I was up at Mystic Seaport,Connecticut, last Friday with a few of the artists of Dalvero Academy, the reportage school founded by myself and Margaret Hurst. We were working on our exhibit: Restoring a Past, Charting a Future, that opens there on April 28. While there, we were fortunate enough to witness the workers and volunteers put another new piece of planking on the outside of the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whale ship in the world. Our exhibit documents the restoration of that ship, and also documents the history, craftsmanship, and future environmental mission of the Morgan through Cinderella stamps. To read more about our exhibit, please visit the website HERE. We are very excited about it and honored to be a part of such an historic event.

Here are some more drawings from last Friday:

The workers pull the heated plank out of the steam box. It is pliable now, and can be molded to fit the shape of the outside of the ship.

Hammering the plank into place and applying clamps for pressure.

More hammering and clamp application. The way they did it was incredible – they felt their way down the plank, adding wooden shims where necessary, to be sure the shape would be exactly what they needed. The wood was warm to the touch, it really felt alive.

They will leave all of those clamps in place overnight, allow the wood to cool and harden into that position, and then nail it down. And then – the next piece! It’s a labor intensive process, but you can really see the love that goes into it. Quentin Snediker, the shipyard director, is so passionate about what he does that it’s an inspiration to us. Loving what you do – that’s what art is all about, and the people restoring the Morgan are definitely artists.

Please come up to Mystic to check out our exhibit – and the Morgan – if you can. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

The pads are out on the shelves now!

A while ago, the lovely people at Canson paper contacted me to see if I would be interested to do art for the covers of their new pads: Artists Illustration, Artists Mi-Tientes for colored pencil, and the Foundation Series Mixed Media pads. What fun, not only to do them, but to see them on the shelves for sale! Please look for them at your local art store… : )

Here is the art:

The best part of this is, when I was a young art student, this was about the only work I could see for illustration…and now I’ve done that job!  Of course, I soon learned that there were many more markets for illustration in addition to pad covers but still, it’s kind of a good feeling.

On Thursday, March 8, the members of Studio 1482 will lead a lesson in observational drawing from a costumed model, Kika, at the Etsy labs in Brooklyn. The drawing event is promoting their new book, One Drawing A Day: A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity With Illustration and Mixed Media, published by Quarry Books. You’ll also have an opportunity to purchase the book and have it signed by the illustrators of Studio 1482.

If you’ll be in the Brooklyn area, definitely stop by. We’d love to see you!

If you can’t make it to Brooklyn, Etsy will be live-streaming a demo by author Veronica Lawlor and interview with her and several of the Studio 1482 illustrators during the event. Visit the Etsy blog for more details.

Details:
Where: Etsy Labs 55 Washington St Suite 712, Brooklyn, NY 11215 (Between Front and Water)
When: Thursday, March 8, 2012
First Session: 5:15 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.
(Demo for first session begins at 5:15 p.m., so please come at 5:00 p.m. to sign in!)
Second Session: 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
(Demo for second session begins at 7:00 p.m., so please come at 6:45 p.m. to sign in!)
Cost: Free
RSVP required at Etsy Hands-On: Drawing.

Also check out the Etsy blog on Tuesday, March 6, to see One Drawing A Day author Veronica Lawlor demonstrate one of the exercises from the book during Etsy’s How-Tuesdays webcast.

To join the One Drawing A Day community, post your exercises on our Flickr page. You’ll receive feedback from the Studio 1482 illustrators, and other One Drawing A Day participants!

This Sunday, January 29th, I will be interviewed live on Artistically Speaking with Rebecca Parsons. Click here to listen: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artisticallyspeaking/2012/01/29/artistically-speaking-with-veronica-lawlor  You may participate in the live chat room during the interview if you wish.

You can listen after the 29th as well, by clicking the link above. Would love to hear what you think of the interview!

A few drawings of the lovely Lynn. I’ve been enjoying several days in the museums of Washington DC with the Dalvero Academy, preceded by a few days of drawing in our Brooklyn studio. A great way to start the New Year!

This silk painting, “Garden of Eden” was one I did for the United Nations World Food Summit. It represents first fruits, abundance, growth and peace – perfect sentiments to greet the new year with. Here’s to a new year – 2012 – full of new projects, new drawings, and new life. Happy 2012!

Happy holidays, everyone. And best wishes for 2012!

I will be interviewed live today, Wednesday November 23, on the program, “Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski.” We’ll be talking about creativity in general, and our Studio 1482 book in particular: One Drawing A Day: A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity with Illustration and Mixed Media.

Looking forward to the interview, hope you’ll tune in! It will also be available as a podcast after today.

The program airs on Toginet radio from 3 – 5pm EST today: http://toginet.com/shows/creativemojo

Review for One Drawing A Day: A 6-Week Course Exploring Creativity with Illustration and Mixed Media:

“Beginning and experienced artists alike will find that this highly accessible book can boost motivation, strengthen discipline, or even jump-start creativity during a block.”– Library Journal, Oct. 2011  

The Studio 1482 One Drawing A Day book is out, and I’m very proud of the finished creation. It features the work of myself and the other 7 members of Studio 1482. I selected work from out One Drawing a Day blog that I thought would be perfect to inspire readers, and then wrote an exercise that would be an extension of that illustration that they could do themselves. That’s the way to be influenced by art – not by copying, but by taking it as a point of departure!

How this book came about: Mary Ann Hall, my now-editor at Quarry Books, contacted me and asked if I would like to write a how-to art book, based on the drawings posted on our Studio 1482 blog, One Drawing A Day. She thought that if one drawing every day worked for myself and the other members of the studio, it could work for everyone. I agreed, but wanted to make sure this was not a how-to technique book, but  a how-to creativity book. I wanted a book that would inspire people to create art through playing and experimenting, getting their hands dirty, seeing what they could come up with, and retaining their individuality. This is how I teach, not by showing students how I do something, but by putting them into situations where they are forced to let go of pre-conceived ideas and simply do something, anything, to fill up the page and bring it back to the critique. Give students questions, not answers – that was Plato’s philosophy and it’s a good one, that teaches young people to think for themselves. Once I can see what they do naturally, only then will I start to guide them and work with them on moving it forward and out into the world. The world needs more individuality and creativity, not a bunch of clones. Least of all, in art!

“Boost motivation and strengthen discipline” – I like that! I’m very happy with the first review of our first Studio 1482 book, and I hope you’ll all go out and get a copy to check it out for yourself.

The book is available now at bookstores, or online. (Here’s an Amazon link.)  Would love to hear feedback from any of you…

I want to extend my gratitude not only to Mary Ann Hall at Quarry Books, but to my Studio 1482 family that entrusted me with their art. Marg, Michele, Eddie, Dom, Greg, Despina and Kati – thanks guys, I hope you are all as happy with this book as I am! 

Yesterday afternoon was clear and cool and the perfect day to go downtown and make some drawings of the march to support the Wall Street occupiers. The marchers met in front of the courthouse and walked down to City Hall to show their support for the activists who are occupying Wall Street, representing the 99% – that is, the 99% who have no access to the majority of wealth in the US.

There were so many people on line to get in line…it was a pretty impressive turnout. Marching bands, even, although they were small, added to the parade-like atmosphere. There were union groups represented as well. I saw teachers, nurses, iron workers, students, musicians, etc., etc. A great cross-section of New Yorkers. One guy told me that he just left his job at Wall Street a few months ago. “I’m very popular with the reporters,” he quipped.

The guy with the drum was singing a song about Ronald Reagan. I couldn’t make out all of the lyrics, there was some sarcastic remarks about ‘trickle down’ in there though. The other guy was just standing around with a big sign. He seemed a bit lost, although earnest. I heard a lot of conversation among the people who swarmed by me. Several people talking about the good old days when City College was free. (It really was a great system that educated my parents and their generation.) Also heard a woman say she was there because her Mom was out of work. Lots of people complaining about the housing bubble and who is to be held accountable for that fiasco?

Once the parade started moving it went by fairly quickly. Lots of police and police helicopters in the air, but the day was quite peaceful. I saw one person (bottom right of drawing above) wearing a mask like the ones the recent protestors in Spain were wearing. Funny because I was making that comparison mentally even before I saw her.

As the parade wound down I planted myself on the edge of City Hall Park to get some of the people marching by. Even saw one of my students from Pratt! It was a great day and I was glad I was able to sneak a few hours out of all my obligations to get down there and draw. I’ve heard criticism leveled at this whole event, saying there is no strong issue that is being protested. But that’s the beauty of it – it’s just people getting out and letting the government know that they are not happy with the status quo. Isn’t that what democracy is all about?