Jonathan Williams

Violin Practice Mom

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:41:19 -0400

Age: 40-55

The urban equivalent of soccer mom, Violin Practice Mom has her kids focused on academics and after-school activities rather than sports. Her attitude shapes her taste in footwear - she’s more likely to buy expensive brands than her suburban counterpart. Status is getting her kids into the right college and being the first to wear Minimus at her Hot Yoga Class. Violin Practice Mom is one of six consumer profiles commissioned by Francis Klaess for Formula4 Media.

Queen of the Manor

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 10:54:29 -0400

Age: 30-45

Queen of the Manor is focused on getting her daughter to horseback riding lessons and everyone dressed for the occasion. Wherever she lives, she always tries to find more time to be at the country house. Combining elegant style with premium quality, Queen of the Manor buys her Burberry jackets and shoes at Neiman’s. She’s a trophy wife and doesn’t mind letting everyone know it. Riding boots from Ariat. Queen of the Manor is one of six consumer profiles commissioned by Francis Klaess for Formula4 Media.

Suburban Soccer Mom

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:53:00 -0400

Age: 30-45

Suburban Soccer Mom drives an SUV or mini-van, schlepping kids to and from school, sports or after school activities. Always busy, always on the go, She is a combination of working mom and inappropriately named ‘stay at home’ mom. Suburban Soccer Mom is one of six consumer profiles commissioned by Francis Klaess for Formula4 Media.

Lululemon Lass

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 04:09:00 -0400

Age: 30-45

Forget jeans, this shopper lives in her Lululemons. Thank goodness they don’t sell shoes. Yet. Fitness is a major priority. Lululemon Lass runs, goes to the gym and finds time for at least one yoga class a week. She’s always the first to get the newest Nikes. Lululemon Lass is one of six consumer profiles commissioned by Francis Klaess for Formula4 Media.

Grown-up Granola Girl

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 13:51:00 -0400

Age 30ish

Back in the day she listened to the Dead and Phish. Now she chooses durable anti-fashion brands such as Birkenstock, Frye and Naot. Grown-up Granola Girl is one of six consumer profiles commissioned by Francis Klaess for Formula4 Media.

Hemingway and Gellhorn

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:14:17 -0500

Rumour has it that San Francisco based Philip Kaufman will be directing an HBO film about Ernest Hemingway and his relationship with Martha Gellhorn entitled Hemingway and Gellhorn, starring Clive Owen and Nicole Kidman. Reportedly shooting begins this year using SF locations such as Pier 80, which is surprising because no one knows of Hemingway spending any time there. Key West, Cuba, Paris, and the Northwest yes, SF not so much. San Francisco magazine commissioned this illustration of Kaufmann directing a scene at an SF street café for the cover of January’s issue.

Art direction by Ellen Zaslow.

The Gentrification of Dogpatch

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:23:04 -0500

The historic district of Dogpatch lies on the eastern side of San Francisco with some of the oldest houses in the city, dating from the 1840s. In the last twenty years Dogpatch has attracted a growing community of artists and designers, becoming the latest SF neighbourhood to be colonised by loft studios and chic boutiques.

San Francisco magazine commissioned this portrait of siblings Chris and Ben Ospital, owners of Modern Appealing Clothing, who are converting a stable house on 22nd Street into a new store. MAC started as a Hayes Valley store / gallery and became a popular gathering place for those who combine fashionable tastes with progressive leanings. Ben and Chris Ospital and their mother, Jeri, are on the cutting edge of San Francisco’s Slow Clothing movement, which combines new ideas about beauty with old-fashioned concepts of utility.

Art direction by Ellen Zaslow.

Ruaraidh watching TV

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:32:44 -0500

Ruaraidh watching TV

Louise Bourgeois RIP

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 05:09:00 -0400

This is an image I drew whilst queuing up for ‘I Redo’, one of the three steel towers Louise Bourgeois created for Tate Modern’s opening exhibition in 2000. A spiral staircase coiled around a central column, leading to a platform surrounded by circular mirrors. The towers were both intimate and spectacular, exploring themes of childhood and family then opening out into multiple views of the newly refurbished turbine hall.

I’ve always admired Louise Bourgeois for the way she followed her own path, working in an unusually wide range of materials - wood and stone to latex and rubber - pursuing personal ideas, often inspired by her childhood. The continuity of her work over such a long stretch reminds me that the detail of a messy, vulnerable, domestic life is what endures after the ‘big’ ideas have played themselves out.

Prospect magazine commissioned this illustration for Haunted, a...

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:13:00 -0500

Prospect magazine commissioned this illustration for Haunted, a memoir by Kamran Nazeer, whose best friend Ben killed himself but then continued to make appearances. Kamran doesn’t believe in ghosts or life after death, but he wants Ben to go.

The Not-Dead and The Saved

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:19:00 -0500

Prospect magazine commissioned this illustration for a thought-provoking story by Kate Clanchy about parental love and sacrifice in a hospital ward. The Not-Dead and The Saved has been awarded this year’s V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award.

Clanchy’s poignant writing has been praised for its “rich lyricism” and “deeply affecting style … an account of a deeply painful experience” that becomes “richer on every re-reading.” Critics were impressed by its “acute control of emotional tone … vividness and generosity.” Kate Clanchy was born in Glasgow in 1965 and educated in Edinburgh and Oxford. She currently lives in Oxford where she now works as a teacher, journalist and freelance writer.

Art direction by David Killen.