tired.
that's the first thing that comes to mind after the 4 day conference that took place last weekend. i think that's why, in part, it has taken me so long to get back to updating this thing.
energized.
that's the second word that i think of.
who would have thought that sitting around for 4 days would be tiring. it's not like i went hiking or climbed a mountain all of last weekend. but it's the wealth of information that one takes in. of meeting new people and getting to know them and making new friends. of discovering new art and artists that inspire and make you "want to be a better person" (to coin a phrase from that jack nicholson movie) but in this case- to be a better artist. so maybe this is also where the word "energized" comes into the picture.
definitely should have blogged about this earlier in the week, when everything was fresh and new in my mind, but i had to get back to this poster that i'm working on. i'm only pausing now because i just had lunch and i'm "digesting" (yeah, right, more like goofing off :)
but, really, had a good time at the conference. learned a lot. enjoyed listening to the speakers. it's nice when you can come into a situation where you are not overly familiar with someone and they put on an entertaining presentation. that was true for a number of the speakers most notably peter brown, kadir nelson, allyn johnston and marla frazee, larry day and john green,
peter brown is a writer/illustrator (who also happens to hail from my alma mater- art center). he is the author of three books currently out on the market. "flight of the dodo", "chowder" and "the fabulous bouncing chowder". i'm fond of all three of his books but i think that the new one, "the fabulous bouncing chowder" is the best yet. he gave a great presentation of his career up to now but it was in his individual workshop that we got to see inside the process- of how he worked to develop his style. he showed us what other artists influenced his look, and it wasn't just any one person, but rather he took a little from a variety of artists and created an amalgamation of those different styles and channeled them into what would become his art. when i look on his work i see smooth playful colors depicting fun, whimsical images. and textures. i love textures if you haven't guessed from my own work. check out peter's work at: www.somebrownstuff.com
kadir nelson is an illustrator who has worked on some really fine books. passionate comes to mind. passion in the subject matters and passion in the art. the art is big and broad and bold in it's expression and pallete. very good, hearty stuff. he also has a new book coming out centering on the negro baseball league. being a huge baseball fan, and specifically the dodgers who helped integrate baseball when they signed jackie robinson, i look forward to reading this one.
i admit to some bias when it comes to marla frazee. i took a class under her at art center on children's books. so much of what i know came under her tutelage. she and her editor at harcourt, allyn johnston, did a little presentation on their working relationship as author/illustrator and editor. they had a little back and forth banter going which really highlights their friendship but also their mutual respect for one another's talents. you can also tell that in their working relationship, they draw the best out of the other. marla has a new book coming out in the spring which looks to be a lot of fun. view marla's work at: www.marlafrazee.com
larry day was not an illustrator that i was familiar with before the conference. he won an award during the weekend and so i decided to take in his workshop. he's quite the cool character. he's an ad guy from the windy city, chicago, and he has a book out called "not afraid of dogs". working as a storyboard guy, day has a quick, sketchy style which is what you want with storyboards. but when he slightly modifies that approach with his books he creates something that has the quality of energy and movement with a narrative that is direct and conveys the story easily. he's working on a new book about the duel between alexander hamilton and aaron burr. the sketches he showed along with a couple of finished pieces automatically puts this on my wish list. it's a great period in history to depict and i often think of that hilarious commercial that came out years ago based on those "got milk" ad campaigns. here's a link to youtube with said commercial: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-JyOMJsPMM
john green is the author of "an abundance of katherines" and "looking for alaska". he gave a very earnest and endearingly funny talk about his work and process. i'm not familiar with his novels but just from his talk, i'll be looking to do some catching up on his books. john green's site is at: www.sparksflyup.com/
i apologize for expounding on the illustrators and just only, apparently, highlighting the writers. (actually make that writer. looks like i only mentioned one writer and 4 illustrators) eh, sue me, i guess you know where my heart lies...:)
but i did take away a lot of things from the conference. new books to look at, new experiences, a very cool moment that happened on saturday, new friends and also some good practical advice. if you want to get better at your craft you need to immerse yourself in the field. to that end, this one particular author, linda sue park, said that if you are a writer of young adult novels you need to read 500 novels in your life. and for picture book people, you need to read 1000 picture books. and when i thought about it, she was right. i do read picture books but not to that degree. her advice was absolutely practical. in order to get better at writing (and illustrating) picture books, one should read all sorts- the good ones and the "not so good" ones (so as to see what doesn't work) invariably, it comes down to making you better at your craft.
stuff to work towards, i think.
k
p.k. (post ken)
i made a new friend who resides in the midwest. even though she is a writer, i think she harbors art chick aspirations. she "claims" to be an expert palm tree illustrator, so i put her to the test. now i possess an original drawing by "j". as you will note, in the bottom right corner, i've already priced it for auction. i'll be throwing it up on ebay in the coming weeks. thanks "j", you are going to make me a rich man.
(just kiddin' "j". i'm not going to sell it...maybe trade it for a hockney :)
