Warm wishes
What a full and fruitful season this has been. I’m happy to announce my new website and shop, Jamie Peeps Island! You’ll find select originals, prints, and books that I can sign and ship directly to the darling of your choice. When I saw this at the First Friday event for the Wake Up Alice exhibit, I thought yes, fill my cup please! Besides enjoying a steady swell of viewers to the show, I connected with hearty Tilbury House editor, Audrey Maynard. And she bought my Alice! Thanks, Audrey! The entire weekend was abuzz with holiday spirit. Just the trigger for me to design my...
Read MoreThe Mountaintop
I’m eager to see the current production of The Mountaintop that just opened at Portland Stage. I worked on the illustration last winter, and as usual, learned so much in the research process. Katori Hall’s award-winning play is set at the Lorraine Motel, the night before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. I found this photo on-line. Seeing it brings a brutal reality all back, one that I didn’t understand when I was 9. I still don’t. I began thinking by drawing. The play involves an encounter between King and a maid, Camae, who brings him coffee and more...
Read MoreLughnasa
Whenever a moon can make it’s way into an illustration project, I’m happy. And I am over the moon to be working with Portland Stage on their 2015/16 season. In frigid January, I began illustrating all the posters, starting with the season opener, Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel. I played my wee stash of Irish music while sketching, to help me capture the energy and spirit of the five Mundy sisters. These are a few of my preliminary sketches. The above design was chosen. I also visited a moonrise on the backshore, adding to my inspiration. Moon cycles are well observed in this...
Read Morepapermaker
Growing up in a mill town brought resonance to my illustration for Papermaker by Monica Wood, now playing at Portland Stage Company. J. E. Henry built his mill in Lincoln, New Hampshire back in 1892, but it was in decline by the time I was in high school in the 1970’s. Still, our team was the Lumberjacks. My most vivid memory was of those smokestacks, a recurring element in all of my rough sketches. It seemed necessary to collage some newspaper in there somewhere, too. After all, I began my freelance career in newspapers, namely the Boston Globe. The play is set in a fictional Maine...
Read Morepage to stage
I’m privileged to work with Portland Stage, creating posters over the last five seasons for their locally made productions. It’s a creative challenge with the best perk: seeing the great theater they put on stage. Two of my posters flank the entrance on Forest Avenue, connected by a red color scheme. Last week we saw The Whipping Man, and I only regret we didn’t go sooner. It was by far one of the most powerful plays I’ve seen. Of course, I knew what was coming, as I read the scripts before doing anything else. The play by Matthew Lopez unfolds directly after the...
Read MoreSnow Queen
What better way to battle the epic winter we’re having: working on a poster for The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. All this ice is brilliant inspiration. I drew a jagged ice palace in my sketchbook after a walk backshore. These are 4 of the rough ideas I showed to Portland Stage Company. During one of many blizzards, I got carried away with the idea of a snowflake mask. With winter blues swirling outside, I worked on a color version for a web banner. Another version includes the roses that pop up in the play. In my over 2o years of island living, I’ve not seen Casco Bay...
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