Rent Panic Illustration

For an article in the Stranger about the rising rents in Seattle. This is one of my earliest illustrations, and unfortunately I’ve lost the original working files and scans. It’s a vertical space, and I’m sure I tried to place guy and the girl together, but then there wouldn’t be any room for the apartment interior.

The guy is from (I think) an Excedrin ad. Pretty common in old issues of Good House Keeping and Better Homes and Gardens etc. The apartment building and trees in the background is one of my own snapshots from my Capitol Hill apartment.

The disembodied hand holding the keys below the floating currency is my favorite part, that imagery gives this illustration a little depth. I think the hand is from an old issue of Fortune magazine, and I shot photos of the money myself.

The girl is from an old Midol ad. (Google “old Midol ad”, to see several ads from their old print campaign)  The rents are so cheap compared to today’s rates!

“High-Rent Headache” Digital collage illustration for THE STRANGER