When did you receive your first NY Times cover assignment and how many have you done so far?

My first assignment was in July of 2018, for the Style section for the Art Director Bernadette Dashiell. The story was about a really gross Men’s rights group who was trying to rebrand #MeToo into #HeToo, abusing the legal system’s loopholes for perceived injustices. Yuck! She has since retired but I always loved her sensibility – choosing lots of great artists and featuring them in fun ways. We did a few together, and I will always appreciate the encouragement she gave me. 

What is your process like for these covers? Is it different at all from that of your other work?

My process is almost always the same across the board. There is always some confusion with new clients about how I make my illustrations and what they’re going to get when my deadline hits. But I work very by the book – a series of rough sketches, a more refined color sketch, and then final art. My work jumps from a 2D paper space to 3 dimensional sculpture and I strive to be as accurate to the sketches as possible – which I feel is reassuring to the client (no surprises) but also helpful to any other 3D or paper artists working, to show we can be rote and reliable. However, the more I work with an art director the more we develop a shorthand. 

Has your approach to creating these covers changed/evolved from the first one to the most recent one?

For my first cover I was terrified about the quick turnaround, so I tried to keep things relatively simple just in case I hit any speed bumps. But for the next couple of covers I really overdid it – I wanted to see how much I could do in the time frame. I’ve been doing these covers steadily for about 6 years now and my approach for all of my illustrations has evolved in that time; and really has been informed and honed by getting to do these covers. I create my schedule backwards from the deadline, knowing exactly when I have to photograph the paper construction with enough time to edit. The cut paper can be as elaborate as the “build time” allows – whether it be 2 days or 4 days, etc. and the sooner the art director approves my sketch to go to final the more time I have to build. I guess at this point it’s a solid process and the covers helped me get there. 

Do you have a personal favorite cover (or top 3)? If so, can you tell us a little more about why they stand out to you?

My personal favorite is “Welcome Back MoMA” for Weekend Arts with Art Director Paul Jean. I no longer live in NYC but I was a MoMA member when I was a resident, and I went there a lot in my downtime, when I wanted to celebrate an occasion, when friends and family visited, and when I needed inspiration. Getting to do another cover illustration for The NY Times, and specifically to announce the reopening of MoMA, was so wonderful. I always like working with Paul and the turnaround for that one was SO fast. I honestly don’t recall how I was able to deliver, but I’m thankful Paul had faith in me, thought of me for the assignment, all of it. 

Every time I get an assignment from the Times I think “oh wow! I get to try again!” And when the work is done I think “well, if that was the last time, how cool that I got the chance – and not just once but for a stretch!” I’ll never know exactly who has seen my work in The New York Times but I can imagine some people I truly admire have had their eyes land on my illustrations and that’s really cool. But at the same time, my favorite part of it is having my mom get a copy 1,500 miles away and snapping a selfie.