If you ever so a RAID pest control commercial, you probably have seen the animated bugs created by Don Pegler, who was an illustrator at FCB Advertising. That's where I worked for a good part of my career. Don had a great sense of humor, which is evident from his characters that had unique personalities.. We became good friends.
I was the editor of the company magazine and wanted to make a portrait of Don for an article for the publication. I wanted his bugs to be part of the image, so we collaborated. We planned together how we would accomplish the final image. I photographed him at his drawing board in his office. Then we placed an acetate cel over the photo, and he painted the critters. I re-photographed the combination of the two layers for the humorous result.
When I show this portrait, I like to tell people that I had to wait for a day when the bugs were hanging around the office to make it.
This image was used in a tribute to Pegler at the Broadcast Museum in Chicago.
