Kevin Sprouls

Kevin Sprouls is the creator of the "Wall Street Journal portrait" style known as "hedcut."

He began as a freelance illustrator for "Dow Jones and Company"—the parent company for "The Wall Street Journal." In 1979 he introduced a style of portraiture that the "Journal" adopted because of its concise, engraving style. Kevin became the first full time artist at the "Journal," eventually the Assistant Art Director and head of the illustration department. His "Wall Street Journal" illustrations were awarded a gold medal at "The Society of Illustrators" competition in 1986. His style of portraiture, later coined "hedcut," is the definitive corporate icon and is created completely by hand, not computer.

Kevin, who once again is a freelance artist, still works for "Dow Jones" on occasion, along with a host of clients including but not limited to: "Time Inc.," "Field and Stream Magazine" (cover illustration(s) in 2005), "Quirk Books" ("1001 Guilty Pleasures," "The Amazing Magical Wonder Deck"), "Sports Illustrated" (cover illustration), "Despair Inc." (" [http://www.demotivation.com/ The Art of Demotivation] "), "Infinity Autos" ("Chiat"/"Day"), the "Columbus Citizens Foundation" exhibit (at the Grand Central Terminal in New York, Oct. 2005), "Esquire Magazine" and "Trust Company of the West," to name a few.

Kevin Sprouls has been featured on "CNN", in the American "National Portrait Gallery" and in the "Smithsonian" magazine.

His pen is housed in the "Newseum" in Washington.

External links

* Kevin Sprouls’s [http://sprouls.com/ homepage]
* " [http://www.dowjones.com/DJCom/Uploads/headcuthowto.pdf How a Photo Becomes a Wall Street Journal Hedcut] " at DowJones.com (PDF)
* " [http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/smithsonian/issues04/jul04/mall.html#ink Ink Dot Art] " in the "Smithsonian" magazine
* [http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/journal/inside.htm "Getting Inside Their Heds"] —a chapter from [http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/journal/ "Picturing Business in America. Hedcuts in The Wall Street Journal"] , an article on the National Portrait Gallery website