Pencil Squeezing is the blog of contemporary artist Michael Gillette. He’s perhaps most well-known for his recent series of covers for the new Penguin editions of Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 novels (link here). Several years back he also designed the artwork for the Beastie Boys’ album, To the Five Boroughs (link here).

A quick browse through his blog, which he basically uses to showcase some of his work, will reveal how varied his work can be. He’s had a considerable amount of commercial success, illustrating for a wide range of professional clients, including big names like Microsoft and Apple. He uses a lot of watercolour, and his portraits in particular can be really vibrant. Plus, you gotta love those rock-star insects.