Donald Ely | Illustration

Erykah Badu – Self Promotion

Donald Ely — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:44:12 +0000

Here’s a poster/portrait of Erykah Badu I did just for fun and because I love her. I wanted to do some brushed type, and thought this might be the best opportunity to try it. I started working on this in November/December when she came through Baltimore with the Cannabinioids (STELLAR SHOW), but due to printing problems, I wasn’t able to have it printed on time, so I held onto it and eventually went back to make some minor adjustments. In the end, I’m happy with the space funk look. Happy FRIDAY!

Georgia Anne Muldrow: BlackHouse abandoned concept

Donald Ely — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:50:25 +0000

Here is a near complete concept for the BlackHouse album that will be released by Georgia Anne Muldrow on the Mellow Music record label. I’m working on a new concept now and decided that it would be a good time to post this version.

I wanted to do something fOnky, like Georgia, and thought that this portrait helped describe the music perfectly. It turns out that Georgia wasn’t exactly looking for a portrait of her and wanted to drive the focus toward the music.

The new concept will still be fOnky and I’m super excited to get it finished and sent to the printers.

Update and some Oldish/New work

Donald Ely — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:58:13 +0000

So I haven’t been posting a lot lately and that mainly has to do with the fact that I got a new full time job at Powell Tate in Washington, DC as a Senior Graphic Designer. The job has been pretty intense for me so far. I’ve never really considered myself a graphic designer, but now that I have this job, I guess it’s safe to say that I am. My commute to and from work has been and hour plus every day to and from work. I get up early to catch a commuter bus and leave work late to catch the commuter bus back. I’m not able to stay up late in the night like I used to be able to do and so I rarely get to post anything.

With that being said, I have a few projects that I’m currently working on, including the next album cover for Georgia Anne Muldrow’s new house record called BlackHouse.

Below I’m posting the last two Baltimore magazine illustrations that I did for the Charm City Chatter column. The first illustrates when Barry Levinson came to town for a Diner anniversary screening at Johns Hopkins. The other pic illustrates a train show at a mall in Baltimore county around the holidays.

Cookies & Milk Mixtape Design

Donald Ely — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:11:03 +0000

Every year I make a holiday mix tape for friends and family. I try to mix a few classics with a bunch of alternative versions, and by alternative, I mean funk, rock, bluegrass, etc. This year is one of my all time favorites. From the mix, my favorite is probably Caetano Veloso’s “In the Hot Sun of a Christmas Day”. What a find. My son is very fond of Lou Rawl’s scatting at the end of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”. And Amy Winehouse kills it with her version of “I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus”.

Anyway, if you haven’t heard these songs, you should look them up. I’ll post a few of the videos below my design

New piece: United State of Hunger

Donald Ely — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 15:19:01 +0000

George Tooker (after George Platt Lynes)

Donald Ely — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:55:47 +0000

I came across a George Tooker book in the library the other day. I picked it up and was fascinated by his art, more specifically, the mood of his work and the facial expressions of his characters. His work is not like mine (soft tones, stocky people, bizarre facial structures, haunting compositions, etc.) but I’m drawn to it nonetheless. This is a portrait of him based off of a photograph. I loved his t-shirt and shorts combination, his expression and the cigarette. He looks a lot like the people he paints, but I guess that’s pretty common with artists, no?

Textile Design: Georgia Rose (Funked Version)

Donald Ely — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:52:03 +0000

This is the funked up version of my previous post. I think I like it more than the red/blue version.

Textile Design: Georgia Rose

Donald Ely — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:20:44 +0000

So, this is my first attempt at textile design or pattern making. The name of the design is called Georgia Rose after Georgia Anne Muldrow whose song “Roses” inspired me to start with roses.

City Paper: Meursault and Me

Donald Ely — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 01:21:45 +0000

I was asked by Joe Macleod, the art director at City Paper, to do an illustration for City Paper’s Big Books Issue. I didn’t have time to work on a sketch before starting the final because I am in the process of moving out of my house and into my in-laws’ house for the next two years. I have been packing, painting, unpacking, packing, repairing, unpacking my house for a solid month now. I am mentally and physically exhausted. I ended up finishing the illustration at 5:30am on Tuesday morning, after having started it at 9:30pm Monday night.

My original idea for the final piece was to have the silhouette character sort of peeling off of the page, breaking away, but in the end it was going to take more time than I had. I started to execute the idea but I was having trouble making the type covered figure stand out from the type filled page. Instead, I decided to separate the figure from the book, which made for a better composition that I am extremely happy with.

Read the article HERE.

Sean Davidson (Full Color Version)

Donald Ely — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:22:05 +0000