coyleart

happy holidays

Wishing you lots of happiness (and hopefully not too much last minute shopping). 

things that make you go hmmm... : Douglas Rushkoff

And here's a link to my previous post on the topic of free. I'm listening to the folks who are doing some serious thinking about what creative individuals are going to do to make creative work sustainable in this new economy.

the mermaid inn

My husband asked me where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner and The Mermaid Inn leapt to mind, but alas it's in NYC. (I love their logo.) We're not hopping a plane, so I just visited the website for a momentary reminiscence. The East Village location is like a little seaside vacation home away from home. The West Village Mermaid Inn oyster bar is brand new, so maybe that will be on my list for my next visit. Oyster bars (sigh). They make me happy. 

And then there's The Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station. The daily menu, the logo, the tile walls, the checkered tablecloths, they make me happy. That's where I first realized that gulf oysters have nothing on the Massachusetts, Maine, British Columbia, Washington State, and Japanese varieties. They almost ruined me for gulf oysters, but not quite. You can eat gulf oysters with Tabasco and a cold beer while sitting at an oyster bar overlooking the gulf. Can't really recreate that in Grand Central Station.

Charmatz

What's not to love about a good vintage cookbook? I may never prepare cherries jubilee, but I'll pore over the playful illustrations of pots, pans, dancing chickens unaware of their fate and the ubiquitous congealed salad. The book that got me started on my obsession over 10 years ago and remains the favorite in my collection is the Esquire Cook Book circa 1955, illustrated by Bill Charmatz. To me, it's the quintessential cookbook for vintage illustration.

Go hunting for more Charmatz illustration from the Esquire Cookbook on flickr - starting with doe-c-doe's photostream. Then you can find some of the great 2-color spots at H is for Home's photostream.

let it snow!

A sweet little seasonal banner for Beehive Hair Company's newsletter. I got an assist on this from intern extraordinaire, Renee Rivas who kicked off the design by rearranging some artwork from my files. I swear by Beehive for owner Beth's hair expertise and her line of organic hair and skin care products.

my latest illustration e-promo

If you received a Laura Coyle promo ecard in your inbox today and it brought you here, Welcome! This is a holiday shopping map of New York I did for US Airways magazine. See more Laura Coyle illustration on my website:www.coyleart.com and you can see this map in detail and another portfolio of my work on my rep Kiki Pollard's site at AlexanderPollard.com.

View the full size epromo archived online.

GreenLaw Environmental Heroes

This was a gig we played back in October 2009 for GreenLaw, a non profit that provides legal assistance to environmental groups in Georgia. Here I am with Craig Shaw.

I took this during an undoubtedly swinging moment between Craig Shaw and Louis Heriveaux. The rooftop location was amazing, but it got even more beautiful as the sun was setting.

When the music is happening, there's a lot to smile about. This was a great gig for a wonderful cause and if you want to know more about the good works of GreenLaw, you can visit their website at www.green-law.org. To see more photos from the gig, check out the coyleart flickr page. If you are looking for a great trio (or any size group) for your next event, you'll find more info at www.LauraCoyleJazz.com.

working on:

This is a peek, I'll post more later. For now, this is a t-shirt design/logo for a very fun and musical little business!

Target birthday plate hoopla!

I'm pretty excited to see my birthday plate design in action. These photos come courtesy of Jennifer Baker, Vancouver, WA, who used the plates and napkins for her son Jordan's 1st birthday celebration. Hooray! 

We've partied with these plates over here here a few times in the past year, but never to serve such a perfectly coordinated cake. This one was made by Rachel Loper, and I'm impressed at how closely she matched the dot colors. Looks like it was a sweet celebration! 

I've heard from a few Target shoppers who saw the Laura Coyle credit line in tiny letters on the birthday plates and napkins. They looked me up on google and and emailed me and it's been a lot of fun hearing how much people are enjoying the design. A huge thank you goes out to all of you who have bought these plates for your own parties and to Jennifer for sending these great photos!

my latest illustration e-promo

If you received a Laura Coyle promo ecard in your inbox today and it brought you here, Welcome! This one comes from my rep Kiki Pollard at Alexander Pollard. These spot illustrations are from a series I did for Threads magazine. See more Laura Coyle illustration on my website:www.coyleart.com

View the full size promo archived online.