Call to Artists from Kennedy Heights Art Center

The Kennedy Heights Art Center is seeking submissions for artwork to be displayed in their upcoming juried summer show, "Spark and Fling"!

Spark & Fling
Kennedy Heights Art Center’s Juried Summer Exhibit
June 6 – July 12, 2015

There are no limits to summer and there are so many things to enjoy: the solstice, fireworks, beautiful and natural colors, sparklers, fires, perfect weather, and so much more. Show us what sparks your creativity this summer. All mediums encouraged.

Artwork Submission Procedure:  Artists are invited to submit up to two pieces with a non-refundable entry fee of $25. Members of the Kennedy Artists Collective may submit two pieces at no cost. Fees can be paid online via Paypal at www.kennedyarts.org or by check payable to Kennedy Heights Arts Center.

Online submissions will be accepted until April 27, 2015 by midnight. Artists should email a completed entry form and jpeg images to curator@kennedyarts.org All digital images must use a minimum resolution of 300dpi. Label images with last name and title of work. Quality of images are taken into account during jury process.

Artists will be notified of acceptance the week of May 4, 2015. Artists are responsible for the delivery and removal of their work. Artwork must be delivered during the week of May 26-30, 2015. All accepted work must be professionally presented and ready to install. An opening reception will be held on Saturday, June 6th from 6-9 pm. The show runs from June 6, 2015 to July 12, 2015.

For more information, call 513.631.4278. 

Keep in mind that Kennedy Heights Art Center is first and foremost a Community Art Center, so you needn't be a professional to enter this show.  Have you been working in a new, untried medium? Have some new work you haven't shown about town yet? Consider submitting! Feel free to pass this opportunity on to artful friends and neighbors.

Carol Tyler: Bridging Cultures Through Art Talks

 The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission (CHRC) has teamed up with Vice Mayor David Mann’s office to bring cultures and communities together through art talks. 

Our 1st, “Bridging Cultures Through Art” will take place Friday, February 27, 2015, 11am-12NOON, Room 115 in City Hall. 

The featured artist is cartoonist Carol Tyler. Ms. Tyler will give an overview of how the social fabric of Cincinnati informs her work. She will also take questions about using art as a tool to unify.

https://www.facebook.com/events/628764477224216

By the way, check out Carol's new Beatles blog. It will run through August, then it’ll be a book.

http://fab4mania.blogspot.com

Sketching at Union Terminal

Today a a couple of us local sketchers left deadlines and day-jobs behind for a couple of hours to go sketch the Museum Center at Union Terminal.  In spite of some tumultuous skies and a few rain drops, we got some drawing done in front of this iconic Cincinnati landmark.

Here's Amy Bogard working with not only her usual watercolors, but some pencils as well.

And below is Christina Wald nestled into the bushes to stay out of the wind while she sketched.

Here's her drawing before painting.....

And here's Christina's finished sketch!!

We are glad we didn't let the blustery weather scare us away from sketching! Let us know what is your favorite spot to sketch around the Queen City?

Finished Work

Hey, guys, here's the finished piece. Any comments before I send it off would be much appreciated. Crow quill on cold press bristol board.

Also, here is the final drawing for the second black and white image.

Dr. Sketchy's Halloween

Here are some selections from Dr. Sketchy's, October edition :P The latter half was more inspiring than the first, but it was all pretty sweet :)

Process Work - Book Project

Hey, guys, here's some current process work I've been doing for a new project. The first image is the final sketch before reference.

Greyfox the Wizard and Map of the Wilde

Here're a few more things I've done in my free time. I'm still involved in some projects, so I can't post any of that, but these are things I've been working on on my own. The first is Greyfox the Wizard. The second is a map for a personal project for my AD&D Campaign, "Dragon Slayers." Both images of Greyfox are ideas I have been playing with. One was to see what kinds of positive lines and shapes I could make in contrast to the black shape of his cloak. My first idea was to use a large, flat black shape to describe his garments, letting his skin be pure white to contrast with the black. I also wanted to create an area of intense simplicity to make the character in the foreground stand out and compliment the busy quality of the background. So here are both solutions. Please give me your input on which works. I am fascinated with large areas of graphic shaping. I have been since I can remember. My struggle has been how to describe form with as few lines as possible and experimenting with how to define form with what "isn't" there rather than what is. Optical illusions are fascinating. I think artists are a lot like wizards/illusionists/magicians. Our job is to trick the eye into believing something that isn't real. Using colour and line and what is essentially just pigmented mud, we must convince the audience not to question what they are seeing. That is the trick of a true artist, I think. If the viewer can say, "Psshhh, I could do that!" then the result is seamless enough to trick them into thinking it was effortless in its creation.

Withdrawal...

Man, I need to go to the lunches again, soon. I'll be able to in the next couple of weeks or so. Then I'll be back on a regular basis. Gosh, I'm kinda glad I've been away, it's made me realize how much I appreciate all you guys and what you give me. So, "thanks" to everyone. You're all awesome! :)

Justin

Concept Art Classes

Thought some of you might be interested in some of these classes available through the ConceptArt.org site.

http://www.theartdepartment.org/

Justin

P.S. I forgot how to hotlink :P

Monsters of Slatt's

Man, my juices got going, which was cool, because I've gotta get into Monster Mode here shortly for some articles for TAG.

This is a quick sketch of a dragon inspired by a pic from a regular Facebook posting from the Zoo. Monitours are so cool. The blue one was the coolest. This is just a baby :P Still has its egg horn and everything. Judging from the bone, probably about 3 1/2' long.

Napkin Dragon

I met this little dragon at Arthur's today while eating lunch. He tried to sneak my burger from my plate! I can only imagine he's a local dragon, probably living in some dark little den in the kitchen. I was able to get a quick sketch of him before he darted off. Shy, willful dragonette. All I saw was his bearded head poking up over the table edge, craning his neck slowly, his many-toothed maw open to steal what he could before being seen. As soon as I spied him he vanished, quick as lightning. His colour, as close as I could guess, was a lighter greenish hue, like to the undersides of some leaves that don't see much of the sun. His beard was as the colour of autumn wheat, and fine, like down. I hardly had time to blink before he was gone. If I could guess his size, having only seen his neck, I would say he must be no larger than a small dinner plate. No one else saw him. I'm sure if I dared mention my experience I would have been deemed mad.

Dr. Sketchy June Spy

Just piggy-backing on Justin's post. :)
I have to agree that Dr. Sketchy is just a great environment and a lot of fun. I hope more people will come out to them. Here are few pictures I took and some of sketches from the Dr. Sketchy June session I did.

Dr. Sketchy's Shenanigans

My first trip to Dr. Sketchy's was, to put it mildly, AWESOME! Here are some of my sketches. man, if some of you haven't been yet, you should. It is so great. More than anything, it was the people. What a friendly atmosphere conducive to art making.

Nancy Wiley

Hey, Paula, here are some links to Nancy Wiley's work:

http://www.nancywiley.com/

You can access her blog from there. Also, the book is NOT Cinderella but "Alice in Wonderland." It is featured on the front page of the main site. I hope this helps. It looks really interesting. I think Terry Windling and Wendy Froud made a book together that had a similar approach.

http://www.worldoffroud.com/index.html

You'll have seen both Wendy and Brian's work in Labyrinth and Dark Crystal. They're an amazing team. Labyrinth actually features their baby, Toby. Wendy has some amazing doll making videos out there.

It was good meeting you at Dr. Sketchy's. Take care.

Note: This is for anyone else interested in some great artwork. Brian's approach is very interesting. He starts in one spot and spirals out from it until he has an image. Any videos you can find on youtube are worth watching. they're fascinating.

Eomer, 3rd Marshal of the Riddermark

Here's an image I made for my brother a few days for Christmas. I had to keep working on it ALL night Christmas eve. I was so rushed I didn't catch the saddle until I was almost done. He'd either suffering from a VERY short torso or a very painful leap into the saddle :P This one, though I think the sleeve is a bit too static and patterned (thanks, Jerry :) ) is one of my favourites. Despite these faults I was pleased with the armour and general outcome achieved. I was very focused on the mail. One thing I did my best to achieve was the fact that metal like that will reflect differently with each little piece. I was very happy with the armour. Any other comments would be appreciated. I'd e interested to hear what you have to say, Chuck. You weren't at the lunch I brought this painting to. It's about 8.5"x11". So is the hart piece.