Spring BREAK!

5 minute drawings from Jack Purcell's writing and

Drawing Comics class

As I am approaching a much anticipated Spring break, Im looking forward to almost a full week in studio - getting ahead on some work that has been dragging along. Im modeling two twenty four inch sculptures at the same time, though they are at very different stages of competion. A dedicated few days should bring the progress needed to post some meaningful pictures here on the blog and provide me some much needed momentum.

Up at Montserrat, my students are cranking out work in my Cinematic Storytelling Class, and in Fall River, my Drawing and Illustration students continue to surprise and inspire me.

Here in Providence I lucky enough to be taking Jack Purcell's Writing and Drawing Comics class at RISD. I've been toying around with some story ideas for a few years now and I think its time to get them down on paper. I can say enough about my fellow classmates - they have really inspired me to get cracking - the bar seems to get raised every class. And we are only two classes in!

Character sketches for a twenty page story

Sketchbook pages

Practice practice practice practice fabrics

A day of dentist (wisdom tooth), Walmart (pain

killers for wisdom tooth) and Dr. Sketchy's

A day in Beverly at Atomic Cafe and some notes from class while

we watched American Beauty

Some old drawings made new

I made a lot of drawings this year and that gave me plenty of material to hand out as gifts. Here are a few that I spent a little time fixing up before wrapping them up and saying goodbye.

Valentines Day! ...at the mall?

What better way to spend a romantic day with your loved one than to go to a place that is mutually agreed to be among the top five worst places to go ever - unless you are there to draw (or watch a movie). Providence Place Mall provides My friend group and I a great place to gather, indulge in some poorly constructed Taco Bell, and draw the people walking, shopping and eating. Valentines day proved to be one of the most crowded I've seen, aside from the winter holidays - plenty to see and lots to draw! If you are interested in drawing on location my favourite venues include:

The Hospital

The Train Station

The Bus Station

The Mall

The Courthouse

Its been a while...so: Some figure drawings!

It has indeed been a while since I've posted any new work or updates. It doesnt mean I havent been working though. I am struggling through another figure sculpture with life casting components and am working on drafts for a graphic story. As well, I have a full schedule teaching and taking classes. I am teaching Drawing I and II for Bristol CC this semester and loving both classes. This semester I got my first chance to teach Figure Drawing For RISD's Continuing Education Program. I love teaching for CE because the classes are always filled with eager and enthusiastic learners. This class is no exception!

I've posted some images of my figure drawings from Peter Zallinger's figure drawing I course I am taking at the Lyme academy. A few are posted here and more are on my webpage under the sketchbook section. We've been doing lots of long drawings and I am pretty excited about them. I've never spent more than 40 minutes consecutive drawing from the model before and am enjoying the extra time. I get to really work towards an aesthetic that way.

And...Big news! I am happy to announce that I am joining Montserrat's Illustration and animation department. I will be teaching Stop Motion animation this wintersession and an advanced drawing course called Cinematic Storytelling this spring. So next semester promises to be just as busy as this one. Its good to be busy.

Some new drawings

It has been a while since I posted any drawings or sketches. Pre-College craziness followed by a quick start on a new sculpture (and watching the Wire on DVD for the first time - Oh man...) has kept me from scanning and posting. Eleanor and I have taken a few trips down to the water to draw the Providence Power Plant (better known among our friends as "The Sentinels") and a few drawings came out of it. An early summer trip to Chris McInerney's parent's in Maine also produced a nice one.

New Sculpture!

August brought the end to another Pre-college summer an I can say again, with the same enthusiasm I do each year - Pre-Colleges is one of my favorite teaching experiences. I taught Illustration and two sections of Drawing and all my classes were filled with impressive and ambitious students.

So now that work work is done, its time to get back to work in the studio. Earlier this week I was lucky enough to get the help of former classmate, colleague and friend Matt Clowney in order to photograph my newly completed sculpture. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. Matt's expertise made the process easy and enjoyable. Check out his work at www.matthewclowney.com

Some of the results are below. Visit my webpage for more images and details.

This sculpture is the first in a series of small scale figures I am making. They all will ultimately be exhibited as a single installation. The common theme is borrowed from my sculpture "Hung Out to Dry in Vietnam", which features a young boy sized figure - about age 10 - hauling miniature fish folk on a water yolk. The boy is wearing a mask of an adult's face and shoes that resemble the foot in the sculpture above - life cast and Frankenstonian (Frankenstieny? is there a word for this?) The armature for the second sculpture already has clay on it and is progressing nicely. Ill have process pictures posted soon.

Among Twenty Snowy Mountains earns First Place Edward Bannister Award in the Providence Art Club's Open Painting Exhibition 2011

I had the good fortune to be included in the Providence Art Club's Open Call for Painters Show that just opened today July 10th. To my surprise and delight, Among Twenty Snowey mountains, pictured above, earned The Edward Bannister Award for first prize. The award was extremely humbling especially among so many excellent paintings. You can find out more about the show here:

http://www.providenceartclub.org/media/gallery_dodge_cu.phpreturn_URL=%2Fexhibitions.php&SID=&G_ID=dodge&GI_ID=gqBV5Vhseh27xMD&GI_I=1