Kim Rosen Illustration

Bee's Knees

2012-05-04T12:38:00.000-04:00

Who doesn't want a new gin drink recipe?

The Bees Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail made with a few simple ingredients, gin, lemon juice and honey syrup.

The honey was used to cover up the smell of the illegal alcohol during the Prohibition.

Recipe:

1 ounce of gin

1 ounce of lemon juice

2 ounces of honey syrup

Ice cubes

Make the honey syrup by stirring together 3 parts hot water with 1 part honey until the honey is dissolved.

In a cocktail shaker, combine 2 ounces of the honey syrup, the gin, lemon juice and ice cubes. Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass and drink up!

This illustration along with many great ones are on "The Art of the Cocktail" a cool blog by my agent Jennifer Vaughn. Check it out HERE

May Dip

2012-05-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

This illustration is in the current Pennsylvania Gazette and is written by a student who transferred from St. Andrews College in Scotland to the University of Pennsylvania.

Every year the students of St. Andrews participate in the "May Dip" which consists of running into the frigid North Sea at dawn. Around St. Andrews there are cobblestone with the initials PH, which stands for Protestant martyr Patrick Hamilton who was burned at the stake in the 1500's. According to the students, stepping on the PH cobblestones will bring a curse that will make that student fail their courses. Running into the cold sea is the only way to escape the curse.

IBM Systems Magazine

2012-04-18T11:31:00.000-04:00

This double page spread is in the current issue of IBM Systems magazine. The article discusses a new powerful server coming out which uses Linux, an open source operating system code. The Linux logo is a penguin so we ran with that theme and played on the bigger and better aspect of the new server. Thanks to Mike for this fun job.

Spots

2012-04-18T11:20:00.002-04:00

Here are a couple of recent spot illustrations.

The Impact of the Human Genome Project - Imperial College Alumni magazine

The Private Sector thinking about working with the Public Sector - Canadian Lawyer magazine

Teenagers and Fashion

2012-03-19T11:12:00.000-04:00

"I Don't Understand My Daughter's Love of Fashion"

This is illustration is in today's Globe and Mail about an academic mother whose teenage daughter is a fashion fanatic. You can read the full story HERE. Thanks to Jason for the fun job!

Common Bird Monitoring of India

2012-03-16T12:55:00.000-04:00

A few years ago I illustrated this portrait of Mohammed Dilawar for TIME magazine for their special report on "Environmental Heroes".

It has been Mohammed's mission to save the sparrows of India once he learned about the declining population in 2005. After seeing a sparrow building a nest in a switch box of a telephone pole, Mohammed decided to help. He started designing and building wooden nesting boxes and then manufactured them on a nonprofit basis. In less than three years he's sold more than a 1,000 of these nests. You can read the full TIME article HERE

Mohammed and I have been in touch since the TIME article was published in 2008. He recently asked me to illustrate a poster and a web banner to help further spread awareness of not only the sparrows, but of all common birds in India that are on the decline. I admire Mohammed and his efforts and I was honored to have been asked to help with his mission. March 20th is World Sparrow Day. Here are a few links if you'd like to learn more about Mohammed's efforts or learn how to help.

http://www.worldsparrowday.org/
http://www.natureforever.org/

Bhagavad-Gita

2012-03-13T11:37:00.001-04:00

This full page a few spot illustrations will be in the May issue of Shambhala Sun magazine.

When Michael was nine yrs. old he would visit his schizophrenic uncle Ian in the mental hospital every week. Ian taught his nephew about the Bhagavad-Gita which is the story of the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna. Ian taught Michael about the Buddha and how to think and react on a variety levels. On every visit, Michael and Ian discussed, debated and philosophized all while listening to The Beatles' White Album in the background. Thanks to Liza for the fun and inspiring job.

February Coupling

2012-02-27T11:48:00.002-05:00

Here is my round-up of February's Coupling illustrations for The Boston Globe magazine

New Gear Guilt

2012-02-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

Here is an illustration in the current OnEarth magazine about buying new outdoor gear. New and improved gear is ultra light, but the guilt of getting rid of all the old, heavy gear causes the writer some turmoil. The old gear has a ton of memories attached to it, but throwing it away creates guilt when thinking about how that old stuff can wreak havoc on the environment.

Dancing

2012-02-01T11:57:00.000-05:00

Here is my image for the 2012 note cards that my agent Jen Vaughn sends out each year.

Below are my notecard illustrations from the past.

January "Coupling"

2012-02-01T11:45:00.001-05:00

Here are my Coupling illustrations from January for The Boston Globe magazine.

Holocaust Memories

2012-01-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

"My Mother is Drenched in Memories of the Holocaust"
This illustration accompanies a very sad story of a Holocaust survivor who could never forget her past. The author writes about his 90 yr. old mother who's life has been an extended version of the false identity she was forced to assume during the Nazi occupation of Hungary. Through the last half of her life, this survivor has suppressed her agony and heartbreak and managed to get by with a forced smile. Thanks again to Cinders for always giving me thoughtful stories to illustrate.

HOW magazine Merit Award

2012-01-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

I just found out that this campaign I illustrated for the Hot Java Cool Jazz posters sponsored by Starbucks won a merit award for non-profit work in HOW magazine. Awesome! You can see my original post HERE

Thanks again to the wonderful people at Starbucks for such a fun project!

Billabong Surfboard #3

2012-01-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

I recently finished my third surfboard for Billabong. This board will be on display in the Maui store. These boards are so much fun to create and I love the challenge of the working within the format. You can see my other boards HERE. So far my surfboards are being displayed in Soho-NYC, Deerfield-FL, Panama-Canada, Limeridge-Canada, and now in Maui-Hawaii. Thanks Anne for these fun jobs!

Middle East Storytelling

2012-01-02T09:31:00.001-05:00

"How jokes, stories and dreams helped make my Middle East trip peaceful"
The Globe and Mail

Thanks again to Devin for another fun and interesting job. This story is about a friendship between an Israeli man and a Palestinian woman and their dreams of using storytelling to break all the barriers of conflict between the two nations.

December Coupling

2012-01-02T09:24:00.001-05:00

My Boston Globe magazine "Coupling" illustrations from the past month.

Class Action

2012-01-02T09:22:00.002-05:00

This spot illustration in the current Canadian Lawyer magazine is for a story about defense lawyers filing their class-action cases before the case has been certified by the judge. Corporate lawyers argue that a certified class action case creates a poor image of the company before the merits of the claim have yet to be judged.

Father / Daughter Bonding

2011-12-29T08:54:00.000-05:00

Here is another sweet story about a father who was recently fired from his job and made a promise to travel with his teenage daughter. His daughter chose the destination of Vietnam and they formed a tight bond over all the sites, cultures and beautiful landscape. This illustration appears in today's Globe and Mail. Thanks Devin for the fun job!

Hanukkah

2011-12-21T06:41:00.000-05:00

"I have big shoes to fill this Hanukkah"

This is a sweet story in today's Globe and Mail about a new mom wanting to pass along the Hanukkah traditions that her father passed to her throughout her life. You can read the full story HERE. Happy Hanukkah!

Questioning a Doctor's Loyalties

2011-12-19T13:44:00.000-05:00

A woman with MS finds out that her neurologist is being paid large amounts of money from pharmaceutical companies to administer certain prescriptions. The patient quickly loses trust in her doctor and makes sure that her future doctor will have no industry relationships or conflicts of interest. This illustration appeared in The Washington Post this past weekend. Thanks to Brad for the interesting job!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-15T09:48:00.001-05:00

My holiday card for this year. Get some sleep everyone!
You can see some of my past holiday cards HERE

Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings

2011-12-02T08:08:00.001-05:00

Inspired by their amazing show I saw earlier this week, here is a portrait of Gillian and Dave. Everyone should go and see them live if you get the chance, you won't be sorry.

The Many Moods of Pregnancy

2011-12-01T07:32:00.001-05:00

From all of the pregnant women I know, mood swings seem to be the common thread between them all. Here are six illustrations pin-pointing some of the moods one can expect during pregnancy. The AD wanted the illustrations to have a tarot card feel that would be placed throughout the article. These are in the current Today's Parent magazine. Thanks to Dave for the fun job!

ANGER

HAPPINESS

RELAXED

RAGE

DEPRESSED

EXHAUSTION

November Coupling

2011-11-28T08:11:00.001-05:00

Here are my "Coupling" illustrations for The Boston Globe magazine from the past month.

Facts and Arguments

2011-11-23T06:39:00.001-05:00

"As a Brain Surgeon, I know Patients' Futures Before They Do"

A Brain Surgeon writes about the fate of his patients that he foresees on paper before he even meets them. Thanks to Cinders for always giving me such interesting and emotional stories to illustrate. In today's Globe and Mail HERE