The Jerff is notorious as a symbol of gluttony because of the strange eating habits it is supposed to have. It will make a kill and then gorge itself until it is swollen and unable to eat more, at which point it will find two trees and squeeze itself in between them, pushing the meat through its own body before returning to the kill and repeating the process.
My latest comic illustrates an account described by Alexander Calder. When he was a young artist, he visited the studio of Piet Mondrian. This event was "the shock that started everything" for him. I am working on a series of comic strips that illustrates how different artists have influenced each other. Interacting with other artists often can be inspirational for artists.
Hobgoblins are small, hairy little men who are often found within human dwellings, doing odd jobs around the house while the family is lost in sleep. They are also fond of practical jokes. I am sure that all of the items that I cannot find (one sock of a pair, the lids of Tupperware, etc.) are accumulated in their nests. And I am positive that they love to eat the nice white erasers I try to keep around for drawing. How else would they keep disappearing?!
As we've noted previously, Cezanne was a cranky old curmudgeon. His painting process was painstakingly slow. He slowly and deliberately considered each stroke. This comic strip illustrates an anecdote related by John Rewald in his biography of Cezanne.
This comic is based on an anecdote related by Renoir's son in his book Renoir, My Father. The "pompiers" that Cezanne referred to were the artists who created the official academic paintings of the time.Pompier art, or l'art Pompier, refers to the official style that the French Academy promoted during the mid- to late-nineteenth century. The expression ridicules conservative middle class taste which still revered classical subjects and the Neoclassical style in art.The term comes from a play on words and images. Pompier means fireman in French and calls to mind the firemen's helmets that looked similar to Classical helmets depicted in academic history painting.
Pompier sounds like Pompeii, the site where Roman antiquity stood still under the ash of Mount Vesuvius, which erupted in 79 AD/CE. Pompeii became the go-to tourist spot for young nineteenth century artists who aspired to great history painting. Once there, they were able to study authentic antique ruins and artifacts which they tried to replicate in their paintings about Classical subjects. These artists became known as the "artistes Pompiers."
Pompier also sounds like pompeux, which means pompous, and indeed the official taste of the French Academy during the late nineteenth century was pompous. It was quite satisfied with its traditionally large and theatrical history paintings. In comparison to modest Modernist art which celebrated the contemporary mores, offical academic art (l'art Pompier) seems rigid and out of touch.
This comic was inspired by an incident described in Rauschenberg by Mary Lynn Kotz. I love reading books about artists. As I'm reading, I can picture the whole book in my imagination as if it were a graphic novel -- drawn by me. This is fun, but frustrating. I wish I could draw the whole thing out! My consolation is to draw little vignettes of books I've read. I collect stories of when two artists interacted -- and what happened when they did. If you know any good stories about artists, let me know! I am only interested in stories that we can be quite certain they really happened.
A whole bunch of artists are drawing mythological beasts from A to Z once a week for 26 weeks. I haven't been part of a sketch game for a while, so I thought it would be fun to try to keep up. The beast I chose is the Egyptian Axex. The rules are, it has to be the generic name (not a proper name) of a fictional beast -- and not one that you make up yourself. More info here, if you want to participate.
People ask me, "Where did Clipboard Girl come from?" She is not meant to be a particular person, but she personifies the type of bureaucracy that prevents good things from happening. An example is when the Jones Act prevented foreign ships from helping with the BP oil spill. "Why aren't they helping? Oh, it's because of a rule." That kind of thing bugs me, and the comics with her is my revenge.
One of the artists was Kevin Falkenberg. His Zombie Mark Twain print is quite a hit.
When I set up my table, I took a page from the Paul Bozzo playbook and offered kids and curious adults the chance to "pull a print" from a block of my character, The Mystic Yak. I have learned from Paul that an interactive station at an art show is a refreshing change of pace, helps the viewers understand how your art is made, and teaches some children about an art form that they may not experience due to budget cuts.
The kids were proud of these and took them home at the end of the evening.
The next big event that Heroes will sponsor is the Herobot Con Comic Convention on Saturday, October 8th. You won't want to miss that. Comic artists from Marvel, DC, the Simpsons and (ahem) some lesser known publications will be there. It is always a blast to talk to children's book illustrator Tedd Arnold, so come on down!
These books are going to be writing journals/visual journals. Next we used watercolor paint to make some pages for the interior. Some of the favorite techniques of the day included salt technique, wet-on-wet, and painting with bubble wrap.
Integrating art with other subjects is very important, especially today. The Learning Focused Schools (LFS) model is the current trend in education. One of the key ingredients for success in the studies they cite (Reeves, 2003) is the stress put on "cross-disciplinary curriculum integrating subjects currently downplayed (e.g. art, music)."
Remember, according to Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, creativity is the highest order of thought! Eliminating creative projects from schools is just plain nuts! We need more of it, not less -- especially projects that help them make connections between disciplines.
The picture above shows me trying to look "teacher-ish".
Today I presented a Comics in the Classroom workshop at Alfred University. The participants were a fantastic group of young teachers. Most had already completed student teaching and were working with students in a summer literacy program. Some have been hired for teaching positions at various schools in the fall.
It was a great group of committed educators who have a passion for teaching and compassion for the struggling learners. We completed exercises in using comics in lessons to demonstrate:
Our "text" for the day was the Sunday Funnies comics section (courtesy of The Daily Review). Their Comics in Education program is a great way to get multiple copies of the same comics text to use when discussing comics with students.
Here's what one of the participants had to say:I participated in this workshop presented by Andy and found it to be the most informative and eye opening class ever given by a guest speaker. As a result of what I learned, I am going to co-teach a comic based unit during the summer reading program in a couple of weeks. And, I just returned from the used book store with a copy of Bones for 3 dollars. The vast amount of graphic novels spanning all ages was a reality unknown to me before the presentation. I had heard of Watchmen and 300, and enjoyed the movies. But, was not aware of the many other types. My level of enthusiam regarding graphic novels has increased dramatically. I'm very excited about implementing some of the things learned in the classroom. Thanks a ton Andy. This was a blast.
Even though most participants weren't art majors, everyone created an original character and made a sketch of it. The results were creative and hilarious!
Mother's Kiss (2011)
For this drawing, I took a Pop Art approach, which is a type of Appropriation art. I am inspired by artists like Rauschenberg, Rosenquist, and Lichtenstein who appropriated images from popular culture and recontextualized them.To appropriate is to take possession of something. Appropriation artists deliberately copy images to take possession of them in their art. They are not stealing or plagiarizing. They are not passing off these images as their very own. Not at all. Appropriation artists want the viewer to recognize the images they copy, and they hope that the viewer will bring all of his/her original associations with the image to the artist's new context, be it a painting, a sculpture, a collage, a combine or an entire installation (Gersh-Nesic, 2011).There are many different things you can do to an existing images to make them into original statements.
Strategies include "re-vision, re-evaluation, variation, version, interpretation, imitation, proximation, supplement, increment, improvisation, prequel... pastiche, paraphrase, parody, forgery, homage, mimicry, travesty, shan-zhai, echo, allusion, intertextuality and karaoke" (Pichler, 2009).I see these kinds of images as a type of visual poetry. Like a poem, I take all these images together and say something. What does it mean? Does it take all the fun out of it if I spell it out? I don't know. Sometimes I explain what I was thinking, sometimes I try to give a little hint in the title and let you figure it out. For this time, I guess I'll spell it out for you.
Are the mundane details of life getting you down? Try an imaginative outlook on life. A new pair of glasses can provide a new way of looking things -- and your new outlook may affect how others look at you.
Everyone's got something to say. Having trouble getting your point across? There may be some simple tools that you have overlooked. The solution you are looking for may have been under your nose the whole time. Using these familiar tools in new ways has a lot of appeal.
A good cup of coffee is a great way to wake up to the possibilities. Gather your faculties and begin!
We all have mundane tasks to perform. You can either do it the boring way, or the imaginative way.
Taking the imaginative approach to life will bring you new joy.
You will find that you will rise above the dreary aspects of life and accomplish great feats.
With the focal point and accessories drawn, I was ready to add the handout. I enlarged page to 18x24 at Staples, traced the objects through it and then cut out the shapes with an X-acto knife and glued it down.
Then I added the finishing touches with pastel.
