"4x34" :: painting with my son

this series of paintings, entitled "4x34", are all done by my 4 year old son and myself. he was inspired by watching herakut paint the mural in rochester in october, and had been talking about wanting to do some 'murals' of his own.

we used latex paint, spray paint, and paint markers on stretched canvases. it was a very organic process where he would start by picking the color of paint and rolling it on the canvas (or conversely he would choose the spray paint color and i would apply it, then he'd paint over it). he would really lead all the work, and i would be there to just redirect when necessary or have him stop and start something new when the time was right. he would draw lines - sometimes representing a 'thunder storm' or 'the ocean' - and i would add to them, making them fit together or blend more seamlessly into the composition.

his energy and natural markings were a wonderful juxtaposition with my control and knowledge of composition. it was very eye opening for me as an artist, as well as a great way to spend time together.

another new drawing

i started this last week as an idea for a drawing 1 project, but it became something that i would actually consider a finished work.

it is made using india ink washes, pitt artist pens and prismacolor colored pencils.

new painting.

on friday, i completed this painting of son house, "the beginning and end of all music"
it is acrylic, latex and spray paint on various wood blocks.
you can see it on display at RIT during february.

so much color in the art room.

its always hectic coming back from christmas break, but the following week ends up being a bit more normal and we can get back into our groove.

i took a period and put up all the in progress works today and was amazed to see all the vibrant yet subtly layered and placed color together from DRAWING 1 (descriptive self portraits), DRAWING 2 (abstracted still lives), and AP DRAWING (personal theme work). so much great work all in once place.

i love my job.

the wall

drawing 1 self portraits

drawing 2 abstracted still lives

AP drawing personal theme work

ap reunion wisdom

holiday wisdom.

ARTFAM shirts!

heres the order form for the 2012-13 thomas/schroeder ARTFAM shirts.

if you are interested in one, let me know!

annual tshirt screen printing fundraiser!

please join us once again for our annual screen printing fundraiser this coming tuesday. 

you bring in a shirt and $5, and you can pick any of the 5 designs to be printed on the shirt.

thanks for the support!

all proceeds to go help in the relief efforts for hurricane sandy.

friday wisdom.

freaks and geeks.

have you ever seen freaks and geeks?

if not... you must. now.

...it chronicles the ups and downs of two groups of high school students in 1981 - the everyday stuff that all high school students experience. the good and the bad - the embarrassing and the hilarious - heartbreak and laughter.

in short, this show is amazing.

the sad part is that the show only lasted one season (in 1999)... the cast is full of people who you know and love (watch the video above), as well as people you may have never seen before (they steal the show).

you can buy the entire season on dvd, borrow it from me, or stream it on youtube or netflix. (check out episode 1 below!)

if you went to high school and have a soul and a sense of humor, you will love this show. trust me.

friday wisdom.

artist of the week :: david kinsey

i have had respect and admiration for david kinsey for quite a while now, and although i like some of his earlier work quite a lot, my respect for him constantly grows due to the fact that he continues to push himself and his style past what is comfortable, easy, and obvious for him. his works have become much more chaotic and layered over time. this is easily evident in the works below - part of his new show at the joshua liner gallery in nyc. head over to beautiful decay for more images and a write-up about the show, or to KinseyVisual to find a great overview of his career's work.

cool bold stuff.

thanksgiving wisdom.

artist of the week (pt. 2) :: david shillinglaw

its been too long since i have had time to give you an artist of the week - so here's two for this week.

david shillinglaw came to my attention due to his involvement in a new show in london entitled "urban masters 2012" at the opera gallery. it brought together most of the top 'urban' artists in the world and featured work that honored many of the greatest artists in the history of the world. he spoke at the end of a video about the show and the painting of his that was shown piqued my interest.

he creates mostly mural works using spray paint and collage, utilizing bright colors and picasso-esque cubist human creations, bold patterns and positive, meaningful text. he has been invited to paint all around the world.
his website has a ton of images of him painting and shows the process that goes into each piece that is featured. i recommend taking a few minutes and explore it, if you like what you see below.

artist of the week (pt. 1) :: samuel rodriguez

samuel rodriguez has been on my radar for a few years now, thanks to booooooom.com, but his latest round of paintings got me really excited and i wanted to share.
there is a wonderful interaction of pattern and human form in the pieces - both in the drawing and paintings. the bold, confident pattern work weaves into, out of, and around the faces of his models, creating a super contemporary new vocabulary of what it means to be a portrait painter and designer. keep up with his work on his blog.

sari's first semester visit... and a great day in the art room!

we are always so blessed to have local portrait artist sari gaby come to give our students workshops - in fact she works with our drawing 1, painting 2, and AP students in various capacities.

today, she did her portraiture demo for drawing 1 and was artist-in-residence with AP, giving them critiques on their current 'conversation with a contemporary artist' project.

check out the pictures below. you should consider bringing her to your school... or taking lessons from her! you can call her at 585.935.1186.

drawing 1 students paying close attention.

the artist at work.

one of my favorite places.

3 hours of work and teaching.

lindsay's critique on her the gryllus-inspired painting.

hannah working on her self portrait.