Tuesday, December 7, 2010

New York City and Illustration Assignment

From November 14th to the 21st I spent a week in New York City for the MFA in Illustration program I am currently enrolled in. It was a very memorable time, reconnecting with fellow students and faculty while attending artist lectures and visiting various sites of the city.  One event, which took place at the Society of Illustrators, was the class critique for the assignment that was due for the NYC trip. The assignment called for the student to create a portrait of a famous figure living in the early to mid Twentieth century. The image was to be created imitating a style of an illustrator living during that time and show the portrait on the cover of a well known magazine of that period. I chose to portray Duke Ellington on the cover of Collier's magazine, done in the style of Robert Fawcett. Below is the finished piece. It received many positive reviews from the instructors and students and I was very honored by their compliments.


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Back to School & New Greeting Cards


This past July, I officially entered the world of a graduate student as I attended the first classes at the University of Hartford to pursue my Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration. The two weeks at the school were jam packed with studio work, lectures and social time with other illustrators.  I was able to meet many talented artists, including visiting illustrators, faculty and fellow classmates. The time spent there was extremely helpful in my professional growth as an illustrator. I'm looking forward to the trip to New York City in November to spend time at the Society of Illustrators.

The following are a few Christmas cards I made recently. They were created using linoleum-cut prints and digital tools. I don't make greeting cards very often, but it is fun to do it once in a while.



















Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Personal works from the past

I created these works years ago. I recently dug them out and thought they would be interesting to share. They are symbols of my early days as a mature artist, at the time I was developing my own style by experimenting with various mediums.

"Lady with Earring"
Ink and marker on paper
A slick, mid-Eighties rendering of a sophisticated woman.




"Past Heroes" and "Whining Stein"
Woodblock relief prints
My first experience with relief printmaking.


"Self Portrait"
Acrylic on Canvas
A spontaneous, expressive portrait created in a medium I use very seldom today.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

First entry and summer book list

May 30th 2010, I am writing the first entry of my blog. As an illustrator, this blog is created to share my insights, observations, news, and my most recent artwork periodically. Hope you will find them interesting, fun and helpful.

Several books are piled up on my desk waiting for me to absorb in the next couple of weeks. 
"The Illustrator in America" by Walt Reed
"The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri
"Angels in the Architecture" by Douglas Jones and Douglas Wilson
"Show and Tell" by Dilys Evans

I look forward to sharing my thoughts about these books with you soon. My new website is ready to be launched any day.  And in the next few weeks, I am excited to experiment combining traditional and digital art mediums in my illustration work.  I am eager to show you the results.