Illustration Master – Robert Rodriguez
Robert Rodriguez is the most recent addition to the lineup of Graphis Art/Illustration Masters.
Rodriguez, 67, was born in New Orleans, but has lived in California since 1965. In 1969, he graduated from Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts) and embarked on a career as an illustrator.
Rodridguez received a Platinum award in the 2011 Design Annual for his Cowboys of the Silver Screen postage stamps. The Cowboys of the Silver Screen stamp was his most recent work for the Postal Service. He also designed the 1998 Cinco de Mayo stamp, which was issued jointly by the U.S. and Mexican Postal Service, 13 stamps for the 1980s Celebrate the Century issuance and the 2003 Cesar E. Chavez stamp.
Rodriguez has created posters for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, Super Bowl XXVI, the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, the Broadway play “Lend Me a Tenor” and films, including “The Jewel of the Nile,” “City Slickers II” and “The Two Jakes.” He also has worked on many covers for the German magazine Der Spiegel and calendars and posters for the National Federation of Labor.
Using Photoshop, Rodriguez painted several posters for the HBO show “Boardwalk Empire” (he was provided with sketches that had been approved by the network). He had only six weeks to finish work on six posters. Read more about his experience working with HBO here.
He also is responsible for the redesign of the Quaker Oats logo, which features a more svelte Quaker Oats man, with a notable absence of a once prominent double chin.
In 2011, Rodriguez had a one-person show at the Sycamore Gallery in Monrovia, California. The next year, he was one of the featured artists in the Contemporary Masters: Artistic Eden III exhibition.
Other Graphis Masters with ties to California or New Orleans include illustrators John Mattos, who works in California, and Michael Deas, who works in New Orleans. Other Masters from California include James A. Cross, Michael Cronan, Michael Vanderbyl and Kit Hinrichs.
For more examples of Rodriguez’s work, visit his Master portfolio here. Read his blog here.
Check out all of the Graphis Art/Illustration Master Portfolios here.
