October 2016 CCG Meeting/Workshop

Promotional artwork by Jonathan Gilpin
for Kennedy's The Art Part and Nathan Penrod.

We will be having a meeting/workshop Sunday October 16th, 2016 in meeting room B of the Central Lexington Public Library, 143 Main Street, Lexington KY from 1:30 -4:30 PM!

Regular CCG Meeting/Workshop: 
Sunday 10/16/16 - 1:30-4:30 pm - Lexington Public Library - Central Branch Meeting Room B-
regular meeting with:

• Meet and Greet
• Announcements
• News
• Round Table Review
• Themed Life Drawing - maybe a little Star Trek TNG cosplay?
• Print Project Overview get a packet explaining the project and how to submit (submission requirements)) Newspaper style comics and a calendar!!
• Video Project Overview (get involved now!)
  Email lexkyccg@gmail.com if you have any questions about the meeting. Hope to see you there!
  
  

IlluxCon 2016 - Reading PA

I attended IlluxCon 4 based on the glowing recommendations of Mister Larry Elmore - and boy was he right! A great concept (highlight the original art from their favorite fantasy Illustrators) started by Patrick and Jeannie Wilshire, this is done right and kept small and enjoyable. You can actually meet most of the active fantasy illustration legends all at one one show - better yet the environment is relaxed and casual - the artists (at least when I went) were not "conned out" and actually had the energy, patience and inclination to talk with a fellow (if not as famous, or as skilled) artist (that being me, Jonathan Gilpin, CCG Coordinator! :-) )!!

Discounted entry for currently enrolled art students was a very nice touch then, and I presume now? There was an art contest for students with a nice award...again then, but probably still the case.

Now in it's ninth year the show is coming up in mid to late October - see this link for more info!

http://www.illuxcon.com/

4/28/15 - Jeremy Miller Class at Preston Arts in Louisville KY

Great Class and Instructor in Louisville:
Preston Arts Center Inc
Art Center
Address: 3048 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40205
Phone:(502) 454-9954

Drawing Studio with Jeremy Miller
# 9946
Fridays
May 1-June 5
1-4pm
6 classes/ $120
plus supplies

9/29/13 - CCG Themed Life Drawing (TLD) - Long Pose - Sultan's Harem

Continuing in our initiative (see the CCG TLD tab) to create more diverse drawing and learning opportunities for all artists - The Lexington KY Comic Creators Group  (CCG) is hosting a Themed Life Drawing (TLD)  event with  the cooperation and support of the UK Community Arts program this Sunday, September 29th from 1-4pm. The event will be held in one the studios on the 2nd floor of the Reynolds Building #1.  (Follow the posted signs or call ahead for exact details.)


Long Pose - Sultan's Harem Theme - UK Reynolds Building - Sunday S9/29/13 - 1-4pm - All Mediums Welcome*
* Mediums that will be SAFE in an enclosed space

2011, Jonathan Gilpin,
Pitt Markers size?

Date: Sunday 9/29/13 1pm-4pm
Location: UK Reynolds Building #1, drawing or painting studio 2nd floor

Cost: $ 8-7 adults, $5 students

Format: clothed, 10 minutes of short exploratory poses, 5 minute setup, 2-1/2 hour pose with three 5 minute breaks - long pose drawing, painting or sculpture  - possible extension of pose for 2nd session if there is support, photos taken with model's approval and willingness to share with host

Theme: Sultan's boudoir, model in belly dancer costume, hookah, large potted palms, candles, Persian rugs, pillows, tapestries, fainting couch, Moorish pattern screens, lighting, soundtrack

Budget: model fees: $45, props $:0-45

Technical Assistance: prop collection, lighting, audio - Teresas, Melissa, Farhad, Mike, Matt Cooper
Contacts: Tony Roccanova, Jonathan Gilpin

Updcoming CCG TLDs:
I propose these two days** and possibly two costume/themes: (note both will be clothed modeling sessions, based upon the models preferences- and appropriate for !4+ years of age artists)

**If you have other ideas for themes or venues - please tell me! Would like to get these happening on a monthly basis - next up would be October (Halloween Theme) and November (Thanksgiving, Football, or Pilgrim Theme)

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CCG Themed Life Drawing - Dark Horse Comics Ghost 

December 2012, Katie as Ghost,
photo by Mike Burrell

Date: Sunday 10/27/13, 2:30 -4:30pm
Location: Beaumont Branch, Lexington Public Library

Cost: Free Event
Format: clothed, short poses, 1 min -15 min, drawing and sketching
Theme: Comic Book character portrayal with Katie as Ghost (tie into try out script Ghost script from Dark Horse Comics or aspiring comic artists?) fan, lights

Budget: model fees: $30 ( costume, $0 (already made/assembled)
Contacts: Jonathan Gilpin

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CCG Themed Life Drawing - Dark Horse Comics Ghost 

2013, Jonathan Gilpin,
india ink and wash, 19" x 25"

Date: Sunday, 11/17/13 evening (exact time TBA)
Location: TBD (Jonathan to host)

Cost: $ 8-7 adults, $5 students

Format:  clothed 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 minute poses, 30 minute poses, 45-60 minute pose sketching and drawing

Theme: Movie Re-enactment of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Katie as lead Femme Fatale

Budget: model fees: $45, costume: $0 (already made/assembled)

Props: 60's era stuff, motorcycle, switchblade, tire chains, male motorcycle gang member victim for Katie to hold down {John Howard?}
Contacts: Jonathan Gilpin

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If you are interested in modeling, drawing, or helping with staging, makeup, cosutming or props please contact me!

Email (lexkyccg"at"gmail"dot" com), phone (859) 276-5528 or text message me Jonathan Gilpin (859) 699-8640. Also watch our facebook page (or join our private group), CCG Coordinators's events on my facebook page and listings on The Lexington Drawing & Painting Group on meetup.com for more info and further artistic opportunities!

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UDPATE: 10/28/13 Long Pose - Sultan's Harem Theme

2013, Mike Burrell, media?, size?

Here a few images from the Harem Boudoir TLD from a few weeks back:

We ended up having about a 2-hour long pose. The abundance of textures and surfaces was quite challenging!

Looking forward to our next long pose! As an artist you definitely need to strategize your approach differently than from shorter poses. If we extend the poses even longer to allow sculptors to join the session then that changes it even more!

Link to meetup.com group gallery:

http://www.meetup.com/The-Lexington-Drawing-and-Painting-Group/photos/17797042/#292324122

10/08/10 - Artists Presenting at the World Equestrian Games

A big part of the World Equestrian Games are all the exhibitors set up there on the grounds of the horse park. A number of these are involved in equine art and I came across two that caught my eye.

Debbie Sampson describes herself as a Sports Artist, and her website will certainly attest to that. I met her the first week of the WEG while she was painting at a booth near the Equine Village.

She has as a special fondness for equine sports and was working on a close up of a horse in oils with a pallet knife as we talked. She also works with many professional sports franchises which can be somewhat involved because of licensing issues.

The work that I saw that day was colorful, visceral and a bit abstract - it was, for me, very reminiscent of LeRoy Neiman. After vising her website I saw a versatility in her rendering  (as this striking dressage study demonstrates). She resides in Florida but will often travel to Kentucky for our numerous racing and equine events. I look forward to her next visit and hope that we can chat more then.

A nearby booth promoting a horse registry was hosting a drawing to have your horse immortalized in an oil painting portrait. There was a sample image (shown at right) that was quite striking, which drew me in to learn more - I later discovered the artist was none other than Richard Hescox.

This name sounded very familiar and after talking with the gentlemen from the registry I realized this was a well known science fiction cover artist. I believe he even did a cover or two for Marvel Comics - for their magazine line: Savage Sword of Conan or maybe Kull, The Conqueror. He also has a fine art website where he promotes his equine and portrait art. I was disappointed when I realized Richard was not actually in attendance there at the WEG since I was hoping to meet him in person  - but it was a fun connection to make.

Although I did not visit or see the American Academy of Equine Art during my two recent visits I would be remiss not to mention them and their full time presence at the Kentucky Horse Park while discussing equine art.  I hope learn more about this organization and it's members in the near future.  This non-profit group describes themselves (from their website):

The American Academy of Equine Art, Inc. was established in 1980 by a group of ten distinguished artists, individually famed for their work on equine subjects. Their aim was to maintain a degree of excellence within the genre, and to promote the academic representation of the equine form in drawing, painting and sculpture. Loosely based on the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the AAEA serves to educate and encourage a broad awareness and appreciation of contemporary equine art as a specific and distinctively worthy segment of fine art in America.

09/30/10 - Fashion Illustration: Jennifer Lilya Video

Illustration and specifically Fashion Illustration does not get enough attention here. I was recently made aware of a very talented fashion illustrator (through a Facebook friend Gerry Acerno) by the name of Jennifer Lilya. She works with traditional media to create her striking and fun images.

I was interested in learning more about her working method (she works on 90# stonehenge with acrylic washes and sumi ink) and and found these videos by PinkyShears, an online magazine for the professionals in the fashion industry. Check out the embedded videos below:


Intro: Interview with Jennifer Lilya, Fashion Illustrator from PinkyShears on Vimeo.


Interview with Fashion Illustrator Jennifer Lilya. [Full Length] from PinkyShears on Vimeo.

07/23/09 - Mazza Conference and James Gurney

Last week I was able to attend the Mazza Museum's Summer Conference last week for one day. The Mazza Museum is a teaching museum for picture books located in Findlay, OH on the campus of Findlay University. The five-day event was their 17th annual summer conference with a mixture of professional authors, illustrators, teachers and librarians in attendance. This is is a similar institution in purpose to the Cartoon Library & Musuem at OSU.

The way I discovered this event was through reading James Gurney's excellent blog GurneyJourney and seeing that he was going to be making a speaking engagement fairly close to home (about 4.5 hours away).

If I appear dazed in the picture below, it may be from lack of sleep from the night before! That week my family and I were on the way home from a summer trip to the northeast so we were coming from CT the day before. We arrived at our hotel in Findlay around 2:30AM but I was able to arise and attend the 9:00 AM keynote speech on Wednesday July 15th. James gave an excellent presentation detailing his growth as an artist, researcher and author (the Dinotopia series being the most notable). Come October look for his new art instruction book: "Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist".

Later he led a pull out session where he showed his sketchbooks and demonstrated the use of water soluble pencils for field sketching. He closed with a short question and answer session.

It was a pleasure to meet this kind and gracious man and his lovely wife Jeanette. James is a truly gifted and skilled artist. But I think he is just as significant as an arts educator. He shares an incredible amount of knowledge he has learned over the years on his aforementioned blog. He is able to show the nexus of science and art: through his work biology, history, anthropology, optics, are integrated with architecture, illustration, oil painting and sculpture. Please let me know if you would like to help advocate for James Gurney to come and visit our area. He makes numerous appearances each year, around the nation and internationally, speaking primarily at private art colleges.

04/11/09 - National Illustration Event - Mazza Museum Summer Conference

Just as comics has the often mentioned (at least here on this blog) OSU Comic Library and Museum - children's picture books has the Mazza Musuem on the campus of Findlay University in Northern Ohio.

During the week of July 13 - July17 2009 they will have their 17th annual summer conference. There will be numerous notable presenters including James Gurney of Dinotopia fame who will be speaking there Wednesday July 15th in the morning.

Here in Lexington the University of Kentucky Library has a group with a similar mission - The McConnell Center seeks to study and support childrens literature.

10/21/08 - Society of Illustrators Call For Entries

Here's a chance to be entered into a prestigious NY art show and be included in the 2009 Illustrators Annual 51. Online submissions accepted but deadline is November 7th, 2008.

Here's the link to their website with a fun poster PDF call for submitting your work.

http://www.soicompetitions.org/

09/09/08 - Gallery Show - Woodcuts by Wesley Bates and Other Works

Local Illustrator Laura Lee Cundfiff sent me this and I thought it looked pretty interesting!

You are cordially invited to the opening and artists’ reception for the Gallery Exhibit at Elk Creek Vineyards [in which I will have a few pieces].

"Carved Surfaces"

Featuring the works of Wesley Bates, Jennifer Zingg and Bob Gibson.

This exhibit honors the collaboration between Wesley Bates and Larkspur Press.
Also on display will be the work of a few of the students he has inspired over the years here in Kentucky including Laura Lee Cundiff.

Saturday September 20th 5pm - 7pm

The exhibit will be on display through October 31st where a closing reception will be held. (Note: Wesley Bates and Juanita Wilkins will be here, and Juanita Wilkins will perform at the closing reception.)




Click here to see the invitation on the Web and to get directions:
http://www.etab2b.com/elkcreekvineyards/Carved_Surfaces.html

Note: Google, mapquest and yahoo all map the location incorrectly.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would like to come!

Laura Lee Cundiff
Www.lauraleecundiff.com

Famous Wildlife Artist Wilhelm Goebel comes to Lexington

Gallery B will be hosting an artist's reception for Wilhelm Goebel April 4th from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Fly Fishing Clinic sponsored by The Sporting Tradition. The show will also be up during the upcoming gallery hop on April 18th.

Wilhelm Goebel has been a popular and internationally renowned Wildlife artist and Illustrator for many years. He specializes in Bird art and is a skilled replicator of nature and anatomy and holds a degree in Biology. This excerpt from his website outlines his accomplishments:

"Goebel's artistic accomplishments are numerous; he was chosen as the 2004 National Wild Turkey Federation Stamp Artist of the Year, 2002 National Wild Turkey Federation Artist of the Year, the Grand National Waterfowl Association 2002 Artist of the Year, and in 1995 won wildlife art's most prestigious award, the Federal Duck Stamp contest. His entry entitled "Surf Scoters at Barnegat Lighthouse" graced the 1996-97 Federal Duck Stamp. He has also designed numerous state duck stamps for Alaska, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota and Virginia.".

Gallery B (http://www.galleryblexington.com ) is a leading Fine art Dealer Showroom located on 145 W. Main Street. They Specialize in landscapes, still lifes, portraits and other realistic paintings, prints, other media, and occasionally a few sculptural works. They represent some of Lexington's greatest oil painters and have a very large selection, especially after their merger with Dogwood Galleries and relocation into it's previous location. Please take some time to view great Nature Art right here in your hometown and a chance to meet a man who will most assuredly become legendary in the world of Avian Art. A true master in the sense of Audubon.

03/03/08 - Lexington KY setting for Syndicated Comic Strip

Did any of you know Lexington was the setting for a nationally syndicated comic strip? I know I was pleasantly surprised to find out about this strip and the "discovery" of another great artist from the past!

From 1948 to 1959 Francis "Frank" Godwin drew "Rusty Riley" a wonderfully rendered comic strip. The title character is a young orphan boy who finds work as horse groom... where else but in the horse capital of the world! Frank Godwin was influenced by two famous contemporaries: James Montgomery Flagg (artist of the the "I want you for the US Army" recruitment poster with "Uncle Sam") and Charles Dana Gibson (the Gibson Girl artist). All three are consummate pen and ink men. With Godwin adding the brush to his tool set to produce black and white art that managed to create a great deal of of tone with just the use of line.

Godwin produced editorial art , commercial advertising art, illustrated stories and novels as well as drawing comics: most notably for the ground-breaking "Connie" about a strong, independent woman in the working world (1927-1944) during a time this was not the common portrayal. (The Art Lortie Connie site linked and mentioned on www.bpip.com as being comprehensive is no longer active apparently?)

Thanks to Jason Lambert (monitor for Sunday UK figure drawing sessions) for this post idea.

02/17/08 - Happy President's Day

Here's a little Photoshop painting to commemorate President's Day. I've been recuperating from a lengthy sick spell so I've had time to work on my digital painting skills. Word to all you interested in this - I hope to set up some get togethers and or workshops covering digital art in the coming year. Let me know if you want to participate or know more.

01/29/08 - Illustration Events - Summer 2008

Even though comics dominate our posts here we do want to support illustrators and animators as well. Here are some exciting opportunities for Illustrators to learn and network at some summer workshops/conferences/seminars: (click on the event title to visit the official site)

The Illustration Master Class, June 16-22, 2008, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.

Join fantasy illustrators for a week long intensive seminar open to various skill levels. Instructors include Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Donato Giancola, Rebecca Guay, Dan DosSantos, and Scott Fischer. "Attendees will benefit from a full schedule of classes in figure drawing from an illustration perspective, use of reference, drawing from the imagination, digital and traditional painting technique, live demos and industry q&a, as well as extensive individual one on one critique from 10am to midnight each day." Register by 2/15/08 to receive $100 discount off tuition.

Guild of Natural Science Illustrators' 2008 Summer Workshop, June 15-28, 2008, Hastings, Michigan

Here is the description of this event from the official website:

"This coming Summer in 2008, the GNSI Summer Workshop will once again be held at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, a privately-run ecological education/research station set in a beautiful area of Barry County, Michigan with 661 acres encompassing an amazing variety of habitats, flora and fauna.

And, wow, what a lineup! We are excited to present our schedule to you in the links above. As with previous Summer Workshops, all of the sessions are meant to integrate and follow a unified theme. These sessions will focus on the creation of an illustration from pencil sketch to final illustration, using water-based media, and emphasizing the use of color and composition to accurately coordinate foreground and background. You may select any one segment for an excellent shorter program, or any combination for the more integrated approach. All 4 workshops will use the subject-rich surroundings at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (PCCI) for inspiration and reference, from collecting animal subjects to observation, photography, sketching, and plant collection for background subjects! One advantage of the 2008 Summer Workshop location is the extended daylight hours; we are on the far western edge of the time zone, and our workshop will coincide with the summer solstice; daylight extends to nearly 10 pm!"

2008 Guild of Natural Science Illustrators National Conference, July 20-26, 2008, Ithaca, New York.

There will gallery showings, lectures and workshops at this event. For further details please visit the link above for more information as it is posted..

11/19/07 - Podcast Gurney Interview and Guide to Interning

These were two items that I thought might be of interest:
First a recent audio interview with Dinotopias's James Gurnery.
Second an enlightening post from James Apples' blog Visual Editors about getting your foot in the door at your local newspaper.

11/17/07 - Illustration Resources

Illustration

Pronunciation: \ˌi-ləs-ˈtrā-shən also i-ˌləs-\

Function: noun

Date:14th century

1 a: the action of illustrating : the condition of being illustrated barchaic : the action of making illustrious or honored or distinguished2: something that serves to illustrate: as a: an example or instance that helps make something clear b: a picture or diagram that helps make something clear or attractive

This post will hopefully be updated by lots of you on a regular basis. If you see something here that you don't agree with or feel is missing leave a comment.

Websites:
Illustration Art - David Apatoff really likes great pictures. Inspriation from some of the best.
Gurney Journey - James Gurney of Dinotopia fame frequently updates this excellent blog. Shares lots of his working methods and techniques.
Visual Editors - a group effort "the classroom of visual journalism". Great for technical illustrations or informative illustration (ala USA Today diagram).
Today's Inspiration - Leif Peng's labor of love and the source for 1940's and 1950's illustration information.

Books:
Illustrator's Bible - Rob Howard shares his tips for a wide variety of traditional media
Rendering in Pen and Ink - the classic by Arthur Guptill.
Digital Character Design and Painting - techniques for using Photoshop CS in digital illustration by Don Seegmiller, the middle of three similar books, the first deals with Painter, the latest with Photoshop CS3

Magazines:
Illustration Magazine - lots of the old masters covered
Illo - contemporary illustrators
ImagineFX - British import (pricey), DVD insert, trial software, artist profiles, tutorials
2DArtist - online PDF (inexpensive), lots of tutorials

Schools:

Traditional Colleges and Universities

Savannah School of Design (SCAD) - with campuses in Savannah, Georgia and Atlanta Georgia:Undergrad and Masters Degrees
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) - Undergrad only for Illustration
American Academy of Art - the school in Chicago that Alex Ross (and his mother) attended
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) - has a Medical Illustration degree (see Gurney Journey blog for his review)
University of Georgia - has a Scientific Illustration undergrad program and a Medical Illustration Masters Program through their Medical College.
Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) - this program is gaining in recognition. Chris Payne heads up the Illustration Department.

Summer Intensives, Online and Hybrid Courses

The Illustration Academy - summer intensives with working illustrators

The Art Department (TAD) - online/hybrid courses from the Illustration Academy and Massive Black/ConceptArt.org
Visual Literacy Program - online video tutorials from the Illustration Academy, ConceptArt.org and TAD instructors- has two options: adults and high school students

11/04/07 - Excellent Autodidactic Posts and Open Source Education

I mentioned Gannon Beck previously in a post concerning his superior online illustration tutorial. Well he has blown me away again with his posts on Learn to be an Illustrator and serial posts on "Open Source Education". This latter subject is going to send a chill down the back of many a college administrator - and I think deservedly so. When did higher education become such a money making proposition?!! Little business colleges boldly charge such exorbitant tuition as to rival the student debt that one would have at an Ivy League School (worse because there probably isn't much in the way of scholarships, work programs, grants, endowments, etc...).

I just have to applaud Gannon's "can do" approach to dealing with the sacred cow of higher ed. This "self-reliant" auto didactic track is a quality that many in our fighting forces have and probably why our military succeeds in so many demanding situations. I find this a refreshing and viable approach to the whole college education challenge - what do you all think?

10/04/07 - Conan Tut, Squidoo and Drawing Board.org

This is a jam packed post as I am going to talk about at least three different entities but they all related: as being great educational resources. Leave a comment if you like this post! Lurkers tolerated but not advocated!! Join in and let your voice be heard!

www.drawingboard.org
This is a great forum based site that deals with comics and illustration. There are a ton of great categories, I especially enjoy the the Superhero Jam discussion moderated by Euan MacTavish out of Scotland. He is a wonderful digital illustrator and great at capturing celebrity likenesses and applying dramatic and novel color schemes to his digital paintings. Check out Euan's blog for some way cool art and a peek into how he digitally creates his work. He appears to have a very efficient work flow - something a lot of digital artists lack (you will see them make major edits halfway through a finished piece - BAD, VERY BAD!!). Here is the link to the drawing boards' page about Squidoo.com.

www.squidoo.com
This site uses a format called LENS to create web pages (follow this link if you want to create a lens!). I guess there is a reward system for building and then having web visitors go to your lens (or single web page) - but they seem to have some good art instruction pages? You get royalties from each visit and can disperse those as you wish. Seems like a creative and benevolent exercise in capitalism! I will update this post once I get a better handle on this technology. IF anyone else can explain it better please post a comment!

Gannon Beck - Illustrator http://gannonbeck.com/
Gannon has a cool Conan Illustration Tutorial (http://www.squidoo.com/conandrawing) using the LENS format on squidoo.com. And I really appreciate his sentiments about sharing knowledge and mentoring - Bravo Gannon! Help make Gannon independently wealthy - send all your friends to his page!! (LOL)

10/04/07 - How does something I draw get into a magazine?

Mike Lynch (caricature pictured left), in addition to being a blogger, is a magazine cartoonist. His clients include Reader's Digest, Playboy, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, TheLadders.com, the New York Daily News and many others. He's also the National Cartoonists Society National Representative.

In a recent article on his blog, Mike shares the answer to the question "How does something I draw at home, on a board, get into a magazine like Harvard Business Review?" The article is a bit cartoon focused, but many of the points raised would be equally applicable to making a comic pitch. Good reading on either side of the creator fence.

Check out the full article here.

04/28/06 - Bluegrass Festival of Books

WOW! Two weekends in a ROW! It's amazing when you look up and actually see the opportunities right here in Lexington, Kentucky! OK, let me explain: last weekend we had the wonderful Women Writers Conference with some really inspirational comic creators and now this weekend we have another major event of interest to creative folk.

This Saturday, April 29th at Lexington Center, UK and Joseph-Beth Booksellers are presenting the Bluegrass Festival of Books, http://www.bluegrassfestivalofbooks.com/.

Of special interest to me is this workshop:

PICTURE THIS! THE ART OF THE CHILDREN'S BOOK		1:00 PM Room: Thoroughbred 5
Join three of today's most talented children's book illustrators as they discuss their craft. Panelists are Loren Long ("The Little Engine That Could"), Susan Meddaugh ("The Witch's Walking Stick") and Pamela Pease ("Derby Day"). The moderator is Chris Ware from the Herald-Leader.