The New Yorker “Auditions”

September 2023

The New Yorker covers reframe events and people, and us, so we can see our world more clearly.

My favorite New Yorker covers hold very human moments, sometimes current events, but always with an eye for something we may have missed, or how those current events will affect us. They hold these moments thoughtfully. It’s remarkable how a magazine centered on New York can appeal to people in the Midwest, the Pacific Coast, the Southwest, the South. I have always felt represented by The New Yorker, and I grew up in rural Missouri and Texas, and lived in Kansas and Ohio. Stories and articles in the magazine, of course, are wide-ranging, hard hitting journalism that appeals to readers from anywhere—covering stories from anywhere. But I want to give some credit for that feeling of unity to the cover artists. The covers record universal moments that COULD BE from urban and rural areas across the US, even if they are all in New York. What we have in common is what defines us as humans— and what we have that we feel is unique to us in Dayton, or in Braymer, MO, is also what we have in common. We are not alone. The artists have a cross-country appeal, I think, because they get ALL of us, and OUR lives too. There’s some wisdom in every New Yorker cover.

I’ve been admiring them for decades. And then, one day, I wanted to make covers FOR The New Yorker,
or at least LIKE The New Yorker. I’m sure many artists dream of this. I know I’m not the only one.

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[Francoise] Mouly, who has overseen nearly a thousand New Yorker covers, says she looks for "images that will be relevant, images that will make you laugh, images that will move you."
From CBS NEWS “New Yorker Cover Selection”

My favorite artists (and many that I’m influenced by) from The New Yorker are Peter de Seve, John Cuneo, Adrien Tomine, Barry Blitt, Arthur Getz, Edward Sorel, Perry Barlow, Nicole Rifkin, Kadir Nelson, and Jenni Oliver, just to name a few.

Not surprising that several of those artists I listed first are whimsical with messy lines and a watercolor feeling.

Now, I know, this is NOT how you audition for the New Yorker. I don’t know how one would.

I don’t think they take unsolicited works, but let me imagine here that I create their covers anyway—and that these illustrations below fit nicely under the title of the magazine. I illustrate hope and joy. Those subtle shades around us. If I can reveal some of them for you, I’m happy.

If one COULD audition for a position as a New Yorker Cover Artist, this portfolio here would be that audition. I plan to build it that way as I go, at least. I think of this as “practice for the job you want.” But then my whole portfolio on squarespace has a lot of joy in it too.

In our shared disappointments, our surprises, the Oscar-less comedy of living, and in the fantasies we co-create to try and build better lives, I see a determination and courage to connect with each other, to say, oh, you’re in this boat, too.