BIO:

Daniel Zalkus is an illustrator and reportage artist whose work is rooted in observation, immediacy, and a strong sense of place. Originally from the outskirts of Chicago, he studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he was mentored by Jack Potter and John Ruggeri. After graduating, he joined the illustration agency Gerald & Cullen Rapp, starting in the mailroom and eventually becoming an artist representative for more than 60 illustrators worldwide. He later returned closer to home to pursue a full-time freelance career. His clients include The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, and PassageMaker magazine. His work has been recognized with a Communication Arts Award of Excellence (2014) and inclusion in the Society of Illustrators’ 57th Annual.

In 2012, Zalkus served as artist-in-residence at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Scotland, creating an extensive series of on-the-spot drawings documenting the whisky-making process and the surrounding landscape. These works became the foundation for his book Charcoal & Whisky. 

Clients Include:

The New Yorker/ Boston Globe/ Columbia University/ The New York Times/ Barron's/ Time, Inc./ The Wall Street Journal/ PC World/ Chicago Magazine/ACM/ Security Management/ Time Out New York/ The Los Angeles Times/ HHMI/ Hanley Wood/ UCLA Magazine/ PassageMaker Magazine/ Reader's Digest/ The Village Voice/ Teaching Tolerance Magazine/ San Diego Magazine/ The Ringer/ Bartle Bogle Hegarty/ Princeton Alumni Weekly/ New York Magazine