Saturday and Sunday

If you are in NY, go visit the Met's borrowed Vermeer. It's astonishing. And then run upstairs and play with Roxy Paine's tangled up metallic tree roots and limbs.

Kadinsky at the Guggenhiem is interesting but I feel heretical in saying that I was happiest in the room full of his watercolor. As Peter Fiore pointed out (when I asked why on facebook,) the watercolors are much more radiant. I was also surprised to see two examples of very early, much more illustrative, works to fall in love with.

Animation on Tor.com: The Hungry Squid and The Girl Who Hated Books

This week on Tor.com's Saturday Morning Cartoons:

The Hungry Squid: This is very strange, both story and art. But a lot of fun. A bizarre take on “my dog ate my homework.” (14.30 minutes)

The Girl Who Hated Books: And the moral is: Books are cool. Not news to anyone here but it’s still a delight to watch. More for kids than the above story. (7.23 minutes)

To see all Saturday Morning Cartoons, click here.

Terrible Yellow Eyes exhibit

Terribble Yellow Eyes Exhibit
September 19 - October 6, 2009
Reception: Sep 19, 7:00PM - 11:00PM
210 East Main St,
Alhambra CA 91801

I've mention Cory Godbey's Where the Wild Things Are tribute site, Terrible Yellow Eyes, before. Now, it's become an exhibit at Gallery Nucleus. If you are anywhere near LA, I am officially jealous.

The exhibit opens tomorrow. Good luck to Cory and all the participating artists. Anyone would be hard-pressed to find a collection of work with this much heart anywhere else.

Bernie Fuchs: 1932-2009

When I walk into my office every morning the first thing I see is a Bernie Fuchs painting. I won it at a Society of Illustrators auction and was offered double the money as I was walking out the door with it. Obviously I didn't take it. Wasn't even tempted.

Three, four, maybe it was five years ago already, I was at Illustration House and they had a Bernie Fuchs painting of a young woman at diner. I don't know who won that auction but I'll never forget the piece and it's pink, green, and silver textures. My hope is that it eventually ends up in a public collection. I'd go far to see that painting again.

Not too long ago the Society purchased a Fuchs painting of a dinning room table and chairs and by pure composition and texture it becomes a deeply psychological space. And one of my biggest regrets will be eating lunch at the Society about three feet away from Bernie Fuchs and being too timid to say hello. It turns out, that was my only opportunity to meet him. He passed away last night, drawing to the end.

He was giant in the field, up there with Norman Rockwell, N. C. Wyeth, and Howard Pyle. He influenced a generation...even two....likely more. I wish he could be around to see all of it to come.

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For more information on Bernie Fuchs, follow this search on David Apatoff's Illustration Art. David always speaks eloquently about illustration but his love for Fuchs' work has always particularly shown through his writing.

Moon Landing Day & April Fools (not to be confused with each other)

One of my favorite things on Tor.com was celebrating our birthday (not coincidentally on moon landing day) by asking authors to write their remembrances of man's first walk on the moon. These are now collected in one easy click.

And...each and every April Fool's Day post cracked me up. Also newly available in one easy click.

Art Out Loud 6: James Gurney, Sam Weber, Charles Vess, Greg Mnachess, Donato Giancola

MORE PHOTOS HERE

We decided to take advantage of having so many artists in town for the Spectrum reception by hosting the sixth installment of the Society of Illustrators painting demo series, Art Out Loud. We had James Gurney, Sam Weber, Donato Giancola, Greg Manchess, and Charles Vess painting simultaneously while spectators milled about, watched, and asked as many questions as they could think of.

It's an extraordinarily generous thing for the participating artists to do -- not only did they volunteer their weekend away, but painting in unfamiliar surroundings with a hundred brand new best friends watching cannot be easy. Art is not typically a spectator sport and artists are usually left to face "ugly stages" and failed experiments on their own. On top of that, add the fact that many of the people in the audience were equally accomplished illustrators themselves. And yet all five of these guys did a tremendous job.

The doors opened at 1:00 and the crowd broke into groups around each easel. After a quick introduction the artists started to address the group around them and encourage questions. Some viewers parked next to one artist for most of the four hours, absorbing everything they could, others took a more ala carte approach and skipped around, taking little bits of inspiration from all of them.

Greg Manchess worked on a continuation of his "arctic explorer" images. He also brought a stack of completed paintings for people to look at.

James Gurney had Walt and Roger Reed come in to sit for him while he painted their portraits and interviewed them. While he worked, he let people thumb through his sketch books -- every page is a watercolor masterpiece tracing his travels through Malta and France. He also had an early copy of his upcoming "how to" book, Imaginatve Realism. It looks so good, even I feel like I need a copy and I don't paint.

Donato gave me a great surprise. Back in June I put on a full suit of armor during a painting class. (Wouldn't you?) After it created a stir, Donato ran out and set up lights to take photos. He mentioned he wanted to do a Joan of Arc painting but I never thought he'd actually get around to doing so...until he showed up to Art Out Loud with a four foot long panel with Me-As-Joan drawn on it. I was humbled and tickled, to say the least.

Charles Vess continued a large scale Lady of the Lake painting that he began at the Illustration Master Class. He also had previews of his upcoming art book, Drawing Down the Moon, and his next children's book with Neil Gaiman, Instructions. (Me wants!)

Sam Weber started with an abstract mono-print and delicately turned it into a haunting portrait. It was interesting to see his board covered in reference shots, but used more for inspiration than literal translation. Eric Fortune watched him for quiet a while, they both have a similar style of slowly laying layer upon layer of near-impossibly thin pigment. At one point, I overheard Eric and Sam agree that the best part of painting is "the last 20 hours."

It was an inspiring day. If the demos weren't enough for anyone, then having people in the audience like Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, John Cuneo, Terese Neilsen, Eric Fortune, Bruce Jensen, Daren Bader, and Craig Elliot should have kept anyone busy.

Once again, thanks to Greg, James, Donato, Sam, and Charles. And a huge thanks to the Society staff. They spoiled us and the audience endlessly -- from quiche in the morning, to gourmet lunch sandwiches, fresh fruit, and home baked cookies. It was an afternoon that couldn't be beat.

Spectrum Exhbition

Spectrum Exhibition
September 1st -- October 17th
128 East 63rd Street, NY, NY
Free!

More photos from the reception here.

Last Friday night was the opening reception for the second Spectrum Exhibition at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators. The Spectrum annuals have arguably become the standard of science fiction and fantasy art over the past decade and a half. Over a hundred works of art selected from the last four editions of Spectrum are on display through October 17th.

The fun part of curating the exhibit is pouring over each volume and debating the merits of each and every image. The heartbreak is not be able to include everything we felt worthy -- space limitations meant having to exclude excellent work, much of it by dear friends. What we hope to have on display is a small taste of the breadth and of richness of genre art, including John Howe, John Jude Palencar, Phil Hale, Kinuko Craft, Andrew Jones, Yuko Shimizu, Rebecca Guay, Tony DiTerlizzi, Donato Giancola, Michael Whelan, Jon Foster, Rick Berry...and a hundred others.

The reception was, in a word, a blast! Artists and industry peoples came in from all over the states and across the pond. (Special props to California -- the Golden State must have weighed more than a few pounds lighter last weekend.) The party started at 6:00 and was going strong till midnight. It was a great opportunity to meet new contacts and to connect with old friends I normally only see within the chaos of ComicCon. A huge thanks to all the participating artists. Our lives would be a touch duller without their visions and to see them in the original is an immeasurable treat.

Greg Manchess, Cathy and Arnie Fenner, Arkady Roytman and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Society of Illustrators staff. Not only for opening their doors to the us, but for doing all of the un-fun parts while we sat back and handed wish-lists over (rarely on-time, at that) and constantly raising the bar on all aspects of the exhibit.

The doors are open Tuesday through Saturday, after work hours on Tuesdays. And it's free! Stop in, take a look at the show and see all the other events the Society has to offer: life drawing sessions, lectures, networking, workshops, and a permanent collection of 2,000 paintings from the likes of Rockwell, Schaeffer, Cornwell, Wyeth, Fuchs, Pyle.

Animation on Tor.com: Disney's Mars and Beyond

Disney’s “Mars and Beyond”
I’ve been shy about posting movies that have cut into parts but I stumbled into this 1957 Disney animation “Mars and Beyond” and, holy smokes, is it the coolest thing I’ve seen in ages. It's a great mix of fact and supposition with an amazing, and seemingly endlessly creative, design. It covers historical astronomical beliefs, the beginnings of science fiction literature, “current” science, and a fantastical array of what-if Martians. It’s both delightful and scientific without ever being silly or dry.

Cathy and Arnie Fenner preview the Spectrum Exhibition

Cathy and Arnie Fenner, the creators and editors of the Spectrum Annual, came into town last night to get a preview of the Spectrum Exhibition. We had a great dinner with the Society of Illustrators' director, Anelle Miller, exhibition coordinator, Kate Fiertag, and president, Dennis Dittrich. (Thanks guys, it was an awesome night.)

Artists are flying in from all corners. Excitement is building...can't wait for the opening reception tonight. Pictures to come. (Lots and lots of pictures, I'm sure.)

Gathering Storm, Chapter One

For thems that are fans: Chapter one of The Gathering Storm is up on Tor.com. (Written and audio.)

The Wheel of Time eBook repackaging. (Or, Wo0t!)

Tor's biggest selling fantasy series is Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time. If you don't know already, it's hard to overestimate just how popular this series is. Beginning October 27th we will start to release ebook editions.

The most exciting part, for me at least, is that they will have new covers -- each book by a different artist. We have a great mix fantasy heavy-hitters and artists not typically associated with the genre. Each will bring their own style to the project, creating fourteen new visions of Jordan's world.

Commissioned so far:

The Eye of the World
David Grove

The Great Hunt
Kekai Kotaki

The Dragon Reborn
Donato Giancola

The Shadow Rising
Sam Weber

I have a loose wish-list for the rest of the series and have been working closely with the WoT editor, Harriet McDougal, and have started an excellent dialogue with Tor.com's Leigh Butler, and Dragonmount's Jason Denzel on these. I'll release images as I can. From teh couple sketches we have in so far, this should be a fun ride!

Please note: Images above are samples of past work from the artists, not paintings for this project.

Kurt and Zelda's King of an Endless Sky

Just a quick note to say:
a) part four of Kurt and Zelda's King of an Endless Sky is up. Yay! (New installments every Thursday.)
b) Now available in one easy to navigate, and ever expanding, file. Bookmark it and enjoy.

James Gurney to paint and interview Walt and Roger Reed at Art Out Loud

Attention Illustration nerds!

Walt and Roger Reed will be sitting for a portrait by James Gurney during Art Out Loud, while Jim also conducts an informal interview with them.

Walt Reed wrote the book on American illustration.He is it's foremost historian, and owner, with Roger Reed, of Illustration House. I've only had a few encounters with Walt but his love for storytelling is clear and infectious. Anytime I have been in the Illustration House gallery he has been eager to talk to me (a stranger to him) about both the history of the painting and the history being depicting. He is a treasure in the field.

"The sincerity and the purity of [Walt Reed's] love for the art form is an aesthetic experience all by itself." -- David Apatoff

Unfortunately (or, I suppose, fortunately) Art Out Loud sold out a few days after it was announced, but we will document and post as much of it as possible.

Mannahatta

[National Geographic]

Art of Guild Wars 2

I may not know anything about video games but I know I always look forward to seeing ArenaNet's concept art for Guild Wars in each year in Spectrum. Now, it seems, there is an Art of Guild Wars 2 book due out tantalizingly-vague "soon." Seriously, some of my favorite fantasy work has come from these guys over the past few years. Must. Get. This. Book. But there is no order info. Maddening.

In the meantime, check out this ConceptArt.org thread about the book. All of it is great, but seeing so much Daniel Dociu imagery is enough to make your heart stop. And Richard Anderson's use of negative shapes is so wonderfuly atypical of the genre, you have to love it.

Seen here:
Jaime Jones, Daniel Dociu
Kekai Kotaki, Daniel Dociu (twice)
Cover
Richard Anderson

Brom on The Child Thief

Anyone reading The Art Department is likely to know Brom's dark and often disconcertingly beautiful paintings fairly well. Over the past few years Brom has turned his efforts to writing novels, with the highly illustrated Plucker and The Devil's Rose.

His third novel, The Child Thief, is just out from Eos. It is a beautiful over-sized book with a number of color and black and white illustrations and is a decidedly not-for-kids continuation of Peter Pan.

"In the dusk of that early autumn day the child thief peered out from the shadows and falling leaves to watch the children play. The children scaled the giant green turtle, slid down the bright yellow slide, laughed, yelled, teased and chased one another round and round. But the child thief wasn't interested in these happy faces. He wasn't looking to steal just any child. He was particular. He was looking for the sad face, the loner…a lost child. And the older the better, preferably a child of thirteen or fourteen, for older children were stronger, had better stamina, tended to stay alive longer."

When did you begin writing? Where you always thinking of stories to tell while developing as a painter?

I've always told stories, either with pictures or with words. As a child I loved making little books, y'know -- paper, words, drawings, stapler and pesto you have book! It's pretty much the same now -- paper, words, paintings, computer and presto you have book.

Is there a way in which you found writing and painting surprisingly similar?

I'm a very visual person, so the processes are similar in that they both come from the picture part of my brain. The difference is that writing is like watching a movie and I'm playing all the parts. Painting is taking a single frame from that movie and trying to make the strongest image I can imagine.

Was it difficult to convince a publisher that an artist could write well?

The ideas come easy to me, and I love the act of writing, but just like painting, I had to work very hard to develop my craft to a point where it was publishable. What was more difficult, at least in the beginning, was convincing a publisher that it was okay to put pictures and words together in an adult novel. The publishing market can be very conservative at times and in many publishing houses pictures books are for children only.

What is it about Peter Pan that drew you to this story?

Simply reading the original story (not the water-downed Disney version). I was amazed what a dark and disturbing tale it really is. Here's a quote from the original Peter Pan: “The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out; but at this time there were six of them, counting the twins as two.”

Thins them out? Huh? What does that mean? Does Peter kill them, like culling a herd? Does he send them away somewhere? If so, where? Or does Peter just put them in such peril that the crop is in need of constant replenishing?

That one paragraph forever changed my perception of Peter Pan from that of a high-spirited rascal to something far more sinister. “Thins them out,” the words kept repeating in my head. How many children had Peter stolen, how many had died, how many had been thinned out? Peter himself said, “To die will be an awfully big adventure.” Once I pondered these unsettling elements I began to wonder what this children’s book would be like if the veil of Barrie’s lyrical prose were peeled back, if the violence and savagery were presented in grim stark reality. How would children really react to being kidnapped and thrust into such a situation? How hard would it be for them to fall under the spell of a charismatic sociopath, to shuck off the morality of civilization and become cold-blooded killers? And these thoughts were the seeds for The Child Thief.

The black and white drawings are (besides being drop-dead gorgeous) reminiscent of intaglio prints. Was this a style you developed for this story, and if so why? Or is this a natural outgrowth of you painting style?

Painting comes very naturally to me, line work does not. In painting it is all about losing the line, to work in tone, to have your shadows hold your image. So I am very pleased that you like the drawings because in many ways they were a lot more work than the paintings.

What’s next? Are you working on another book?

I'm finally getting around to putting together a new art book. This will be a collection of my early paintings as well as new work. Hopefully it will be ready in about a year.

Makers, sorta

If you haven't read Cory Doctorow's Makersand you just look at the Idiots' Books illustration tiles for its serialization on Tor.com (24 episodes out of 81 so far) it goes like this:

Once upon a time there were two dinosaurs. And lots of people that went off to build something. Until it burnt down. They rebuilt it but there was a rat in the mix! (Isn't there always.) They were very industrious and good at multitasking until...Sabotage! And love. And maybe a little crabbiness. The usual ups and downs and ideological wars -- punk rock keepin' it real Vs. Helvetica men in ties. But with marriage in the air and death on the horizon.....

After seeing sketches for the first few tiles, we let Idiots' Books run with the project without sticking our noses in...which means it's as much of a surprise (and delight) to me each week as it is to anyone else. I am very excited to let a few more weeks go by so I can read more of their translation.

RELATED POSTs:
Idiots Books are awesome and the Makers tile game -- in which you can reconfigure the story in many, many ways.

Animation on Tor.com "Red Rabbit" and "8848"

Red Rabbit: Embrace your oddity. (8 minutes)

8848: A young man remembering his father. (5.23 minutes)

For more animation: Saturday Morning Cartoon Index

Spectrum Exhibition 2 hanging.

Apologies for the crappy pictures. I only had my point-and-shoot camera which only sorta/kinda/sometimes likes to focus. (You'd think it would appreciate trips to the beach, but it really doesn't seem to.) Anyway...

Some pictures at the Society, hanging the Spectrum Exhibition 2.

The second Spectrum Exhibition is poised to open at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators. Selection from Spectrum annuals 12-15 will be on display from September 1st - October 17. Opening reception September 11th. Paintings from John Howe, Julie Bell, Boris Vallejo, Leo and Diane Dillon, Phil Hale, Charles Vess, Donato, John Jude Palencar, Kinuko Craft,Michael Whelan, Brom, Rick Bery, Greg Manchess, Rebecca Guay, Sam Weber, Brad Holland, Yuko Shimizu, Stephan Martiniere, Tony Deterlizzi, and many others will be on display.

Leukemia Society fundraiser in memory of Dave Stevens.

In honor of Dave Stevens, the Society of Illustrators and Spectrum have come together to help raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A portion of the proceeds from the Spectrum Exhibition will be donated to the Society's "Light the Night Walk" team.

To join our team or donate money, please visit: Society's Light the Night Walk Team.

(You do not have to live in New York to participate in the walk. Click on “find local walks” to find the event nearest you.)

Funds raised through Light the Night Walk support the work of hundreds of the world’s leading researchers in their fight for better therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

"[Dave Stevens] was enormously talented, an artist whose Rocketeer series reminded everyone how good comics could be, a creator whose work literally sparkled with personality....I don't think I ever knew him quite as well as he probably knew me (and I believe many of his friends would say the same thing), but I do know that I miss him." -- Arnie Fenner, co-founder of Spectrum, co-editor of Brush with Passion: The Art and Life of Dave Stevens

Props from Lines and Colors

It's been a good week for back-pats. One of my (and many others) favorite art blogs, Lines and Colors, has written a blush-worthy post on Tor.com's Saturday Morning Cartoons.

"These shorts are from a variety of creators and sources (though many are sponsored by the national Film Board of Canada), and traverse the spectrum of subject matter, style, emotional tone, animation technique and cinematic direction.

They share one characteristic, they are all terrific examples of short form animation, and a treat to watch."

Although my involvement in Tor.com runs pretty deep and is always rewarding, the Saturday Morning Cartoons are a little extra special to me. It's my own quiet corner of site and has allowed me to indulge in a love of something that is completely unrelated to work. (Something I should do more of.) I am extra proud that Lines and Colors has highlighted it.

And a call for help/inspiration. If you have any animation suggestions, please mention them here. I've discovered a lot of great movies from you guys.

And, and, a shout-out to a few of the great sources I have been filching from:
National Film Board of Canada
Vague memories from a History of Animation class with John Canemaker.
Cartoon Brew
Tickle Booth
Drawn
Gobelins
+ a whole lot of internet hopscotch

Animation on Tor.com

La Marche des Sans-Nom: Beautifully designed and choreographed anti-war piece. (5.30 minutes)

Dynamo: Keeping the world balanced, Rube Goldberg style. (6 Minutes)

Props from Annalee Newitz

Woohoo! This made my week. Google's Power Reader asked tech&web gurus to name their must-read sites. Annalee Newitz, of io9 and the coolest geek of all, has named The Art Department and Tor.com. I am all smiles...and suddenly thinking I need to write something insightful. Shoot.

Cassandra Diaz

Sam Weber just sent me a link to this young comic book artist and illustrator: Cassandra Diaz. My latest art-crush, these are so ethereal and beautiful.

Jon Foster: Boneshaker and sketches

Cherie Priest's Boneshaker comes out at the end of September and it's getting a lot of buzz. I always double-like when one of my favorite covers accompanies a book that all the cool kids are raving about.

Art by Jon Foster.
Design by Jamie Stafford-Hill.
And check out Cherie Priest's website for series, The Clockwork Century.

The first sketch was a real contender. It had action and might have more commercial appeal than the others. The second sketch looked a little too young-adult so that was ruled out fairly quickly. (Although it would make for a great YA cover.) The third one seemed slightly riskier than the others but also felt like, if all the pieces fell into place, it would be demand attention on the shelves. I'm very glad it's the direction we took.

I have to admit, it does seem as though some authors have good cover karma. (Which unfortunately also means the reverse can be true.) I equally love the John Jude Palencar arted, Peter Lutjen designed, covers on Cherie Priest's "Eden More" books.

Tor.com animation

Too much traveling has let me fall behind on these animation notices. Saturday Morning Cartoons have, however, been continuing on. I'll post daily updates until I catch up.


Das Rad and Accro

Das Rad: “Apparently, rocks are having conversations all around us, but they talk very, very slowly.” Rocks Hew and Kew watch the evolution of human civilization...and complain about lichen. This is a particularly cool movie. (Thanks to Kurt Huggins for the heads up!)

Accro: I love the drawing in this. These guys tirelessly keep trying, but they never quite get there.

Peter de Seve is a bloggin'

Peter de Seve has started a blog. This is a good news -- few people have the easy charm that Peter has, either in person or on the page. He's started off by showing some Ice Age sketches and talking about two upcoming books:

A Sketchy Past, the Art of Peter de Seve -- "I've come to think of A Sketchy Past, only half jokingly, as the "End of Part One" of my artistic life. Fifty years is a long time for one chapter, but perhaps, if I can put all of this work behind me, I'll be more open to bigger and more challenging artistic opportunities in the next fifty years. On the other hand, I might just curl up in a ball with a bottle in my fist and pore over the book every night, wondering whether I'll ever be able to draw again."

And a children's book collaboration between Peter and his writer wife Randall, The Duchess of Whimsy -- "a quirky love story about the Earl of Norm, a very plain and simple man who adores the Duchess of Whimsy, a beautiful and eccentric royal who has no patience for the ordinary."

(Also be the first to know -- Peter will be hosting a "Blue Sky / Ice Age" panel at the Society of Illustrators next month. Details very soon.)