Snow Queen
What better way to battle the epic winter we’re having: working on a poster for The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. All this ice is brilliant inspiration. I drew a jagged ice palace in my sketchbook after a walk backshore. These are 4 of the rough ideas I showed to Portland Stage Company. During one of many blizzards, I got carried away with the idea of a snowflake mask. With winter blues swirling outside, I worked on a color version for a web banner. Another version includes the roses that pop up in the play. In my over 2o years of island living, I’ve not seen Casco Bay...
Read MoreSweet ‘Art @ the PMA
Cabin fever from all these blizzards has left a pile of hand-made valentines, all red and pretty for this week’s First Friday Sweet Art @ the Portland Museum of Art. My first batch is 20 one-of-a-kind, signed on the back cards, made beside a crackling fire with love. After the storm, it was back to Maine College of Art, where the entire Illustration Department, students, alums, and faculty are also crafting feverishly towards this First Friday. But first, an island car must be dug out. What?!! The town car, too? A double whammy when there is no island garage or you had to park on the...
Read Morea short Long studio visit
I love visiting illustrators’ studios. After the frenzy of the Holiday Sale and the magic of Willow the Wonder Pony, I marched my class down to visit MECA alum Liz Long in her studio. Not that long ago she was working in the MECA Illustration studios, when she created a whimsical body of work for her thesis last spring. Remember this dreamy installation at Longfellow Books? Liz and her classmates visited my studio before graduation, and I found this portrait of me that Liz left behind. I drew a portrait of her for my Portland zine, which I brought to ICON8, held in Portland, OR this...
Read Morewarm wishes
Perhaps I worked at Hallmark in another life. I love greeting cards. Making them, buying them, sending them. With the advent of e-cards, I’m even more determined to snail mail something that is handsomely crafted and lovingly decorated. While still pondering what this year’s holiday greeting might look like, I re-purposed some old postcards, with a circle cutter, a glue stick, and some fun handmade papers I bought. Paired with colorful envelopes and scraps of old wrapping paper, off they went to the Peaks Island Post Office. The arctic fox illustration is from A Warmer World by...
Read Morewillow the wonder pony
The Illustration Department at Maine College of Art believes in drawing, big time. This year (almost) every class began with observational studies during the first fifteen minutes. The arrival of Willow the Wonder Pony on Tuesday brought the semester to an epic finale, complete with hay. Meaghan Martin and illustration senior Molly Blyth-Olson brought their miniature pony from the Gorham Equestrian Center to a third floor drawing room via the freight elevator. Willow calmly munched while students drew from all angles. Molly said, “Willow’s 10 years old, and we rescued her from a...
Read MoreMECA elves
Once again, Maine College of Art is holding their annual Holiday Sale! My junior illustration majors have nimbly lept from working on Summer Ale packaging to the Holiday Sale project, in which they are making illustrated products to sell at the Illustration Showcase table, located on the 3rd floor, right outside the elevator. Taylor Mirabito has her lovely cards all wrapped up. And she’s busy assembling her Nutcracker ornaments. Jesenia Santana‘s got a series of playful cards. Ashley Palmer is adding final touches to delicate watercolors. Senior Dee Weigand is felting up some...
Read MoreVisit JamieHogan.com
