Get to Know Jon C. Lund!

Jon C. Lund has many talents, not the least of which is raising 2 amazing sons and 1 amazing daughter - all teenagers and one college bound. That's a lot of teenage angst in his house! But, John lives for it and will tell you being a parent is the only feather in his cap that he needs. Since he won't brag about his exceptional work, we'll go ahead and do that for him.

Over the span of Jon's career he has moved from working as a graphic designer to a successful full time freelancer, with his techniques and styles changing along the way as well. Working exclusively digitally, Jon creates bold, graphic and colorful imagery for high profile clients like Major League Baseball, The United States Tennis Association, The Professional Golfers Association, The National Hockey League, The National Football League, Target Corp., World Market, Disney Design Group, Yum Brands, Coca-Cola...and the list goes on.

Take a moment to look at a little preview of his work below and see more of his work here. Read on to see what inspires Jon, and what he enjoys about his life and his work.

Hi Jon, Thanks for playing along with us. Let’s start with how you begin your day. Do you go straight for the coffee? A soothing cup of tea? Or a mad dash to that can of soda?

Actually I reach for the dog food first. Then once our dog Edgar is fed I can move on to my usual bowl of cereal. I can’t deal with caffeine. I’m plenty well wired as is. Just last fall I quit the diet soda (Dr. Pepper) cold turkey. 

Quitting cold turkey? That's tough to do, so kudos! Can you describe what your typical day looks like, sans soda, of course?

After making sure I beat the kids out of bed (got to set a good example you know) put out any fires getting them to school. (They are all teenagers now.) I get in my garage top studio around 8:30. Depending on whether we are in feast or famine mode I’m either working or trying to find work the rest of the day, and well into the night if a deadline is hot. Along the way I’m either listening to the radio or keeping Euro coverage of bike racing going in the corner of my desktop. It gives my work a bit of a rhythm.

Can you describe for our readers where you get your creative inspiration?

For me it seems to always have been about how shapes of objects or figures are delineated, stylized and then the depth you can show with light. It just so happens that these same ideals drove the style of many poster artists from the middle of the last century. I also have a love of typography from that time period, and putting the two together is icing on the cake.

I really love the player art you worked on for the Major League Baseball organization. Can you give us a little insight into how you approached that project and what methods you used to achieve the final result?

Coming up this July my work will be televised (hopefully) at the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. I’ve done work for Major League Baseball before (two World Series). I work with a terrific team in a small agency. The art director and I usually start with the concepts for the 4 player poses. The source of the reference is interesting. They use highly detailed models of actual players to get the angle and view they want. Then once we have the pose correct we make sure the image can’t be recognized as any one particular player (legal). Then they use the players as a kind of theme art to decorate everything from the scoreboard to commemorative merchandise.

Below is player art created for NHL Heritage Classic

Sounds like a great opportunity to be able to collaborate with them. Do you work traditionally or digitally? Do you have a preference?

For my way of working I think you can’t beat the virtual realm. I’m much more of a craftsman, a builder than a performer.

If you have an entire day of free time, what would we catch you doing?

I am a freelancer with a wife, three teenagers and an old house. I don’t understand the question. 

That's funny. I guess since there's no free time, which most of us can relate to I think, there's probably no point asking you the next question, but...I'll ask anyway. Book or nook?

Iphone and ebay.

Rock or Opera?

Music used to be my main preoccupation when I was a kid. I always had to be on the cutting edge of alternative music. Any more I only seem to be able to get into one band at a time. The latest is The Shins. 

In a parallel universe, what would you be doing instead of illustrating?

I’d probably be a builder of some sort, probably a carpenter or furniture maker. 

Proudest moment? 

Definitely taking my kids to see the US Open with my images plastered all over the US Tennis center in NYC.

Anyone you would like to give a shout out to who has had an impact on where you are either personally or professionally?

Paul Rogers was one of my earliest influences. I actually called him when I was first starting out and he actually gave me technical tips that allowed me to get the confidence to produce my first illustrations. 

And lastly, what is the one single best piece of advice you can give for an up and coming illustrator or designer?

Styles come and go but the artistry at the beginning of it all, the drawing is the foundation.