THOUSANDS OF TINY STILL LIFES
In the early 1990s H-E-B displayed tabloid newspapers in the stores to promote weekly specials. Photography was not practical. Stephen was hired to produce what eventually amounted to thousands of individual product illustrations. Each item was drawn and painted from life, with from 30-80 products being delivered to our door every week.

He soon realized there was no way to hand paint the type and logos on every item in the short deadline time, especially since he was producing anywhere from 3-8 illustrations a day, 6-7 days a week. Our little side porch was already my graphics darkroom, with a horizontal stat camera, so I assisted him, developing a system of shooting the type and logos as line art, sized to fit his hand drawn illustration. We then created a custom rub-on transfer in the appropriate color which was transferred to the final artwork. We had everyone guessing how we made them look so real. It was a stressful and exhausting period, but it paid a lot of bills, and was a gratifying opportunity to serve a great local company.