Making It Showing at the Art Academy Friday, February 27th

Come to the Art Academy Friday, February 27th, 5-8 p.m. for the screening of "Making It" followed by a Q&A with the Director Anthony Moorman and Creator Woodrow Hinton.

THIS IS A FREE PUBLIC EVENT!

“Making It” is a Documentary about the daily struggles of making a living, staying creative, and making it all up as we go along. The documentary follows three Illustrators, Andrew Bawidamann, Eric Fortune, and Brian Ewing. 

Also check out Anthony Moorman's next project, a film about C. F. Payne: 

Sketch Outing at Krohn Conservatory

Sketch by Amy Bogard

Amy Bogard, Vanessa Sorensen and I recently took an afternoon to sketch at the Krohn Conservatory. It is one of our favorite spots, especially during the winter. We long to sketch outdoors; cherry blossom season cannot come too soon!

Check out Amy's post here: http://www.amybogard.com/2015/02/16/deep-winter/

Check out Vanessa's post here: http://nessydesigns.blogspot.com/2015/02/philodendron-sketch-krohn-conservatory.html

Sketch by Vanessa Sorensen

Sketch by Christina Wald

Carol Tyler: Bridging Cultures Through Art Talks

 The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC) has teamed up with Vice Mayor David Mann’s office to bring cultures and communities together through art talks. 

Our 1st, “Bridging Cultures Through Art” will take place Friday, February 27, 2015, 11am-12NOON, Room 115 in City Hall. 

The featured artist is cartoonist Carol Tyler. Ms. Tyler will give an overview of how the social fabric of Cincinnati informs her work. She will also take questions about using art as a tool to unify.

https://www.facebook.com/events/628764477224216

By the way, check out Carol's new Beatles blog. It will run through August, then it’ll be a book.

http://fab4mania.blogspot.com

Storytelling in Books and Comics: Christina Wald Lecture at the Art Academy

I will be doing a lunchtime lecture at the Art Academy tomorrow at 11:30 am as part of the Slam Bam Comic Jam.

It is called Storytelling in Books and Comics.

Here is the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1638524756380216

Hope to see you there!

From Why the Possum has a Large Grin by Johnette Downing

Animated Short by Cincinnati Native Up for an Oscar This Evening

Animator Patrick Osborne's Disney short is up for an Oscar.

He is from Green Township and is a Xavier HS grad. He studied art at the Ringling School of Art and Design.

People who went to DAAP in Industrial Design may remember his father Tom Osborne teaching drawing (Design Communications). Tom was also a design director at Kenner Toys.

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a write up here:

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2015/02/20/cincinnati-oscar-nominee-feast/23736813/

UPDATE: He won! He gave a shout out to Cincinnati no less! I will see if there are any video interviews. This is pretty huge!

New link: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2015/02/22/cincinnati-oscar-nominee-result/23864329/ 

Cartoon Brew interview about the short:

Gallery Opening Wednesday February 25th at Miller Gallery

T R A N S I T I O N S

Please join us for
A Gallery Opening | Party to Welcome
JAYNE MENKE
Hosted by Miller Gallery’s Regional Artists
February 25 from 6-8pm

 

 

John Agnew

David Michael Beck

Tom Bluemlein

John Michael Carter

Ryan Flanagan
Pam Folsom

Carlos Gamez de Francisco

Adam Hayward

Rob Jefferson
Dhani Jones

Ober Rae Starr Livingston

Mathew Metzger

Deborah Morrissey McGoff

 

Painting by David Michael Beck

More Info: http://www.millergallery.com/artblog/

Year of the Goat —or Sheep

A bit of levity for the snow day: This isn't a tradition I adhere to religiously, but when Chinese New Year rolls around, I get into doodling rats, dragons and other animals of the Chinese zodiac. This year we say goodbye to the year of the horse and hello to the sheep/goat/ram. 

Chinese New Year coincides with the beginning of Lent this year, so an Ash Wednesday goat seemed apropos.

Illustrators Lunch is Cancelled Today Due to Snow

No Illustrators lunch today! Stay in and sip your favorite hot toddy!

Inspiration of the Week from Shaun Tan

From Shaun Tan, award winning illustrator from his essay Advice for New Illustrators:

http://www.shauntan.net/images/essay%20Advice%20for%20New%20Illustrators.html


"Draw, draw, draw, and then draw some more
Finally, for anyone interested in being an effective artist, illustrator, designer, even a film director – you should really learn to draw well. It's a valuable foundation, something you'll always use, regardless of technology or genre, and especially regardless of artistic fashions. Drawing is more than just wielding a pencil with precision, it’s a way of seeing well, something that takes several thousand hours of practice, and even then, never entirely mastered. Good drawing is a timeless skill, infinitely adaptable, and will never become passé. My entire career rests on my ability to draw well, to think effectively using simple pencil marks. All other visual skills and techniques, from oil painting to CG animation, are elaborations of this fundamental skill."

Linda Howard Bittner announces the launch of her new wildlife art & photography-adventure travel company

Illustrator & Entrepreneur-Linda Howard Bittner announces the launch of her new wildlife art & photography-adventure travel company “Wild Art Safaris, LLC”.

 

Linda has paired her skills as an artist with her zest for travel to bring exceptional opportunities to artists, photographers and nature enthusiasts. Wild Art Safaris will offer creative workshops as well as adventure travel across the United States and around the world.

Wild Art Safaris announces their 2 main tours for 2015: Western Montana in June and South Africa in October. Please visit the new website for information. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please send a request to wildartsafaris@gmail.com .

Check out the new website at: www.wildartsafaris.com  Additional trips and workshops will be added as well as tips on travel, art and photography. There will also be a gallery of photos and artwork from our tours and our guests.

Patreon Piece

I just completed my first piece for my Patreon. Not a lot of supporters yet but I'm hoping that it slowly builds and hopefully I can license some of this work while it gains steam. Suggestions for rewards/milestones are always welcome.
So I  have a list of things I will be trying to do with these images:

• No shortcuts such as custom brushes or photo textures. Those are used for speed and I don't want to rush.
• Work at a relaxed pace. Only allowing myself to do one per month.
• Gather reference for absolutely everything AFTER the sketch phase.
• If no reference exists, sculpt a model.
• Images should be appropriate for hanging on the wall.

This began with sketches inspired by The Kingkiller Chronicles where Kvothe meets the Cthaeh. Eventually the nude male character morphed into the clothed female and the tree took on more personality until it was a creature.

It's real easy to spend long days at the computer working on pieces for myself so I'm looking forward to see where the Patreon thing goes.

Illustrator News: Tom Post Unveils Poster for Beer Week at Arnold's

Hop Smuggler Poster by Tom Post

It is Beer Week at Arnold's Bar and Grill starting this weekend. Next week, starting Monday, a new poster is featured for each new beer being tapped. Six local artists including Tom Post were hired to create them.

Here is a write up about them: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2015/02/09/arnolds-reveals-beer-week-posters/23127541/

There are a limited number of prints available here: http://bigcurl254.wix.com/arnoldsbeerposters

Making IT Release February 17th 2015

In 2012 I reunited with an old friend and filmmaker, Tony Moorman. We decided to make a film together. The concept was to explore what it means to be an artist, how one makes a living doing what they love and how do we define success.

After three years of hard work I am very proud to announce that Making IT will be released on February 17th  2015.

It has always been our intention to create an open dialogue where artists can share knowledge and help each other along their creative paths. Thank you to everyone who generously gave his or her time and energy to make this film possible.

As we progress toward our release date I will be sharing more information about the film and encourage you to share.

Here is the Official Making It​ Trailer:

Making IT Trailer

New Heart Assoc.poster art for 2015

Final art for the 2015 Heart Assoc.Mini-Marathon poster.

Illustrations by Picasso, Rockwell, others on display at the Main Library

Illustrations by Picasso, Rockwell, others on display at the Main Library

The exhibit “Artists and Authors Unite,” which runs through March 29 in the Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Cincinnati Room, showcases an extensive collection of works compiled by George Macy, who revolutionized the art of fine book making when he established the Limited Editions Club in 1929.

He offered subscribers visually exquisite limited editions of literary classics featuring original illustrations by artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Norman Rockwell, and Grant Wood. All are signed by the illustrator. 

Among the books on display are:

·         “Poor Richard: The Almanac for the Years 1733–1758” by Richard Saunders (Benjamin Franklin). Reprinted in 1964, illustrated by Normal Rockwell. One of only 1,500 copies.

·         “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes, reprinted in 1934 and illustrated by Pablo Picasso. One of 1,500 copies.

·         “Cathay: Poem after Li Po” by Ezra Pound, reprinted in 1992, including seven color woodcuts by Francesco Clements. One of only 300 copies

·         “Music, Deep Rivers in My Soul” by Maya Angelou, published in 2003, illustrated by Dean Mitchell. One of only 400 copies, signed by Mitchell and Wynton Marsalis, who produced an original jazz composition to accompany the book.

Hours for the Joseph S. Stern, Jr. Cincinnati Room are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Call 513-369-6900. Visit www.CincinnatiLibrary.org.