You Can't go to School Naked Blog

Print the truth.

2008-10-04T18:51:38+00:00

Orphan Works Bill has been Hotlined, AGAIN. I urge you to call your senators NOW.

2008-09-26T20:41:42+00:00

ORPHAN WORKS BILL HOTLINED
Again.

THIS MEANS IT COULD PASS THE SENATE THIS AFTERNOON
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS IMMEDIATELY

ASK THEM TO VOTE NO ON THIS BILL:
S2913 THE SHAWN BENTLEY ORPHAN WORKS ACT OF 2008

ASK THEM TO PUT A "HOLD" ON THE BILL:
TELL THEM YOU OPPOSE THIS CONTROVERSIAL BILL
ASK THEM NOT TO PASS IT WITHOUT A FULL AND OPEN HEARING
WARN THEM THAT IT WILL DO GREAT HARM TO SMALL BUSINESSES

To find your Senators' phone numbers go to the Illustrators' Partnership Orphan Works site:

http://illustratorspartnership.capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/dbq/officials/

At the top of the home page, click on "Elected Officials"
You'll find a US map:
Click on your state,
Then "Senators,"
Then click on each Senator's name,
Then click "Contact."
This will give you their phone and fax numbers.

Please phone and fax them both immediately.

Goodbye summer! It was a good one.

2008-09-22T15:42:27+00:00

Summer is over and I can say that it was a great one, and that I got a lot of painting done, did a couple of readings and signings of my picture book, and had quality time with my wife and kids.

I had the time to paint for clients and myself as well. I am looking forward to the next few weeks of fall. It is perfect weather for me to hang out in my garage studio and do some letterpress. I plan on developing the plates in the next few days from selected sketchbook drawings.

Some good news- my editor wrote me the other day and mentioned that You Can’t go to School Naked is going to be reprinted!

The Peter C. Alderman Foundation

2008-09-11T12:04:26+00:00

"While the death of most people is the end, Peter’s death was the beginning of life for so many people all over the world."

—Yousif Hanna Rofa, MD Psychiatrist, PCAF Master Baghdad, Iraq

I take this from the Peter C. Alderman Foundation website.

Peter Alderman was 25 when he along with many others lost their lives in the World Trade Center.

I learned of this foundation from watching Nightline the other night while trying to get my son to bed.

Alderman’s parents used the money they received from his death to set up this foundation. They have been successful in setting up a significant presence in the Sudan for example.

I was touched at how his parents honor his life by giving back to those who suffer from senseless acts of terrorism around the world.

I love the smell of letterpress ink in the morning...

2008-08-26T14:27:22+00:00

A few years back I was surfing the Briar Press classifieds (a site devoted to letterpress), and noticed that someone in Rawlings Wyoming wanted to sell a couple of tabletop letterpresses with some various supplies. I was living in Salt Lake at the time, and realized that it was only a three-hour drive from my home. I borrowed my sister’s truck, dragged my brother along for the ride, and set out to purchase this stuff.

When we arrived I realized that what this gentleman was selling was worth more than what he was selling it for, and he told me that if he hadn’t sold it that week, it all was slated to go to the city dump. He was happy to see it all go to a loving home.

There have been times in the past few years where I have toyed with the idea of selling this stuff because i needed the money, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do it. Not only because of the potential of really regretting it later on, but because the man who sold it to me had a stroke after he bought it. He bought all of this stuff with the intent of teaching it to his grandkids.

The press in the photo is another story. I was telling some of my friends about my Wyoming adventure, and of them who happens to be a sculptor tells me that he has a press that he was just about to take a blow torch to and cut up for a sculpture. I was able to convince him to sell it to me, and only after having purchased it, realized that it is a Golding Map Press. The Golding Map Press is rare, and offers a lot of pressure for a tabletop press.

It is a beauty of a press, and still works like a charm after a hundred years. I haven’t been able to really put either of these presses to good use until now. I am lending the Craftsman (green color) press to a friend of mine who studies at Cranbrook currently, and I had the rollers restored for the Map Press. I also just built a heavy-duty workbench for the Golding press, and almost killed myself lifting it onto the bench!

I finally will be able to make good on my promise to letterpress a series of Christmas cards and promotional postcards this year, and really experiment with this thing. I am going to start working on this in September. If anyone out there wants to be included on the mailing of these, e-mail me.

Just for fun, here are some videos from my friends at Boxcar press that instruct one on how to properly get the job going on the press. You can see all of this by clicking here.

The fine folks at Boxcar press also run Bella Figura.

Old Tiger Stadium and playing ball without clothes.

2008-08-14T14:16:55+00:00

Last week I had all intentions of attending the Saturday figure drawing session at the Scarab Club in Detroit. I packed up the car with my gear, made the twenty-minute drive, and when I arrived no one was there at the club. I rang the doorbell, called, and still no reply, so I decided to go and take a look and shoot some pics of Tiger Stadium before it is demolished. The Tigers now play in downtown Detroit at a new ballpark (Comerica Park) that is more like a theme park than ballpark. I am not complaining, it is a nice ballpark, and I have enjoyed taking my family to see the games, but it seems to lack the energy that a place like Tiger Stadium has. Tiger stadium is one of the oldest ballparks around, and was (correct me if I am wrong….) built only a year or two after Fenway Park in Boston. A who’s who of ballplayers has been through that stadium, and the last time the Tigers played there was the 1999-2000 season (again correct me if I am wrong…).

I guess I made the effort to go and see the half demolished park because a friend of mine told me that the unique sports merchandise shop next to the park was gone. Thank goodness it wasn’t. In fact while I was there talking with the shop owner, Ernie Harwell’s lawyer stopped by. Ernie Harwell is the famous broadcaster of many o’ Tiger game in the past, and he is leading the charge to preserve a part of the ballpark as a museum. He has been successful and was able to get senator Levin to pony up some federal money, and has bought time for those who are raising the needed money to preserve the historic portion of the park that is on the corner of Michigan and Trumbull avenues.

This shop is the place is where I got my felt 1935 replica Tigers hat that fits so nicely. They also have other replica hats, and it is where I bought my 1964 San Francisco Giants cap. This shop is amazing, and it is the kind of shop one will never find in a modern ballpark. It is the kind of shop that Detroit fans out there in the vast WWW need to show some love to. Check out Detroit Athletic Co. here.

With all of this baseball talk, I wanted to share some of the earlier rough sketches from my children’s book. These sketches went along with the following text-

“If you went to school naked, could you play ball? Steal second base? NO, not at all!”

One of these early sketches I had the character sliding into the base on his belly, but what I hadn’t considered is just how painful that would be for a lil’ dude if he were naked. It had my designers and editor wincing. So I thought that I would have him hitting it out of the park, but it wasn’t as interesting. I then had him with his eyes closed, wincing in pain, and sliding into second on his back. Well, we all decided on him sliding in on his side with his eyes wide open from the shock and pain…

Olympic medal

2008-08-08T11:23:30+00:00

There has been a lot of coverage this week leading up to the summer Olympic games tonight in China. I have seen some of the design from this summer games, and some of what I have seen is looking all right. I think it is interesting what they have done for the pictograms for example.

I am a bit torn in my feelings for the Olympics this year. It is exciting for me to see the world’s athletes compete, but I still remember what happened in Tiananmen square in 1989, and how that event has seemingly been forgotten, as much of the subsequent human rights abuses since then, by the world’s media.

With that said, I have been thinking a lot of my own experience working on the design of the victory medal for the 2002 winter games in Salt Lake. I have posted on this before, but it has been a while, and I thought why not? The unique thing about the design of the winter games medal is that there is a lot more freedom. The summer games medal has to keep the same shape and keep the same design on the front of the medal, and keep whatever unique design within the pre-determined circle shape on the back of the medal.

I had the chance to truly collaborate with a team of designers, while working as an in house illustrator at Axiom design, on the medal and we all contributed to the final design.

We wanted to have the medal feel as if it was a found object in a riverbed, and some of our earlier designs reflected both this idea as well as the idea of the relation of humankind to nature. In the final design we incorporated this idea as the wedge that connects the ribbon to the irregular shaped medal. This line of thinking also led me to remember Michelangelo’s captive series, and when I worked on my illustration, I kept these in mind.

Another unique feature to the design of this medal was that there were fifteen different medal backs that reflected the fifteen disciplines that each of the sports in the winter games.

I still get excited when I see footage of the athletes from the 2002 games on the medal stand, and so far in my career it is one of those projects that will have life beyond most of what I do.

A reminder and invitation to tomorrow's Orphan works roundtable discussion in New York Cit

2008-08-07T20:55:55+00:00

I know that Gary Taxali posted information on this earlier in the week, but just to remind everyone, especially those who live in New York, here below is the information for tomorrow's Orphan works discussion put on by the Small Business Administration at the Salmagundi Club.

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP

A Reminder:

You are invited to attend The ORPHAN WORKS ROUNDTABLE  CONDUCTED BY THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION  
How Will the Orphan Works Bill Economically Impact Small Entities? This Friday, August 8, 2008 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon Salmagundi Club 47 Fifth Avenue (between 11th & 12th Streets) New York, NY 10003 212-255-7740 http://www.salmagundi.org 

Free Admission  

 If you live in the New York area, please attend this critical event in person. Congress established the SBA's Office of Advocacy to represent the views of people like us before Federal agencies and Congress. One of their goals is to ensure that our voices aren't lost within the lawmaking process. Your presence at this grassroots event will do much to see that our voices get heard. Until now, Orphan Works legislation has been driven by anti-copyright forces and special interest groups. Their talking points have defined the issue. That's why, if you've written lawmakers, you may have received those talking points as a response.   We need to get our own views before lawmakers. We've had to go to Washington to make the case for artists. Now Washington is coming to us. We thank the SBA for agreeing to conduct this unprecedented field hearing and we thank the Salmagundi Club for offering us their space.   Don't miss this opportunity to show that our industry is united in opposing the Orphan Works bill.

•    This bill would radically change copyright law.
•    The change would create an entirely new business model for the licensing of copyrighted work.
•    That business model would favor large corporate image banks at the expense of individual creators.
•    This would harm artists, photographers, songwriters, musicians, and writers.
•    It would harm the small businesses that serve and are dependent on the creative community.

This is a side of the story Congressmen haven't heard so far. We need to make it part of an open, public debate.

The Roundtable will be chaired by Tom Sullivan, Director of the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Eighteen distinguished panelists, all from the creative community, will represent the copyright interests of grassroots artists.

This event will be webcast.

PLEASE RSVP to illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com and include the names of those attending.

You may review the agenda, the panelists and their biographies on the IPA blog:
http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/2008/08/80808-sba-hearing-on-orphan-works.html

Orphan Works Bill has been Hotline. I urge you to call your senators NOW.

2008-07-30T21:09:20+00:00

ORPHAN WORKS BILL HOTLINED

THIS MEANS IT COULD PASS THE SENATE THIS AFTERNOON
PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS IMMEDIATELY

ASK THEM TO PUT A "HOLD" ON THE BILL:
S2913 THE SHAWN BENTLEY ORPHAN WORKS ACT OF 2008

TELL THEM YOU OPPOSE THIS CONTROVERSIAL BILL
ASK THEM NOT TO PASS IT WITHOUT A FULL AND OPEN HEARING.

WARN THEM THAT IT WILL DO GREAT HARM TO SMALL BUSINESSES

To find your Senators' phone numbers go to the Illustrators' Partnership Orphan Works site:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

At the top of the home page, click on "Elected Officials"
You'll find a US map:
Click on your state,
Then "Senators,"
Then click on each Senator's name,
Then click "Contact."
This will give you their phone numbers.

Please phone and fax them both.

Please call everyone you know who is an interested party and tell them we must act immediately to prevent passage of this bill.

Good Wood Brooklyn- Opening this Saturday!

2008-07-24T14:13:19+00:00

This past summer one of my former students, Andrew Davis, organized a show titled “Good Wood” that consisted of artists painting on skate decks, and having them on display at a great gallery space in Detroit. I took part in that show, and now Andrew has taken this show on the road to Brooklyn. Andrew really knows how to throw an opening, is a great artist in his own right, and I am grateful for his efforts to make this an amazing show.

The opening is this Saturday evening, and I hope those in the area will stop by and check it out.

Here is the information below from the 3rd Ward website-

Good Wood Give Back NYC at 3rd Ward

July 26th, 7 pm - 12 am

Aww Sweet and Alldaybuffet have teamed up to present Good Wood, an auction-cum-party. 50 artists will be auctioning off their one-of-a-kind custom skate decks to support Stoked, an organization that mentors kids through action sports.

Artists include Fernanda Cohen, Chuck Anderson, Leo Espinosa, Don Kilpatrick, Matt Gordon, Nathan Fox, Jeremy Traum, Keetra Dixon, Mike Perry, Chris Ryniak, Plastic Kid, Neuarmy, Serge Gay Jr. and many more.

The night will also feature work from respected Brooklyn-based skateboarder/artist Bobby Puleo and film director and photographer, Josh Stewart.

Music by Brion ISAACS of 33Hz and ShindigNYC.

RSVP: gallery@3rdward.com.

3rd Ward is located at 195 Morgan Ave., at the corner of Stagg St., in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

You Can't go to School Naked- Now released!

2008-07-14T04:27:57+00:00

Welcome Everyone!

You Can’t go to School Naked is now released! After nearly two years of fine tuning this story, it is great to get the advance copies of my book on my doorstep, seeing it available on Amazon for purchase, and the relief of seeing the first two reviews of the book come back positive. I am now focusing my efforts on setting up readings and signings, and have a couple of signings and readings set up for this next month, and possibly a third signing this fall in New York and California.

Since the time I began working on this book, I have had many conversations with people who have shared with me stories of their children not wanting to wear clothes, and even a story or two where their elderly relatives have refused to wear clothing. I will share some of these stories here in the coming days and weeks, and I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

While going through and organizing my studio the other day, I took some time to go through all of my drawings related to my book, and I was reminded of how the very first image that came to my mind when I read my mother-in-law’s story was of a crossing guard/policeman holding a stop sign in front of a child at the crosswalk. It was this image that got me excited to work on this book, and I am proud to say that it was the illustration we all decided upon for the cover of the book.

I want to thank Ted and Betsy Lewin for their crucial support and help in the beginning stages of my work on this book!

Let's grow some illustration.

2008-07-12T03:28:30+00:00

While taking this past week to decompress after the Illustration conference, I was able to re-connect with Chris Payne, and he mentioned to me that the Illustration Growers ad campaign could be coming to a close.

I feel that this is a campaign that could continue on if we can get behind it and show some support. There is already a great series of ads created by a couple of our Drawgers, among others, and hopefully more!

The great thing about this campaign is that if you donate money to it, you can deduct your donation as a business expense.

Now I know that this isn’t the only thing that will stop art directors from using stock art, but it will help especially if great illustrators continue to contribute to it.

Come on; let’s keep it going!

Here below is some information from illustrationgrowers.org that explains this campaign better than I can-

The Illustration Growers of America has created an advertising campaign with the message to art directors, creative directors, designers and art buyers that commissioned illustration is superior to stock.

The world of illustration is changing. Historically, illustrators have operated as independent cottage industries, competing as individuals with each other, i.e., one portfolio verses another portfolio. Today, illustrators face a new corporate form of competition, the stock house. These corporate stock houses armed with thousands of images, both photographic and illustrated, have moved into our traditional markets intent on making their product the dominant source for visual content.

Stock houses understand the concept of competing for maximum market share. In order to compete, you have to promote to have your voice heard. To open a graphic arts trade publication demonstrates just how well the stock houses believe in promotion. The degree to which these stock houses are willing to promote their product is also a clear indication of just how much money they believe they can make in our markets.

Some have suggested legal or legislative efforts to these issues that would be extremely expensive, with no guarantee for success and no end in sight.

Illustrators do have a solution to soften the effects these corporate stock houses have on our industry. That solution is to compete. Stock houses may promote that they have the faster and cheaper product. The fact is, illustrators have the better product. Original, creative, problem-solving art skills are, heads and tails, a better product than stock. Professional illustrators create some of the most compelling images under the most difficult conditions and deadlines. Professional illustrators can tailor-make an image to fit a client’s specific need. Professional illustrators understand the collaborative relationship needed to create great communication art. The right illustration can set the tone or create an attitude for an ad before the reader absorbs the content of the ad. The right illustration can serve to brand a product or business.

Original commissioned illustration is superior to stock. This is our message. Our mission is to promote that message. This ad campaign gives independent illustrators their voice of competition by not allowing the ads the stock houses create to go unchallenged.

Sign the petition against the Orphan Works bill.

2008-06-18T18:53:38+00:00

A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill

Sign the petition by clicking here.

I support this petition, and I urge you to sign it.

Please forward the link and urge others to sign.

You can help increase the power of the petition by signing your real name and listing your artistic specialties.

If you are not a US citizen, we suggest that you note your country, and state if it is a member of the Berne Convention.

This petition is sponsored by A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill, a new grassroots group founded by multimedia journalist Steve Lehman on Facebook and Flickr. All people are welcome to participate; it is not exclusive to these websites.

About Steve Lehman-

In 1987, Lehman broke the story of Tibetan unrest, later profiled in his award winning book "The Tibetans Struggle to Survive." As a visual artist intimately acquainted with the power of free speech, the protection afforded by the right to privacy, and the critical need for independent voices, Lehman, like the rest of us, is deeply troubled by any national policy that affects artists' control over their works.

Please forward this message to every artist you know.

For additional information about Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists by clicking here.

Something new.

2008-06-17T02:45:44+00:00

A few days back i got a phone call from Gary Kelley, and we spoke for a few minutes about Joe Solman's passing (Gary introduced me to Joe's work in '96 when i was his student....), then Gary asks me if i would do a cover for the North American Review.

I was honored to be asked, and what was best about this was when i asked Gary when he wanted to see sketches, he said to just send him the finish, and "do the piece that you have always wanted to do."

So i spent the next couple of days stressing out, and over-thinking the whole thing. As i was going over the different ideas in my studio, i kept looking over at the half finished painting on my easel that i started three months ago, but never had the chance to finish.

On another note- I know it is kinda late to be posting things that realte to fathers day, but Nancy Stahl (thanks Nancy!) alerted me to a tribute on the Jim Lehrer News Hour by Paul Solman to his dad.

It is a nice five minute segment and you can view it by CLICKING HERE.

ICON Sketchcrawl- July 2nd from Noon to 5 p.m.

2008-06-05T05:33:56+00:00

When I first moved out to the San Francisco bay area, I was looking for opportunities to meet up with other artists, others that are simply interested in getting outside themselves to observe and draw. It was so refreshing to go to these and not feel as if everyone is peering over your shoulder or sizing you or your drawings up.

These experiences are why I suggested this event to others on the ICON board.

The great thing about this event is that it can include everyone, including those who aren’t even attending the conference, and it is free. I would love to see everyone there.

SketchCrawl is a worldwide event created by Pixar artist Enrico Casarosa. It involves people from different corners of the world in a day of sketching and journaling and then sharing the work in an online forum.

The ICON5 SketchCrawl will be a local variation on this idea. Attendees will spend the afternoon sketching in and around Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. Afterwards, we will all meet up at the Roosevelt Hotel bar to share our drawings and experiences with each other. Meet up with illustrator Peter Cusack and other group leaders in the Roosevelt Lobby at noon.

So, be there. Wednesday, July 2nd from 12 to 5 p.m.

Write Congress again- NOW!

2008-05-19T17:34:37+00:00

Call to Action

Last Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed their Orphan Works Act.

It is now headed for the full Senate.

If you’ve written before, now is the time to write again.

Urge your senator to oppose this bill.

Because it has been negotiated behind closed doors, introduced on short notice and fast-tracked for imminent passage without open hearings, ask that this bill not be passed until it can be exposed to an open, informed and transparent public debate.

We’ve drafted a special letter for this purpose.
You can deep link to it here:

Contact your Senator in opposition to S.2913 NOW

The House Judiciary Committee is considering H.R. 5889, the companion bill now. Please write them again:

Contact your Congressman in opposition to H.R. 5889 NOW

2 minutes is all it takes to write your senator and representatives and fight for your copyrights.

Over 68,000 e-mail messages have been sent so far.

Don't Let Congress Orphan Your Work

Please forward this message to every artist you know.

Orphan Works Update. Take action!

2008-05-09T14:50:07+00:00

I received the following message yesterday.

Let's continue to take action! Regardless of where we stand on other issues, this is the issue that will affect all of us.

Since yesterday, over 31, 000 letters have gone out from our Orphan Works advocacy site.

Q: What can we do next?

1. Write the House Judiciary Committee. We’ve set up a special alert to contact members of this important committee.

Go to our Take Action/Alert site:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Look for the sample letter labeled "Contact House Judiciary Committee NOW" and send it.

If your Representative is not a member of the House Judiciary Committee, this will send him a message asking him to contact his colleagues on that Committee on your behalf, urging them to oppose the bill.

2. Ask for support from family and friends:

Please ask your friends and family (5 to 10 others) who support your creative work to also go to the site.

They can follow the instructions to easily send a message of opposition to this reckless bill.

Look for the sample letter labeled "For Supporters of Visual Artists - Wrong to Weaken
Copyright Law" and send it.

3. Spread the word to the public: Photosharing on Web will now be at risk:

Please alert your friends who post photos to the web their personal property will be at risk.

Look for the sample letter labeled “For the Image-Making Public - Protect Personal
Property”and send it.

For more information about the Orphan Works Act of 2008:

IPA Statement to House Subcommittee March 20, 2008:
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00261

IPA Senate Mark-up Comments April 30, 2008: http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/ow_docs

Geneva/ May 7, 2008 Orphan Works Bill Catches Global Attention/ Intellectual Property Watch:
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1028

MP3 Interview: http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html

YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CqBZd0cP5Yc

Take action now, don't let them orphan your work!

2008-05-07T16:44:46+00:00

Congress could be voting on this any minute now, so take the time (only a couple of minutes...) to write your congressperson and let them know that your work indeed has value.

Don't let them orphan your work.

Write now, it is easier than checking drawger, facebook, or myspace.

Click here to write your congress-person!

Act now!!!

We will only have ourselves to blame if we do nothing.

Theft, Orphan Works Bill style.

2008-04-27T01:03:11+00:00

We must act together to defeat this bill. Some out there are determined to take away our copyrights.

We cannot depend on anyone but ourselves to defeat this bill.

We cannot wait for someone else to take action for us.

We must not shrug this off as complicated lawyer speak, or feel it will take away from our time painting.

It is the most important issue of our lifetime concerning copyright law.

If you value your copyrights, you will do something.

If we do nothing we will have ourselves to blame.

Please take a few minutes to watch and listen to the following YouTube link by clicking HERE.

Joseph Solman 1909-2008

2008-04-19T03:58:41+00:00

Earlier today I was speaking with my agent on the phone, and she mentioned to me that she had read in the N.Y. Times that Joseph Solman had passed away on Wednesday.

I first met Joseph Solman in April 2001, and have benefited from my visits with Joe in the subsequent years. I have learned so much from Joe, so much about art, so much about being true to your vision as an artist and person. He lived a full life, and is such an example to me of artistic integrity.

His wisdom is ingrained in my mind, and I think of him almost every time I draw from life.

In my last visit with Joe, he reminded me to “look for the unusual thing” in my subject matter. One other quote of his that has stuck with me is- “I find more design in nature than anything you can come up with in your mind.”

I will never forget that stories Joe shared with me in my visits with him. The stories of how Mark Rothko had changed his last name, how Ben Shahn recommended Joe to a mid-town Manhattan gallery sometime in the 1940s, that Madeline Albright had spent an afternoon in his East Village apartment looking over his work, and how Daniel Day Lewis approached him for painting lessons after having viewed his work in London. Joe was such a humble man, and he didn’t seem to let these sorts of things get to his head. He was all about painting, and he kept true to his vision to the end.

I hope that I can leave as great a legacy as Joe has. What a great man, and I am so grateful that I had the chance to meet such a great artist and person. I will miss him, but I will continue to learn from him.

Thank you Joe, for taking the time to meet me. Thank you for taking the time to teach me. I will always cherish the conversations we had.

Click here for my previous post on Joseph Solman. It explains how I met Joe…

TOTO....

2008-04-13T02:36:03+00:00

Last time I visited family in Indiana, I came across a toilet that had TOTO typed across the back of it. It reminded me of that band from the early eighties, you know, the band that sang such smooth hits like “Africa” and “I’ll be over you”.

It got me to thinking……did the band TOTO go into the business of toilet manufacturing?

a new piece for the Wall Street Journal.

2008-03-24T18:33:02+00:00

I had the pleasure of working with Dave Bamundo again this past week, and as usual Dave was a pleasure to work with.

This was done for this past Friday's book review in the weekend section of the paper.

The illustration was based off of the line "...the parable ends with the sound of a thousand parakeets..."

Dave ran this without the textured background.

A video link from the Evening with Bruce Lehman event at the New York Society of Illustrat

2008-03-21T12:52:33+00:00

I had the chance to attend this event, and i realize that some had difficulty viewing the live video feed, so i wanted to include a link in this post for any and all interested in this important issue.

To view the video CLICK HERE.

I post this in hopes of opening up a constructive and respectful discussion amongst us all, because this issue affects us all as working illustrators.

A brief synopsis of the evening-

The house was full for what turned out to be a dramatic evening event. Mr. Lehman’s presentation was eye opening and forceful. The 12 major illustrators organizations came together in an unprecedented act of unity.

Although accountability of current artists’ reprographic royalties was not intended to be the evening’s topic, events made them so. Watch the video and see for yourself why so many attendees have called this forum a long-overdue wake-up call.

The town hall capped a series of daylong meetings at which the 12 groups met with Mr. Lehman to discuss options and strategies. The groups voted unanimously to seek the first industry-wide mandate to represent illustrators’ rights.

To achieve that, the members of each group will be offered automatic joint membership in the American Society of Illustrators Partnership. Published artists who are not members of any group may join ASIP directly. We’ll notify you when and where membership forms are available for downloading.

The following 12 groups were represented:
The Society of Illustrators
The Illustrators’ Partnership of America
The Association of Medical Illustrators
The American Society of Architectural Illustrators
The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators
The San Francisco Society of Illustrators
The Los Angeles Society of Illustrators
The Pittsburg Society of Illustrators
The American Society of Aviation Artists
The San Diego Society of Illustrators
The Illustrators Club of Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia
The National Cartoonists Society
We invite other groups to join ASIP.

The Society of Illustrators and the American Society of Illustrators Partnership sponsored An Evening With Bruce Lehman

New Personal Work.

2008-03-11T19:42:39+00:00

This is another image in the series of paintings that I have been exploring lately (see my Art Battle post for the first image in this series…). I have been somewhat obsessed with Marie Antoinette, I don’t know why, except for maybe it has something to do with how she is a symbol of excess. I really just wanted to play with the huge, bouffant-like hairdo she has, and it is an excuse for me to mess around with line.

A few months back I had a great conversation with Mark Murphy. Mark told me something to the effect that you learn a lot when you get a large surface to work on, and try to “paint the hell” out of it. I left that conversation with the determination to work larger, because I typically work in a very small size in order to easily scan my work, and to meet tight deadlines. I am not going to start only working in a super large scale, but It is nice to take some extra time with an image, and have it in the room as a reminder when I am working on other things.

I have also found that I really enjoy working on wood panels. It is such a durable surface to paint onto, especially when the panel is framed.

Along with all of this I have really enjoyed the past couple of jobs I have received lately. They were in response to a lot of the sketchbook work I have been posting here and at Illoz lately, the stuff I have been doing with watercolor over ink. I have dug out the pen nibs, and have bought up a bunch more to keep exploring this direction.

This painting is based off of a sketch that I have posted here earlier, it measures 2’ x 4’, and is on birch panel. I will re-shoot it and post a better shot of it in the next few days.

Another one for Peter Cusack.

2008-02-18T03:46:33+00:00

In the last couple of months the Detroit Institute of Art re-opened after undergoing a major overhaul that cost somewhere in the ballpark of 150 million dollars. It is amazing! Not only does the DIA have a comprehensive collection of paintings, but also has one of the few surviving Diego Rivera murals left in the United States.

I was so impressed with the redesign that I bought a family membership the week it re-opened. They had some of their collection out while the remodeling was going on, but now it is like any other major museum that I have visited where you have to spend some time to take it all in.

I try and make it a point to find an artist who I haven’t been aware of most times I visit any museum, and found Ferdinand Hodler on this particular visit.

An Evening with Bruce Lehman at the Society.

2008-02-16T03:40:16+00:00

I hope to see you all there at this important upcoming event. This is something that we all need to know about.

Hope to see you in New York!

Protecting Our Rights Collectively
An Evening with Bruce Lehman

Thursday February 21 6:00 p.m.
Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street
Admission is free
An Evening lecture followed by Q & A
Following the event the Society bar will be open.

With the Orphan Works Bill due for resurrection, with Getty slashing prices for stock imagery, with millions of dollars of illustrators’ reprographic royalties going unaccounted for, six artist groups have banded together as a new organization to take action. Purpose: to create an industry-wide mandate to protect artists rights and to speak as an industry with one voice.

This new organization The American Society of Illustrators Partnership (ASIP) brings together the following groups:

The Society of Illustrators
The Illustrators’ Partnership of America
The Association of Medical Illustrators
The American Society of Architectural Illustrators
The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators
The San Francisco Society of Illustrators
Six other groups are pending members and other groups are invited to join.

On February 21st ASIP will introduce itself at the Society of Illustrators, hosting An Evening with Bruce Lehman.

Mr. Lehman is one of the world’s leading experts on intellectual property: Principal author of the 1976 Copyright act, principal author of the Digital Millennium Copyright act, former Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks. In 1997, the National Journal named Lehman one of the 100 most influential men and women in Washington. Mr. Lehman was keynote speaker at the first Illustrators conference in Santa Fe, 1999. For more about Mr. Lehman please go here.

This event is timed to coincide with the Society of Illustrators Editorial and Book gala on February 22nd. So if you are planning to attend the opening, please attend this important open meeting the day before.

Bring your questions, socialize with your colleagues, and learn what steps we need to take next as an industry.

The American Society of Illustrators Partnership is a non-profit organization, incorporated October 25, 2007. Executive Director is Terry Brown. The board is composed of representatives from each of the six Founding organizations.

If you are a member of one of the above groups, you are automatically eligible for joint membership in this new alliance. If you are not affiliated with any current group you’re welcome to join ASIP independently. There is no membership fee.

For more about this alliance for protecting artists’ rights, you can listen to Steven Heller’s interview with Brad Holland by clicking here.

An Evening With Bruce Lehman is sponsored by the Society of Illustrators and the American Society of Illustrators Partnership

The "Blank Show".

2008-02-11T01:52:33+00:00

I am proud to say that some of my students are taking the initiative by putting on gallery shows. In the past month or so they have put on three shows, and one on the way this upcoming Friday night!

I am really excited to see this happening in a town that has a negative image problem, and isn’t an easy place for artists, let alone up and coming artists. These guys are ignoring the entire negative, and taking advantage of the pluses that a place like Detroit has to offer. These aren’t event that they hold to just attract their friends, but they have been a draw for many others in the region.

For example, if one wants to put on a show, and has the desire to make it a large event, it is affordable here. There is plenty of warehouse space just begging to hold a show at. These spaces aren’t as regulated, and there is a real sense of freedom and an “anything goes” spirit. Getting ones work sold at times is a bit of a challenge, but there is a real scene starting to emerge here. Andrew Davis, one of my former students, put on a great skateboard deck show this past summer that had 500 people show up for the opening. This is a great turnout for a town like Detroit. He followed that show up by putting on the “Detroit Art Battle” which had as great if not greater turnout. Another former student, Derek Ecker, held a show a couple of weeks after the Art Battle. There is a show coming up this weekend by even another student of mine, Jeff Nolan, which looks to be interesting…

The photos are from a show put on last weekend by another student of mine, Chelsea Kirchoff. She set this show up as the “Blank show”. Each artist was asked to create what he or she felt the world would be incomplete without. Basically the idea was to fill in the blanks. I gave her my spaceman painting to hang, and feel that the world would be incomplete without space-battles.

She put a lot of hard earned money into this show, and rented out a great location for it. I can only imagine how stressful this could have been for her being a student without a lot of $$$. Chelsea did a great job, and made it a great show.

These guys really get it. They realize how to effectively use the Internet to their advantage in getting the word out, and don’t complain about having no “scene”. They are making it happen.

They make me proud to be associated with them.

My weekend "Death Wish" binge...

2008-02-05T02:21:18+00:00

Forget the Super Bowl, i overdosed on a Death Wish marathon over the weekend!! it was nice to have something other than football to watch while sick in bed....

These are so bad that they are amazin'!

Any movie that has a bad guy named "Mandy Fraker" has GOT to be good!

Now there are your first rate, Bad A$$ villans like "Darth Vader" or "Bill the Butcher" from Gangs of New York (wasn't that the character's name that Daniel Day Lewis played...?), and then there are villans like "Mandy Fraker" from Death Wish 3.....

Mandy Fraker couldn't even get his mohawk to work right.... it's like he was drunk with his other gang members and it came time to mess around with the electric razors on the black-out drunks in the room...

Charles Bronson rules.

A new piece for today's Wall Street Journal.

2008-01-26T00:49:40+00:00

I got the call from Dave Bamundo to do a piece for today's weekend journal section of the Wall Street Journal, and it was a great experience. Dave is not only a great illustrator and art director, but also a great person, and I am honored to have had the chance to work with him on my first piece for the WSJ.

It felt great to have an overnighter job to work on, and having a short deadline made me really think about my choices for this illustration. I was able to “practice what I preach” to my students in that I had little time to work out my thumbnails sketches and get them to the client.

The illustration is based off the review of Pat Barker’s book ‘Life Class’, a book that deals with art and censorship, and is set during World War I.

Thanks Dave, it was a pleasure.

An Art Battle in Detroit.

2008-01-17T01:00:12+00:00

Thanks to Andrew Davis I was able to participate in an “Art Battle” at the Russell Industrial Complex in Detroit this past Saturday. I must admit that I didn’t know what to expect because on my drive into work each day, the Russell is off to one side of the freeway, and looks like a foreboding burnout hulk of a factory (very Fight Clubesque…). An intimidating place, but a real cool space that has a lot of great studio space for artists and events like this. It was a unique Detroit experience going there, and I am happy to have had the chance to experience it. It is exciting for me being that I am relatively new to this area, and it is encouraging to see a good turnout at an event in a city that gets a bum rap.

There were 25 different artists painting, sculpting, and doing all kinds of crazy stuff all the while a DJ mixed it up. People paid 10 bucks to attend, and voted on whatever artist appealed to them. I was a bit nervous at first with people walking by, looking at what I was doing, but I soon got into my painting and was able to relax somewhat. It was a great excuse to get started on a body of work that I have been procrastinating for sometime now. I didn’t quite finish my piece, but got about ¾ the way done by the time it was all over.

I met a lot of cool people, and got somewhat buzzed off of their energy as well as the fumes (spray paint, cigarette smoke, and possibly pot...) from the graffiti artists next to where I was painting.

Most of all I really enjoyed seeing my current and former students there as well.

Thanks again, Andrew and Vince for putting it together. Thanks Dave for going with me into “battle”. Let’s all do it again sometime soon.

New Books- You Can't go to School Naked and Illustration Now 2.

2008-01-08T15:00:44+00:00

It was a great holiday season for me, and I honestly can say that the book my wife gave me this year rates up there with the Millennium Falcon I got from Santa when I was five.

Charley Harper’s work is absolutely amazing! This is a book for the ages. It is MASSIVE, and Todd Oldham did a great job laying out Harper’s work. This thing has to weigh around 25 pounds or so, and it is type set in Neutra!

If I am not mistaken, Steve Wacksman knew Charley Harper?

The first hardbound copy of my upcoming children’s book arrived around Christmas. My wife took it, wrapped it up, and left it under the tree for me to discover. What a nice surprise! It was a great feeling to hold in my hands all of the work that I had done for the past two years or so.

You Can’t go to School naked is available right now for pre-order on Amazon.com. You can purchase your copy by going here.

Another holiday surprise was to receive my two complimentary copies of “Illustration Now 2” by Taschen books. I am honored to be included in this book with some amazingly talented artists. In fact there are a few other Drawgers and friends included as well- Richard Allen, Edel Rodriguez, and Alex Nabaum. I hope you have received your complimentary copies as well.

Lastly, I have been able to work on some paintings that I have had to put off for some time due to work and teaching obligations. I bought a bunch of framed wood panels, and have really enjoyed working on a different surface.

Blast from the past.

2008-01-02T13:28:53+00:00

Homecoming was fun!

Happy Holidays everyone!

2007-12-22T04:10:38+00:00

I hope that each of you will have a great holiday season, and I hope the very best for you all in 2008.

Christian Slade's visit to CCS.

2007-12-12T04:33:44+00:00

This past week we had the pleasure of having Christian Slade visit our students here at CCS. Christian was here for a two day workshop that included a figure drawing workshop, a drawing trip to the zoo (yes, it was c-c-cold!), and a demo to finish it all off based on the previous two days experiences. The students gained a lot by having him visit, and it was a great send off for our semester’s end. Christian brings a great positive energy with him wherever he goes, and it rubbed off on our students in such a good way.

I really enjoyed having a good friend visit as well.

Along with having Christian visit, we had Francis Jetter here a couple of weeks earlier. It was a great semester with all of the visitors we had. I would love to have more Drawgers come and visit Detroit-Rock City in the coming months.

Thanks Christian. We’ll keep the quesadillas warm for next time.

Chance of Showers- An upcoming exhibit.

2007-11-26T12:55:53+00:00

Recently I was invited by Seattle based Design Commission to participate in a unique group show. I have never considered using an umbrella as a surface to paint on, and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity. I’m happy to be part of a show that will benefit a good cause.

Here is a description of the show from Design Commission’s site-

This one of a kind December gallery exhibition and silent auction features over 25 decorated and artistically transformed umbrellas from artists, designers and architects across the country. Each artist is given the same canvas to work with—a plain, white nylon umbrella— and will create a work of art by embellishing with paint, reconstructing with other materials, or sculpting into a new shape. Some umbrellas will be usable, others purely works of art. All proceeds from the auction benefit 826 Seattle.

826 Seattle is a nonprofit writing center that helps students, ages six to 18; develop their creative and expository writing skills. They provide students with access to writing workshops, publishing projects and one-on-one help with homework and English language learning - all free of charge.

826 is such a great idea, and it is similar to another writing center that David Eggers is involved with in San Francisco.

I painted the umbrella with acrylic, and I must say that it was one of the more enjoyable surfaces to paint on. No resistance to the paint. I took it outside while it was raining to test out how durable it was, and it held up great.

So, if you are in the Seattle area, stop by and check out the show!

To find out more information on the show, click here.

"The World of De-Materialization". Karim Rashid in Detroit.

2007-11-19T23:55:32+00:00

This past Friday night I went to hear Karim Rashid, the industrial/product designer, speak here at the College for Creative Studies.

He brought up some interesting concepts and ideas, some of which I embrace, and some ideas that I don’t necessarily subscribe to. I admire the fact that he is asking questions and trying to get people to re-think their positions. For example in his presentation he questioned why a car needs a glossy paint job. He brought up how it could be a better idea to have a matte paint job, and have the surface textured to reduce the wear and tear. He brought up how many watch manufacturers are now going back to designs that have a lot of “bling”, and how these designs are overloaded with dials that no-one can figure out what they are used for. He also asked why it is necessary to sleep 17” off the ground, and brought this up to say that many of our day to day objects grew out of layers and layers of issues; some of which are behavioral.

So what is it that I didn’t agree with? Well, I got the impression that he doesn’t value drawing, the physical aspect of drawing on paper or some other surface. I got the impression that he feels that the act of drawing is arcane.

I could be wrong, so if anyone out there happened to be in Detroit at this event, please correct me if I am wrong in my assumption.

I don’t know what to make of all of it, but it was nice to get a few minutes away from the studio….

Here are some of his quotes that I jotted down-

“… I don’t believe in ‘problem solving’ in industrial design because the ‘problems’ have been solved. Take for example a comfortable chair, this is a problem that has been solved…”

“ If we design and aren’t as concerned with style, we shape the world.”

“You should never have any hobbies, because your job should be like your hobby.”

“Modernism wasn’t as much an aesthetic as much as it was a social behavior.”

“What is the ornamentation of today?”

Charlotte Gainsbourg

2007-10-24T01:19:01+00:00

I was recently turned to Charlotte Gainsbourg's new album, 5:55 by a friend of mine.

I love this album, and has a who's who of people involved in the production- Air, Jarvis Cocker to name a couple.

Charlotte is the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.

I have put her song "The Songs that We Sing" on constant replay on my I-Pod. A song with timely lyrics.

Check out here website here, and give her listen, you won't be disappointed.

What makes us happy?

2007-09-18T11:26:20+00:00

I recently was on Swiss Miss's blog, and found an interesting video clip / article.

To quote Swiss Miss-

' Psychologist Dan Gilbert challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel real, enduring happiness, he says, even when things don't go as planned. He calls this kind of happiness "synthetic happiness," and he says it's "every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for." '

Check out the clip here.

My new friend.

2007-09-11T11:53:11+00:00

The only way for me to cope with a day like today is to write about a little friend who has moved into the tree by the side of our house.

I put up a bird feeder a few weeks back. Nothing creative or fancy, but it is so fun to sit in my living room and watch the birds gather. Sometimes my friend will come over and scare away the birds.

He has tried unsuccessfully to get at the birdseed, but as the evidence clearly shows, he has succeeded. I have thought about placing the feeder somewhere higher so that he can’t get at the seed, but It’s too much fun to watch. The kids also enjoy it, and maybe that is the main reason I don’t look into something else. They still are undecided as to what his name is going to be.

A sneak peek of "You Can't go to School Naked".

2007-08-28T15:28:46+00:00

It has been a very busy and productive summer for me. I have been working on my children’s book for about a year and a half now, and it is close to wrapping up. It has been a lot of fun working on this book, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my editor and art directors over at Putnam/Penguin books. I now have a better appreciation of the work involved in creating/illustrating children’s books. My hat is off to all those illustrators who have been doing children’s books for years!

“You Can’t go to School Naked” is a story that my mother-in-law wrote ten years ago for a writer’s group that she was part of. She joined the writer’s group as a way to pass the time after retiring from having worked as a pediatric nurse. She is a polio survivor, has a brilliant mind, and I am so happy for her that she will be a first time published author at age 63. She is an inspiration to me, and it has been a special experience for me to work together with her on this book.

The story is somewhat educational in that it warns you of what can happen when you go to school naked.

I will post more illustrations from the book as it gets closer to the release date, but here is a sampling in the meantime.

“You Can’t go to School Naked” will hit bookshelves in the summer of 2008.

It has been a very busy and productive summer for me. I have been working on my children’s book for about a year and a half now, and it is close to wrapping up. It has been a lot of fun working on this book, and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my editor and art directors over at Putnam/Penguin books. I now have a better appreciation of the work involved in creating/illustrating children’s books. My hat is off to all those illustrators who have been doing children’s books for years!

“You Can’t go to School Naked” is a story that my mother-in-law, Dianne Billstrom, wrote ten years ago for a writer’s group that she was part of. She joined the writer’s group as a way to pass the time after retiring from having worked as a pediatric nurse. She is a polio survivor, has a brilliant mind, and I am so happy for her that she will be a first time published author at age 63. She is an inspiration to me, and it has been a special experience for me to work together with her on this book.

The story is somewhat educational in that it warns you of what can happen when you go to school naked.

I will post more illustrations from the book as it gets closer to the release date, but here is a sampling in the meantime.

“You Can’t go to School Naked” will hit the bookshelves in the summer of 2008.

Re-discoveries from my move.

2007-08-09T16:19:25+00:00

During this latest move across the country I have discovered stuff that I have had in boxes almost my whole married life. A few years back I got into the habit of collecting vinyl, and I got into this when a friend of mine gave me a Technics turntable as payment for helping him with designing his portfolio. I am proud to say that I was able to get a lot of great, rare jazz recordings for next to nothing. I also collected a good amount of more kitschy stuff like “Smooth and Rocky-Rocky Cole sings with the Al Cohn orchestra”. I tried to find information on Rocky Cole this morning online, but didn’t find much. It seems that Rocky only did one recording for Roulette records in 1960. Even though he is a bit kitschy, he does have a great voice.

Well, the turntable broke; I sold it on e-bay, boxed the records up, and bought an i-pod. But the other day I bought a USB turntable that connects directly to my computer, and I have begun the process of converting my LP tracks into MP3s. It is made by Ion, and I found it at Urban Outfitters. It isn’t a turntable that a serious audiophile would want, but it isn’t the worst turntable I have had.

Last night I converted an album titled “Diz and Bird”, a selection of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker performances when they hit the road together in the late fifties- early sixties. Good stuff. I have “Little Jimmy Rushing and his orchestra”, the cover illustrated by the great late Tom Allen. Another gem.

Another thing that I found that I thought was lost to time was a pamphlet from an exhibit I saw in Kyiv (Kiev. Kyiv is the Ukrainian spelling…) in the early 90’s. It was an exhibit of N.S. Syadristy’s work. Syadristy created these microscopic sculptures, and hollowed out human strands of hair and would place carved roses in them. He could momentarily stop the beating of his heart to create these sculptures. It sounds crazy, but I saw the exhibit myself. You view these sculptures using a microscope. One of my favorites from the exhibit is a portrait of Hemingway done in watercolor on a pear seed. Another favorite was a chessboard with pieces on the head of a pin. Maybe I was duped by Soviet propaganda, but if so, they did a convincingly great job of it!

If you are ever in Kyiv, check it out!

A sampling of my figure drawings.

2007-08-01T23:12:57+00:00

Some model drawings. The painting is of my wife, and was a demo i did in oil for my students here in Detroit. I don't get to work in this manner often, if at all, and thanks to my friendship with Peter Cusack, i found the inspiration to pick up my oils again.

Gotta go and unpack some more boxes....more on that later.

Back in the U.S.S.R.

2007-07-23T21:09:28+00:00

We are in the middle of our move eastward, and we are in Utah for a week. It has been nice to stay at my mother's place, and see family that i haven't seen for some time. I was going through a bunch of my old junk, and found this picture that i had thought was lost forever. Now if i could only find the pic with the Soviet army women (no joke, this really exists..).

This picture was taken by my friend Erik deWaal when we were inside the Kremlin in Moscow. I was fifteen, and it was two months before eastern europe and the Berlin wall came apart at the seams.

The Dead Milkmen t-shirt i am wearing in the picture was stolen from me in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) after i laundered it. during my move, i found my Dead Milkmen "Big Lizard in my Backyard" LP again as well. I can't wait to play it once we are settled in Michigan.

Once.

2007-06-15T18:05:42+00:00

Saw a great film last night- Once. Not only was it a great film, but the soundtrack is amazing. A little Irish film set in Dublin. Go and see it, you'll thank me later...

The Once website.

3x3 Magazine's Animation call for entries.

2007-06-15T17:51:01+00:00

Charles Hively, the publisher of 3x3, e-mailed me recently to let me know about the 3x3 animation show, and I thought that I would help him out in doing what I could to help promote it. Charles has done a lot for illustration, and produces an amazing magazine that deserves our support.

So....enter this show!!

Here is a brief write up from the 3x3 magazine website-

As a part of this year's Professional Show we're adding a new category covering the art of animation. Since this is our first competition we will be accepting work produced or published between January 2005 and June 2007.

For complete details including the list of our panel of distinguished judges and entry forms click here.

The due date for this show is July 31st.