Black Cat

Long walk today through a local golf course where someone I know was playing. Of course I did watch some golf but this old birch caught my eye:) Looking a lot in general at the shapes of trees.....tomorrow I'll bring sketch pad...
Love these portraits by British illustrator Matthew Hollings here
Also, if you like making paper, June Tyler of Pondside Pulp and Paper in Norwich, NY, has updated her blog "...There is one spot left in the first session of "Papermaking in the Country," July 1 and 2 spaces left in "Handmade Paper and Printmaking, session one," beginning July 7, as of June 20, 2009."

Rabbit

looking at rabbits more ....did a live trace in Illustrator from my marker drawing.

Effects in Illustrator

A bloated and cutout Bard....

Experimenting in Illustrator

Experimenting in Illustrator with the sketch of Bella. Still working on it. Maybe will do a stamp or linocut also with the MasterCarve carving block. I like Bella's name in Petras font (hard to see unless you click on the image) I got from Veer. Speaking of type and fonts, last night there was a great documentary on Helvetica (PBS/WSKG here) and how ubiquitous it is. There were also great comments from Massimo Vignelli and David Carson (typeface designers). I pictured many people watching it and just scratching their heads wondering why? The answer is that
Helvetica is like air....

Linocuts in Illustrator

Here is the holiday card image, 2-color, (Old White Pine) after playing around with it in Illustrator...
Next I want to try the same design but with a #1 or #2 speedball linocut tip for a finer line. This was done with a #3. I still like the original image...even tho it is not in these colors, for its simplicity. Great snow today.

(n)ice day

After the little birds' morning feeding frenzy, squirrels descended.
Squirrels, trees, branches and birds are figuring into my sketches. Looking at all this biology makes me think of Charley Harper. A copy of his Golden Book of Biology from 1961 is for sale on Ebay for over $300. He died in 2007. I just bought some of his chidren's books for presents here
There is a great interview and illustrator tutorial with Eleanor Grosch (a Charley Harper fan) over at Grain Edit, Print Magazine chose her as one of their picks for New Visual Artists of 2008. Her shop is here . GrainEdit is one of my new favorite RSS feeds. Reindeer garden sculpture by Julie Dermansky

Speaking of Birds and Blogs

Just recieved The Illustrator in America 1860-2000. This colossal will be great winter reading in preparation for Hartford.

Also...I was checking out the Woodson Museum's ( of "Birds in Art" fame) website and came across this great exhibition of illustrated letters by artists. Also, in a brilliant stroke of museum PR genius ( or most likely the AAM) the staff, (curators, exhibition designers, and educators) have started a new blog ( like the Lab of O) to let folks know and understand all the behind the scenes stuff that goes on in museums. Imagine that...I love the idea and think blogs should be mandatory for ALL museums or at least included in the accreditation guidelines:) I think it is probably a national trend now and I hope it continues. Having worked in a museum for 10 years, I think this kind of PR can go a long way to improving communication between the institution and the general public. And I think this particular blog is a good model. So there's my rant (of sorts)....

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum (Wausau, Wisconsin)

More Than Words: Illustrated Letters from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art

Saturday, Nov 15, 2008 to Jan 18, 2009

A handwritten letter is a welcome surprise in this hurried electronic era. An illustrated letter, filled with masterful drawings, comical cartoons, or whimsical doodles, is even more remarkable, expressing the writer/artist’s undeniable sense of creativity, intimacy, and purpose. In 60 examples of epistolary art, More Than Words offers art lovers an unprecedented window into the passions, heartbreaks, business affairs, and travels of some of the most revered artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Alexander Calder, Thomas Eakins, Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Andrew Wyeth, and many others.

Click on the link below to view one from this exhibition. There are more on the museum's site.

Paul Bransom

Dark-eyed junco

There were dark-eyed juncos on the ground around the feeder today, looking for scraps from the chickadees, and others. They are really a dark bluish grey and they look so stark against the snowy ground. Snow is coming. This done in Illustrator