tbt: RISD redux
That crisp feel in the air? It’s the smell of back-to-school. I personally love autumn the best. It brings new rhythms and sometimes uncanny flashbacks. As the semester’s about to begin again at Maine College of Art while my own daughter faces her senior year and college applications, I went back a few decades to find my application slides for RISD. They still ask for a drawing of a bicycle. Back then, a drawing of boots was also required. I’d taken a life drawing class at Plymouth State College, so included this, done in 1975. Today I attended a life drawing session on...
Read Morematinicus island
Tilbury House editor Audrey Maynard asked in April if I’d illustrate a picture book set on an island? YES. Written by Eva Murray? DOUBLE YES. I’ve enjoyed her colorful voice since reading her local columns and hearing her speak on Peaks Island about her book, Well Out to Sea a few years back. I handed over my book dummy for “Island Birthday” in mid-July, and now seemed a good time to combine research with a family field trip. The contrasts between Peaks Island and Matinicus abound: Peaks gets 16 ferries every DAY, each trip about 15 minutes one way. Matinicus gets 30...
Read Moremore PDX love
It’s been two weeks since we visited the Other Portland, but the glow remains. This is one souvenir, a tea towel by Catstudio. ICON8 kept us pretty busy, but we enjoyed many sights in transit. Especially the public art. An eyeball with a steering wheel, now that’s a metaphor I can love. This one’s on a busy island, so people walk through it. Total whimsy. A monument to two wheels. This is my sketch of a sculpture seen on the way to the airport. A funny cloud standing on steel rain. Loved this assemblage seen at Oblations, spokes of measurements. Time shines on. That place...
Read Moreepic ICON8 recap
For those who were at ICON8, the biennial illustration conference, this drawing by Souther Salazar pretty much sums up the corps d’esprit of the whole shebang. For those who weren’t, beware a long and detailed report follows. Too much delicious to leave a crumb out. The Student Council secretary still lives inside me. Bitten two years ago by ICON7 and the blood, sweat, and tears that an all-volunteer posse brings to life, I could barely wait for this one. We made our way July 8 from Portland to Portland and crashed at the Benson Hotel. The schedule on July 9, held at Pacific...
Read Moreportland 2 portland
When we moved to Maine 22 years ago from San Francisco, it was necessary to repeat Portland MAINE many times to the movers. On the west coast only Portland, Oregon counts. Tomorrow we go there for the first time, and see what magic awaits at the Illustration Conference, ICON8. This gathering of illustrators, art directors, and designers promises to cross our eyeballs. I’ve crafted a handy little zine of my Maine sketches to share. This includes a portrait of ICON attendee and recent MECA illo grad, Liz Long. Just caught up with her this morning, she’s ready to fly, light as a...
Read Morelook and learn
Getting out to see current exhibits is always a refresher. I jumped at the chance to chaperone Susannah Green’s French 4 field trip from Portland High School to the Portland Museum of Art recently. She intended to expose the class to the French Impressionism on the second floor, but many students were mesmerized by the Richard Estes work in the main gallery. His work is photorealism extraordinaire, yet on close inspection, reveals brushwork and fascinating layers of perception. I’m fond of this one in particular because of the phone booths. I grew up at the Red Doors Motel, where...
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