SPIN Magazine Illustration-The Shins

I did an Illustration of the band, The Shins,for the current issue of Spin Magazine. It's the "Best Of 2006" issue with Tv On The Radio On the cover.
I originally wanted to do something easy--line art with digital color which is what a lot of the illustration is like these days but they wanted my painted style and I was happy to to do it.

Spin art director, Liz McFarlane, got a bunch of photos of the band for me. I thought this one was funny.


Based on that, it was decided that I was to do something with a nautical theme. I did a bunch of thumbnails. But that was nixed after the album review came in. A new direction was needed.

I worked on some new sketches, One I really didn't like, One I did.




Finally, The completed art as it's seen in the magazine. My personal schedule forced me to paint it in about 24 hours. I'd prefer 40 hours-ish to do an illustration.


Well, that's an illustration I guess. The result is that I got to explore the Shins' music more. I haven't heard the new album. "New Slang" is my favorite song and it's now the anchor for my Local #9 soundtrack, which i'm drawing now.

War Isn't Over

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Peace On Earth.

Eye On Comics-2006 Glass Eye Awards

The 2006 Glass Eye Awards

Best Limited Series

"...But my pick for the best limited series of 2006 is a title that actually began late in 2005: Local. It earns the Glass Eye in this category thanks to writer Brian Wood’s strong, character-driven storytelling and continued elevation of self-contained storytelling. Each issue tells its own distinct story about angry, saddened and/or disenfranchised youth. Local is about people’s flaws and emotional limitations, and artist Ryan Kelly’s black-and-white artwork captures the pain and vulnerability of the characters perfectly."


Best Penciller/Artist

"...Ryan Kelly’s black-and-white artwork on Local really brought Brian Wood’s dark, sad stories of youth to life. By all accounts, Kelly not only captured human emotion quite well but the varied real-world settings, which changed with each issue."
Don McPherson

Don Mcpherson's eye On Comics
2006 Best Comics
2006 Best Creators

Local in the "Year in Music"

My total F*ck-up lives on in the the City Pages' "Year In Music"...




"Though ostensibly set in 1995 on Lyndale Avenue South, the second issue of hot-selling alternative comic Local (Oni Comics) contains fun-to-find musical anachronisms: Low's 2005 CD sits on the shelf at Oarfolkjokeopus (renamed Treehouse Records years ago), plus, there's a Heiruspecs CD and a Soviettes flyer."



City Pages Local Music Yearbook 2006

Ladies Room Print

I currently have two prints available for sale for the painting "Ladies Room", edition of 300, unframed.

It's a high quality Giclee print on watercolor paper. Professionally done and it looks stunning.

The image is aproximately 12.5X30 inches on 16 X 34 inch watercolor paper.

The print is $100 with an additional $10.00 shipping.
$110.00 Total
I will ship it in a mailing tube.

Email me if you're interested in purchasing.

If those sell, i'll continue to produce more at that price on demand. But pricing may be adjusted from time to time and this blog entry will be edited if that happens.

Prints For Sale-Info

I do sell prints of my artwork, paintings and comic art included, and occasionally receive questions on the availability of specific artworks.

I’m an artist occupied with the daily grind of producing new artwork and I do not have many assistants and an artist representative, thus, I’m unable to run a full-fledged print service at the moment (this may change someday). I have to print it, pack it up in a flat container or tube and mail it myself. I do that within 2 days of payment.

That said, I want to sell as many prints as I can of selected paintings and do my best to accommodate any special request from art buyers. I usually wait and evaluate demand before I go through the nitty-gritty of make something print-ready.

In the sidebar of this art blog, I will be placing individual links for special print-runs of certain paintings of mine. Click on the title and you can view the art as well as review the prices and sizes and paper choice for that print. I will also list the cost of shipping.

I prefer payment through Paypal, but I can take personal check or cash in the mail.

I’m unable to make every painting available for limited edition prints but I may be able to do a special custom print for an extra cost if there is something you really want.

Thank you for the interest in my art!

New Interview--access+ENGAGE issue #12

The new issue of access+ENGAGE is out today and features a big, sprawling feature and interview on me and my wacky art.
Read itHERE.

Or, go direct to the Full Interview.

Wicker Park

I've been insanely sick the past week and I spent the whole day in the emergency room, Sunday, trying to figure out what was wrong with me. So , NO WORK has been getting done for 4 days now, which is not good for a freelancer who needs to keep up EVERYDAY.

In the meantime, here's a page from Local #8: Chicago, Wicker Park, which I'm finishing up now. And here's the preliminary sketch/layout. It would be done now if i didn't get hit so hard by illness, but i'm finishing up the last few pages.

I've come to enjoy drawing backgrounds, especially Chicago, which i'm familiar with. And since Local #7: Tempe didn't feature a lot of "real life" places (besides that Mall, Campus street, and highscool), this Chicago issue, in contrast, features a lot of recognizable locations.