Ian Dingman's Summer Chaos

Chicago Magazine
Kim Thornton Art Director

Hey there..new painting for the spring.... 

Italian vacation inspired Limoncello:

Italian vacation inspired Limoncello: My girlfriend bought some really nice little bottles and made us some Limoncello, so ofcourse I had to create labels for her! I reconfigured a job I had done previously. Off to Kinko's for the stickers, and we were all set. But because of the curvature of the bottles, they wouldn't go on without wrinkling. So there I sat with the now useless stickers cutting out various shapes for testing. The diamond shape solved the wrinkle problem. And in a case of no experience being wasted, a few months later when a client was having trouble with his label wrinkling, I was able to suggest a different approach to the design.

An interesting note: The Santibanez lemons are a varigated lemon that her father developed. I don't think they taste very different, but they are an interesting design in themselves.

Just thought I'd post a recent sketchbook doodle of a little fox in an overcoat and fishnets. Viva spring!

Tour de France

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Soap packaging ideas

I've always wanted to design packaging for soap. My son has an industrious 16 year old friend who makes and sells great soap. Her packaging was .. well... nothing special. I offered to try some ideas for her - knowing with my huge library of patterns that I wouldn't even have to do anything new. Still playing around with ideas & having lots of fun. AND I'll get lots of soap!

Love story on the roof

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Tagged Grain

Still working on my illustration assignments, but stayin' up a little later to do some of my own stuff. I painted a grain car that was parked on the rails in my home town. I was back visiting family in Alberta. The western prairies are home to a lot of grain, barley, flax, and canola. The cars wear the markings of their journeys. I wanted to distort the car, and get that big sky. It's oils on a wooden panel. Horizontal formats are my favs, and usually don't fare well in the print world, or on monitors. I added a detail to try, and offer a feeling of the surface.

"My dreams as Levine" by John Kachik

Every five years or so I recall and reflect on how amazing David Levine,
the quintessential illustrative caricature and painter is, and humbly pull
out a fresh sheet of paper and try and play caricature artist myself.
Well I guess this is the latest attempt. I never really get beyond the pencil
sketch. However a guy can dream.

Retired

Hi guys,

I don't need work anymore. I struck it rich. Well, first, I was out hunting. Things were rough, and I still needed to eat, so I figured I would try to bring in some meat. And then I came upon this truck that had a satchel of money in it. It also had heroin in the rear bed, but I don't approve of drugs, so I only stole the money. So I am pretty well taken care of financially. Now if I can only keep away from this maniac with a high pressure air hose, I'm set.

So I'm retired, see you....

Robert Rodriguez