friday wisdom

artist of the week :: guy denning

check out the painting of british artist guy denning.

i think he describes his work (and the process of painting) the best:
I think that painting is a focusing; a process of exaggeration and editing of a suggestion of reality. I can start with a skeleton, like a foundation illustration, perhaps taken from a life study or a photograph and then I start to manipulate that framework. All the time I am hoping for accidents with the paint as the accidents are usually the source of greatest productivity. Perhaps the accidents of paint give me a similar perspective as the viewer to the finished painting: the surprise at something fresh or something that is not immediately understood in its construction. This aspect of painting is like, perhaps, finding the uncontrolled intention. 
I know when it’s right or, at least, tending towards right but I don’t know how to do it. If I knew how to do it, that there was a predetermined and guaranteed method, then it wouldn’t be the challenge that forces me to paint continually. 

check out his: 
website
drawing-a-day blog
writing blog

thanks to amy bonner for the heads up on this great artist

artist of the week :: carne griffiths

carne griffiths' paintings and illustrations are energetic and controlled all at once.

he drips and controls ink washes and applies marks with pen and pencil - all creating atmospheric portraits full of emotion - specifically strength and poise. the women he paints are typically juxtaposed with natural elements (leaves, feathers, tree branches, etc), showing woman's communion and connection with nature.

check out more about him and his art here.

(thanks to brienna wirley for the heads up on this great artist)

thanksgiving wisdom

i'm convinced... i have the best job in the world.

theres honestly no better way to end the work day than 2 hours with a group of 16 dedicated, talented, and caring young artists. its been a very focused work week this week, and i felt that friday afternoon needed to be documented.

here are in-progress pictures of their first AP Drawing concentration works. 

i love my job.

friday wisdom

friday wisdom

studio in art :: reference for sculpture

here are images of the 3 artists we are referencing for our new sculpture project, as well as an image of my exemplar.
look below each picture for more links on each artist.

frank gehry
wikipedia
new york times
artcyclopedia

frank stella
wikipedia
artcyclopedia
artnet (works for sale)

pablo picasso
wikipedia
abc gallery
artcyclopedia

my example

artist of the week :: david fullarton

this guy is awesome! wonderful use of multiple surfaces - grid paper, lined paper, and all types of old and unique papers cut up, combined, and text hand-drawn to create wonderful, whimsical works of art.

find out more here.
check out his amazing moleskin sketchbook works here.
or just check out his flickr photostream here.

friday wisdom :: RIP steve jobs

friday wisdom.

artist of the week :: abby diamond

abby diamond is a college senior from pennsylvania. her illustrations are quite beautiful, but these bird pieces stood out to me due to their bold color, along with the linework and expressive and gestural use of watercolor. you can see more of her work at her website.

friday wisdom.

friday wisdom.

summer art wisdom.

adobe illustrator - new paintings!

i have made it my mission to learn adobe illustrator this summer, along with some help from my friends rob antonucci and jillian erhardt.
its a massive, fun, and at times challenging program, but yields amazing results.
here is what i have created thus far:

spotify!

have you heard about spotify??? if not, and if you love music, you should check it out.
for $5 (premium), or $10 (unlimited) you basically get an itunes-like interface, but all the songs stream at full quality... pretty much any song ever recorded.
if you are on, or sign up, find me! its really easy and fun to share music - personal playlists, artist, or albums.

end of the year art spectacular!

please join us on friday, june 17th for our annual webster thomas high school art studio night. this is one of the highlights of our school year, and a great way to celebrate all the amazing artwork that is created all year long by our young artists.

we hope that you can join us for great artwork and great free food from 5-7pm!

summer wisdom

friday wisdom... with video!

scribbler!

basically, you should just go try this now.

[thanks to a.j. gere for the heads up.]

friday wisdom.

jordan tiberio - H&M shirt design

hi friends.

if you have a second (or 5 to be exact), head on over to H&M's website and vote 5 stars on my student jordan tiberio's tshirt design.

they are having a competition to design a shirt, and there is also a $2000 cash award that goes along with it.

super easy!

studio in art! color theory! quiz!

a quiz in art?!?

check THIS out:

'it gets better' project

see, there is some worth in watching commercials!

i typically thank god for dvr, because it keeps me from feeling like i am being force fed whatever garbage america is selling. BUT, while in the hospital last night holding my sleeping 2-day old baby, a commercial came on during the office for the 'it gets better' project. this is a user-generated, cyber-community started to give voice and hope to people (aimed at youth, but i would guess that they're not the only ones who struggle) who are gay but afraid to 'come out'.
i was struck by the awesomeness of this campaign, and felt immediately like it needed to be shared.

so... if you are struggling... feeling alone... just type your way over to www.itgetsbetter.org (or click the previous link) and become immersed in others (people you recognize and people you dont) who want to help hold you up and honor who you are.

artpeace shakedown scholarship winners!

thomas ap art students rachel king and lyuda didovets were each awarded $1000 scholarships through artpeace shakedown, an annual county-wide high school arts exhibition.

rachel and lyuda were selected from over 65 other applicants, based on their submission of an art piece and an essay on the importance of the arts. these two young ladies will be awarded the scholarships at the shakedown opening tonight (friday, may 13^th) at 6:30pm at village gate.

YOU SHOULD GO! its a wonderful event full of delicious food and naturally great artwork from students from around the area.

aviary.com :: online adobe creative suite! for free!!!

thanks to tech guru max kelley, i found out about a great alternative to the adobe creative suite for those of you who don't have the money or don't want to do any illegal downloading.
the program is called aviary (www.aviary.com) and has many very similar attributes to the adobe creative suite. the photoshop program ("image editor") looks and runs basically the same.
the best part is, its web-based, so you do not need to download anything to your computer!
enjoy.

friday wisdom :: print it & pass it on!

print it out, write your note in the speech bubble and send it/give it to someone whom you appreciate.
its about time we all pass on some love, right?