Michael Sloan's Illustration Blog

Welcome to my illustration blog featuring published assignments, my Zen of Nimbus comic, and personal work. You can see more of my illustration work on my website: www.michaelsloan.net 

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Welcome to the New World [Halpern, Jake, Sloan, Michael] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Welcome to the New World

You can now pre-order our Welcome to the New World book online in advance of September publication!

Now in a full-length book, the New York Times Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic story of a refugee family who fled the civil war in Syria to make a new life in America.

After escaping a Syrian prison, Ibrahim Aldabaan and his family fled the country to seek protection in America. Among the few refugees to receive visas, they finally landed in JFK airport on November 8, 2016, Election Day. The family had reached a safe harbor, but woke up to the world of Donald Trump and a Muslim ban that would sever them from the grandmother, brothers, sisters, and cousins stranded in exile in Jordan. Welcome to the New World tells the Aldabaans’ story. Resettled in Connecticut with little English, few friends, and even less money, the family of seven strive to create something like home. As a blur of language classes, job-training programs, and the fearsome first days of high school (with hijab) give way to normalcy, the Aldabaans are lulled into a sense of security. A white van cruising slowly past the house prompts some unease, which erupts into full terror when the family receives a death threat and is forced to flee and start all over yet again. The America in which the Aldabaans must make their way is by turns kind and ignorant, generous and cruel, uplifting and heartbreaking. Delivered with warmth and intimacy, Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan's Welcome to the New World is a wholly original view of the immigrant experience, revealing not only the trials and successes of one family but showing the spirit of a town and a country, for good and bad.

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The Zen of Nimbus #58: Nimbus Netsuke.

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I did this drawing when I was 13 years old. It’s a still life of my mom’s boyfriend’s office desk in Amsterdam. One of my favorite things I’ve ever done.

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I'll be speaking in the Art & Activism event at the School of Visual Arts in NYC at 6 PM on September 5th, SVA Theater, 333 W. 23rd street. Please come! It's free, and you can click on the link below for more details:

Art & Activism go hand in hand: take action in this special event with leading artist-activists, FREE at School of Visual Arts on 9/5!http://ow.ly/28BM30lp0i9 #SVAContinuEd #ArtandActivism

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Pulitzer prize APRIL 18, 2018

Jake Halpern and I have been awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in editorial cartooning for our comic Welcome to the New World, about the experience of a Syrian refugee family arriving in the US. It was published in The New York Times and you can see the entire 20-episode comic here. Here's an excerpt from my remarks from the event at The New York Times on Monday: I want to echo Jake’s remarks in appreciation of the extraordinary family that is the subject of our comic. Thanks to my wife and children, whose love makes everything possible.

I feel that Welcome to the New World expresses certain values - or opinions - that are very important to me. They are, understanding, compassion, and tolerance. I also feel that this prize that Jake and I are receiving is a resounding vote in support of those values. And there is never enough understanding, compassion, and tolerance in the world, especially these days. Thank you Bruce Headlam, Rachel Dry and Jim Dao at the New York Times - Welcome to the New World would never have been happened without your support. Thanks to the designers and art directors at the Times who made our comic look so good week after week. There’s one other person I’d like to thank - Steve Heller, the former art director at the Times Book Review, who gave me my first break as an illustrator back in 1989. The Times has always felt like home to me. My first published illustration assignment appeared on the Times op-ed page - Michael Valenti was the art director at the time.  Since then I’ve completed more than 100 assignments for the Times, more than for any other publication. Thank you Steve Heller, and the New York Times, for giving me a break all those years ago when I was a young, inexperienced kid who had just arrived in New York with a backpack, a guitar, a portfolio of artwork, and some hopes and dreams. And thank you for continuing to support young illustrators, because you never know what wonderful things can happen when you do.

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LECTURE AT YALE: Author Jake Halpern and I will be jointly giving a lecture at Yale University about our Welcome to the New World comic. This comic reports on the lives of a family of Syrian refugees in America, and appeared in 20 episodes in The New York Times Sunday Review. The lecture will be on Thursday, February 8 at 5:30 PM at Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven, CT. The event is sponsored by the Yale Macmillan Center Council on Middle East Studies. Please come!

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My new oil painting featuring Nimbus and Aldo: “Aldo’s Dream.”

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Here's a new watercolor and ink painting from my Hong Kong series: "Recycling shed near Hollywood Road, Central."

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"Recycling Man, Mong Kok East," another new watercolor and ink painting from my Hong Kong street market series.

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Here's a new watercolor and ink painting from my Hong Kong series. It’s called "Dumpling Makers at Crystal Jade restaurant, Shatin."

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Welcome to the New World

The true story of a Syrian family’s journey to America.

DEBUT OF ARCHIVE OF OUR COMIC AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: Please take a look at the gorgeous new digital archive of our "Welcome to the New World" comic by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan, debuting today on the NY Times website.

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Do Americans Want Everything Vegan?

Learning to cook for different tastebuds.

Here's the latest episode of "Welcome to the New World" by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan, in The New York Times:

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“Nigel Spike.” My 10-year old son’s artwork, Sculpey and acrylic paint.

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SKETCHBOOK FEATURE: Thanks to Peggy Roalf, editor at American Illustration/DART for featuring my sketchbook work!  

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Sandra, Lima and Reem find confidence in an unlikely place.

Here’s the latest episode of “Welcome to the New World” by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan, in The New York Times:

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Randalls Island, NYC My son's soccer tournament on Randalls Island in NYC gave me some opportunities to do some sketching. There was plenty of time in between games. His last game was played right under the Triboro / RFK bridge.

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House Hunting with No Credit, No Job History

A Vietnamese refugee unexpectedly offers help to a Syrian seeking a home in America.

Here's the latest episode of "Welcome to the New World" by Jake Halpern and Michael Sloan, in The New York Times: