Weekly Bow Tie Guy

Zebra (ˈzēbrə)

For my last post of the year I am showing the second of the illustrations for the Christmas bookmarks. My oldest daughter's favorite animal is a Zebra. I struggle with the stripes, but I have found I really enjoy the main of a zebra. 

Weekly Bow Tie Guy–Dolphin

Dolphin (ˈdälfin)

This year for Christmas I made a book mark for my three oldest children with their favorite animal on it. (the youngest can't read yet.) My youngest daughter had just announced that the dolphin was her favorite. This is a change from the leopard. I was grateful for the change in that drawing the leopard with the spots was not something I was looking forward to. I had been avoiding it. Dolphins on the other hand are really fun to draw. Each book mark had their name and one word that Julia and I felt described them well.

Happy Holidays

Finals are all graded and submitted. It is now time to focus on family. Thank you all for your support this year. I hope you have a great holiday season.

More Random Sketches and a Bow Tie Guy

With it being so close to finals week I am posting more random sketches. The kangaroo is from my visit to the Biodome in Montreal. The man was sketched while at a restaurant. The others are from my head.

Social Justice

Tackling The Issues of Social Justice

This year has been the Year of Social Justice at Lyndon State College. One of the events planed was the visual art's faculty exhibit in the Quimby Gallery titled Cognizant. One of the works I submitted for the show is seen above. This illustrates my realization that Social Justice is a multifaceted complex problem in our society. Often people focus on only one or a few of the aspects and ignore the other issues. It is a challenging problem and each aspect needs attention, but it is difficult to deal with them all.

More Sketches

I have been busy working on my art work for this years faculty exhibit and the family Christmas card. So instead of posting a weekly bow tie guy, I am posting some sketches I did a few weeks ago while at a Veterans Day Fundraiser.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy: Tardigrade

Tardigrade (ˈtärdəˌgrād)

So what is a tardigrade? …a water bear. What is a water bear? …a tardigrade. (I could go on like this forever, but I won't).

I have been fascinated with these creatures since I first found out about them a few years ago. A tardigrade is a small animal the size of a pen tip. Not only do they look cool with the eight legs and all, but they can survive in any environment. They have been found in the hottest volcanoes on the earth, and in the coldest areas of Antarctica. They can also survive in the vacuum of space. 

Weekly Bow Tie Guy: Chimera

Chimera (kīˈmi(ə)re)

I have had this on my list of Bow Tie Guys for some time. It is a complex creature and it took a while for me to get my head wrapped around how to draw it. 

The Chimera is a fire breathing creature from Greek mythology. Traditionally it had the head of a lion and goat with the goat's body and a serpent tail. In current iterations have the addition of the dragons head and dragon wings. I thought it was humorous to add the bulkiness of the lions front legs and the thinness of a goats hind end.

Weekly Bow Tie Guy, Owlbear

Owlbear (oul be(ə)r)

Continuing with a mythological chimera theme, this weeks Bow Tie Guy is the owlbear. 

New Weekly Bow Tie Guy

Enfield (enˈfēld)

The Enfield is a raptor fox similar to the griffin in concept. They can be found on medieval coat of arms. Some of them have wings some do not. All have the bird like fore arms. In my version I altered the snout to be a beak. It gave it a more bird like feel. 

I have set a new goal to post a weekly bow tie guy. Life has been busy. It has taken me a few weeks to finish this based on the few moments here and there that I have had. I have found again the need to take time to draw. It helps me to focus more effectively on all the other demands in my life and it brings me joy.

Unveiling My Updated Brand

In addition to being an illustrator, I am also a graphic designer. I enjoy taking on branding projects. Recently, I felt that I needed to update my brand slightly. I use Adobe Jensen because of the classic feel and that it does not look so crisp and clean. For this iteration, I played with the quirky quality of my illustrations by making the C in Barclay slightly askew. 

Yesterday, I received my new set of business cards. I went with Moo for printing because I could have 50 different images on 50 different cards. I have been very impressed with the quality, price and service. I felt like a child on Christmas day. 

Al Hirchfeild at the Boston Museum of Fine Art

Since I first saw his work, I have always had a love for the line work of Al Hirschfeld. His ability to capture the likeness of an individual with a minimal amount of elegant lines is breathtaking. A number of years ago I watched the documentary on him, The Line King, and I was surprised at how painstakingly slow he created the lines that appear to be so smooth and effortless.

Last month while visiting the Boston Museum of Fine Art, I saw my first original Hirschfeld. It was an illustration of the famous photographer Yousuf Karsh (seen below).

When given the opportunity I like to get close to art work to see details and how it was done. Again I was surprised at the line. In print his lines look so smooth and clean, but on closer examination (see below) you can see the sketchy quality and the fussiness of the line. 

This is an example of why knowing how your work will be reproduced is so important. It seems to me that Hirschfeld knew that when it is printed at a smaller size the line becomes more smooth. At some point, I hope to see more of his original drawings to check to see if this holds up with all of them.

If you do have an opportunity I would encourage a visit to the MFA in Boston and see the exhibit. Karsh's Photographs of iconic figures from the Golden Age of Hollywood are gorgeous, and you'll get to see the Hirschfeld Illustration as well. You can see more information and what else is on exhibit at the museum here.

Catching Up, Apple Picking

It as been rather busy at school so I haven't been able to find time to post these. I am trying to get caught up on so many things right now. I needed a few moments yesterday to get away from the stress of life, so I finally scanned in the drawings.

A few weeks ago I went with my oldest and youngest children to do some apple picking. It was part of my youngest sons preschool class. Above is a sketch of one of the women at the orchard explaining how apples grow to the children. He is the one standing in the baseball hat. It was a beautiful fall day. Grant was so excited to pick apples. 

They also had farm animals at the orchard so I too a few seconds to draw the sleeping pigs.

Sketches, Rick Riordan

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to take my eldest daughter to a presentation by Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series and the Heroes of Olympus. The gathering was in celebration of the release of the last book of the Heroes of Olympus series. 

It was a good three hour drive to the Boston area. When we got there we waited in line for another two and a half hours. We had repurchased tickets, but we wanted good seats. It was surprising to be in a synagogue with hundreds of screaming 12 year old young women. I didn't think an author could have that kind of rock-star status. I am grateful my daughter has such a reserved demeanor. 

I was impressed by his humor and presentation skills. It was fun. He ended up talking more about the cover art work than the actual books. As an illustrator I found that interesting. 

Of course I took the opportunity to do a sketch of him while he spoke.

A Day at the Boston Museum of Fine Art

The Visual Art faculty to all the first year students from the Visual Arts Department at Lyndon State College  to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts yesterday. I took the opportunity to demonstrate sketching to the Animation and Illustration students while we were in the Impressionist Room. It was fun to see them take to sketching so quickly. While no one was around Degas Sculpture, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer I quickly sketched the room. When Someone came to look at it, I quickly drew them in before they moved on. 

I was also able to see a James Montgomery Flagg's print of the “I Want You” poster and J.C. Lyendecker's print of the US bond poster. It was incredible seeing them up close. I learned so much about their brush strokes.

Sketches of Vermont

Over the Labor day weekend I spent some time eating at some great restaurants and sketching the towns. On Friday night Julia and I went to Newport and ate at The East Side Restaurant. It is located along Lake Memphremagog. The bottom sketch is the view of Newport form our table on the deck. I was grateful for the view of the lake, the beauty of the surroundings and more importantly the time with Julia.

On Monday, after picking up illustrations for this weeks Vermont Illustration Exhibit in Montpelier, I took my two daughters to The Skinny Pancake and we had two great dessert crepes. The top sketch is the view of the capital building from our table outside. It was a wonderful day with my daughters.

Vermont Illustrators Exhibit

Next Thursday, September 4th at 6 pm will be the opening of the exhibit, Vermont Illustrators, in the Quimby Gallery at Lyndon State College. 

This has been something I have wanted to do for a number of years. I am excited to finally see it come about. I am also thrilled to exhibit my work alongside some great illustrators. They have all been wonderful to work with.

If you are in the area and can visit please do.

New Bow Tie Guy

I have found it helpful to take a break from all that is needed to do and just draw something for the pure enjoyment of drawing.

I like to add spot illustrations that relate to my classes on the syllabi. It is my fun way of branding myself and my classes. I like to see if the students get the connection between the illustration and the course and it is just fun.

For years I have had an old sketch on my Portfolio and Senior Thesis syllabi that I just didn't feel was the right fit. While feeling overwhelmed with planning for the semester and other stresses, I took a much needed break and drew this out. It had been floating around in my head for some time and needed to get to paper.

I also find drawing elephants particularly challenging. Every time I think I have them down I realize there is something new about their form. They are fascinatingly awkward and odd.

Preliminary sketches

With class preparations, family time, home upkeep, and church responsibilities I have not made much time for my art work this summer. I have been doing some writing of children's books to submit to potential publishers (more info to come as I get to the sketching stages), and sketching. I am also preparing for the upcoming Vermont Illustrators Exhibit in the Quimby Gallery this fall. To my knowledge it is the first of its kind.

Here are a few sketches of ideas I have been working on for my Bow Tie Guy Series. It is a chimera, enfield and owl bear.

Summer Sketching: Cape Neddick Lighthouse

On Monday, we visited the Cape Neddick Light House and Long Sand Beach in York, Maine. I love the coast of Maine. It is so majestic and beautiful.

I had a few minutes to sit and sketch this, before we had to leave and it started raining. I hope to visit again and spend more time drawing and seeing more of the coast.

Summer Sketching: Happy 4th of July

A few weeks ago My family and I visited the Minute Man National Historical Park in Lincoln Massachusetts. Not only is the park beautiful to walk through, the presentations and depictions of the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War were fascinating. I am surprised at how much they did not cover in my early education with regards to the Battle of Lexington. This is a place I want to return to again and spend more time. I also want a hat like that.

Summer Sketching, Circus Smirkus

We had the opportunity to go to see Circus Smirkus yesterday. I have been very impressed with what they do. You can find out more about them here. While waiting fro the show to start, I saw this guy dressed up like a clown sitting across the tent from us. As usual I couldn't resist the drawing opportunity. He looked so out of place, even in the tent. I should note he was not part of the show.

West Side Story at Vermont Children's Theater

This was a particularly difficult poster for me. For all practical purposes as much as I love West Side Story as a musical it is not a poster I would choose to illustrate. I like to draw animals and I like to create illustrations that have a humorous side to them. I am grateful for the insight of the director, John Walker. Without his vision and ideas, I would not have been able to come up with this. I just don't think this way. In his director's statement he said “…these bad choices and this unleashed hatred kills even the most beautiful and pure thing, authentic love. Like a rose trying to grow out of a dirty sidewalk only to be crushed under trash and the tread of tires or shoes.”

I found the idea of the rose growing in the grime and darkness of the inner city depicted in the musical captivating. I ran with it. In the end I am glad I had the opportunity to stretch myself. 

New Vermont Children's Theater Poster

Here is the final illustration for the Vermont Children's Theater production of Dinosaurs Before Dark, Kids. As mentioned last week I find great joy in drawing dinosaurs. The Show opens on June 26th and runs through the 28th.

Work in Progress

I started working on the poster illustrations for this years shows at the Vermont Children's Theater. The first show is The Magic Tree House Collection Dinosaurs Before Dark. 

I love drawing dinosaurs. Here are a few preliminary sketches of the pteranodon. I will post the final poster next week.

People Watching

This is a collections of quick sketches of people while on My trip to Italy and Greece this last February. I love drawing people and trying to capture them unaware. There is something so telling about who they are and what they are thinking. I also think this is one of the best exercises an illustrator or animator can do to get an understanding of how to draw the figure and bring it to life.

Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece

Here is the colored version of my sketch from at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece.

From the Greek Isle of Agina

While in Greece we spent a day traveling to a few Islands. This is from the Isle of Ageina. Not only was the harbor inspiring with all the small fishing boats, I also had the best pistachios I have ever had.

A view of Orvieto

I had posted the original drawing earlier on my Facebook page while I was in Europe. Here I have added color. I have found a great love for small Italian villages. They are so inspiring, picturesque, and beautiful. Orvieto is in the Province of Terni, Southwestern Umbria. It is another one of my top 10 favorite places to visit.

Barclay Turns in His Brushes and Bow Ties for a Bat'leth.

Starting this fall, Professor Barclay Tucker will move from teaching in the Visual Arts Department to heading and teaching many of the classes in the newly formed Department of Klingon Studies.

In response to the move Professor Tucker said, “ This is a completely new enterprise for me. At first I was somewhat defiant about it, but I realized it was really the final frontier of education. This is a voyage to seek out new pedagogy and to boldly go where no professor has gone… I realized it was the logical thing to do. In the end, it was an opportunity I just could not pass up.”

Many of the faculty at Lyndon State have expressed excitement about the new program. Some statements have been, “I have never seen a college that is so forward thinking” and “buy' ngop!”

Of the change in responsibilities, President Bertolino said, "Ya know, it makes perfect sense. Professor Tucker has a unique tie to the subject. His first name and demeanor is similar to that of  Lt. Barclay who will possibly serve on the Starship Enterprise D and his last name is just the same as the engineer of the first Enterprise. Both ships will potentially have numerous interactions with the Klingons.” 

President Bertolino went on to say “This new Degree in Klingon has broken down all the silos in the different programs at Lyndon. Atmospheric Science will be teaching what we know of the weather on Kronos, The Business department will be teaching about the future impact of human Klingon interaction on the economy, The English Department will teach Klingon Literature, Exercise Science will have classes on mok'bara, Music and Business Industry will look at Aktuh and Maylota and other Klingon Operas. Janet Bennion's class in Klingon cuisine is just tasty. You haven't lived until you've had Gagh.“

Students in the new program will explore the Klingon culture and language, look for solutions to possible future catastrophes between humans and Klingons before they have a chance to occur, and delve into the ecological menace of Tribbles.

For more information on the new degree, visit Lyndon State College's site here.

This Weekend at the Norman Rockwell Museum.

This past Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the opening of Murray Tinkelman's Exhibit, Baseball, Rodeos, and Automobiles, at the Norman Rockwell Museum. Not only is Murray an incredible illustrator, but he has been one of the driving influences in my life as an artist. His passion for illustration and his expertise as an instructor pushed me to want more of myself. His was the first Art history class that I could stay awake in.
To sit amongst the Four Freedoms by Norman Rockwell and listen to him again was incredible.
In addition to seeing Murray and Carol Tinkelman again, I was able to see fellow classmates from Syracuse and Hartford, Ted Michalowski, Anne Catharine Blake, and Yong Chen. I was also able to catch up with my other great professors, Ted and Betsy Lewin, Bill Thomson, Doug Anderson, Lisa Cyr, and Denis Nolan. It was a great evening of great art and wonderful friends.

Visiting the Oracle at Delphi

Let me first start off by saying I love Delphi. It is a beautiful small village and now one of my top ten favorite locations on the earth. The ruins at the Temple of Apollo set against the Grecian mountains were majestic, somber, and beautiful. I got a sense of the sacred standing next to these structures. It was inspiring to stand amongst the history. Here are my sketches of the Treasury of the Athenians and the remains of the Temple of Apollo.

Interesting Find

I was working on a project and happened to be searching the web with my name and I came across this. It is a presentation done on me by a high school student that had interviewed me a little over a year ago.

A Room with a View

Here are two more sketches that were completed on my recent visit to Italy and Greece. This was from my hotel room looking out towards Sorrento. 

Island of Poros

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to take a group of students to Italy and Greece to sketch. I love drawing on-sight. I love the immediacy of it and the energy of the drawings. Not only was I impressed with how well the students took to drawing like this, I was grateful for the opportunity to do many sketches myself. I love both countries. I was inspired by almost every nook and cranny of the places we visited. I look forward to the opportunity to go again in the future.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting what I drew. I will also be adding a little bit of color to some of the drawings.

This drawing was from a very brief visit to the Island of Poros just of the coast of mainland Greece. 

Exhibit at NVRH in Saint Johnsbury (I.F. Prehistoric)

This week starts an exhibit of my illustration work and four illustration students from Lyndon State College at Northern Vermont Regional Hospital. As part of the exhibit, I completed another illustration in my E is for Elephant series, titled “During a discussion of design dynamics with a defenseless duo of duck billed dinosaurs and a diplodocus, a deluge of dozens of dastardly debonair dumbo octopi daintily descended.” The work will be up until March 6.

Illustration Friday-Search

This is the second illustration completed for the exhibit LSC's ABC's the 2014 Faculty Exhibit. I had Q and S (seen here). This is for the letter Q and is titled “Quintessential quirky, quixotic, quasi quadrupeds quaintly questing with quarter-staffs, and queso, for quaggas and a quetzalcoatlus in a quagmire of quicksand to qualify for the quaich.”