99Blast now on Kickstarter

Several of you have asked when our Kickstarter for the card game 99Blast would be available so Christina encouraged me to post this.




It is based off the game 99 which is a card counting game where the object is NOT to be the person to take the count above 99.  We added several "Blast" cards to add complexity and the 64 card deck is much easier to catch on than playing 99 with a regular deck of cards.

Love any feedback.  99Blast on Kickstarter

Interview with Sara Caswell-Pearce, Lisa Kolber Inglert and Margaret Rhein about Women in Visual Arts on WVXU's Cincinnati Edition on Tuesday, November 3rd at 1pm

Listen to 91.7 WVXU Cincinnati's "Cincinnati Edition" at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3rd. Margaret Rhein, Lisa Kolber Inglert and Sara Caswell-Pearce) will be chatting with host Mark Heyne about women in the visual arts, the Studio Collection all-female collaboration, mentoring and more!

I will post a streaming link after the show if you miss it.

A necklace by Lisa Kolber Inglert

"The Dance," by Margaret Rhein

"A Little Bird Told Me," by Sara Caswell-Pearce

Loren Long Little Tree Book Tour

Get info at the link!

http://penguinontour.tumblr.com/post/131309250574/loren-long-the-author-and-illustrator-of-the

Here is the book trailer!

Cincinnati Zoo Sketch Outing Friday, October 23rd

The stars of the day were the Visayan Warty Pigs with their cute pompadours.  Sketch by Amy Bogard

Amy Bogard and Robin Ewers Carnes aketch the African Dogs

Amy Bogard, Robin Ewers Carnes and I (Christina Wald) went to the Cincinnati Zoo Friday morning to sketch. It was a glorious fall day! The temperature was perfect and the animals were very active.

The Meerkats, African Painted Dogs and Lions were our favorites, but the Visayan Warty Pigs were unexpected stars of the day.

I just renewed my membership so plan to go back a lot!






We also saw the Sumatran Rhino before he leaves this Thursday for Indonesia.
He was pretty chill and enjoying a spa day in his mud bath...

Farewell Harry the Sumatran Rhino! We will miss you!

Here are some of our on-site sketches. 

Visayan Warty Pig by Robin Ewers Carnes

The regal John the Lion By Robin Ewers Carnes

John's Cub Sketch By Robin Ewers Carnes

On-site sketches by Christina Wald

By Christina Wald

African Painted Dogs by Amy Bogard

Meerkat by Amy Bogard

More Meerkats by Amy Bogard

by Amy Bogard

John the Lion by Amy Bogard

Visayan Warty Pig by Amy Bogard

There were a couple displays we were obsessed with like the Meerkats. Amy did this wonderful character later.

A meerkat quite dapper! by Amy Bogard

Baby fox by Christina Wald

I was obsessed by this baby fox. It had just been added to its enclosure and was a little shell shocked. So adorable!

As we walked out, we saw this really friendly and surprisingly docile monitor lizard who took a liking to Amy.

Amy and friend...

STUDIO SPACE: Jonathan Vair Duncan

Hello, Cincinnati! I’m Jonathan Vair Duncan, an illustrator, painter, and teacher. I live in the Oakley/Hyde Park area of Cincinnati with my wife and dogs. In 2011 received a BS in Illustration from Indiana Wesleyan University, but I’ve been accepting freelance work since 2008.

Currently, I am participating in IlluXCon, am the Guest of Honor at Furpocalypse, and will be dealing and giving a lecture at Midwest Furfest.

Location: Cincinnati (Oakley/Hyde Park)

Website:  http://patreon.com/jonathanvair
On the Drawing Table: Convention plans and digital sketch commissions.
Coming out soon: My first personal art painting series. 

How did you get your start as a professional artist?

I felt I needed to make most of my mistakes by taking on freelance commissions in the beginning of my college career. I opened for commissions in 2007, but was not commissioned once until 2008. Fast forward to today, I am an active artist within the furry fandom (think talking animal characters), have a Patreon account funding personal work endeavors and mentee relationships, and I travel the country at cons selling work, getting commissions, and giving lectures.

Describe your work. 

 

My commission work almost exclusively features anthropomorphic animals. These character designs usually serve as  my clients’ avatars, so it is my responsibility to render them with as much love and intention as possible. My commissions have affected my clientele’s relationship dynamics and self-image.

My desire to foster wonder and imagination in my viewer’s eye is what drives me towards visual abstraction. I want pieces with less polish, that a viewer’s mind may participate to complete the image.

Tell about your workspace. 

Because I work in our small apartment, space is a precious commodity. I use an exercise ball as a chair combat my sedentary periods as a digital artist, and make good use of the foam grid floor panels to adjust my height or sit directly on the floor for particularly intense traditional projects. A south-facing window allows natural lighting suitable for traditional painting during most of the day. Under my worktable is an assortment of canvases, frames, and mediums.

My work table is currently being used for some huge personal paintings. Above my table is large piece of  paper full of some stream-of-consciousness doodles.

What are your favorite materials digital and traditional?

As a basis, I love working in any medium with a handicap. I’m a firm believer in limits bringing about incredible solutions, and for this reason my traditional mediums include absolutely anything I choose to explore—sharpies, whiteout, once I even used chocolate! My Digital program of choice is a free program called Alchemy, used in the entertainment industry for quick concepting and heavy experimentations. Currently, I’m the only artist who uses the program to finish pieces. You can download the program here: http://al.chemy.org

What’s your typical workday/work session like?

Before bed around 9:30PM, I ready some coffee in a pour-over and prep some sweet potatoes in our toaster oven.

I wake up at 6AM to take care of our two huskies, check messages, and make breakfast for my wife and myself. By 8AM I try to have my workout and cleanup behind me, so I can start an hour-long process of art warmups. The rest of the day is filled with commission work, small exercises, and sometimes I take calls with clients and broadcast my computer screen over a stream, which you can view 9AM-6PM EST on most weekdays here: https://picarto.tv/jonathanvair

What do you do to keep yourself motivated as you work?

Streaming my work and timing every sketch commission to the minute allows me to maintain a professional state of mind, even in the otherwise leisurely atmosphere of home. If I have a big project I need to churn out, I buy a pint of Ben and Jerry’s and tear into it once I’ve done a good job.

What is your dream job?

 I am currently doing my dream job. Getting to talk to clients directly while creating characters to change their lives for the better, that is the greatest job I could ever hope for!

Do you keep a sketchbook? 

Last year, I ditched sketchbooks in favour of folded cardstock paper. This formatting seems to be easier to carry in a pocket, tear apart and reorganize by subject, and also works well when needing to expanding my image’s dimensions later.

What do you listen to while you work?

I try to avoid listening to anything during design and construction periods of art, since the multitasking won’t allow me to be my best. When detailing or colouring after the drawing process, I will listen to assorted lectures or go through a music playlist I’ve cultivated here: https://goo.gl/as7sVR

What are you reading?

“Consider The Lobster” by David Foster Wallace

“Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud

“My Name is Asher Lev” by Chaim Potok

Who are your artistic influences?

I deeply resonate with the works of Andrew Wyeth, Wassily Kandinsky, Zdzisław Beksinski, Rick Berry, Phil Hale, João Ruas, and Woodkid.

What do you do that is not art-related that inspires you?

Anything that helps me in my pursuit of Truth is how I want to spend my time! My current favourite topics are philosophy, religion, conceptual maths, and cultural diversity. Being my best artist means finding inspiration in all places.

What was the best advice you got in your career so far?

I recently came across this quote, and found it to be the backbone of everything I would desire in my career.

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

-Albert Camus

What is your favorite color?

I don’t have a favourite colour, since I’d be fine if I only saw black and white the rest of my life. I do love seeing grey used creatively around bright colours, though!

How can we get best follow your art online/on social media?

instagram.com/jonathanvair

https://www.youtube.com/user/jonathanvair

https://twitter.com/jonathanvair

https://patreon.com/jonathanvair

Books By the Banks

David Michael Beck's Amazing Poster

Be sure to check out Books By the Banks October 17th!

The illustrators there will include David Michael Beck (who did the poster this year), Jeffery Ebbeler, C. F. Payne, Daryll Collins, Christina Wald, Will Hillenbrand, Tim Bowers, Sarah Jones, and many others.

STUDIO SPACE: Jeffery Ebbeler

For the last 15 years most of my work has been for children’s publications. I’ve illustrated over 50 picture books, as well as numerous e-books, and early readers. I’ve been focus lately on writing as well. The first book that I wrote and illustrated Click! came out this year. I also write and illustrate the monthly comic series Nestor’s Dock for Ask Magazine, which is a kid’s science and nature magazine. It’s a 2-page comic about Nestor and his 3 friends, that relates to the monthly topic of the magazine. I started my career as an art director for 6 years in the children’s book dept. at Publications International in Chicago.

I grew up in Goshen and Loveland OH, and I attended Moeller and The Art Academy of Cincinnati.

Location: Anderson, Ohio

Website: jeffillustration.com
What’s coming up: I have a gallery show of my work at the Eva G. Farris Gallery at Thomas More College. Nov 5-24. Opening reception Nov 5^th 4-7 pm. Gallery Talk Nov 16^th  1:15 pm.

I also recently did an interview for a show called booknotes on pbs. Here is a link to watch it.

 http://www.ohiochannel.org/UserContent/108757/video/720/147200.mp4  

 

How did you get your start as a professional artist?

I’ve been doing random freelance art jobs since I was in high school. I drew caricatures at King’s Island and at private parties. I’ve painted murals at schools, churches and in homes.  I worked for several puppet companies performing, sculpting and sewing marionettes. I’ve done theatre and concert backdrops, engineered pop-up books and sculpted paper mache package design. My wife and I moved to Chicago after college and I answered an ad in the paper for an art assistant job at a publishing house. I worked there for 6 years, working my way up to art director.  I mostly did design work at that job but I was occasionally able to contribute an illustration. Gradually I built up a portfolio, and after several years of freelancing evenings and weekends, I made the leap and quit my job to freelance full time.

Describe your work.

I’ve worked with many different authors and I do my best keep every book that I work on different. I try to build a unique world and characters based on the stories, and I always try to add some back-story and humor to the illustrations. I really enjoy researching the specific type of house, furniture, clothes for the characters,  and I especially like when I get to illustrate a story about a specific culture or time in history that I’m unfamiliar with.

Tell about your workspace.

My family and I live in a 3-bedroom split level house. My twin daughters Isabel and Olivia, who are 6, share a room and I use the extra bedroom as a studio. I imagine that as they get older I may need to find a new space. I have 2 large tables in an L shape with a flat file underneath. I tape each painting that I’m working on to individual boards and paint in front of my computer. I like to have references material on my screen as I work. I’m usually working on a bunch of projects at the same time, so the room tends to get pretty cluttered. Many stacks of sketches and notes. I try to keep all the paintings on the boards and laid out where I can see them, so the book stays consistent.

What are your favorite materials digital and traditional?

Most of the work I’ve done has been acrylic paintings on paper. I like Golden Open Acrylics because they stay wet a lot longer. I have always painted next to a computer, and I often piece together and rework my sketches digitally. Over the past 10 years, more and more publishers are requesting that I do my own scanning rather then sending the art to them for scanning. If I’m scanning my art, I typically do a certain amount of retouching and reworking to my paintings in Photoshop.

In the last few years I have started experimenting with a digital art style for the e-books and readers that I work on. Those projects tend to have  much quicker deadlines, and a few of my editors have let me experiment with different styles. It’s still kind of a hybrid. I’ve been taking sections of color and texture from my paintings and piece them together in Photoshop to make the final art. I haven’t taken the leap into a completely digital picture, but I think I’m getting close.

What’s your typical workday/work session like?

I have been very grateful for my agent’s (MB Artists) hard work. She has kept me consistently very busy. I usually work from 9-5 or 6 in my studio and then after my kids are in bed I set up a card table in the living room and work from 8-12 while my wife and I watch tv. Every once in a while I have to pull an all nighter. I try to work as few weekends as I can. It’s always a challenge balancing time with my family and all the looming deadlines. One of my favorite things about working from home is that I’ve been able to spend so much time with my kids. When they were toddlers, we had a plastic fence that was meant to be used as a gated off play area. I set up a desk in it so I could watch them without them being able to reach my paints. They called it the Daddy cage. Now that they’re older, they often come into my studio after school and draw with me.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated as you work?

Ideally it’s the excitement of a new project, and the anticipation of seeing your latest work in print. I’m trying my hardest to make each new project better than the last, and I often stew over my books and see all of the things I wish I would have done better.

I’ve been collecting children’s books for many years and I think that is still my biggest source of inspiration.

Other times it’s fear of deadlines and keeping clients happy. Some of the projects I’m happiest with came out of last minute panic.

What is your dream job?

I think in many ways I am doing my dream job. I guess my biggest hope is that one of my books will really take off in a big way. I had the opportunity to work on several series of books including a series of 4 books about a mouse. That was one of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on, because I got to develop and expands the characters world with each book.  I would love to have a character that becomes successful enough that I could build on it over many books, and of course become a cartoon series, movie, and line of toys.

Do you keep a sketchbook?

 I keep a notebook but it’s mostly to write down ideas. I usually sketch on loose typing paper. Most of my sketches start of with a bunch of loose scribbles that I end up throwing away. Whenever I try to work in a sketchbook I tend to tighten up and try to make everything look to perfect because the drawing is preserved in a book. I feel like I can be freer and more creative on loose paper.

 

Process from sketch to final: 

 

 

What do you listen to while you work?

I get distracted by music so I usually like to listen to someone talking. Either pod casts or audio books. I go through about 4 or 5 audio books a week.

What are you reading/listening to on Audible?

I download audio books from the public library. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot British writers who do fantasy/sci-fi with a kind of absurdist humor mixed in. I just finished all of the 40 some Disk World books by Terry Pratchett. I also like Jasper Fforde, Robert Rankin, Jim Butcher and Neil Gaimen. I try to mix in some classics and non-fiction history when I can. I like Erik Larson’s books. There are also several series books that I probably wouldn’t have started but I liked the voice acting of the narrator so much that I gave it a try. Anything with Jim Dale or Barbara Rosenblat

Who are your artistic influences?

My first influences were my mom and my older brother. My mom was the art teacher at my grade school. She sculpted the larger that life size bronze crucifix in the chapel at Mount St. Joseph. For many years she sculpted clay busts and portraits. My older brother Jim went to the Art Academy 3 years before I did. It was when we were in college that I first started paying attention to picture book illustrators. Some of my early favorites were Lisbeth Zwerger, William Joyce, Stephen Gammell, and Lane Smith. Over the years I’ve built up a pretty big collection of picture books. I take a bunch of books out before I start a new project to get inspired to try different approaches or color pallets. Some of my current favorites are Chris Van Dussen, Tony DeTerlizzi, Peter Brown, and Adam Rex.

I also get a lot of inspiration from being around other artists. My classmates at the Art Academy, the SCBWI illustrators critique group in Chicago, and the Cincinnati illustrator lunches. I had the opportunity to teach a senior thesis class at the Art Academy and I was blown away by the caliber of work.

What do you do that is not art related that inspires you?

Doing things with my daughters is very inspirational. I’d been making books for kids for 10 years before I actually had kids. There are constantly things that they say or do that give me new ideas and I’m now able to see picture books from a child’s perspective.

I also like playing music. When we lived in Chicago I played drums in variety of bands from rockabilly, brit pop, to honky tonk. I even played in the pit orchestra for a musical.  Any time I get to do a collaborative project whether it’s making music, or working with the puppet theater, I jump at the chance. One of the side benefits to making art for kids is that I get ask to give presentations at lots of schools, library’s and book conventions. It’s easy to loose perspective when you work alone in a studio all day, but when I get out and see how excited kids are about art and books it reminds me of the reasons I’m doing this in the first place.

I have a gallery show at the end of the month and I’ve been collaborating with several friends and local artists on pieces for the show. I have been working with a glass artist and a welder to build a model of the bird lamp character from my new book Click!. I have also been working on an animated video piece with musician and composer Jonathan Guilehurst.

What is your favorite color?

Orange. I start every painting with an under-painting of yellow ocher and red oxide. It gives all the edges an orange glow, and I love the way it plays off the other colors.

How can we get best follow your art online/on social media?

I try to update my web site jeffillustration.com as often as I can. My agent also posts new work on her site mbartists.com. I’m also very grateful to Christina Wald for posting things for me when I have news to share.