Society of Illustrators Gala

Society of Illustrators Editorial and Book Awards Gala.
Friday, February 23, 2007.
New York City.

A handful of us are planning on going for a very long weekend (Thursday to Tuesday, Southwest has cheap flights).

Just think: Drawing in parks and cafes. Catching up with Illustration Academy friends. Seeing some good art shows. Checking out galleries. Shmoozing with professional famous illustrators. Having a cocktail or two with your favorite artists. Exploring New York City. Getting inspired to create your best work so YOU can be in the show in 2008.

Let me or Erika know if you are interested in going... we can coordinate hotel rooms and such.

Figure Sketching

Hey all, I'm taking a figure drawing class back in nyc, and below are a few of the 20 minute poses that I've done. Happy turkey day, gobble gobble... t

please help.

what has been helpful to you guys when creating your illustrations. any ideas?

an update of sorts

sorry i havent posted in so long. i am having a bit of a mental crisis. i ahve been having a lot of fun drawing lately and have been drawing more than usual. the problem i am having is in my illustration. i cant find a way that i like to work. i want to work differently and everything i start i hate or lose interest in it very quickly, it is all so ugly to me. i cant think when i try to plan an illustration. its really killing me. i am so frustrated that i want to give it all up. blah!

Art Show

Hey guys, I wanted to show you some of my mom's work. She just had a big exhibition and it went really really well. She sold a couple of things and everybody really liked her stuff. I'm so proud of her! She gave me the pomegranate piece, because it's my favorite.
All of her pieces represent different ideas and symbols for fertility from different cultures. She wanted them to be like fertility figurines (like the Women of Willendorf). She's got a bunch more, but these are some of my favorites. The one with the nest is called "Daughters", me and my sister are the eggs!

Fairytale assignment

For this assignment we had to choose a fairytale and create one illustration that best summarizes the story. The story is Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun, and the image is the father discovering that his boy has drowned in the ocean. Please let me know what you think! It's partially collage, the feathers are real, and I used a gloss medium for the water and the rest is acrylic. About 16''x20'' There is that white border you see at the top around the entire piece, but it wouldn't fit on the scanner.

self-portrait

Hi everyone, I miss you all so much. Everyone's work looks great, and seeing your face Sarah makes me miss you more!
Here is my self-portrait done in scratchboard, about 6''x8''

Hey There!

Thanks Ms. Cat for keeping us on target. You're right about the need to keep up with this blog! I've been working a lot on some shadow box art recently, I hesitated to post pics on the blog because I knew the pictures of the pieces were going to photograph poorly. But you guys can maybe get the idea through some bad pictures.
Lately I've gone back to doing "gallery art"...I'm not sure what else to call it....it's not really illustration, but I'm definitely incorporating a lot I learned at the academy. They're three dimensional. I get to use all the fabrics I love, and make the frames and boxes, which involves powertools, which is fun. The small "hope" box is the kinda title of the other piece. The Sunflowers I just started. I have really loved making these so far.
I recently went to an art festival to help work a friend's art booth. I got to go around and talk to a bunch of artists there. One artist was particularly helpful. When I told him I worried about being able to sell me art. He told me to go for it and worry about it later. He said that a lot of times you have to travel around to find your market. (He sold better with his type of art in the NorthEast). Him, his wife, and their new baby travel all over the country selling art work, and their stuff is amazing. Here is their website : http://www.cicadabooks.com/home.html check it out! It was really encouraging, and so fun to be around a bunch of artists again for a weekend. So my new goal is to try and start doing some of these art festivals. (then I could travel all over the country and visit everyone!!!!!)
I miss you guys a bunch and will try to keep up on posting, even if my photos are shitty. :)

lonely blog

I miss you all... please post something even if it's to say you're too busy to post.

Everyone is probably going to get really busy as the Holidays approach, but try to pop on here and say "hi" - post sketchbook drawings, post a painting you saw that you like, post a link to a funny article you read. We need each other to feed off of and to encourage and inspire!!!

p.s. That lovely doodle was created during the very, very VERY long critique of the NPR pieces on the first day of lecture week. Guess which one is Chris!

cool

I went to a small art show in my neighborhood today and started chatting with an oil painter, Ron Mckee, whose stuff was really nice. He mentioned that he had been an illustrator, and later mentioned that he studied at Art Center. Oh a whim, I asked him if he knew Mark English (he appeared the same age group), and he did! Not only did he know him, he said he played tennis with Mark and Bernie Fuchs!!!! Pretty cool, huh? Now he is just doing oil paintings and doing the art fair circuit. Here is his website, if you are interested in checking him out: Ron Mckee