posted: January 5, 2010

In addition to about 50 assignments a year, for the past 8 years I have been trying to do a painting for myself every day. I don't always have the time but this year I was able to do quite a few. As always, this has been an effort to develop my own voice and abilities, and I think this was a year that I actually made some real progress towards that end. So here's my year end round up of personal work: Its not everything but most of it from the past year. If you keep telling people the same thing, ie "Work hard and eventually you will have a breakthrough"...eventually you might even listen to yourself.


2009 was a year of highs and lows, real excitement and total frustration- but I feel very optomistic that 2010 is going to be a very good year!

posted: January 4, 2010

Another outstanding recent graduate of the CCA illustration program is Brynn Metheney. Brynn's field of interest is concept art, and for her senior project she deesigned an ecosystem, The Morae River,  complete with flora and fauna.

According to Brynn, "The Morae River is an exploration of a fictional river and it's ecosystems. I wanted to put the animal and plant species I was creating into a context where they could further evolve and shape their environment as organisms do here on earth. "

Brynn's project has been evolving along with her skills and confidence as an illustrator. She has had to be somewhat independent as our program is not direcly focused on concept art, but we try to support the students to develop towards their own interests.  Brynn has also been my teaching assistant for the last year- and she is going to be missed by the entire department. I wish her the best of luck as she sets out to look for work as a concept artist. 

posted: December 31, 2009

The passing of the great David Levine reminds me of something that many people outside the illustration business are unaware: he was a true master watercolorist. I thought that it would be fitting to post some of his wonderful paintings here.

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Great examples of Mr. Levine's work can be found in the book "The Arts of David Levine". If you don't have it, get the book and be prepared to be astonished.

I really wish I could have met him.

posted: December 16, 2009

In the Illustration Department at California College of the Arts, (formerly CCAC),  our students produce a thesis project in their senior year. This year we have some truly outstanding graduating students, and it is my pleasure to  show a few of their thesis projects to the Drawger Audience. Today I am going to begin by introducing Alyssa DeVille, and her thesis project,"The Jabberwock".

"The Jabberwock" is a poem from Lewis Carrol's "Through the Looking Glass":

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

  And the mome raths outgrabe.

 

 

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

  The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

  The frumious Bandersnatch!"

 

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

  Long time the manxome foe he sought --

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

  And stood awhile in thought.

 

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

  The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

  And burbled as it came!

 

One, two! One, two! And through and through

  The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

  He went galumphing back.

 

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

  Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

  He chortled in his joy.

 

 

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

  Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

  And the mome raths outgrabe.

At CCA the illustration faculty (Director and fellow Drawger Dugald Stermer, Thesis teacher Bob Ciano, Alexis Mahrus, Owen Smith, Caitlin Kuhwald, John Hersey, Barron Storey, Randy Chavez,Chris Koehler, Mark Eanes, Sara Gillingham and myself ) are all proud of all our students and their accomplishments. I will post some more of our outstanding thesis projects from the past year in the upcoming days.
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A small but important note: I have an ulterior motive in posting this project at this point in time. Last friday night someone stole three of the originals (Toves, Beware, and Headless) from the CCA thesis studio in San Francisco. An investigation is ongoing- but if anyone somehow knows anything or can help us recover these paintings, our gratitude would be immeasureable. As you can probably imagine, ALyssa was devastated to learn of this theft- but she is in this for the long run and will recover. Tomorrow, she will be an artist. What will the thief be?

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