Namaste

Mikey in King Pigeon

Drawing Gina in Camel Pose

This past Saturday, I went to Steamtown Hot Yoga in Scranton, PA and did some live sketching of the amazing folks there.  Unsurprisingly, yogis are very good at holding poses, but the poses are so much more intense than anything I have ever sketched before.  I tried to keep my sketches quick, around a minute, though I did not have a timer so I really don't know for sure.  I did over 15 drawings and had a great time hanging out with everyone at SHY.  Big thanks go out to Lara, John, and everyone in the Steamtown community!

John in a Toe Stand

Stephanie in Bow

Samantha in Camel Pose

John and Lara in an amazing Couple's Pose

More Critters, Another Show

Here are 3 new animal scratchboards completed for a show in Scranton, PA that just came down this weekend at New Visions Studio Gallery.

I also did a live scratchboard demo at the gallery where I scratched a goose from start to finish.

Here are some articles that have been written about the show:
The Electric City: The Artists' Studio
Go Lackawana: Artist at work

 Big thanks to everyone at New Visions for their help with the exhibition and to everyone who came out to see the show.

Cloud-based Videoconferencing

This full-page illustration will be in the April issue of AV Technology magazine. They wanted something that would explain the concept to the reader that was also something more visually interesting than a simple infographic. I made the "cloud" itself by layering reversed ink washes to make it feel more organic and airy. It is always a pleasure to work with AVT -- thanks again, Margot and Nicole!

Double Dog Dare

Lacey, one of my dearest forever-friends, commissioned me to scratch these dachshund portraits for her husband Jarod. She sent me reference photos of their pups Charlie and George, and I did my best to capture their personalities. The portraits are ink on clayboard panels with wood cradles, so they can be hung side by side without glass. I love drawing dogs, so I had a blast drawing these guys. Plus, I even got to meet Charlie and George when I was in Oklahoma over the holidays. Thanks, Lacey!

Back to the Society

I went to Sketch Night at the Society of Illustrators last night. It was a fun night as always (these are some 2 minute poses) but also a little bittersweet. Matt Black, the best bartender ever, had his last night behind that historic bar last night. I am going to miss him at the Society, but I am glad he'll be slinging drinks in Union Square. Cheers, Matt. You will always be my favorite bartender, and I feel lucky to count you as a friend.

Dog Park

This is a series of dog scratchboards that I exhibited at the FIT Museum to mark the culmination of my MFA in Illustration. I received an MA from FIT in 2007, and went back to grad school for one year as they expanded the program to an MFA. That added "F" marks the terminal degree in Illustration. Thanks to everyone at the museum, my incredible classmates, and the amazing program chair Melanie Reim for a great show.








From my statement:
Dog Park is a visual exploration of the canine companions who fill the negative space in our urban environment.  In a place where both private and public space are coveted, many New Yorkers find ways to fit dogs of various sizes into their tiny apartments, jam-packed daily routines, and the densely woven fabric of the city itself.  In the midst of tall buildings crammed together tightly, sections of outdoor space are preserved and left empty for dogs to run, play, and engage each other while embracing their intrinsic dog-ness.

On seven kaolin clay panels of various sizes, life-size illustrations of dogs twist, skitter, leap, and crouch, as they individually inhabit a portion of empty space in their own unique way while interacting with each other across the wall. Executed using a self-generated approach to scratchboard, ink is splashed with a brush into black silhouettes on the clay surface. After the ink dries, white lines are carved into these flat, dark shapes to build dimension. The two sides of the process come together to create dogs that move organically in ways that both defy and follow their form, dripping, splattering, and shattering to life.

Bark for Life

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with Stephen Gardner, Alison Stephen, and Joan Chiverton drawing dog portraits at the Society of Illustrators volunteer table at the "Bark for Life" fundraising walk for the American Cancer Society. For whatever reason, I decided I would try doing scratchboards on the spot. I've never scratched from life before, but It was a blast. Here's some photos from the event, thanks to Alison for sending some of the photos she took!






Big thanks to Sigmund, Bruce, Woody, Dori, Lola, Amber, Lucy, and Oscar for all being such great models.

Last Week at the Society

These are some sketches from last Thursday at the Society. It was a great time, and it was so great to draw while hanging out with Alison Stephen and Daniel Hertzberg. Dan did his sketches digitally (you can see them here), and Alison and I kept it old school with ink. I hope we all do it again soon.

Back to the Society

I went to Sketch Night at the Society of Illustrators with the wonderful Alison Stephen last night. It was Alison's idea and a brilliant one. It's the perfect way to unwind on a Thursday night.

Here are a few of my 2-5 minute sketches -- the quick ones tend to be my favorites.

Scratchboard Menagerie

These are 13 large (18x24") scratchboard panels that I made for a gallery show in Oklahoma that just finished up. This was my first time exhibiting original scratchboards. I really enjoyed making these images and exploring ways I could imagine animals moving. My favorite part of the gallery opening was that so many people wanted to tell me which one was their favorite. It was a blast.