In 2017 I was contacted by Hogarth to illustrate the cover for an upcomming novel by Melissa Broder about a woman who loves a half man, half fish.  This was before DelTorro's 'Shape of Water' was released and the idea was to do a riff on a romance cover adding a graphic element , a fish shape.  It was a very clever idea, and in some respects, I was a pair of hands.  The mock up was pretty great but I had to re-create it.  Thankfully (on many levels) I live with the perfect model for this character so I shot reference of my wife, Elizabeth Parisi in a dramatic pose and it worked seamlessly for the assignment. 
One of the best aspects of being an illustrator is collaboration.  I know that without collaboration I would stay in some very comfortable grooves and not venture out to explore different ways of solving problems.  Each collaboration gives me a new vocabulary and expands on how I see my work and what it can do.
This piece was selected for the 60th Annual Exhibition at the Society of Illustrators.
The books has come out on May 1st, 2018 and it being well received and reviewed.
Below are links to some of the reviews: