Sunday, April 04, 2010
Saturday, April 03, 2010
Bill Carman’s MicroVisions
Bill Carman gets the gold star for being the first artists done with their MicroVision. Hurray. And he has set the bar high.
Thank you, Bill!
I love that his paintings suggest some kind of strange narrative but are never spelled out. Instead, the we are left playfully wondering, what on earth is going on there.
I haven’t sen the original yet but he’s tells me it is painted on copper — I can’t wait to get a hold of it, if only for a short while.
This painting, and a dozen others, will be up for auction in early May. More about this year’s MicroVisions auction here.
RELATED:
Interview with Bill Carman here.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Charles Addams exhibit
Anyone in the area should check out “Charles Addams’ New York” at the Museum of the City of New York, through June 6th.
The exhibit includes over 60 drawings — beautifully refined watercolors and loose preliminary sketches (which sometimes showed alternate versions of the joke.) In the center of the gallery is a recreation of Addams’ studio and an interior room dedicated to the Addams’ Family cartoons. Seriously, you can’t pass by more than three feet of exhibit space without cracking a smile.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Ringling College visit
If you are keeping half an eye on up-and-coming illustrators, it would be impossible not to notice the rise of Ringling College of Art and Design these past few years. I’ve run into great student portfolios from Ringling students at Comic Con, the Society of Illustrators student exhibit, CA workshops...all over the place. So when George Pratt asked if I would come down and give a talk, I jumped at the chance to see what they were feeding these kids to make them so promising. Their secret, as it turns out, is a steady diet of drawing and painting, and good strong fundamentals.
On the first day of our visit, Greg Manchess and I looked at 600 works, from sophomore to senior levels, and curated a “Best of Ringling” exhibit of just 70 pieces. It was as inspiring as it was exhausting. As it got down to deciding class medals, we often had three or four paintings of equal merit — the decisions were heartbreaking.
One the second day, I gave a lecture about working with art directors, marketing, etc. -- my usual dog-and-pony show. Greg followed with a slide show and painting demo. While Greg was painting, I was looking at portfolios from some of the students.
All the students seemed engaged and excited to be soaking in what they could. I was glad to see the breadth of styles -- clearly they are encouraged to experiment and find their own voices. And I particularly enjoyed seeing such solid work from 2nd and 3rd year students; it’s exciting to imagine where they might be with another year or two of school behind them.
A big thanks to the Ringling faculty for having us down and being such great hosts. And a thank you to the students for a chance to look at so much good work.
GREG MANCHESS to Ringling:
“I couldn’t believe that after my afternoon lecture and demo, so many students were still watching me go. You guys are showing the signs of ambition and drive that are so very necessary to survive this business. Thanks for sticking it out. I had meant to trim about an
hour or so from that painting, but everyone had such specific questions, I couldn’t resist answering!
I was also very happy to see the level of skill that everyone displayed with their pieces for the judging. Remarkable. You made it a painful joy to select favorites. As I mentioned on Friday, if you didn't make it in, don't let it slow you down. And for those that did make it in, carry on.
Thanks for your interest in my work! When I looked into the lecture hall, I saw myself as a student, looking for the same answers as you are today. I have many now, and you will, too.”
WORK SHOWN:
Venessa Del Rey, Eli Minaya, Keyla Valerio
Haylee Herrick, Lamar Mathurin
Eli Minaya has a great series of photos of Greg’s demo on his blog.
More photos from the visit here.
Labels: Students
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Jeffrey Jones documentary
Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Jones
Maria Cabardo, of DC Comics, has been putting together a documentary of the amazing Jeffery Jones. (Like, really amazing — If you need one reason to be on Facebook, it’s to see Jones’ gallery.) Here’s a quick glimpse at the work in progress — an interview with the also amazing Michael Kaluta. I know the film crew has been traveling around and interviewing as many artists as they can. I’m very much looking forward to watching this develop.
Labels: Interviews
Friday, March 19, 2010
Christoph Niemann’s I Lego NY
Everyone has seen Christoph Niemann’s brillant Lego NY!? Amazing. I can look at it 1,000 times.
And now, it’s expanded into a book! So excited.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thomas Fuchs hearts Star Wars (and many other things.)
It’s not common for an artist to have multiple styles that are truly unique from each other and all equally accomplished...And yet, Thomas Fuchs.
As well as having a more painterly style, he has a great facility with logos and icons which he’s clearly had fun with on his Heart a Day blog — never saccharin, always beautifully drawn. And all this week: Star Wars! Go check it out, and stop by all week to see what he comes up with next.
If your geek-crush isn’t of the Star Wars persuasion, he’s got plenty genre-love throughout the site
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
MicroVisions 5. Or, The Return of 5x7!
Think small.
Each year, Dan Dos Santos and I organize “MicroVisions”, an exhibit and auction to raise money for the Society of Illustrators’ student scholarship fund. Over the past four years it raised $20,000.00 which was given directly to students displaying exceptional promise in illustration.
I am proud to announce this year’s line-up of participating artists. I cannot thank these guys enough for dedicating their time and talent to this endeavour. To carve out time for anything beyond work and family is not a trivial thing to ask, so, applause to:
Scott Altmann
Scott Bakal
Rick Berry
Bill Carman
Jon Foster
Donato Giancola
Michael Kaluta
Tim O’Brien
Omar Rayyan
Jordu Schell
Allen Williams
Boris Vallejo
Bravo guys! Rest assured, the students really appreciate the support these scholarships represent.
The works will be on display at the Society beginning April 26th. Painting and auction updates as I get them.
RELATED: Past MicroVisions here.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Frank Stockton
A quick shout-out to Frank Stockton because:
1) The guy can draw!
2) The guy can draw hands.
3) He once tried to sneak me into a bar by lending me his ID. (It didn’t go well, but a nice gesture nonetheless)
4) He’s got a lot of cool process info on his blog.
5) The guy can draw!
Also, check out his Sidebar interview.
Labels: Frank Stockton
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Greg Manchess’ Lord of Chaos extended video, the artist-edition
Because the awesome Megan Messinger is awesome, she has created a slightly extended version of Lord of Chaos video which includes “real-time” painting footage. Enjoy the artist-edition:
Labels: Demos, Greg Manchess, Tor Books, Tor.com
Greg Manchess on the Wheel of Time Lord of Chaos ebook cover
The next of our Wheel of Time ebook covers is up! For Lord of Chaos we present a signature battle of the series, Dumai’s Wells, as portrayed by Greg Manchess.
As usual, all the details can be found in the Tor.com post, including our groovy “sliding” cover, Greg’s thoughts on composing the image, and a
super-cool time-lapse video of Greg working on the painting from beginning to end.
RELATED:
All Wheel of Time ebook posts are archived here.
Which include:
David Grove on The Eye of the World
Kekai Kotaki on The Great Hunt
Donato Giancola on The Dragon Reborn
Sam Weber on The Shadow Rising
Dan Dos Santos on The Fires of Heaven
Labels: Demos, Greg Manchess, Interviews, Tor Books, Tor.com
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Micahel Whelan’s cover for Brandon Sander’s The Way of Kings
A new Michael Whelan book cover doesn’t come around very often so I am super excited to present his artwork for our upcoming fantasy series,The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson.
If you click over to Tor.com you can see progress shoots and read what Michael had to say about working on the project.
Labels: Micheal Whelan, Tor Books, Tor.com
Robert McCall
I am sorry to hear that Robert McCall, 90, has passed away. I don’t think there is a popular artist more intimately connected with NASA and space exploration as McCall. Looking at his work you cannot help but to think that common-place space travel should be both wondrous and possible. He has influenced and inspired millions throughout his lengthy career with his documentary paintings, film concept art (including 2001: A Space Odyssey), postal stamps, and museum murals.
“One of the joys of being an artist is the freedom to create one's own world....Like the real world, these excursions of the imagination are fraught with inaccuracies of perception—it is rare that one glimpses through the veil of time even a hint of tomorrow's reality — nor does it seem important to me whether one's perceptions are right or wrong, the pleasure is in making the predictions and doing the work.”— Robert McCallTake some time to visit McCall’s work on his comprehensive website. You’ll be glad you did.
For more in depth reading:
CollectSpace.com
Lines and Colors
Spectrum winners announced!
Run over to the the Spectrum site! There you can see all the award winners, plus get an inside look at the judging process.
I’m sorry I couldn't catch all the names from the video so here I’ll just say and extra congrats to award-winning friends:
Sam Weber X2!
Donato Giancola
Chris Buzelli
Omar Rayyan
Eric Fortune
Eric Orchard
Daniel Docui
Michael Deas
Ed Binkley
Craig Elliot
Scott Gustafson
And a congrats to all the artists that participated.
Labels: Spectrum
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Google’s Olympic 2010 logos?
Who’s awesome? Or, Credit the Artists!
Lou Anders started to make some noise, via Twitter, against authors and publishers who put up “Look at my cover! Isn’t it the awesome!?” posts without crediting, you know, the artist.
I have to admit, I shook off the issue as a typical oversight. I remember being upset that Amazon, and other online retailers, didn’t credit the artists — information easily obtained while browsing a a physical store — and there was nothing to be done about that....I guess, I came to expect it from others as well.
But, with Lou’s rallying call in the back of my mind, last week’s Scholastic post on their Mockingjay cover has pushed me into the gently irate crowd. Scholastic posted an article excitedly revealing the cover to a popular series, along with the a refresher on how great the full series looks, without a single mention of the artist or designer. This is from the publisher, not from an author who might be far enough removed from the process not to know better. Just to reiterate, the post is about the cover.
Which is not to pick on Scholastic, it happens all the time. So, dear authors & publishers, when pimping a cover, name names!
Art Departments are constantly being told how important it is to get the cover right. Credit those whose talent, creativity, and hard work get the job done. Turn it into a marketing point. Like writers, artists' careers are built on past success. The more attention paid to good work, the more jobs they get...advancing their worth to me as an art director. Whelan, Donato, Martiniere, these guys are valuable first and foremost because they are good at what they do...but they are also “names” in the field and that furthers our marketing efforts.
Besides, it’s the polite thing to do.
Oh, and: Hey, Tim O’Brien, great series of covers!
Tim’s website, blog, “making of” the first Hunger Games cover
Labels: The AD's Chair
Boskone
A quick shout-out to all the people that make Boskone one of the most pleasant conventions of the year. Thank you, NESFA! It’s always a smoothly run, just-the-right-size convention with a kickin’ art show.
Fuzzy iPhone or “borrowed” photos here.
Great to see John Picacio, Artist Guest of Honor. John is a unique voice in the field and dedicated to the vitality of the genre as a whole. [top image]
Michael Whelan had a 40 painting exhibit. An amazing retrospective that started with his college work and chronological built up to brand new paintings.
Omar Rayyan had a knock out out show. Man, that guy just keeps getting better.
Bob Eggleton and Marianne Plumridge where a delight to share dinner with...And made me think, why not have a Boskone panel meet at one of the nearby art museums?
The now-traditional Rick Berry Studio visit was, as tradition will have it, a mellow blast.
These photos, taken by John Picacio, made me laugh because it reminds that I didn’t leave that seat very much throughout the day...Or weekend, for that matter. Charlie Stross on the left and Michael Whelan on the right.
After the con I was able to convince now-Boston artist Scott Bakal to come out and play while the dead-dog party deaded around us.
....and it’s possible this Rick Berry painting followed me home.
Labels: Conventions, John Picacio, Micheal Whelan, Rick Berry
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tyler Jacobson wins the Jack Gaughan Award
Hurray to Tyler Jacobson! He won the New England Science Fiction Society’s Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist given out each year at Boskone.
I was honored to be on the jury with Todd Lockwood and Bob Eggleton. I first met Tyler last May during the Academy of the Arts University student exhibit and was immediately struck by his bold brushwork. (In fact, I believe I emailed Jon Schindehette that night from my hotel room, “Dude, you gotta check this guy out.”) Todd, Bob, and I looked over a number of really great portfolios—so much good talent coming up—but in the end thought that Tyler was an exemplary representation of the award — newly in the field but with work beyond-his-years, a deep portfolio of consistent work, and a motivated professional who has already established himself with clients.
Congrats, Tyler!
Check out his website and blog.
(And be sure to look at the sketches section..love those bold black and whites.)