I Have Plane Dreams

Here's a little illustration just for you.  

And happy Sunday and happy Shark Week!  Tune in to Discovery Channel and get your shark on.  Celebratory drawing coming your way soon.

If These Don't Look Similar I Don't Know What Does

Was James Jean at the Museum of Natural History?

Some Sketches

Hey yous guys!  (I was tempted so say "ya'll" because it would have been way easier to type, but no matter how far South I get I will never be able to bring myself to say it.

Now that that's out of they way, I can show you some quick sketches from various city trips.
 

Here's some guys at Laguardia sitting through plane delays.

My favorite prehistoric mammals (Brontotheres!) at the Museum of Natural History.

 

These people were not having fun in Times Square, and they were going to make sure the whole world knew about it.

The three sketches above were done in black china marker, my new favorite sketching tool.  It's easy to use (both strong black lines and light shading are possible!), doesn't make that much of a mess (unless you darg your hand around like I do), and it self-sharpens!  What else could you want?

Blast from the Past: CANVAS??

Heyyo.  So now that I'm back in Florida for an undetermined duration, I decided I'd make some Florida type things to sell in the local galleries.  That means no drawing dogs being f-ed in the a or broad's backsides, BUT it does mean lots of fish! 

Here's what I got so far:

That's right it's on a canvas!  I used to use acrylics a lot, so it's not too bad of a transition from what I've been doing lately.  It's kind of liberating actually.  And huge (what Floridian wouldn't want a giant painting of fish hanging above their turquoise leather sofa??).  There will be many more fishes added as well. 

Also, looking for jobs around here has been tough.  I talked to a bunch of Pine Island seasoned-veterans last night, and they all told me to move my beautiful self to New York where I can be with other young people (however to move there I need to get a steady job in addition to my freelance, but can't afford to move there until I get a job ....a big circle catch-22 conundrum!).

So that's where I'm at right now.  OH! And I have a full-page illustration being published in the upcoming issue of Electric Vehicles Magazine.  Check it out on magazine stands soon!

3x3 Nuts and Bolts Conference

Hello World!  Here's a very belated post on my experience at the 3x3 Nuts and Bolts 2011 Conference in New York City (posts this late are a result of leaving the laptop while traveling the Eastern Seaboard -not recommended for illustrators; bring the laptop with you on such travels, even though it's a pain in the ass to carry.  Jobs pop up, emails need to be answered, rendezvous points messaged on facebook, etc).

Nuts & Bolts was a great experience, and I recommend it to anyone interested in being a freelance illustrator. Attend next year.  It's a little pricey, but I think it's worth it.  If your education prepared you well enough for your career, still come because if anything, gaining the networking connections and hearing what professionals in the industry have to say is invaluable.

So yeah, professionals!  The Conference was packed with talented speakers.  Lectures were delivered by not only the great Charles Hively himself, but also the killer line-up of Aaron Meshon, Martin Wittfooth, Yuko Shimizu, Sheheryar Sardar, Kate Kelly, Paul Hoppe, Matt Rota, Marcos Chin, and workshop leaders.  If you do not know these names, google them and their sites will come up.

So I know what you really care about is pictures.  I did a lot of sketching while in NY, particularly of people in Times Square and animals in the Museum of Natural History.  Those will be up later after I scan everything in.

In the mean time, back to the conference.  The attendees were split into groups and each party went to a different artist's studio.  I got to go see Martin Wittfooth's, and it kicked ass.  Located in Bushwick, Brooklyn a stop away from where I was staying, the studio was covered in giant 10 foot oil paintings for his new series debuting this October.  Here's a sneak peak of my favorite one:

Martin had a ton to share on his experience as an illustrator branching out into the fine art world, and also served as total eye-candy while filling our heads with essential information on our business.

Here's a look into the lunch room of the Society of Illustrators:

That painting above the bar is an original Norman Rockwell.  Norman, as well as other greats, used to hang out in this old gentleman's club.  Revamping it to attract the new illustration youths is an upcoming challenge, so, if you're in the area, please come visit the building.  There's a sick Pulp Novel exhibit downstairs with some great damsel in distress and monster art.

I'll let your brains digest all this writing.  Here's a parting photo from Bushwick: