unfortunately, the way the logo was executed (TERRIBLE), it looked like the child was in a STRANGLED HOLD and was jokingly called the strangling kid logo! The typeface/font was poorly crafted and did not fit the subject. I was assigned to redesign the logo without it losing integrity. As far as I could tell, it didn't have much to lose! The logo concept is “The Happy Outcome” parent and recovered child celebrating. ❦

DH Pace is a national company that provides door and entry solutions for all commerce sectors. You are probably familiar with the Overhead Door Company. It's a division of DH Pace. The arch above the “DH” suggests we have your entry needs covered. ❦

An HVAC and electrical service company. At the time, I liked the boldness of this logo ...Ah, heck! I still like it! ❦

The “DinoTykes” logo was the name of the dinosaur characters on four kid's meal cartons that I designed and illustrated. ❦

The Sunflower Foundation is a state-wide healthcare foundation whose mission is to improve the health of Kansans. I liked the logo then, but later, I realized that the body proportions were a little off. Oh well! Who cares about body proportions

anyway? ❦

Kansas logo concept, a thought bubble! The obvious solution with the tagline, or so I thought. It didn’t cut the mustard, only the cheese. My creative director came up with the winning logo, which I liked immensely. It was modern and progressive, which is what the state needed to break away from the Kansas stereotype. The logo was simple and memorable with its typography artfully crafted and the elegance of a shooting star with a ribbon of color following behind it above the name Kansas, which projected energy and was a representation of happiness and a bright future in Kansas.

Of course, Kansas officials could not stand for a contemporary and progressive design. They assumed the target audience was more interested in looking backward at an old Kansas, so after a short while of portraying ourselves as a progressive 21st-century state, they replaced his Kansas logo with the present one, which looks like it was designed by a semi-talented junior high school student in the early 1940s. It reinforces the stereotype of our state that it's flat and old-fashioned, and people like to chew tobacco and whittle sticks on the porch! …Excuse me while I spit! ❦

Logo design for the Bert Nash “Let’s Talk” campaign for mental health awareness. As you can see, “Talk” consists of communication-related words. The blocks below show how they would appear in different colors.❦

Tidbit: Once every few years, the agency held an all-day team-building event at different venues. If you have ever been to one, you know that once in a while, they have you do some necessary but necessary goofy, sometimes embarrassing, team-building exercises. Most of my fellow employees prayed to be sick on the day of these events. My team was already built, so we didn't need any building! The mother of all team-building events was when it was held on a hot, humid Friday afternoon at the Girl Scouts campgrounds just west of Topeka. We were to bring sleeping bags to sleep under the stars together. Someone in HR thought this was a marvelous idea. Good thing we didn't know who that was! We had to do all of the standard goofy team-building exercises plus some custom ones for the outdoors. That night, we sat around the campfire. Luckily, we didn't have to sing “Kumbaya”. We were asked to share a memorable event we had experienced in our lives. There were a lot of moans and groans over that one. When it came time to hit the sack, a few girls refused to stay overnight but said they would return early in the morning for the event's conclusion. The rest of us went to sleep under the stars, and this night, the mosquitoes were out in force, which we knew would make it miserable, if not impossible, to sleep. The remaining girls decided they would sleep in the Girl Scout cabin. It was only us guys left to rough it under the stars. We woke up with very little sleep, looked around to realize we all had the same idea and slept in our cars. When I finally got home, I crashed on the sofa and slept a chunk of the day away. What a waste of a Saturday! ❦

My SBG logo, I remember it fondly! Apparently, SBG wasn’t king on the idea of their initials in their logo being portrayed as spaghetti noodles. It didn’t see the light of day! Some you win, some you lose! ❦

This extraordinary logo is the absolute pentacle of graphic design To a mentally impaired orangutang! Well done!↓

It had been about 50 years since the client decided it was about time to join the 21st century and have a new logo designed that would resonate with their YarnBarn customers. Better late than never!↓

However, after seeing the proposed designs, they reasoned that their customers would become incoherent as well as hopelessly confused (walking in circles) and not understand the branding change. ↓

They believed their customers would give up and go elsewhere for their yarn purchases. So they elected to keep everything the SAME, even their extraordinary logo! Probably for another 50 years! God bless’em! ↓

This is my proposed website design for YarnBarn. The images and fonts invoke energy, excitement, happiness, and a reason to buy. It also has graphic buttons for a fast read in navigating the site. The background has subtle yarn strands filling the background to strengthen the branding. ↓

Change was hard for the YarnBarn people, so they chose to live in SAME! ❦

This was an unusual approach to a basketball poster, … predictably it fouled out! The basketball color and texture were partially superimposed over the faces of the players, which gave them a warrior with attitude feel. The blue background also had a subtle basketball texture with rough edges bordering the photo.

We had a saying around the creative department: “Dare To Be Stupid!” As you can see, I took that very seriously! ↓

The “Old School” concept portrays a school steeped in tradition. Where the team continues to thrive and carries on the KU spirit, I created this basketball poster by utilizing an old photograph of players in a KU basketball game. Believe it or not, I photoshopped out Wilk Chamberlin and replaced him with the full-color player making a lay-up. Of course, as you know, Wilk was a famous NBA player and attended KU for two years. We had a photoshoot of the two full-color players in action, which I used to composite the poster. You know, if Wilk were with us today, he probably wouldn't mind having his lay-up picture on a KU poster without him on the poster! ↓

Between Lawrence and Kansas City on Highway 70 was the KU “Old School” billboard. An even older photo of a KU basketball team was used to create the Billboard. Both the billboard and the poster were one of those projects that I didn't want to end! Go Hawks! ❦

The KU Women's Basketball poster was designed to loosely resemble the men's poster. Notice the player’s red bandana and blue basketball. ❦

This proposed University of Arizona basketball poster projected attitude and determination. It didn't make the cut! ↓

This is the winning concept chosen for the 2011-2012 University of Arizona basketball poster. Standing on the shoulders of all the players and coaches that came before them, the two players are made up of the names of past players and coaches. Hince the title “We Got Next.” By the way, AOU picked us to design their basketball poster because they loved the KU posters that we had done. It’s a little unbelievable that AOU is going outside its city, let alone the state, to have its basketball poster designed! Oh well! I’m glad they did.

I Got Next!❦

Tidbit: One of our print managers and I attended a print trade show in Las Vegas. While there, we tried to take in as much of Vegas as possible. It seemed as though we visited more than half of the casinos on the strip. We even drove to Hoover Dam, not far from Vagas, and took the tour. One night, we were exploring the older casinos in downtown Vegas. Of course, there were all the bright lights, huge crowds of people, and all the sounds unique to Vagas. It was within these crowds that our print manager’s supernatural ability exposed itself to pick out a has-been celebrity who was mildly famous 20 years ago. He spotted Mark-Paul Gosselaar from the old late 80’s early 90’s sitcom “Saved By The Bell.” he didn't even have an entourage, and our Print manager was able to zero in on him through the crowd. He immediately told me to follow him, and we jogged right up to him, frightening him a little. Our print manager boldly asked him if he would take a photo with him; Gosselaar agreed with a cheezy smile and posed with their arms around each other's shoulders as I took their photograph. Once he arrived home, he proudly framed the photo and placed it next to his wife's and kids' photos on his desk. ❦

There also was a matching poster to go with the schedule card. The photograph was embellished with contrast and the KU colors in Photoshop. ❦

Each of us at Admark had to come up with an idea for a photograph that, in some kooky and creative way, portrayed ourselves. I'm not sure what this meant other than I used to be a florist, died, and was reincarnated as an artist. Each employee’s photo was featured in the agency's quarterly newsletter. R.I.P. ❦

While with Callahan Creek, I created this ad with 3D art and photography and composited it in Photoshop. The image depicts a tough Spyder saw blade that cuts three ways, easily cutting its way through the wallboard. This concept had attitude and did a great job expressing what Spyder tools were all about. I also liked the negative space and the simplicity of the ad. Anyway, you cut it. This is another fave! ❦

I created this bold graphic for the Spyder Merchandise Catalog. The silhouettes of the tools against the bright Spyder orange made it a catalog that would easily be spotted on the bookshelf. ❦

I designed this Spyder countersign for trade shows that were finely cut out by a Spyder jigsaw blade to show how versatile and intricate it could be! I was impressed! ↓

This Spyder’s trade show display panel consisted of a wood background that was a photo of a step from my back porch. The Spyder Blade is a 3D illustration, and the rest was created in Photoshop. The reason I was illustrating all the tool scenarios is that the new Spyder branding had not yet been printed on the tools. Each panel is approximately 3ft high by 6ft long.↓

The Spyder jigsaw panel was again created the same way as the first. The plywood was photographed in a hardware store. ↓

Another trade show panel was done with Photoshop and 3D illustration. I'd like to have rapid results! ↓

Of the four trade show panels, this one and the first are my favorites. I liked how the motion blur turned out on this panel. ❦

Spyder package design with a nylon brush tool for reciprocating saws. ↓

Spyder Package Design for the jig saw variety pack, multi-surface blades. ❦

This was the Spyder tool section display at Lowes. ❦

The Spyder website had a pop-up window listing the tool's specifications, and the background tool image would change when the side arrows were clicked along with the lower information. ❦

Bragging about his beloved pickle jar collection is my buddy and Creative Director on the patio of the owner of Callahan Creek. The guy with the sunglasses in the background was an account executive who would eventually become the last owner. He would later sell it to an agency in Kansas City. The core group that had been with the agency from its humble beginnings was deeply saddened by this news. ❦

The person in the middle was our chief IT guy, Gary. Gary hated Bill Gates (left) and Microsoft with a passion. He understood and could operate Microsoft computers blindfolded. He believed the technology was extremely crude, primitive, idiotic, and just plain stupid compared to Apple's Macintosh computers' superior logic and elegance. Gary was also a staunch Democrat and, at the time, despised President George Busch. I created a parody of a popular grocery store gossip tabloid cover for his going away card. I photoshopped the heads of Bill Gates, Gary, and George Busch on three office guys who dressed for the part, and we secretly snatched Gary’s coat for the photo shoot. When presented to him, his head almost vaporized! ❦

This is a mockup of a direct mail (junk mail) concept in the development stages for Virgin Mobile. When I photoshopped a $20 bill into a $15 bill for this piece and made it look somewhat believable, I instantly realized my monetary outlook could be looking brighter! ❦

Sprint direct mail concept in development. It is designed to resemble a lottery scratch-off ticket. Sprint was a reasonably large client that kept us busy throughout the years. Most Sprint projects were ads for the Internet, along with sporadic print material. ❦

This direct mail piece is one of my favorites, with its cover image of fanned-out dollar bills cut out along the edge and concealing a portion of the inside page. When the cover is opened, the capital B is exposed next to the other letters that together spell Bonus. As you can see, this was a mock-up and is still in the development stages with notation marks. The concept was able to materialize only because of the way “Bonus” happens to be spelled. BONUS! ❦

Poster design and illustration for the play "A Christmas Carol" were donated, in part, by one of our clients, Southwestern Bell. I illustrated the Scrooge drawing in pen and ink in a loose cross-hatch style. Scrooge's top hat and cane were repeated in the background to form a pattern. Bah! Humbug!

Tidbit: On St. Patrick's Day late in the afternoon in the early 80s, an account executive, a copywriter, and two artists, including myself, left work after having a green beer happy hour at the office. We decided to continue the party elsewhere, so we all piled into one car and headed west until we found ourselves at a strip club right off Highway 70 and Auburn Road. Because it was still early, there weren't many people there, which was fine by us. This way, the dancers could more easily focus their efforts our direction. After several beers and a few good old-fashioned lap dances, our copywriter began to get more acquainted with one of the dancers, who was quite attractive all over and very friendly—the night ended at the club with the two making out and saying their goodbyes. In the morning, we all had a St. Patrick's Day hangover and were sick of the color green.

The following Monday at the office, we worked him over pretty good about his newly found girlfriend, like asking him if the wedding would be performed with or without clothes and if dance poles would be incorporated. To our surprise, he had started to date her and bring her to some of the Admark functions. This seemed so out of character for our ultra-conservative copywriter, who came from a small northeast Kansas town that we knew was more than likely extremely conservative, as well. They dated each other for several months before it gradually ended. It seems I remember hearing he married an old girlfriend from his hometown. I don't mean to sound judgmental; they can date whomever they please. It just intrigued me. It was like trying to match up fire and water. ❦

Funky cartoon character-style exercise on the computer. ❦

In 1974, a small group in Lawrence acted on their shared passion for community access to affordable whole foods. ↓

They formed a volunteer-run, organized buying club distributing bulk foods from Harry and Judy Kroeger’s house in Lawrence. The Community Mercantile was born! ↓

This poster implied that you don’t have to feel dumb with your questions at The Merc because of their employees’ qualifications and culinary knowledge—cartoon character style exercise on the computer. ❦

You could always find our super energetic office dog, Birdie, laying on her giant bean bag right next to my desk. ↓

Energetic Birdie and the IT guy troubleshooting my computer. ↓

Energetic Birdie offering her expertise to the IT guy who reluctantly takes her advice and solves the problem! Thanks, Birdie! ❦

This was an illustration of the train engine that sits on the grounds of the Topeka Expo Center, which is now the Stormont Vail Event Center. The illustration was for a promotional poster titled “All Aboard” for hotel owners interested in building on the Expo Center grounds. The illustration is done in colored pencil on a 3ft x 2ft black illustration board. The Butler Paper company awarded it, and I have the original on my wall! ❦

One of many Parade of Shoes direct mail advertisement I created while with Admark. This client kept us busy with a tremendous amount of work, including numerous photo shoots, circulars, and point-of-purchase materials. They were geared for women only, and we had a woman artist lead the account until she left! Then, I found myself leading the parade.

Tidbit: Our Parade of Shoes team flew to Chicago to do research at several of their stores. Our research department usually does this, but this time, our team was assigned to conduct the groundwork for education and to better understand the stores' operations. The research consisted of talking with the store associates about the stats of product purchases and in-store shopper behavior, along with observed trends. We also surveyed store customers about their in-store experiences. The information was later distilled and used to better communicate with the target audience to generate sales. With our mission accomplished, everyone agreed to celebrate with a sushi dinner and some sake (not me; I wasn't crazy about sushi!) The next day was our last in Chicago, and we were off to the airport when one of the sushi lovers started to feel sick. She told the taxi driver that she felt sick and to find a gas station quickly, which he did, and that was just the beginning. We must have stopped four or five times before getting to the airport! Once on the plane, she began to feel better and slept all the way home. I had a gut feeling about that sushi! ❦

It's amazing the kooky things that can be done in Photoshop! This was a “P.O.P” (point of purchase) piece inside Payless Shoe stores. Store signs for the layperson! ↓

“Power Lights” lit up this billboard with an electrified shoe! I think it could have gone without the text on the bottom. Those funny copywriters! ❦

New internal branding and mission statement to inform and energize its employees. It was installed down the hallways, floor to ceiling, in Payless headquarters. ↓

This is the other half of the previous wall graphic. It was a long hallway. ↓

The hallway wall signage was removed after several weeks and replaced with new. We soon became good at wallpapering after taking these hallway signs up and down so many times. ❦

The black Trekkers shoe box and the Payless Kids bag are my designs and illustrations. The bag was right up my alley with the dinosaur characters, which I had done once before on DinoTyke’s kids' meal boxes. ❦

“Be The Authority” was the mission statement for the new internal branding initiative for Payless Shoes. ↓

This accordion fold brochure was a guide for the associates to understand better their role in bringing the New Payless brand positioning to life. Energy and excitement are what I was aiming for with this piece. ❦

The two top halves of the leather case opened outward to reveal the contents. Inside were two leather portfolios, one for the interior trim and the other for the exterior trim. The case was for the sales associates to meet with prospective customers at their residence or place of employment. This project was a team effort and took several weeks to complete. We were very proud of the result, and won multiple awards. Toyota and Lexus were extremely pleased, too, and looked forward to us doing the next one. ❦

Toyota’s color and trim books with the holder were supplied to dealers in North America and Canada. To make a better client presentation, I designed the holder in a 3-D program so it could be visualized from various angles.↓

Toyota was a great client; they expressed enthusiasm and were impressed with our work, and as our business relationship grew, Callahan Creek established offices and departments at the Toyota headquarters in Torrance, California. ❦

I was responsible for designing the inside of the Toyota headquarters and the campus with promotional material when new models were introduced. This schematic shows the promotional signage for the Rav4. It was through Callahan Creek’s exceptional knowledge and expertise in printing that Toyota hired us to solve their printing problems, resulting in improving quality, streamlining, and saving them millions in the printing process. We soon had a Callahan Creek office dedicated to print management in the Toyota headquarters, and soon after that, we had a creative department there, too. Designing the office atrium area and grounds was like a battle of sorts, with the all-nighters sometimes going into the next day and weekends trying to meet the crazy deadlines for each new model introduction. Despite the stress and lack of sleep, we still had fun. The challenge was always exciting, and there was a sense of accomplishment once the project was completed. Until the next battle! ↓

This was the first model introduction design that Callahan Creek would create for Toyota, and I knew we had to take it through the roof and beyond to prove we were suited for the job. After a few initial banner designs and concepts, my creativity went into overdrive, and a revelation came to me: rather than one-dimensional banners hanging from the ceiling, let's hang 3 dimensional 4ft x 4ft cubes from the four-story ceiling with the Rav4 messaging so they can be viewed from all sides. Other signage would also be placed strategically throughout the Toyota campus. Toyota was ecstatic, and after hearing that, so was I! ↓

Another view of the atrium area with the Rav4 floor display in the foreground, a cube balancing on a smaller cube, ↓

Tidbit: Our Toyota team worked late one night to meet a deadline. We were getting hungry, so we decided to make a run to a nearby Sonic because it was still open and it would be quick. I ordered an extra large iced tea with my food, which turned out to be a bit awkward to hold the large styrofoam cup and eat my food while sitting in the front seat. I didn't want to put the drink on the floor for fear I would knock it over with my foot. The driver only had her new car for a short time, so I held it tight by putting it between my legs. Bad idea! It was secure only for a few moments when, without warning, it tipped forward, spilling the contents onto her new car’s floor. I couldn't believe what just happened, red with embarrassment. I apologized repeatedly and offered several times to have it professionally cleaned at my expense, but she refused. I felt lower than a worm. How could I’ve been so stupid? ❦

The Rav4 messaging was also allocated to the parking lots. ❦

For the runner-up concept, I designed a Rav4 banner that was to be hung diagonally in the atrium area that was 8ft tall by 12ft wide and was cut into four strips, each one with a different feature of the car. Additionally, a transparent film strip with the word "Rav4" printed vertically with white lettering was placed a short distance in front and to the right of the banner. On the floor was a Rav4 6ft tall by 1 1/2ft square column with rotating colored lights inside illuminating the outer walls of the column, and on the light poles were Rav4 promotional banners. ↓

Rav4 sexy red-on-red eye candy concept banner to hang in the Toyota HQ atrium. ↓

This is an eye candy concept, with multiple banners with Rav4 beauty shots. ❦

This concept is “from the engineer’s drawing board to reality,” which I believe worked well to introduce a new model. ↓

Toyota Fj Cruiser was an off-road compact SUV of Toyota Motors. that had a powerful engine and an attractive exterior and interior design. ↓

These were 1 1/2ft x 5ft light pole banners and 4ft x 5ft ceiling banners. If you look closely at the background, you’ll see that there is a topographical map, my creative director's idea, to further enforce the idea the vehicle is tough enough to handle any terrain. ↓

The FJ Cruiser was a concept car at the January 2003 North American International Auto Show and was approved for production after a five-star rating by consumers and debuted in 2006. ↓

The FJ Cruiser concept debuted at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show in Voodoo Blue, becoming the signature color for the production FJ Cruiser. ↓

Props from the Hollywood props warehouse were utilized in the Toyota atrium for the model introductions. Artificial boulders were used with the FJ Cruiser to portray ruggedness. ❦

Toyota Camry MP3 player can put out the decibels! Great hair day, though! ↓

Rest assured that your Toyota Camry is safe from theft with the immobilizer. ↓

They were 4ft x 5ft banners that hung from the ceiling in the Toyota headquarters in Torrance, California. ❦

These were floor panels in the Toyota HQ in Torrance, Calif. (now in Plano, Texas) that were approximately 3ft by 6ft high. SEMA or the “Specialty Equipment Marketing Association” for after-market vehicle parts and accessories. If you notice, I designed each one with a different logo design and different metal borders to convey the idea of custom-built parts. ❦

This was an after-market parts magazine wrap for trucks. It was a cross-promotion with Knaack, a company that sells toolboxes and the Toyota Tundra. This was a fun piece to design. Notice the tire tracks running across the left side. ↓

The kicker on the back of the wrap is bold and to the point. ❦

The guide went out to all the dealers in North America. I enjoyed this challenge. Designing anything for Lexus was exciting. Lexus was also located at Toyota HQ. ❦

I designed this Lexus navigation announcement brochure and the envelope under another tight deadline. I particularly liked the flap on the envelope. It was a little extra for Lexus. ↓

The tri-fold brochure announced a new upgrade for Lexus navigation systems. ❦

Lexus tri-fold brochure offering XM satellite radio. Lexus also showed the XM NAV Traffic, which would be helpful during the morning and afternoon rush hour. I hate traffic! ❦

This was a tri-fold brochure promoting Quest Multi-Care, a dog dental system by Nylabone. The brochure was aimed at merchandisers to encourage them to purchase Quest products. Incorporating a toothbrush holder and the toothbrush seemed like a natural fit for the product. ↓

The edge of the toothbrush was cut out on the cover page for a more dimensional feel. The green Quest products and the blue toothbrush, along with the toothbrush holder, were composited in Photoshop. ❦

Kansas Travel and Tourism campaign, car window sticker. ↓

This was a countersign for Kansas Secrets, a campaign to attract more tourists to Kansas. ↓

A tent card was placed on tables for the Kansas Secrets campaign. It was printed on both sides, and the illustration was airbrushed, which became obsolete once the computer took the stage. ❦

A self-promotional ad for Hill’s Pet Nutrition in The Performing Arts program booklet. The concept is, of course, a play on the tragedy and comedy masks. (3D illustration) ❦

Designing this two-color brochure for The Villages was both fun and rewarding. ❦

This was a brightly colored folder with a circle cut out of the center of the cover, which revealed the face of a child. The parents could keep all their CMH paperwork in one place while at the hospital. It also had a tab on the top front page so it could be easily filed away with other important documents. CMH was extremely pleased with piece. ↓

When opened, it revealed a pocket with the entire photo of all the kids. The mission statement was printed on the inside front cover. It won an award in the design category. Another fav! ❦

Front & backs of 6ft tall panels housed at the Oak Park Mall in KC. They were to build awareness of a new Children's Mercy Hospital urgent care unit on the east side of KC. ❦

This is a marketing packet for the Grundfos Comfort System pumps that went to merchandisers and contractors. ↓

The photo of the copper pipes is a flap that folds up to reveal the messaging below. ↓

The packet contained a pocket with several letter-sized sheets of paper highlighting selling points. The background featured a water graphic depicting a photograph of waves and bubbles. This graphic was replicated and screened back across the paper

sheets. ❦

Grundfos press kit (a set of documents, photos, and materials sent to media outlets for promotion.) ❦

The Footprint’s catalog cover was just your run-of-the-mill job to manipulate a photo of a foot in a scandal to the point where it looks like a stone statue made into a house! ↓

For over 40 years, “Footprints” served local and mail-order customers from their storefront in Lawrence, Kansas, and hopefully will for another 40 years. ❦

The concept is a parody of the “Spartan 300” movie, a few brave warriors against multitudes of the enemy. The client didn't have much of a budget at all. To get around this, I took advantage of a stock photography website and collected the photos needed for the poster. The photos were composited in Photoshop to create what you see. The helmet, face, and smokestacks were all separate photos. Color, darkness, and contrast were applied to mimic a movie poster. ❦

A poster urging women to get mammograms pictures a young child’s eyes, which could be a daughter or a son that may be left behind should the mother not get a mammogram and die of breast cancer. ↓

Kansas Foundation of Medical Care and breast cancer awareness posters are compelling concepts. ↓

Kansas Foundation of Medical Care, breast cancer awareness posters, and ads. ❦

I proposed a poster design for the “Linotype The Film” documentary. I have them lined up in order of my favorite to my least. What I like about this one is the name of the subject, the design of the poster, and the colors. Even though this is about the old way of producing type, I thought a more contemporary approach would perhaps get more young people involved and interested in seeing the documentary. ↓

For the “Linotype, The Film” documentary, our photographer, copywriter, and I packed up the company car to drive to Iowa City, where I was to direct a short intro film to the documentary. It showcased our copywriter learning the old trade of setting lead type on a linotype machine, which he eventually conquered. ↓

This poster has a vintage yet contemporary feel to it. The Linotype machine cast molten lead lines of the type used for newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials. One entire line of type would be produced at a time vs. one letter, hence the name “Linotype.” ↓

Mixing an old-type style with a modern design was an attempt to cut through the clutter and build interest. The linotype machine was used from early in the nineteenth century to the late 70s and early 80s. It’s hard to believe that in that amount of time, a new, more advanced way of setting type had not yet been invented. ↓

I went more of a semi-vintage style with this poster. The concept implies you sit back at the theatre with popcorn and enjoy “Linotype the Film!” The short intro we filmed looked good on the big screen and fit well with the documentary. ❦

Photograph composites, along with illustrations, were done in Photoshop. If only she had known! ❦

3D art of the beer bottles and labels was created to present to the client. ↓

On this 6-pack carton, there's a painting of a man, which the client provided, and I designed the Oatmeal Stout logo. Fishing, Oatmeal Stout? I guess it made some kind of sense, …ON URANUS! It looked good, but it was stupid. I must have had one too many! ( 3D illustration ) ↓

A star was born, or so I thought for the “Ad Astra Ale” 6-pack design, but in reality, the stars were falling! The client rejected this one and all others of my design ideas. I've had enough of this craft beer stuff. It’s Miller time! ( 3D illustration ) ↓

As you can see, I was a little too daring and didn’t put a snake in the design. Instead, I used distressed old copper metal with rivets for the background. Another excellent example of the “Dare To Be Stupid” motto in action! ( 3D illustration ) ↓

I liked this 6-pack design with the wheat stocks and the hops in the foreground. ( 3D illustration ) ❦

I took it upon myself to learn 3D illustration apps. As I became more proficient, a demand slowly materialized. ↓

I took the initiative to learn all relevant applications and excelled in one, earning me the title of "Photoshop Guru," among other things. ❦

A newspaper ad and poster for Subsonic Scooters in Lawrence, Kansas. I’d look good on one of these! ❦

This was for a newspaper ad showing the coverage of the early cell phones for Southwestern Bell. Impressive! ❦

This was the 1984 Security Benefit Group Athens calendars series done in several black and white styles, pen and ink, grease pencil, and pencil. The illustrations were printed in a dark blue with a secondary color of burgundy on cream paper. The promotional calendars were for members and investors. ❦

These are a few of the Topeka Zoo’s promotional calendars for members and contributors. Like the SBG calendars, these zoo animals were illustrated in multiple black and white styles, pen and ink, grease pencils, and ink wash. The black and white illustrations were printed in brown, with the calendar and text printed in navy blue on tan paper. ❦

This ink illustration was created while I was in art school. Little did I know that I would be illustrating quite a few of these in my early career. ↓

This was an art class exercise, ink wash, and pen. This illustration style was used primarily for newspapers and magazine ads.↓

I remember this style of chair; we had two of them at home. Very comfortable, by the way! ↓

This is an Alco late 70s lampshade. What a beauty! I think maybe Mom had one. ↓

Are we selling the tire or the chain? Alco didn’t sell tires! ↓

Binoculars, one of my early assignments at Alco. ↓

I tried my hand at fashion illustration when I worked at Alco, but as you can see, that didn’t work out so well. ↓

I decided to leave the fashion illustrations to the fashion artist. ↓

Sufferin Succotash! A fun Alco ink drawing. ↓

1980s Stereo- How far we've come! ↓

Vista was also known for its banana splits.↓

Vista didn’t only serve hamburgers and fries; they even served healthy foods, like a chef's salad. This illustration was probably for an ad to run in the local newspaper. ↓

I illustrated many food items for Vista restaurant in Manhattan, Kansas. This was a Vista Burger that appeared in various coupons and newspaper ads. ↓

Dig this boot! I think it was for Payless Shoes. That's another good place for tassels! ↓

This was an experimental ink drawing style of a Greek statue I did for the Security Benefit Group calendar series. ↓

This is a scratchboard drawing for one of the Topeka Zoo’s calendars. If you're curious, scratchboard is usually a thin cardboard covered in black ink that an artist scratches off with fine, sharp tools to expose the white beneath. Of the few scratchboard drawings I‘ve done, this one is my best. Eye of the tiger, man! ↓

Parrots, etched in scratchboard also for a zoo calendar. ↓

A crocodile illustrated with pen and ink in a traditional cross-hatch-like style for the Topeka Zoo calendars. The texture and the loose feel of this illustration fit well with this old grumpy croc. ↓

This pen and ink drawing, another fave of mine, drawn in a unique cross-hatch style, was for one of the Topeka Zoo calendars as well. ↓

Ok, I have too many Topeka Zoo calendar favorites, like this one with ink splatters. ❦

In the early 1980s, our agency made the first kid's meal box for Vista restaurants in Manhattan and Topeka, Kansas. The owner of our agency, The Professional Advertiser, had an idea that would later become a successful international business. It was an idea that piggybacked off the popularity and success of McDonald's Happy Meals. Small restaurant chains cannot afford to have an agency develop a kid's meal box specifically branded for their restaurant. However, if they are mass-produced in various box designs that are easily customized to fit any branding, the cost would be substantially reduced. It took off like wildfire. We created catalogs for the restaurant owners to order from. Soon, we were designing and producing all kinds of toys and games that would be the surprise in each box. Like many American companies, we had them manufactured in China to keep the cost down. This box is one of four of the first kid’s meal boxes I created. The first boxes were called Monster Meals, which were designed to resemble a coloring book that came with a small packet of markers inside. From these first boxes came a multitude of various shapes and sizes of kid’s meal containers and an endless array of toys and games. Today, the breakaway company Kid’s Stuff has grown with several employees and has a warehouse where products are shipped to North America, South America, and Europe. Their best seller is still the Classic Cruisers, which are food cartons illustrated and shaped like the classic cars of the '50s and '60s. In the late 80s, I created the first Classic Cruiser and the other cruisers throughout the years. I continued to create the Classic Cruisers even after they split from Admark and became Kids Stuff. ↓

Several concept scenarios were presented to the team to pick from. Eventually, we narrowed it down to three or four scenarios after a couple of creative meetings.

A printing company in Hastings, Nebraska, printed all of our kid’s meal boxes, which is approximately a four-hour drive one way. I traveled there many times for press checks and was exhausted from the trip even before starting the stressful press check. Each box had to be press-checked and signed off on to ensure quality, and we were picky when it came to printing. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into our work, and we wanted our creations to look the way we intended for the client and ourselves. Sometimes, the pressmen became furious for having to make so many adjustments on the press; it bruised their egos and made them look bad for not having the same level of expectations that we had. ↓

Of course, this was way before the computer, and everything was created on paper with pencils, pens, brushes, and such. This “Monster Meal” series was created with pen and ink, colored markers, and colored pencils. I was pretty happy with the results. ↓

When I illustrated these boxes, I first drew them on tracing paper in pencil and then transferred the drawing to the illustration board where it was inked in. The ink drawing was then photographed on transparent film, which would be the black outline for the colored illustration below it. ↓

Each Monster Meal had a puzzle inside with scenes taken from each box. ↓

These Monster Meals were the 3rd generation. Kids could choose between stickers and a stuffed toy that came with each box. In the early 1980s, stickers became popular, and some kids even collected them. ↓

This was a painted billboard for the early kids’ meal boxes in Manhattan and Topeka, Kansas. In reality, it was quite colorful; unfortunately, this is a poor photo. Back then, they painted the image on the billboards. The billboard artist would enlarge the design and reproduce it on it; when it was completed, we would have them make any necessary changes. Then, we would approve it and sign off. Today, large digital prints are pasted or tied to the billboards. ❦

This box design was done entirely with clay. I sculpted these odd little bugs and the background, which took several days, if I remember correctly. Why create it in clay, you ask? I wanted to create a box outside of the box to obliterate the norms. I have no idea how well they sold; at the very least, I got to revert to my childhood and play with “Play Dough” once again! ❦

Of the “DinoTykes” series, this one was my favorite. These boxes were illustrated with watercolor, colored pencils, and an airbrush. ↓

This is the Dino Tykes boxes series, along with the collectible Dino cards. ↓

Brontosaurus means “Thunder lizard,” they weighed 14 to 17 tons, a perfect liposuction candidate. ❦

Sticker Meals-Daybreak on the farm. Painted on celluloid (a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation or cartooning.) ↓

This was a Sticker Meals direct mail piece for fast food restaurants throughout North and South America. We took advantage of the sticker trend of that time and developed these kid’s meals. They were one of our best sellers. ↓

This was the early “Sticker Meals” series, with a choice of stickers or a stuffed toy that came inside each box. ❦

The illustrations on this one-of-a-kind kid’s meal box were done in watercolor and ink, with confetti in a pattern on a yellow background. I don't remember the origin of the Beasties concept other than it came out of a creative meeting I didn't attend. The drawings had a more developed style than the previous box illustrations. ↓

These were the “Birthday Beasties” nose hats that accompanied the box. These little monsters make great-looking Beasties! ❦

That's me modeling as a construction worker getting an adult box meal at the local fast food restaurant. Looks like I’m pretty hungry! ❦

This is the lovely Valentine's meal box with a mail slot for Valentine's cards. On three sides, animals showed affection toward each other in heart shapes. It's difficult to see from this image, but there is a pattern of small pink flying cupids in the background. ❦

Of course, the veggie box had a general message, which was vegetables are good for you, fun, have personality, and we should eat them like the savages that we are. ❦

Amigo kids meal box with stickers. ↓

I was influenced by M. C. Escher creating this background effect-sombreros morphing into chili peppers. Google M. C. Escher, kooky, impossible creations! ↓

Amigo meal box and cartons in action. Looks like he’s ready to chow down on that taco! ❦

I was challenged with designing a boat-shaped box, which had never been done as far as I know. When designing the structure of a box, there are many factors to consider. The box must pass through the scoring, folding, and gluing machine smoothly. Another thing it must be able to do is fold down flat and assemble easily and quickly for the restaurant employees. ↓

This box shape has lived on with many other designs and modifications. ❦

Here, I am working intently by hand before the computer. It looks like I’m perfecting an ink drawing. Who knows! ❦

“Mighty Meal” Patriotic kids meal box ( Salute to Freedom ) done with airbrush and water soluble dyes. Working with dyes is similar to watercolor, except the dyes are brighter and are immediately absorbed into the paper. ↓

Mighty Meal's back side. Of course, this box sold well around the 4th of July. ❦

Admark's packaging for the African Wild kids’ meal was awarded a prestigious Gold Award at the 49th Annual Paperboard Packaging Competition, with only 16 such awards being granted. ↓

African Wild earned the highest scores in structural and graphic design, product excellence, consumer marketing, and uniqueness of package, plus an outstanding rating for its educational benefit. ↓

African Wild comprises of four Kids' Meal cartons featuring endangered species along with educational and awareness information. ↓

Each box was perforated around the featured animal so it could easily be punched out and inserted into the base, which punched out of the back of the box. ↓

The punched-out animals had tabs on the bottom that could be easily inserted into the base. The result of your hard labor was an African Wild endangered species stand up. ❦

Back side of our office in Topeka near 37th and Burlingame in the woods, we were Admark Inc. then. I liked this building. We had it built for ourselves in 1999 and had moved in from our old office near downtown Topeka, 7th, and Harrison. The thing about our new building was that the back wall was made of floor-to-ceiling windows with a view of a forest outside. So, when working there late at night alone, it got pretty creepy because you would hear something or think you saw movement out in the dark, and all you could see was pitch black when looking out the windows. You would get that strange feeling someone was watching you as you worked! In 2000, we picked up and moved into a historic rock building in Lawrence, KS, about 20 miles East of Topeka, thus starting my commuting days and a new agency name change to Callahan Creek.

Tidbit: One time, late at night, a fellow female artist was working hard on a project to meet the next day’s deadline. Her desk was located against the tall two-story window facing the back porch. Suddenly, the motion detector lights outside came on, revealing a man directly in front of her. He had completely removed all his clothes and began to masturbate while dancing on the porch. She immediately ran to the front of the building and called the police. By the time they got there, the talented flasher was long gone. From there on, she would only work late nights if someone else was In the building. ❦

I designed the drink and food tray, and a fellow artist created the fry and hamburger boxes for Disney. They didn’t see the light of day! Oh well, I later landed the Disney’s “Aladdin“ boxes for Target. ❦

The MEAL-O-SAURUS cartons were open in the middle with a place for a beverage. The dinosaur was printed on both sides of the carton, and there was information about the dinosaurs and other fun prehistoric facts. ↓

To capture kids' interest, I opted for a more realistic illustration style for the MEAL-O-SAURUS dinosaurs rather than a whimsical one. I used watercolor and gouache to create more vibrant colors. ❦

Country Critters were created entirely on the computer—the snout of the raccoon folded up like a mouth to reveal the inside of the box. ↓

The frog was created the same way as the raccoon. Like the raccoon, the nose of the frog folded up like a mouth to reveal the inside of the box.❦

A drawing of one of the partners of Admark, ink. Who eventually owned “Kids Stuff,” a company that makes kid’s meal boxes and small toys for restaurants and fast food chains.

Tidbit: We had an award banquet each year, and afterward, we would have a party to celebrate our winnings. Needless to say, there were a lot of drunk people, and one of the most notorious was one of our owners. It was easy to recognize when he began to reach that point of no return. His face would turn beet red, his eyes squinted, and, of course, his speech was slurred. At one of these after-parties, we had just won the majority of awards, which made him feel a bit too proud and anxious to celebrate with a drink in hand. The champagne corks began to fly, and people congratulated their fellow employees with pats on the back. A while later, several of us observed through the crowd, in a corner, a young, pretty woman, a red-faced, squinting-eyed man drinking champagne from a woman’s red high heel. Oh yeah, I failed to mention that he was already attached to a very special woman ...the other OWNER of Admark! And that's all I remember of that after-party! ❦

Creating the 1960 Classic Cruiser Corvette was a lot of fun. Despite doing so many of these, I always looked forward to the next one. Of all the cruisers, this one is my favorite. The classic Crusiers were the best-selling kid’s meal box, and today, they still outperform all the other boxes in sales. ↓

1964 1/2 Ford Mustang Production of this model was from 1964 to 1973. The introduction of the Mustang created a new class of automobiles known as the pony cars. ↓

For 1956, the Bel Air received a facelift, with a broader and more conventional grille, to please customers who did not like the Ferrari-inspired look from ’55. A two-tone body treatment and elegant front and rear wheel arches completed the “Speedline restyling.” ↓

The old ‘56 Chevy hot rod, all fired up and ready to race, was a customer favorite. ↓

Classic cuisine cruising the restaurant in style with a hot rod Classic Cruiser. ↓

This is a 1956 Ford Thunderbird, developed in response to the 1953 Motorama display at the New York Auto Show, which showed the Chevrolet Corvette. ↓

This Thunderbird model was produced from 1955 to 1957. For the 1956 model, extra trunk space was added by moving the spare wheel and mounting it outside. The extra trunk space was to accommodate giant hamburgers. ↓

Classic Cruiser promotional signage for inside restaurants. ↓

One of my faves is the old classic Woody carton. It featured wooden paneling on the exterior, where it got its nickname "Woody.” Due to its unique styling and limited production, the 1947 Chevrolet Woody is considered a collector's item today. The box is a little complicated to assemble, but it looks cool on the shelf. ↓

The line of “Classic Crusiers” increased as time went on and continues to be Kids Stuff's (a split-off company from Admark Inc.) best sellers. ↓

Computer screenshots of sports car cartons Illustrations in progress. Smaller than the typical Classic Cruiser, these cartons did not carry food. These were the last Crusier-like cartons I produced. ❦

Me and my fellow Admarkians sometime, after clay tablets but before the computer, physically working with our bare hands on a desk with crude tools in the Admark creative department. ❦

Equipped with a punch hole cup carrier, the Trivia carton had several trivia categories: sports, wildlife, history, etc.↓

Watercolor and water suable dyes were the medium used to illustrate the Trivia carton. I found an old photo online of Red Cloud that I used as a reference. ↓

The red deer is a large species found in England, Scotland, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It is closely related to the American elk. ↓

Formed in 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings was the first professional baseball team. Their total payroll was $9,500, they played before 200,000 paying spectators, and they turned a net profit of $1.39. The Sharks of Shark Tank would be impressed! ↓

On June 24th, 1859, a young man named Jean Henri Dunant witnessed a bloody battle in the Italian town of Solferino. Some 42,000 men lay dead and wounded. Of the injured, large numbers died due to lack of medical attention. Unable to forget the needless suffering, Dunant founded the International Red Cross. ❦

I have only one hard copy of the Meal box for the Jurassic Park ride in Universal Studios stored away. I was so excited to create this box that I couldn’t believe I was going to be connected with the movie Jurassic Park in some small way! A very, very, very small way! ↓

Bud Light promotional piece. They were placed on the tables in beer establishments. Budweiser was thrilled with the end product. Not only did I illustrate the box, but I also solved the structural problem of how to make the front fenders. ↓

Budweiser blimp promotional piece was placed on the tables in beer establishments. Some geniuses designed the structure. I was amazed that you could get cardboard to pop out into a cylinder. ❦

Mazzios has 165 restaurants in 12 states, serving various pizzas and pasta dishes. Linguine sounds good right about now! ↓

Disney and Target joined forces for a cross-promotion. This was one of many signs in Target marketing the Aladdin movie video and Aladdin Magic Pop-Up Boxes sold at Food Avenue inside. ↓

The Disney/Target campaign was a complex and time-sensitive project that involved numerous late nights and weekends to ensure its completion. ↓

It took a tremendous amount of trial and error to design the structure of these pop-up kids’ meal boxes, but I think the results were well worth the effort! ↓

The boxes were titled “Targeteers,” “A Walt Disney Classic,” and “Aladdin.” ↓

To release the pop-up Aladdin characters, pull the tab lock back, and they will pop up. It did need a little help, but all in all, it worked out pretty well, and it fit the storyline, a magical pop-up box, and a magical lamp. Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch. I think it kept the Targeteers amused. ↓

Watercolor cards for the Targeteers to paint the characters. I was surprised they did a pretty good job of painting. All you needed was water. ↓

One of several finger puppets that went inside the Targeteer’s boxes. This one has not yet been punched out of the cardboard. ❦

Dollywood kid's meal box printed on recycled cardboard-not the best quality for printing. Oh well, Dolly liked it! ↓

This is the Water-ride meal carton for Dollywood in Tennessee. Wonder how Dollywood compares to Worlds of Fun?

Tidbit: Once, I had the opportunity to draw a caricature of Dolly for a Dollywood promotional piece. When she viewed it, she initially loved it but later complained about the size of her hands and demanded they be redrawn smaller. Come on, Dolly, it’s a caricature for Pete’s sake! ❦

“Ruby's Diner” is a restaurant chain designed after American diners of the Swing Era. To date, “Ruby's Diner” has 20 locations, mainly in California. ❦

This kid's meal box was explicitly designed and illustrated for “Quincy’s,” a steakhouse restaurant. These brownish, elongated creatures marching in a parade are yeast rolls, that’s right, yeast rolls! Quincy’s were known for their yeast rolls. What a concept, a parade with marching yeast rolls! By the way, this was not my first encounter with yeast rolls. I once was honored by accepting the assignment of designing a logo for a prestigious food product called Grandma’s Yeast Rolls; thank you very much! The box was illustrated on the computer shortly after it debuted in a now obsolete app called Freehand.

Yeast Rolls! I salute you! ❦