The Romaine Riddle Part Three

     This week's post culminates a three part series on creating an illustration based on The Romaine Riddle a New York Times.com article. Unfortunately the article link seems broken. However, the gist of the article was the difficulty in locating the specific source of a recent widespread E. Coli outbreak. Last week I showed the drawing for this piece depicting the three types of lettuce as in a mug-shot. In the end, I ditched the hat on romaine to show his lettuce leaves better. As well as other tweaks like making the eyes on all of them closer in size. 

     It's an exciting week as Adar Illustration moves from the west coast back east and into a new studio. There are several new food illustration projects lined up so check back next week to see what's next!

The Romaine Riddle Part Two

     Last week's blog showed the start of an illustration based on The Romaine Riddle, a New York Times article describing the search for the origin of the recent E. coli outbreak. 

     The update on this outbreak is that it's most likely safe to eat romaine lettuce again, according to to the Centers for Disease Control. This article from Business Insider describes how at the height of the outbreak this April and May one person in California died from exposure to the strain. It goes on to emphasize the importance of washing produce and how it can become contaminated. 

     For this visual take on The New York Times story the concept is a portrayal of romaine as a type of gangster-outlaw. In a classic mugshot line-up, romaine looks straight into the shot as arugula and spinach peer forlornly and suspiciously at him. 

     One part of the article describes the increase in complexity to pinpoint the source of E. coli due to the potential cross-contamination of types of lettuce. 

     Visit Visual Nourishment next week to see the finished colored illustration! 

     As a side note it's so great to see that this illustration of Gbombs is published in Living Nutritarian Magazine! This e-zine is a member-exclusive of DrFuhrman.com. I highly suggest becoming a member. There is a great community forum for seeking support and nutritional information. 

     The illustration of Gbombs was originally published back in February. Click here to find out what it represents!

Food 2.0 and the Romaine Riddle

    This illustration is inspired by an article called Food 2.0 in Costco Connection magazine. What I'm aiming to communicate here is the transference of harvested produce into data. When I saw the magazine at a family member's house the article that drew me in explained all the modern ways that farmers are using technology to increase efficiency. For example, tractors that harvest data at the same as they harvest crops. It was really enjoyable seeing how Costco's magazine elaborates on the behind the scenes aspects of their food sourcing.

     

  

     Another illustration I started on this week is based on an article from The New York Times called: Romaine Riddle: Why the E. coli Outbreak Eludes Food Investigators. The article is about the current E. Coli outbreak affecting many parts of the country including New Jersey and California. Although the origin is speculated to be Arizona, it is difficult to be sure. To interpret the story I am imagining a head of romaine lettuce in an outlaw narrative. The sketches here are a few of my early ideas. I'll be developing this piece over the next few weeks so check back to see how it comes out! 

The Importance of Community as a Freelancer

   

     This week's art that I'm featuring is a storybook illustration. The assignment was to tell a story using animals acting out human behavior.

     Also this week I updated my DeviantArt for the first time since 2015. If you haven't seen this site, it's got loads of art to look at. For artists it provides a great community platform.

     Last but not least, I changed my mission statement. It now reflects my desire to do a variety of types of projects. This started during the Illustrators of the Future workshop. That event re-ignited my passion for being an illustrator. It made me want to encapsulate the most important values for an illustrator. The new mission statement is on the Mission and Values page of this blog and the About page of my website.

     Yesterday I attended an informative seminar about Craft Food & Beverage makers in Oakland. It was interesting to hear about the challenges these types of businesses face. In fact, they are similar to what artists deal with. The presenters included Erin La Ninfa from Industry Coffee, Mariela Cedeno from Mandela Marketplace and Brian Stechschulte from Drake's Brewing Co. among others.

     This week was also a very fun session of Freelancer's Union SPARK in San Francisco. Fun, because I really enjoyed talking to some of the attendees afterwards. I'm only sad it's my last meeting with them since I'm moving back to New Jersey. Anyway, if you are a Bay Area freelancer, or a freelancer anywhere, check out SPARK and see where your nearest meetup is.

     Getting out to events like these in recent weeks has been very invigorating. Lately I feel that as much as making art, being out in the community gives me energy to keep doing this. It provides a reminder that there are other people out there trying to do the same thing I am. That is, making a living as an independent, creative person.

     Thanks for checking in!