Escape Hatch

Moly_X @ MCBA

2011-11-07T13:27:00.002-05:00

Playlist of videos shot at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts Moly X show last winter.

BELIEVE/Visual Intervention

2011-10-23T18:05:00.003-04:00

BELIEVE/Visual Intervention from Ian Wilson on Vimeo.

A short film collaboration between South African street artists and Rochester, NY crew FUA, Summer 2011

Two more ‘Faces of Flickr’

2011-09-07T20:14:00.003-04:00

Wow, I haven’t updated this blog in ages! Well, here’s two more in the ongoing Faces of Flickr series. These represent a slight departure from earlier portraits, in that I’ve reduced the importance of line in favor of a more naturalistic treatment of tone. I also played with color a bit in the reflections in the sunglasses of Nasir.

I’ve also set up a Google+ account and have been posting about art and music and other interesting things I stumble on. Here’s an invitation if you want to come check it out. I think it’s a vast improvement on existing social networks and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it so far (possibly why I’ve neglected the blog for so long...).

Congrats Ryan & Diana!

2011-07-25T19:44:00.004-04:00

One of my oldest friends got married over the weekend. I made this portrait as a gift for him and his beautiful bride. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’ll like it.

Also, I recently did an interview for Julia Kay’s Portrait Party, a very cool flickr group I’m involved in. Check it out and let me know what you think.

6x6x2011 online gallery

2011-05-26T11:23:00.004-04:00

The 6x6x2011 show is coming together! The Rochester Contemporary Art Center has posted this year’s online gallery of over 4400 pieces from all over the globe. This year there are prizes for the top 3 popular vote getters. You can cast a vote every day between now and July 1st. I would love your support for my rollergirl piece.

I have 5 pieces in the show and here are the last two which I was saving until now:

Both of these are available as prints from Society6.

You can see all 5 pieces in this set on my flickrstream.

The Johnny Cash Project

2011-05-04T15:25:00.005-04:00

Found this awesome project while looking at Paula K‘s amazing rock and roll sketches.

You can see the pieces I submitted here and here.

Battle Scarred Rollergirl

2011-05-03T04:59:00.005-04:00

I decided to do one more little portrait for the 6x6x2011 show. I did four portraits last year and they inspired the whole ‘Faces of Flickr’ series I have been doing ever since. I’ve had this amazing portrait set aside for a long time and finally got around to painting it.

This image is available as a print from Society6.

So, I matched my total of 5 pieces from last year. I had a few other ideas but I’m really happy with the ones I did finish. I’m trying to save the last two until the show opens in June.

6x6x2011 is just around the corner!

2011-04-19T17:15:00.006-04:00

Less than 2 weeks until the deadline for the 6x6x2011 show at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. So far I’ve got 4 pieces ‘in the can’ with one or two more possibilities. I’m going to hold off on posting most of them until the show opens in June but here’s one of a pair of mandalas that will be in my submission.

Check out the other one over on my flickrstream. Also, I just saw this posted on the 6x6 Facebook page:
‎

6x6 artworks by internationally renowned street artists Faith 47 and dal will be included this year!

Pretty damn cool and they linked to this great mini-documentary on Faith 47.

Faith47 from The Ginkgo Agency on Vimeo.

Zentangle ATCs

2011-04-09T18:34:00.005-04:00

I’ve been doing a lot of portraits lately and thought I would switch it up and do a few abstract designs. Poking around the internet led me to this zentangle challenge. It seemed pretty fun and I just started doodling. Then I got out a few pieces of Bristol board cut to ATC (Artist Trading Card) size. Here are the results:

Recreating Szaza's lost moly

2011-02-10T20:14:00.007-05:00

There was a pleasant surprise over on my internet friend, Samantha Zaza’s blog the other day. She posted a new entry in a moly_x book for a group we were in together, Group #64 which had flickered out of existence before ever really taking off back in 2009.

Szaza’s own moly for that group had been lost in transit somewhere between Australia and Mexico. It was a real shame because she had made a really beautiful first entry in what was intended to become a “narrative corpse” comic. So, I decided to recreate her book as best as I could. Here's a step by step guide.

#1: I bought a new Japanese accordion-fold moleskine and printed out copies of Z’s original artwork (it took a few tries to get it to the proper scale) on 2 sheets of regular printer paper.

#2: Cropping the paper down to the dimensions of the book I used a 6B pencil to cover the backside of the first few images (I only did a couple images at a time in order to minimize smudging).

#3: Taping the artwork in place I proceeded to trace the image. This transferred the graphite from the back of the page to the book.

#4: Removing the artwork we can see the faint image that has been transferred. I then darkened this up with a 2H pencil.

#5: Here I repeated the procedure for #3 and #4 until the entire image was transferred.

Now to see if I can talk Szaza into restarting this languishing group! I think I’ll do an entry and send it back to her to let her re-paint her entry.

You can check out the original over on Samantha’s flickrstream.

The Sketchbook Project

2011-01-21T11:50:00.009-05:00

I managed to finish (or at least fill...) my book for The Sketchbook Project 2011 in time to meet the deadline, but just barely. I signed up for the project rather late but still had a few months to work on it. Unfortunately, I procrastinated pretty badly with it for a while. Only managing a few half-hearted sketches until well into December. Finally, while doing some Christmas shopping I found this fascinating book on the sale rack outside of Borders.

I had my inspiration for the rest of the sketchbook. But even then I didn't carve out the time to work on it. Thankfully the deadline got extended to Jan. 18th. I went into full-on marathon drawing mode over the MLK weekend (I think I did all or most of 14 drawings and all of the lettering in that time!). I had to pull out four blank pages and I doubled the pages (the paper was so thin that I decided to tape every other page together) so I ended up with only 16 spreads versus the 40 that were originally in the book. I cut a couple other corners by including one of my Jon Stewart stickers on one page and a selection of the ‘Faces of Flickr’ series on another.

Needless to say it was a pretty stressful finish. I really wish I could have ended with a drawing of Martin Luther King's powerfully defiant mug shot (which would have been drawn on the holiday dedicated to him) but I had run out the clock by that point.

I am however proud of most of the work I did manage for the book. And I think I surprised myself with the sheer volume of drawings I was able to crank out in that last frenetic weekend.

Check out the whole set at the ArtHouse Co-Op Site and all of my other work at my flickrstream.

Moly X Portraits

2011-01-11T19:43:00.010-05:00

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about the Moly X Portrait Group that I participate in, but with the exhibit at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts opening soon I thought it was time to mention it again.

Also, I've done quite a few entries in the past year and I just finished one that I’m particularly proud of. It is in Brazilian artist, Claudio Ramires’s book. Claudio is one of my favorite artists that I’ve discovered through the Moly X project. He did an amazing entry in my book that even included a Pop-up portion. Check out his awesome Youtube video to see it in action. After seeing that I knew I had to try and knock it out of the park once his book came around to me. I was inspired by elements found in his artwork, especially his blimp-whales. Check it out:

Also, check out our group's blog and/or my moly_x flickr set for more images.

Jon Stewart - SANITY

2010-12-08T19:13:00.016-05:00

When HOPE is lost, the lost hope for SANITY!

So, I sent Shepard Fairey a link to my original Jon Stewart, SANITY portrait (which, of course, is a riff on the iconic Obama HOPE portrait that he created) and he dug it! I got a call from one of his representatives a couple weeks ago, it was incredible! He even asked for some stickers if I get them printed. So, after cleaning up the image a bit (with advice passed on straight from the man himself). I placed an order with Stickrobot for a run of 4"x6" stickers which ~~will soon be~~ are now available for sale directly from me. These came out better than I could have conceivably hoped for, they look awesome!

I've decided to lower the prices as well, I think these are now a real bargain considering the size and quality of these stickers (The backing paper is so thick you could think of them as very small Giclée Prints!)

1 - ~~$3.00~~ $2.50
5-pack - ~~$12.50 ($2.50 apiece)~~ $10.00 (2 bucks a pop!)
10-pack - ~~$20.00 ($2.00 apiece)~~ $15.00 (only $1.50 apiece! Crazy cheap!)

All now available at my new storefront, EscapeHatchDesign. Check it, peeps!

Special offer to blog followers: I'll personalize the back with a quote pulled from THE DAILY SHOW and a fake Jon Stewart autograph (or mine if you'd rather). Send me an email (clarytp at gmail dot com) if you're interested.

Also, prints are now available in two sizes at Society6. (T-shirts too!) Check 'em out!

NCAC Fine Art Show

2010-11-07T12:12:00.005-05:00

I entered a few pieces into the North Country Arts Council Fine Art Show which opened at the State office Building in Watertown, NY last night. I'm proud to say that 2 of my pieces were awarded 2nd and 3rd place in the Mixed Media category.

Menagerie

Organica

“Menagerie” placed 3rd and “Organica” placed 2nd. Not only that, “Organica” sold on opening night as well! These two artworks as well as my “Men of Historical Significance” collage will be on display through Nov. 17th. If you're in the area stop in and check them out as well as all the other wonderful work. You can also check out this set on my flickrstream for more detailed views of these pieces.

Men of Historical Significance

Ragnar Relay DC

2010-10-04T14:49:00.003-04:00

On Friday, September 24 a team of six guys (most teams had 12) set off from western Maryland to run 201.5 miles to Washington, D.C. I was their driver/videographer/emergency relief runner. Enjoy the highlight reel (View on Youtube).

Bookmark Contest

2010-08-20T14:00:00.005-04:00

So, I made a little doodle on a scrap of treated watercolor paper and it turned into a bookmark! I think it's kind of cool and if you do too, here's a way to win your own. Comment on this post and become a blog follower using Google Friend Connect (just click the Follow button in the menu on the right) and I'll enter you into a contest. Current followers are welcome to join in too, just post a comment below.

At the end of the month, I'll pick 2 winners who will each receive their very own doodlebird bookmark. But not this one...winners will get a brand-new custom made bookmark with the bird of their choice on top! I'll probably throw a few other goodies in the winner's package too. Sound cool? Great, now just post a comment below and don't forget to include which bird you would like!

Winners will be drawn on Tuesday, August 31st. All comments posted before 12PM on that day will be considered entries. One entry per person. No purchase necessary. ;-)

Three Drawings in Progress

2010-08-17T14:42:00.006-04:00

Very often I can't seem to complete one thing without moving on to something else. Eventually I'll come back around and finish it, but it's rare that I work on one drawing straight through. To illustrate this I present 3 drawings in various stages. The one on the left was begun ages ago (probably late June, early July) and I'm trying a mix of pencils with the usual ink and brush. The other two were both started in the last few days (the one on the right first actually). Hopefully I'll have all three finished by the end of the week.

UPDATE: I finished the one on the left last night (8/18/10) but I'm going to hold off posting it until it reaches it's new home. In the meantime, you can see all my portraits in this flickr set.

White Horse (Work in Progress)

2010-08-05T22:20:00.005-04:00

I started work on my very first commissioned painting today! I'm pretty happy with the results so far but am open to any critiques or advice you may have.

UPDATE: Spent some time over the last 2 days working on this and I think it's done!

Acey & Maggie (for JKPP)

2010-06-29T09:44:00.005-04:00

Thought I try using colored pencils for this latest portrait...and I realized why they never come out of the box. Here's the progression:

I should have left her face alone at this point, but I ended up overworking it a bit:

The dog came out great though!

Too lazy to put much effort into the background:

See Acey & Maggie bigger over on my flickrstream. And check out all the other wonderful portraits done for Julia Kay's Portrait Party here.

Julia Kay’s Portrait Party

2010-06-15T09:40:00.007-04:00

At some point while I was doing the four portraits that appear in the 6x6x2010 show (still up at RoCo until July 11th and online here forever!) I became aware of the flickr group Julia Kay’s Portrait Party. Julia’s simple idea (artists making portraits of other artists) has exploded into an absolute phenomenon of creativity. After seeing the incredible variety of work on display I had to get involved. Since I started my first portrait of the extraordinarily prolific, N.C. Mallory, just two weeks ago I've already drawn seven new portraits. Similar to the Moly_X project I’m involved in I’ve found that joining this community of artists has broadened my horizons and helped rekindle my passion for art-making.

Here's a handful of the amazing portraits to be found in this great group:

Sue Hodnett by Wally Torta

Kara Jansson Kovacev by goat transforming into a cathedral

Herman Schildert by I.J. Bowden

Me by N.C. Mallory

And a couple by me:

Emily O’Marra

Giorgio Bordin

Artist Sue Hodnett said of the party,

“In an age where we sit and twitter, surf and blog, Julia Kay’s portrait party has connected an otherwise disparate group of artists and challenged us to look deeper than the screen of the computer and into the eyes of people we have never met or spoken to.”

Please check out this amazing group of artists all challenging each other to look deeper.

Parka Reviews Quickie

2010-06-08T22:19:00.005-04:00

Parka Blogs is a great review sites that specializes in art books. Recently he reviewed David Palumbo's new book, Quickie, a collection of Palumbo's small postcard nude paintings. I was not familiar with Palumbo's work before this but he's certainly a very talented artist and this book looks beautiful. Be sure to check out his Postcard Nudes blog.

6x6x2010

2010-06-03T10:48:00.017-04:00

The 6x6x2010 show opens this weekend at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. This year the show recieved 5,000 artworks by 2,000 artists from 22 countries and 43 US states! The online gallery is up now and online purchasing begins Monday, June 7th at 10 AM.

I contributed 5 pieces, the 4 portraits above (see them larger here) and an abstract comic which I talked about in a previous post. The portrait series I'm calling "Faces of Flickr" since all my reference photos were found on flickr.com, a great photo sharing site that I use to post all my artwork.

I liked this format and I've got a few blank squares left over, so I'll probably continue this series. Let me know if you have a portrait that you’d like to see rendered like these.

Moly_X

2010-05-19T00:55:00.012-04:00

It's been a while since I've mentioned the amazing Moly_X otherwise known as the International Moleskine Exchange. Moly_X is an awesome project started by Marty Harris, wherein groups of artists exchange small Japanese folding sketchbooks adding entries into each one and passing it on to the next artist in line.

Recently, I recruited a few new artists to re-boot the Moly_X Portrait Group I'm in and we've been having a great time doing portraits of each other. I'm particularly pleased with the latest one I just completed:

This is the start of my own book for the exchange. It marks the first time I've tried to paint in one of these books and I'm really happy with the way it came out. I can't wait to see how the other artists continue this image. One of the most interesting things about these exchanges is how artists interact with each other on the page.

Comic Convention Sketches

2010-05-07T14:38:00.004-04:00

In honor of this weekend's Toronto Comics Art Festival I thought I would post my convention sketches from the various shows I've attended in the past, including last year's TCAF show.

In the sketchbook that I bring to the shows I try to draw an opening spread to set a theme for the sketches. The first one, from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival (MoCCA) in 2002 was, obviously, Rock and Roll. The second from the Small Press Expo (SPX) 2003 was a bit more open...robots, outer space, or cowboys...or any combination of the three! This resulted in lots of fun, creative drawings. Check them all out here.

A sweaty-toothed Madman!

2010-01-15T01:37:00.006-05:00

Remember that line from the film, Dead Poet's Society? Well, I found an amazing photo from flickr-ite ipelisa that just begged to be sketched so I threw this together.

Speaking of flickr, please check out my page over there. I've been adding a bunch of new drawings including my latest entries in the moly_x project.

One Million Giraffes!

2009-11-04T16:34:00.008-05:00

I painted this portrait of a giraffe for my niece's birthday card and also because I saw this cool project yesterday. He's up over 337,ooo giraffes so far as of this posting! Why not add one yourself?

Abstract Comics

2009-10-29T00:35:00.007-04:00

A fascinating new book was released recently called Abstract Comics. After absorbing the book and the contributors blog I did this small experiment.

Hopefully this is the start of something.

Standard American Encyclopedia (Vol. 2)

2009-04-27T09:54:00.004-04:00

I've done another set of ACEOs from my Standard American Encyclopedia source material. This set I'm calling “Men of Historical Significance.”

Collect them all at my flickr page.

This new set has also been assembled into a full collage that will be exhibited as part of the “Small” show at the High Falls Gallery, opening May 24th.

Artists Trading Cards (ATCs)

2009-03-27T11:23:00.006-04:00

So, for a change of pace I've decided to try making a few Artist Trading Cards.

I made two series, the Standard American Encyclopedia (circa 1937) series, (“Goat”, at left is a part of this series) and Strange and Stranger. See them all at my flickr page.

UPDATE: I'm working on assembling these into a collage for the “Small” show at the High Falls Gallery in Rochester. Anybody local to Rochester should check out the gallery and the show, it's an open call with only a $15 entry fee.

Bookmooch

2009-03-25T14:05:00.005-04:00

Bookmooch.com is my new favorite website. BookMooch is a community for exchanging used books. It lets you give away books you no longer need in exchange for books you really want at no cost (other than postage to mail your books)! Check it out.

The International Moleskine Exchange

2009-03-13T09:15:00.005-04:00

So, I've gotten involved in another mail art project, called the International Moleskine Exchange (or Moly_X, for short). This is my entry in Shante's Moleskine for Moly-X-portraitparty2, inspired by yet another collaborative art project, Rama Hughes' The Portrait Party.

Moly_X is a pretty amazing project. Definately check out the Flickr group to see what we've got going on. I've started a new group recently, moly_x_64 (The Sequential One) that's just getting off the ground, so check out our group's progress there as well.

2008-12-11T11:49:00.009-05:00

I've been doing a lot of figure drawing in the last couple of months. mainly at Steve Carpenter's Gallery on Monday nights. It's a great group with many accomplished artists and a cool setup.

They have one model do short poses from 6-8 PM and then a second model will do one long pose from 8-10 PM. The second model will repeat his/her pose for 4 consecutive weeks, allowing artists to paint from life as well as doing short sketches. It's been a lot of fun and I've been posting the highlights to my flickr account.

This last one is my first finished painting in ages! Executed in watercolors on Arches Cold-pressed paper measuring 9" x 12.25", it was included in the Memorial Art Gallery's student show in the Creative Workshop which just came down. So, not only my first painting in maybe a decade but also my first exhibited work since 2000. Pretty big step for me...

I'd appreciate any feedback on these or any of my other work.

Vote Hope

2008-10-24T17:12:00.003-04:00

Here's my response to Shepard Fairey's HOPE campaign. You can still get HOPE stickers at Sticker Robot.

Happy ?@!$'n Birthday

2008-07-24T14:34:00.006-04:00

So, I'm 31 today...don't know quite what to say that. It's not that I feel old, far from it. It's just that I thought I'd have accomplished so much more by now.

Been having a pretty rough go of it since April. I'd rather not get into the details but let's just say, “Mistakes were made.” I guess I can take comfort in Kevin Spacey’s line from American Beauty,

“It's never too late to get it back.”

So, that's what I'm going to try to do. Be brutally honest with myself and commit to living a better life. Go after what I really want and stop feeling so guilty about not being a “success” – whatever the hell that is.

EDM #83 - Erie Canal - Fini?

2007-07-18T17:22:00.000-04:00

Ok, 6 months to fill in 2 square inches of trees! What the hell is wrong with me? Yes, I did accomplish other things in that time period...but this is ridiculous.

Anyway, I think this one is done...unless I decide that the water needs some definition. However, the idea of putting any more time and effort into this one page (started a year ago!) makes me nauseous quite frankly.

Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

EDM #83 - Erie Canal - Neverending Sketch

2007-01-31T15:24:00.000-05:00

So, I'm finally getting back to this one after some time off. I think it's nearing completion but the trees take forever. Not sure how to handle the water either. I'm sure in another month or so I'll have something resembling a finished product.

Part Two
Part One

The Stack

2007-01-21T16:28:00.000-05:00

I've got a monster stack of books that I'm slowly working my way through. What is the What by Dave Eggers and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel were Christmas gifts from my Mom (although I already had Fun Home, so I exchanged it for the new paperback edition of Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory). My Dad gave me a $50 Borders Gift Card, so I put that towards Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes and The ACME Novelty Date Book by Chris Ware. I also ordered MeatHaüs 8: Headgames and MeatHaus 6 on a whim. Those are anthologies of comics by a collective started in New York by graduates of the School of Visual Arts and include work from Becky Cloonan, Farel Dalrymple, Tomer Hanuka, James Jean, and many others. Chris McD even included a quick sketch on my packing slip. Groovy!

Everything here comes with my highest possible reccomendation. Eggers is a genius, so is Ware. Bechdel's Fun Home was the breakout graphic novel of 2006, topping TIME's annual Top Ten Book list. Berlin, by the time it is completed will be one of the most significant works of historical fiction ever produced in comics, and the MeatHaus books are just great fun!

Wandering in Ithaca

2007-01-21T14:30:00.001-05:00

I did some wandering around Ithaca, NY Friday evening. Some highlights included speaking with the artist Neil Berger at the Ink Shop Printmaking Center, the State of the Art Gallery, several used-book stores, a fairly decent comics shop (where I picked up Gilbert Hernandez's New Tales of Old Palomar, among others), and having coffee and drawing at Autumn Leaves, a cafe upstairs from a used-bookstore.

Got into a pretty heavy discussion of the events of 9/11 with Neil and William, a couple of regulars. I did a quick sketch of William while we were talking. Neil gave me a copy of Painful Deceptions: An Analysis of the September 11 Attack. It looks interesting but I havn't got around to watching it yet.

Sketchbook Construction

2007-01-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

So, I'm coming to the close of my current sketchbook. It's a beautiful book, constructed of handmade papers from Nepal and a very cool bamboo latching system on the front cover. I'm going to be sad to see it go. I've started looking for a replacement but havn't been able to find anything quite so unique. One thing I really like about this journal is the way that the cover is not glued to the spine. This allows you to open the book ALL the way up and makes scanning double-page spreads a breeze.

So, I was wondering if anyone might be able to point me in the direction of a similar journal, or altern- atively, if anyone knows of any good resources (books or websites) for handbinding your own books?

All Over Coffee

2007-01-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

This is stunning! Found the link to this on Cully's Blog and I'm completely floored. Incredible!

EDM #83 - Erie Canal - More Progress

2007-01-16T21:11:00.000-05:00

That bridge was a pain in the ass. Now onto to the ten-thousand squiggle trees on the right bank...then the boat...then the canal itself...then color? When will this sketch ever end?!?!?!

Part One

Ancient History Redux

2007-01-16T03:15:00.000-05:00

Couldn't sleep tonight so, I went digging through an old stack of books and came across another old sketchbook spanning 2002-2005. There's not a whole lot of interest in there but I did find these two sketches of Aron Ralston and Lance Armstrong from the summer of ’04. You may recall Ralston. He's the climber who got trapped by a boulder in a secluded canyon in Utah and was forced to amputate his own arm in order to survive. These guys were on my mind at the time because I'd just had surgery to reconstruct my left ACL and meniscus. While my meager suffering is nothing compared to what they went through, it was a long road to recovery.

Someone (maybe my sister?) gave me Armstrong's biography, It's Not About the Bike, and it was one of the first books I read after surgery. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone trying to come back from an injury or illness. It certainly inspired me to go all out in physical therapy and I was rewarded with being back to full-time skiing in 5 months (standard procedure is a return to sports in 7 months).

EDM #83 - Erie Canal - A Work in Progress

2007-01-15T10:06:00.000-05:00

I must be the world's most infrequent blogger. One post a month! Pathetic! Alright, new year, new commitment to art. And to prove that I'm not doing absolutely nothing here's a sketch I've been working on recently. I took the photograph in August, halfheartedly started it in colored pencils sometime in September, let it languish until this past week when I re-booted it with a .005 Micron pen. You may remember the streetlights from an earlier post. Although, more than likely not as that went up more than 4 months ago!

So, there ya go...now that I've got this half-finished skribble posted I'm hoping it will force me to be more productive (one of my resolutions for this year) and finally finish this sketchbook...which was intended as a Christmas present. Will it become a Valentine's gift? 4th of July? NEXT Christmas? Stay tuned...

Anselm Kiefer @ The National Gallery of Art

2006-12-06T23:02:00.000-05:00

Here's one I've been tinkering with for a looooooong time. In September, Nicole and I went to Washington, D.C. for my cousin Erin's wedding. We took an extra day and visited the National Gallery of Art on the Mall. It was something I'd really wanted to share with Nicole and it was an incredible experience. We spent most of our time in the East Building which contains the contemporary collection (20th Century). Nicole was particularly drawn to this massive mural by Anselm Kiefer. I took a picture and began this sketch after the fact (October sometime?). I've been poking at it ever since...trying to capture some of the rich textures in the original, experimenting with different cross-hatching techniques, various pens and pencils...It still doesn't feel quite finished but I'm going to put it to bed as is.

EDM #91 - Apple

2006-11-08T21:04:00.000-05:00

I've been neglecting the blog for a bit...but I've got a good reason. I moved! That's right, got myself a spankin' new apartment in the sprawling metropolis that is Blodgett Mills, NY. I would not be surprised if this is the only blog being produced in Blodgett Mills or the only functional computer for that matter. So isolated is tiny Blodgett Mills, that TimeWarner took two weeks to get a technician out here to set up my internet connection. Anyways, I'm up and running now and here's a sketch to prove it!

This apple was picked before I moved. The sketch is from about a month ago and is only my third attempt at watercolors, so be kind. I tried a little salt to add some texture... not sure about the results.

Butterfly Conservatory

2006-10-13T16:08:00.001-04:00

Last Weekend Nicole and I went to Niagara Falls. The weather was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time. The fall foliage was at its peak and the views of the falls were truly spectacular. We even had dinner atop the Minolta tower. We were the last table to leave and had the whole restaurant to ourselves for a private viewing of one of the last fireworks displays of the season. Saturday we had lunch at the Secret Garden restaurant and spent the afternoon at the Butterfly Conservatory just north of downtown. What an amazing place! Thousands of stunningly beautiful butterflies dance around you in a lush tropical paradise. It was absolutely beautiful. Here's a drawing I did from one of the many photographs I took there.

Ballpoint Quickies

2006-10-05T15:49:00.000-04:00

I feel like this blog thing of mine is a little neglected. So, here's a couple quick ballpoint sketches done in the last couple of days.

On the left is my left hand and below is a quick face where I ran out of room on the back of one of those page-a-day calendars. (They pile up around my desk and usually get doodled on. This one got a little more attention than usual, which is why you see it here.)

Ancient History Sketches

2006-09-20T17:10:00.000-04:00

pg1
Originally uploaded by Tim Clary.

In the summer of 2002 I decided I really needed to get back to drawing. In order to push through my usual bouts of self-doubt and procrastination I decided to use the cheapest materials I could (a $.99 9x12 newsprint sketchbook, charcoal pencils, and a kneaded eraser) and commit to filling the book as fast as I could. Two months later I had 50 pages of fast, fluid linework and dynamic compositions. I was quite pleased.

This was a great exercise and really sparked my creativity. (If only I could sustain that kind of energy all the time!)

(And since I can't figure out how to get multiple images to fly over here from Flickr, here's the link)

Scott McCloud @ R.I.T.!

2006-09-17T00:14:00.000-04:00

Whoa! Just saw that Scott McCloud is going to be at R.I.T. on Monday Sept. 18th promoting his new book, Making Comics. Very exciting!

If you don't know McCloud, you should. He's probably the most important writer examing comics as an art form. His two previous books, Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics are seminal works not just in the comics field but are also studied in Graphic Design and Semiotics programs around the country (possibly the world). Soooooo glad I didn't miss this announcement.

Pete Turner @ Eastman

2006-09-16T22:31:00.000-04:00

Nicole and I spent a wonderful day at the George Eastman House in Rochester. For those of you in the area you'll definately want to check out the Pete Turner exhibit which runs until February 4th. From the Eastman website:

The current exhibition, Pete Turner: Empowered by Color, on view through Feb. 4, showcases more than 50 world-renowned photographs representing all facets of Turner's work, from his first African expedition in 1959 to his latest images of architectural spaces. He is a photographic visionary who has pursued his uncompromising thirst for color saturation. Turner is a master colorist who broke all the rules in a pre-computer era, using the camera and wide-angle lens as his tools. His images have influenced generations of photographers and continue to inspire the way we view the colorful world around us.

His work is truly beautiful and if you've never been to the Eastman house (this was my first time) it's definately worth the trip for anyone interested in photography, architecture, botanical gardening, or art in general.

Everyday Matters Challenge #81 - Streetlight

2006-09-05T14:07:00.000-04:00

Finally getting around to an actual challenge drawing! Here's a streetlight on the Erie Canal bikepath in Pittsford, NY. I had ice cream with Nicole there last Thursday and took some pictures of the canal. This sketch was done a few days later from the photos using Pitt brush pens and a touch of color pencil for the purple. (First time I've tried the new grayscale brush pens, I'm pretty excited about them) I may add some background detail of the canal but maybe not.

Nicole always asks me, “Can you smell the purple?” when we walk past these flowers.

Africa: An Artist's Journey

2006-09-01T16:05:00.001-04:00

Laura from the Everyday Matters group recently posted a list of Artist's Journals that have been published as books. (Thanks Laura!) I'd like to add Kim Donaldson's incredible Africa: An Artist’s Journey to that list.

From Amazon.com:

Africa: An Artist's Journal is a fascinating invitation to share in the art and experience of walking where the animals walk. Kim Donaldson, an internationally renowned wildlife artist, grew up in Zimbabwe on a 150,000-acre ranch of unspoiled African bush country traversed by rivers, hills, and valleys and teeming with game. It is this stunning landscape that first inspired him to swap his hunting rifle for a camera and a sketchpad . . . and begin a lifelong passion for capturing on paper the wildlife of his native continent. Donaldson's stunning paintings and sketches have an intangible quality that can only be achieved by someone who has spent many years in the bush. Filled with spellbinding information about wildlife, culture, and history, this captivating journal is packed with scores of paintings, sketches, maps, and excerpts from Donaldson's diaries and notebooks to create a vivid and multilayered impression of this mysterious continent. Magnificent photographs and dramatic illustrations detail the spectacular plains Donaldson has visited, including Masai Mara, South Africa's Cape and Natal regions, the Serengeti, and Zembezi Valley, and more. The result is an enthralling journey through the magnificent expanse of Africa's most wonderful and surprising natural wonders.

Caribou - Alaska sketch reworked

2006-08-29T08:56:00.001-04:00

I decided to add a caribou to the left side of this page. I think it rounds out the composition; but now I wish I'd done a better job with the otters.

Nicole Writing

2006-08-20T02:04:00.000-04:00

page5
Originally uploaded by Tim Clary.

I'm attempting to upload to the blog from Flickr...if it works this should be a sketch of Nicole from last year.

Convention Sketches

2006-08-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

If you havn't noticed yet, I'm a huge fan of comics...although I lean more towards independant books rather than the mainstream superhero stuff that most of the populace would immediately call "comics". Anyways, I've attended a couple of small-press conventions MOCCA in New York City and the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD. The most amazing thing about conventions like these is that many people will carry a sketchbook that the artists will usually be more than happy to do a quick drawing in. (Usually for free! only occasionally asking that you buy a book or comic.) My book for these show starts with one of my own drawings and at the last two shows I went to my sketches set the theme. The first one, from MOCCA in 2002 was, obviously, Rock and Roll. The second from SPX 2003 was a bit more open...robots, outer space, or cowboys...or any combination of the three! This resulted in lots of fun, creative drawings. I'm not sure if I should put the artists' sketches up without their permission, so for now here are my two drawings.

Craig Thompson's "Carnet du Voyage"

2006-08-16T09:48:00.001-04:00

I've be reading Craig Thompson's Carnet du Voyage over the last few days. It is both a humbling and inspiring experience. To see page after page of masterful sketches and realise that Thompson is churning these beautiful illustrations out on-the-spot and in extremely challenging conditions blows my mind. It simultaneously makes me want to stop everything and draw for the rest of my life and also to throw out every pen and scrap of paper I have. Anyone who enjoys, illustration, travel, beauty, trees, architecture, etc. should run out and get a copy of this wonderful book. (Then treat yourself to his other books, Blankets and Goodbye, Chunky Rice.)

Alaska

2006-08-15T11:06:00.001-04:00

My sister recently returned from a trip to Alaska. Her photos (and those of her friend, Grant) inspired these pages.

Small Noises

2006-08-12T01:49:00.000-04:00

Small Noises Interesting daily Journal comics blog

Surgery!

2006-08-12T01:34:00.000-04:00

So, my girlfriend, Nicole, went in for a minor knee surgery today (is there such a thing as MINOR knee surgery?) and I did a couple sketches. One of her right before they wheeled her into surgery and one of all the books I got for my birthday (July 24th - you can still send gifts!).

By the way, Nicole is home and doing just fine.

First Post - Lion Sketch

2006-08-10T15:05:00.001-04:00

Ok, this is a test post. Here's a sketch of a lion that i did a while back: