Philadelphia Style Magazine
Editorial Illustration | 2026 | Publication Design
It was an incredible honor to create the cover artwork for Philadelphia Style's Semi Quincentennial issue celebrating America's 250th anniversary.
Created under the creative direction of Philadelphia Style President John Colabelli, this cover illustration for the magazine's Semiquincentennial issue celebrating America's 250th anniversary was inspired by a limited-edition silver Liberty Bell commemorative coin.
Creative Direction: John Colabelli
As a Philadelphia area native and former Old City resident, having the opportunity to illustrate one of the city's most iconic symbols for this landmark issue was a true full-circle moment and one of the greatest honors of my career.
Making the bell
Phase 1
A public-domain National Park Service image of the Liberty Bell was used as an initial reference and starting point for constructing the bell form.
The original background, support structures, environmental elements, and surrounding context were removed.
The bell's perspective, proportions, contrast, and surface characteristics were modified to establish a clean base suitable for illustration and rendering.
Additional reference materials were consulted to reconstruct and enhance inscription details visible on the bell.
Text and inscription elements were integrated into the working file and modified to improve readability and visual balance.
Phase 2
Composite
Development
The underlying structure was created as a composite assembled from multiple visual sources rather than a reproduction of any single photograph. These elements were blended, resurfaced, and relit in Adobe Photoshop to create the appearance of one continuous metallic object.
At this stage, the image had become a newly constructed foundation for illustration—a "clean base image" used for additional digital painting, lighting, surface reconstruction, and artistic interpretation. This base served as the starting point for all subsequent artwork and was extensively transformed throughout the remainder of the project.
Phase 3
Surface
Reconstruction
The bell surface was completely rebuilt and re-rendered through digital illustration techniques.
Original surface texture, highlights, shadows, reflections, and metallic finishes were created through a combination of:
• Digital painting
• Layer compositing
• Gradient mapping
• Bevel and emboss techniques
• Lighting reconstruction
• Surface rendering
• Custom texture creation
The final metallic appearance, including the silver treatment and reflective qualities, was independently created and does not exist in any source photograph.
Final Process
Step 1:
The Liberty Bell texture was finalized and placed on a neutral background with controlled rim lighting to establish the initial lighting structure and form.
• Reconstruction and refinement of the Liberty Bell lettering and inscriptions using photographic reference, digital manipulation, and pixel-level painting