Illustrators Gift List

I am compiling a list of must have books for illustrators for the holidays. Any ideas? Feel free to add to this post:

I am starting with:

Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter 

by James Gurney 

http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322589721&sr=8-1

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist

by James Gurney 

http://www.amazon.com/Imaginative-Realism-Paint-Doesnt-Exist/dp/0740785508/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322589721&sr=8-2

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art 

by Scott McCloud

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-Invisible-Scott-Mccloud/dp/006097625X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322590027&sr=1-1 

 The Mad Art of Caricature!

by Tom Richmond 

http://www.deadlinedemon.com/

The Goose Down the Street

This is the goose that lives at a house down the street from us. They rehabbed it and now it won't go away. It cracks me up every time I see it roaming the property. They have a little kiddie pool for it, and a fenced area with straw. When the humans are outside hitting golf balls or throwing a football, the goose it right there with them, like a pet dog. I know they want it to go away, but I think there is mutual love.

Justin Suffers for My Art

I want to thank Justin for all that he went through to give me some great resource photos for a sleazy character in the children’s book I just finished illustrating. Several months ago I picked him up downtown to take him to his place to photograph him as “Colonel Barker.” I had a tire blow-out on 75 North and just barely managed to get the car all the way over from the left lane into the shoulder on the right. We watched the perfect sunlight conditions disappear while we waited for Triple A, mere inches from the traffic zooming by us.

Then, weeks later, he posed outside in front of his house, in 90 degree weather, wearing his own long-sleeved white shirt with cuffs & collar, a tight fitting dress vest and a tight-fitting dress jacket made out of some kind of fleece.

The pics are: One of the photos of Justin in the ill-fitting historical costume, my pencil and paint drawing of his head (age-progressed and made somewhat villainous), and the final illustration. Thanks, Justin!
-Pam

Does the Inkling Really Work?

I have hear a lot about this new Wacom Inkling product lately. Has anyone used it?

The video looks impressive:




But it is a marketing video so it is hard to tell what its practical user experience is like.  I hate to sink money into it if it is something I will use a couple times and then abandon.

It could even be a very good idea but the tech needs work. I read a couple reviews, but would like to talk to someone who actually bought and used one.

One more thought: What is the best stylus for the iPad out there?

Blog Rennovation

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I did a little tinkering to the blog layout. Let me know what you all think.

And a note on posting, feel free to post any new or art that you want to share. This blog is for all of us, so do not worry that you are posting too much. Ideally, a blog gets more traffic when it has more frequent updates so the more the merrier!

While I was tinkering, I also redesigned my personal blog.  Stop by and let me know what you think!

http://christinawald.blogspot.com/

(Frankly, I was working on my blog design and then started messing with our blog design before I forgot where to change things in the templates...)

Illustrator News: Maurice Mattei's CD Release Party

Maurice says: Dave "DELUXERIDE" Miller has just posted a video for a song off the Tempers upcoming LIVE CD "THE TEMPERS CHRISTMAS SHOW". It's our version of the great Chuck Berry song "RUN RUDOLPH RUN" and you can view it here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/deluxeride

The CD RELEASE SHOW is on BLACK FRIDAY, November 25 at the lovely YORK STREET CAFE. We all hope you can make it because it will be a rockin' good time

Slam Bang: Portrait for Comic Anthology

I am finishing up a little 4-page comic for my friend Allen Freeman's comic anthology Slam Bang.

This is the first color volume and the theme is "femme fatales"; so for the bio page, I did this self-portrait.

The story is called "The Hungry Housewives" and is The Hunger Games meets The Real Housewives and hilarity ensues... (I hope...)

This is the comic title type...

Christmas Party 2011-Date Finalized: December 18th at 5:30 pm

OK, the date is set for December 18th at 5:30 for the Illustrators Christmas Party!

Once again Slatt's will host the party. They are really good to us and let us take over the restaurant after dinner to look at art.

This year, we are simplifying and not having a gift or sketch exchange so that we can have more time and room to socialize and look at art. (If there is a strong desire for reinstating this, we can...) Spouses and children are welcome!

Please RSVP by December 12th so I can give them a heads up. 

Hope to see you there!

Caravaggio versus Hals

I was talking to Christina today about an article I was reading in the NY Times last Sunday. It compared two paintings of similar subjects by Caravaggio and Franz Hals. Here is a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/06/arts/design/20111106-caravaggio-hals.html

I have always been smitten with Caravaggio's work and really like the painting in this article titled, "Boy Bitten By A Lizard"

New Website Launch - Brain To Page

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd leave this here for you:

http://braintopage.com

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

Christmas Party 2011

It is that time of year again! The Christmas Party is fast approaching.

It looks like the tentative date is December 11th. I just need to confirm with Slatt's. (They are really good to us every year, for a variety of reasons if you have ever tried to book a party of 30+ people.)

Any feedback? I would love to hear thoughts about last year's party and how to make this years better.

Frankly, I am thinking of ditching the gift exchange and sketch exchange so there is more time to socialize and look at art. Is that a crazy idea?

You can post here or email me privately.

Illustrator News: Two Handed Mikey

Two Handed Mikey has a game he illustrated that just came out called Cargo

Check it out!

Doodle butterfly

Many of you saw the doodles I brought to a lunch last year. I've been playing around with some of them in Photoshop. So far I must have at least 100 variations, but haven't been sure what to do with them. Mostly, I've just been happy that my wrists are back in good shape. Anyway, finally decided to try this-using the butterfly mask I designed for Pam Dixon. Comments very welcome!

Interesting Article about Howard Pyle

Interesting article on Salon about Howard Pyle and his influence on how a lot of things in pop culture are still visualized.

Couple good lines: 

"How much do you know about the 19th-century American illustrator whose work left Vincent van Gogh “dumb with admiration”?"

"Sometime around the turn of the century, illustration got written out of the history of art. For lots of reasons: its commercial associations, the advent of photography. Illustration got sidelined as kind of a poor, younger sister to the fine arts. So the premise of the exhibition is to suggest that despite the fact that Howard Pyle is normally only looked at as an illustrator, he was as aware of — and as much a participant in — the art of his time as any of the fine artists."


 http://www.salon.com/2011/11/12/pirates_patriots_and_paladins_the_lush_visions_of_a_master_illustrator/singleton/

Wish I could see the exhibit; but I did see a large collection of his work at the Brandywine a couple of years ago.

"Observed" and "Consumption" at Manifest

Manifest Gallery opened two new exhibits this evening, and I was so impressed, I thought I'd spread the word:

Observed is a juried show of artwork drawn from life. Many of the pieces are meticulously crafted still-lifes, but there are a few noteworthy exceptions, such as this oil painting by Derek Wilkinson:

In the 3rd gallery is Consumption, a small collection of sculptures by Alysia Fischer. I won't let on what these objects are made of (finding out is half the fun), but her serendipitous and inventive treatment of commonplace materials take on a variety of surprising new forms.

Both exhibits have such an emphasis on craftsmanship and so many of the pieces are representative works in traditional media, I thought it would appeal to a lot of the illustrators in the group. It's well worth a visit.

Norman Rockwell Exhibit at Dayton Art Institute

Dayton Art Institute is hosting an exhibit of Norman Rockwell's work containing a decade-by-decade installation of 42 original artworks, as well as a complete set of 323 Saturday Evening Post cover sheets spanning 47 years.

If you want to check out the opening, It is November 12th at 5pm.


 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144563755622933

More info: http://www.daytonartinstitute.org/art/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/american-chronicles-art-norman-rockwell

It is organized by the Rockwell Museum in MA, which is a little inconvenient to get to from here so it is great some of his work is coming to us! Looks like a great show!

Website in the works...please critique

Hi! Wondering if I could get some opinions on my website:

www.stephaniesmithcreative.com

This isn't the final design of it, but if anyone could comment about the content that would be great.
There will always be a page that shows thumbnails. Then when you click on the thumbnail, the entire image comes up. It's not the best navigation, but will do for now.

As a body of work, what do you think? More is in the works.

I appreciate the critiques!!

Illustrator News: Craig Boldman Teaching Cartooning Class for Kids

Location: The Fitton Center for Creative Arts in Hamilton

https://fittoncenter.org/classes.html

CARTOONING Cost: $60 members $80 non-members   9-13 years old Work with Archie and Jughead comic book artist, Craig Boldman, to create and develop your own cartoon characters and utilize them in telling gags and stories for panels, comic strips and comic books. Animation will not be covered. Great for beginners but advanced artists will also pick up new techniques. Imagination required!! Recommended supplies: pencils, pens and a supply of your choice of drawing paper. Session: 11/7/2011 - 12/12/2011 (6 Classes) Day: Monday Time: 6:30 - 8:00 PM Instructor: Craig Boldman Contact: 863-8873 ext 110 Location: Studio Room Number: 104