I have a high level of respect for professional illustrators who are able to make a good living hustling the pencil. The profession is similar to being a musician. A lot of people are pretty good, some people are great and a rare few are able to crush. Steve Brodner crushes.

He works the line as smart as Al Hirschfeld, sports a style as cool and fluid as Vaughn Bode and harnesses a political wit in the ranks of Bill Maher. I was able to hear him speak at NC State a few years ago and was just as impressed with his lecture as I am with his work.

His ability to push and pull on the vital characteristics of a face to create a liquefied b-boyish style while holding strong to the recognizability of the subject is nothing short of incredible.

I apologize for the poor quality of this image. It is the best I could find. I saw the original at a show at the Nasher Museum earlier this year. It depicts the cowboy George Bush riding high into his own glory on the back of the Dick Cheney horse. This piece is particularly special due to his ability to construct the likeness of Dick Cheney in the confines of a horse head structure. Pulling this off is the illustration equivalent of hitting a half court shot in basketball and making it look easy……consistently easy.

His loose execution in his draftsmanship sharply juxtaposes against his skillfully precise control of form and flavor.  The watercolor washing and painterly lettering compliments his execution and brings compositions like this full circle.

The control of the negative space is just as important as the characters themselves. Roller-coaster curves coming to sharp points communicates the message just as effective as words would as you can see in this illustration of Liz and Dick Cheney.

Glen Beck and Sarah Palin overseeing the Mad Tea Party? I told you he crushes.

“The Weed Ring”

Drawing is never enough. Color, composition, content and understanding of weight & movement are critical in communicating a message effectively on paper. Steve Brodner has been able to become masterful of every aspect in communicating in the language of illustration. Big fan over here.

Make sure you check out the videos he has on The New Yorker. They are a must see for, not only fans of his work, but fans of illustration and the world. His site is always fresh with new content thanks to his blog. Stay up on this dude.

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