Cathie Bleck

Heinrich Zille
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 10:59 am on March 29th

"Wrestling Match in the Show Booth" 1903

Interesting review of this great illustrator/artist from Berlin in the NY Times today as Berliners celebrate Zille's 150th birthday.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/03/26/arts/20080327_ZILLE_SLIDESHOW_index.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Here is the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/arts/design/27zille.html

(sorry, I don't know how to create a link)

Comments (3)

Notes from the Rabbit Hole in Ohio
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 9:49 pm on March 4th

Don't expect any fast returns on election reports from here. It is no surprise that it shows our precincts are still open counting votes given the dramatic shifts of how Ohio runs its elections. The last election was conducted with brand new digital booths. This time it is the opposite, almost comic...the physical ballot was 8"x14", type size was about 20 point lettering and the circles about 1/2 ovals. We used ballpoint pens to darken the circles and had to slip the
GIANT ballot into a box secretly into 10inch slot with a giant hard cardboard cover. Did anyone else have this experience? No one will know until morning what the outcome is so sleep well.

Comments (2)

Dante's Divine Comedy Finished jacket
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 1:42 am on March 3rd

cover

When I was in NY last week I stopped by to see Jo Oberowski over at Barnes and Noble who art directed the Dante book. Here are some pics of the finish. I also got the chance to check out Marcs beautiful Grimms fairytale book, but unfortunately the pictures were out of focus...I must have been mesmerized by the beauty.

backside

Comments (15)

The reception celebration at NBMAA
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 11:39 pm on February 27th

George, James and I headed up on Saturday to take in the museum. They have an amazing Charles Ethan Porter exhibition running through March 18th which was reviewed in last Sundays NY Times.

Thanks for coming out : to illustrators Michael Sloane and his absolutely beautiful family (wish I had a picture of his incredible children), Jody Hewgill and her husband Balvis Ruben and Cynthia Von Buhler and her husband Russell. Also, designer Diane Meier and her husband author, Frank Delaney, artists Danielle Mailer (Norman Mailer's daughter), Barbara Kilpatrick and husband Dr. Chuck Bardes. It was a rough weekend for weather, but luckily Sunday was sunny and lots of great art enthusiasts came by. The show runs through May 4th. More info posted at http://cathiebleck.blogspot.com/

Jody and Balvis, thanks for traveling all the way up from NY and great to visit with you!

Me and my boys! Cari was supposed to come but all of the flights were canceled out of Chicago and no flights to the east coast until Monday. We are such an efficient country-really I think there was only about 6 inches of snow.

This museum added a huge new wing about a year and half ago. They are really vested in American illustrators as it is in their mission-so send in your proposals!

Here is the other side of the case with the sketchbooks. Kudos go out to James Kopp who hung the show. He previously worked at the Met. They changed most of sketchbook pages on the day of the reception, which I was happy about as I was not sure why they picked the ones in this photo. I gave him a lot of freedom and was not there when he hung the show. They edited about 9 pieces out and the letters in the cases.

Comments (22)

This Sunday, 3-5 pm New Britain Museum of American Art
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 8:43 am on February 22nd

"Emotion 1"
8"x11"
Collection of Ward Schumacher and Vivienne Flesher
1998, I think...

I am looking forward to meeting up with some of you (really appreciate the support!) this Sunday, February 24th from 3-5, where my show opens at the New Britain Museum of American Art. I am giving a short talk at 3:30.
The show contains more than 30 paintings and also includes prints, drawings, sketchbooks, artist's tools and letters.
I am flying to New York City today, if my flight ever takes off with the snow storm there, so maybe I will be able to celebrate with you all (and toast all the rest who are there in spirit) tonight at the Society opening.
Safe travels everyone!

Information: http://www.nbmaa.org

"Bat Tango"
detail

study for "Bat Tango"

Comments (3)

Robert Hardgrave's work
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 3:51 pm on January 24th

Xenoglossy
Acrylic on panel
12″ x 12″ - 21″ x 21″ framed

Here is a great little film interview on artist Robert Hardgrave

Scroll down to Article 7.

http://www.seattlechannel.org/Verve/I

I found his personal story really inspiring as well as how freely he works with brush to canvas. There is something so beautiful in the fluidity and repetition of shapes. Maybe someone can guide me how to do a direct link...sorry for being so cumbersome. One of his influences in Sam Weber, who is truly an amazing artist/illustrator. Can't we get him in this room?

his website:
http://farmerbobsfarm.com/

Comments (3)

Some paintings from the New Britain Museum of American Art
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 10:13 pm on January 23rd

Liu Hung, Relic 12, 2005, oil on ccanvas and lacquered wood 66x66"

Leo, the works ranged in date from 1978 to 2007, and included 10 artists works which explored the themes and techniques of traditional Chinese art and how they have been retained and transformed in the 20th-21st century. The only artist that I noted was Liu Hungs work, so I guess I can't answer your question. The show as currated by Tita Hyland, who teaches history of Art at Trinity College in Hartford.

Here is a link to a podcast of Liu Hung talking from her studio from the San Jose Museum site:
http://www.sjmusart.org/podcast/

Leyendecker

I thought I would post a few photos that I took over the summer when visiting this museum. I was thinking about all of the Drawgers that would enjoy these, so hope it perks up your winter day. I apologize for not knowing all of the names of the artists, but I am sure you all can all help me out. I love the haystack detail from one of the Hudson collections.

Here is the museum's web site and info on my show is under Coming Up section.
http://www.nbmaa.org

Mr. Burckhardt, do you know this one?

This was a Russian born artist

T.P.'s Boat in Menemsha Pond 1934

A small Jackson Pollack, who was Thomas Hart Benton's most famous student. He did this painting for Thomas Hart Benton's small son, T.P. Benton on Martha's Vineyard when he was babysitting him. I can only imagine Jackson Pollack as a babysitter...

from the Hudson River Painters

Detail of the haystack

Rockwell Kent Painting on the right

They have a fair number of shows in their temporary galleries. This one was on Contemporary Chinese artists living in the U.S.

Comments (5)

New Britain Museum exhibition
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 12:41 am on January 23rd

sketchbooks and limited editions

I'm gearing up for my upcoming exhibition at The New Britain Museum of American Art which opens Feb 8th. The opening reception is Feb 24th, Sunday 3-5, the day after the Society opening. The show runs until April 27th and I know that Wendell Minor has a few pieces in the museum collection as well as several other contemporary illustrators.
It is about a 2 hour drive or train from NY and it would be amazing if any of you ventured up to celebrate with me. This show is really special in so many ways. My husbands grandmother Cari Jackson is 99 years old and she took painting lessons for 20 years with Sandy Low, the man who built this collection. Grandma Cari is an amazing force in my life-an incredible woman. I approached them with a proposal for this show over the summer when I was traveling out east and the timing was right as they were planning a wood engraving exhibition of Wanda Gag and Claire Leightons works. Go figure, I am a girl and work in a wood engravers style. This museum is a gem and one of only two exclusively American collections of Art. Correct me if I am wrong but the only other I know of is The Butler in Youngstown, OH. The amazing thing about these museums is that they have bought and supported American illustrators works for a long, long time. It is not uncommon to see a scupture by Paul Manship next to a Landacre piece. This museum is known for their Thomas Hart Bentons murals as well as pieces from just about every famous American artist. If you have not ventured to this museum, it is a real gem on the east coast.
Here are the pieces I am planning to show in the cases.

Here are some more working studies for the cases from the Mother Nature's Son series and the sketches from Dante's Divine Comedy

A detail from one of the recent paintings, "Flower of the Root"

I know this looks way too clean, but here are some of the works in the show and a few unfinished pieces in sketch and roughed out form for the next show at The Butler. I promise to show some really messy pictures in the future, which is the reality.

Here is a photo of where the exhibition will take place.

Letters and book covers

Comments (16)

Dante's Divine Comedy
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 11:21 pm on January 11th

cover

I am out of the fire and back into Drawger after finishing this massive book for Barnes and Noble in December and a 25th anniversary trip with my husband to Egypt (will post more on that later) and then the holidays. I did the double page spread on the plane and in hotel rooms pretty much the whole time I was in Egypt. The stewardesses offered me drinks and ink and I cleaned up all of my dust as best as I could. Jo Oberowski was the art director and fantastic to work with. She had seen my book at a NY Book Fair that Murphy Design attended. It seems that jobs come from so many avenues these days. The book is a library edition, gold leaf embossment on the rays on a dark red leather and tip on color piece gets glued on the cover. It should be out later in the spring. Displayed here is a sketch and the various parts of the book. I only wish I could have done all of the interior drawings, which they scanned from Dore.

back

inside cover

sketch back

Comments (18)

Live at the "Green" exhibition
Posted by Cathie Bleck at 2:12 am on November 19th

I did something very impulsively...well, not as impulsive at Edel, hence why I am not in any of his photos from the Drawger party...I hopped on a plane with 25K miles and headed for LA on Sat morning to attend the opening "Green" at Robert Berman Gallery, curated by Mark Murphy. So I boarded a plane at 7am...stopped in MInn. with enough time to get my boots shined with 10 min to spare and headed for "dust-ville" Orange County, where my sister Marilynn lives (the air was pitiful-made Cleveland seem like the beach). Since I was taking care of my other sister Susie all week I was way behind on my work, so I scratched away on the plane on my current job, "Dante's Divine Comedy". I would be curious if any other illustrators have worked on the plane...always gets a rise out of the stewardess. In any case, the weather was worth it all together as Cleveland has been pitiful already and it is only November. Onto the important stuff, the show: I entered to a huge crowd at 7:30pm, greeted by the famous work of our own Marc Burkhardt-be-au-ti-ful. Had a warm and wonderful conversation with Brandon Boyd from Incubus. He is so sincere and a great soul. Onto the rest of the wonderful evening of witnessing great works by Joel Nakamura, Jody Hewgill, Bob Dob, Joe Fiedler and a host of others talents. Here are a few pics from the event. Phew, thankfully I was out of town Edel.

With Ann Field, illustrator and chair of Art Centers illustration dept. and her husband Clive Piercy, formerly of PHD, and recently opened a new design studio called "air-conditioned".

Joe Fiedler

Wish I had gotten a pic of the whole wall with the piece, sorry Joe...loved your piece!

Joel Nakamura's work was amazing, intricate painting on tin

Jody Hewgill's piece: exciting to see her work large and inspired probably by her recent trip to Greece

Bob Dob is an amazing artist, teacher at Otis, and all around amazing guy. He has an upcoming solo show at La Luz this year. We should invite him to Drawger!