friday wisdom

new artwork

not sure if this is finished yet or not... but i did it yesterday.
came from a blind contour drawing i did of t.s. monk... digitally altered with paint and textures.

may & june :: great new music

i have spent much too much money on music in the past month... and june should be no different.
looking for something new to liven up your spring? try these:

wilco - wilco (the album)
manchester orchestra - mean everything to nothing
iron & wine - around the well
green day - 21st century breakdown
sparklehorse - dark night of the soul
eels - hombre lobo
grizzly bear - veckatimest
phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
bob dylan - together through life
doves - kingdom of rust
conor oberst and the mystic mountain band - outer south
metric - fantasies

and new to me... grateful dead - blues for allah

stop-motion video :: "sweet dreams"

today, my studio in art students started their final project, a stop-motion animation film. each group of 3 students will be responsible for 30-60 seconds of film, at 4 frames/second. their first day of brainstorming was awesome - i cant wait to see what they come up with. i'll post the final results on june 11th.

heres a video that we watched in class today - creative, funny, and touching. enjoy!

brittany arnold :: senior exhibition images

i am so proud to have my first group of ap students graduating from art school this year.
brittany arnold has her work featured in the MICA senior BFA show. the pictures above are from BmoreArt Blog.
note the fine detail of brittany's pen work spread over huge expanses - creating a atmospheric haze of forms... i feel like im looking out the window of a plane flying above the clouds. its a wonderful panoramic escape.

for more information, or to purchase work, you can contact brittany at: BrittanyAmodeoArnold@gmail.com

friday wisdom.

thanks to kelsey kilgore for the poem inspiration.

studio in art :: nathan sawaya :: lego artist

art made out of legos!
...a combination of two of my favorite things.

new sites from old friends

4 former students have put websites together of their current artwork.
check them out if you have a few minutes.
i am honored to have been a part of their artistic growth...

kelsey kilgore '05 (schroeder)
aaron bueg '05
carolyn kassnoff '05
jake adams '08

rebranding america.

PAPER magazine has invited 15 of their favorite designers to help them 'rebrand america.'
sounds like a good idea to me.

read their manifesto and see more examples here.

this one is my favorite (by dan wieden)

tromp l'oeil car

sara watson, an english art student, turned a car "invisible" with a lovely trompe l'oeil paintjob:

she is studying drawing at the university of central lancashire (uclan), took three weeks to transform the car's appearance.

she created the illusion in the car park outside her studio at uclan's hanover building in preston.

the car is now being used for advertising by the local recycling firm that donated the vehicle.

awesome.
full article here.

now here's the car from the side:

artist of the week :: miso

i am enamored with how miso combines the use of pattern with simple drawn forms to create such interesting portraits.

the combination of the figures with their worn, aged 'canvases' (city walls) creates a great juxtaposition of clean intricate pattern against age and texture.

you can find out more here, or read a short interview here

bob dylan & willie nelson

so i finally get to cross bob dylan off my 'concerts to see' list. he's coming to syracuse with willie nelson on their tour of minor league baseball parks, and mr. matt and i are going.
it doesnt get more american than bob dylan, willie nelson, and the baseball park. all i'll need to get is a hot dog, milkshake, and a slice of apple pie and it'll seal the deal.

youtube friday

check out this video to see more of how the art is made with the extreme perspective:

artist of the week :: kelly mckernan

from kelly mckernan's website:
kelly's work is defined by internal struggle in its many forms through personal growth. she illustrates various situations for her female protagonists to interact with through symbolic elements in vague settings. these scenes often comment on the operating consequences of idealism and fantasy due to naivety and youth with two opposing forces at work: natural inclination versus cognitive reasoning. these rival dualities are further represented by stylistic differences and the contrasting mediums of photography and painting. there is deeply personal meaning to be found as the multi-layered struggles depicted in her current body of work reflect her interests and concerns as a growing woman with a penchant for idealism.

i am amazed by this work, as well as how it fits into the project we are working on now in drawing 2. a perfect fit.