Happy Birthday Jared!!

Today is my partner Jared's Birthday.

We have an Easter Bunny and a Tooth Fairy and of course there is Santa Claus, but there is no one to celebrate birthdays specifically and bring us cheer on our special day. I thought I would rectify that and I created Phil the Birthday Platypus just for Jared.

Cafe and Faculty Meetings

OK....these cafe drawings are being posted by request. Two of them I am not so sure about. The drawings from the faculty meetings are just an added bonus.

Edmond redux

Ok, So I am never satisfied...so what ?

While developing my frog book I just felt that something wasn't right with my previous design. He looked too old, too clunky. I wanted a character that was more approachable, maybe a little more energy, sweeter in the face. I tried my hand at it and I think this Edmond is a much better design and certainly a lot more user friendly. There is a vitality that the other design lacked...I immediately wanted to draw this character in different situations.

I also removed the dark brown line that I find too harsh for what I am trying to capture here. I often wonder if I use it too much and don't trust my ability to paint an image without the dependency of line.

Anyway, feel free to share your thoughts, comments or suggestions.

Visitors

For Illustration Friday.....

Sorry folks,been a busy week, so no time for color or even a bit of ink. Maybe before the week is out, but I wanted to at least post the drawing.

Little Princess?

To counter our little pirate captain I had to do a drawing of a little princess. In Walt Disney World they are EVERYWHERE! All shapes, all sizes and the franchise does not seem to be softening! So here is my chubby little princess....

Please help me out if you can...pink or blue?

Captain

For Illustration Friday.....After spending a week in Walt Disney World and seeing all the little Captain Jack Sparrows scurrying around, I wondered why no one was dressed as that OTHER Captain....I think he is much cooler!

I also tried a color version....

First Day of Issue Signing and Ceremony

Here are some snaps from this years first day of issue Art of Disney stamp series. The ceremony is always fun and it is intimidating to see your work towering over you! Why Disney chose to do the release in August is beyond me since it was INCREDIBLY hot, but it all went smoothly and once I was sitting and signing (five hours this year!) it was OK.

I was blessed and thrilled to have my parents with me and my wonderful partner Jared. Jared and I are both in seersucker in that picture, but I am sure he is much cooler than I am!

The gentlemen with me in the signing photo are my Art directors from the USPS and from Disney. My AD from the USPS has told me that the stamps are all in the top ten best selling stamps of all time now and who knows.....there may be more to come!?

The Art of Disney: Magic Stamp Release

Hey everyone- off to Orlando for the new stamp release.....First day of issue is Thursday the 16th so run out and get 'em!

I will post pictures when I get back!

Emergency

I decided to keep with the OZ theme.....for Illustration Friday.

Something's "Missing"

For Illustration Friday....

Something smells fishy!

Here are some fish I have been working on.

The top page is just some little studies I did of fish while the rest are some fun characters I did after associating myself with some more fish anatomy. We all kinda know what fish look like, but there are so many kooky looking ones that I thought it best to brush up! The bottom three are people I drew from life and then immediately turned them into fish. It was a fun exercise to do right there after I did the sketch from life. Anyway.....here they are. I will try some in color next!

"Shhhh, Don't tell......"

I am participating in "Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure" this year and here is the image I created. (I now have to cut it out and apply it to the snowflake!-scary.....) I wish I had more time to work on it, but it was the best I could do for now.

It is a great cause so please visit their website and make a contribution.

Here is what it looked like cut out....

Steve Gardner

This is the work of Steve Gardner who just graduated from FIT's Masters Degree program. He posts a new sketch every day and is a brilliant artist, not to mention one of the nicest people you could meet. Please enjoy his blog.

Edmond

Since I got such a positive response from the frog I posted a while back I decided to develop and refine him into more than just a one time post. I named him Edmond and am in the process of illustrating a small story about him.

Cellini, The Old Bridge and Brendan

These drawings were done on the Ponte Vecchio except for the one of Brendan.

That was done in the Loggia of the Piazza Signoria at night while we listened to an orchestra set up in front of the the Palazzo Vecchio. The conductor announced that they were going to play some modern Classical music. Needless to say we were surprised when they started to play the theme song to "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". This was one of those magical evenings in Italy where anything feels possible.

....and then there were more

Yes, he was wearing the mickey Mouse T-shirt.....


That is Brendan Munday on the bottom. A budding illustrator with so much going for him. He is a very talented man.

More Italy sketches

I found myself trying to say a lot with hands recently. The gentleman on the bottom is Ricardo Lopez another wonderful and most talented young man....another bright future ahead. He also happens to be one of the kindest people I have ever met in my life.

Back From Italy

Most of you know I spend the month of June in Italy as Asst. Professor to Sal Catalano as he teaches a class on the Masters of the Renaissance. I spend a lot of my sketching time in the Loggia located in the Piazza Signoria drawing the tourists. I do draw the sculpture every now and then (this Loggia houses Cellini's Perseus holding the head of Medusa as well as the Rape of the Sabine by Giambologna) but the tourists are always remarkable. I have a lot more images to scan and post but I thought I would get started since I have not posted in a while.

The last image listed is of Paolo Pugliese, a most talented and prolific artist with a very bright future ahead of him.

Ethel Merman

Born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in Astoria, Queens, Merman was known for her powerful, belting alto voice, precise enunciation, and accurate pitch. Starting out in the height of vaudeville she became a star performing in the Gershwin's "Girl Crazy" singing "I Got Rhythm" and the rest is show business history.

No other star has ever had Broadway shows written specifically for them by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Jules Styne and Stephen Sondheim. Needless to say, there has never been another performer like her.

I chose to draw her in the title role of "Annie Get your Gun" where she introduced the song "There's No Business Like Show Business" to the world. Perhaps Merman's most revered performance was in "Gypsy" as Gypsy Rose Lee's domineering mother Rose. Merman lost the Tony Award that year to Mary Martin, who was playing Maria in The Sound of Music. "How can you buck a nun?" joked Merman.

I always remember her being around doing guest spots on "The Love Boat" and "The Match Game" when I was a kid and of course "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", but I think most people from my generation remember her cameo role in the film "Airplane" where she spoofed herself playing a solider with a head wound who thinks he is Ethel Merman.

I hope I have done her justice.

Kitty Carlisle Hart 1910-2007

Kitty Carlisle Hart died yesterday, she was 96.

She was a truly remarkable woman and as much of a dominant structure in NYC as the Empire State Building. Not long before her death, she was declared a Living Landmark by the state. She was married to the famed director, writer, producer Moss Hart in 1946.

Besides being an actor and a singer, in 1971 Nelson Rockefeller appointed her vice chairperson of the New York State Council for the Arts. She became chairperson in 1976 and it was in this role that she had her greatest impact on the arts. She was a frequent guest on the game show "To Tell the Truth." and had a starring role in the film "A Night at the Opera" with the Marx Brothers.

I had the privilege of meeting Kitty on two seperate occasions . She wore a Chanel suit (one salmon colored, one candy apple red) both times in a room full of dark suits. Needless to say she knew how to stand out! Gracious and kind and having a beautiful singing voice well into her nineties she was a star in the truest sense. She was also known for her famous hairstyle that she had for most of her career.

John Paul II

I did this a while back, but I just came across it. It was Ok and I thought to post it.

I need to do a new drawing of the current Pope....now THAT's a face!