ABCs of Art

Edward Gorey Documentary Animation (Rough)



More Edward Gorey. This is a short excerpt from this upcoming documentary film. The film is now in "advanced post-production," whatever that means.

Mystery! Theme



The PBS Mystery! series has the best intro I've seen for a television show. I found a few different versions on YouTube, but this is the one I remember.

My Kid Could Paint That

We rented this from Netflix the other night. It's a documentary about a 4-year-old girl from Binghamton, NY who either is or isn't a child prodigy abstract expressionist painter. Here is the full story.

My opinion? Marla painted the paintings, but was heavily coached. I noticed that Marla made her paintings over a period of time. She would paint one layer, let it dry, and resume painting on a different day. In my experience, this is not how a 4-year-old naturally paints. The 4-year-olds I know want to finish everything in a single sitting. They add layer upon layer while the paint is still wet, and end up with one big pool of greenish-brown mud. I would guess that at a minimum, Marla's father decided exactly when to take the canvas away to let it dry and keep the colors distinct.

I admit it is sometimes tempting to intervene with a child's artwork. My own kids have come home from school at times with projects that they couldn't possibly have drawn themselves. However, conscious or not, if Marla's father was telling her which colors to use, which tools to use, and when to start and stop painting, in the end it isn't really Marla's painting. At least not entirely.

Here are some decidedly 4-year-old drawings that my own 4-year-olds drew. The first is a vampire that Megan drew last summer. The vampire is holding a glass of blood. The second is a drawing that Devon made of a man stealing eggs at Easter. I love them both.

Harry Bliss - Rip-off Artist?

Cakes

It's Bob's birthday today, so I made him an Alton Brown cake. By this I do not mean an Alton Brown recipe, but rather a Pillsbury Moist Supreme Premium Cake Mix cake decorated with a picture of Alton Brown on top. I used the Alton Brown Gear logo as my model (see left). Below is a slideshow of said cake, along with some other cakes I have made in the past.

Your Title Here

Commandment VI


Here is Commandment VI, "You shall not murder." I considered illustrating this commandment with some of these, but instead I drew the candlestick, the revolver, and the wrench from Clue. I found the Clue cards on this Board Game Pieces photostream, also on Flickr.

Ver Professio Show

T.E. Breitenbach


Everything about this artist is interesting. Read his bio - you'll see what I mean. His Proverbidioms posters are enviably clever, and he lives in a castle that he built himself. He hopes to make the castle into a museum one day to house his own artwork.

Of particular note is that he lives in Altamont, NY, my home town. Altamont is the home of the Altamont Fair, the Old Songs Festival, and the Capital District Scottish Games. It's hard to imagine an art museum in Altamont that isn't run by 4-H, but I would love to see it happen.

Vector Magic

Crochet Coral Reef

We went to the Winter Garden today at the World Financial Center and found this Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef. It was almost as cool as the Hyperbolic Crochet Cactus Garden which was on display in Rancho Cucamonga earlier this year.

The Coral Reef is at the Winter Garden through August 31. Catch it while you can!

Illustrators Conference

I went to the SCBWI Illustrators Conference on Monday. The conference was held at the Society of Illustrators on East 63rd Street. I love visiting The Society of Illustrators because they have original illustrations by Norman Rockwell, Howard Chandler Christie, and others hanging all over the walls. I collect posters from this era, so just seeing the originals up close was worth the trip for me.

The conference was for working and aspiring children’s book illustrators. The speakers included the Art Director from Highlights, the Image Editor from Oxford University Press, author/illustrator Neil Waldman, and others. Mr. Waldman spoke compellingly about his childhood, and explained how stories that he once told his four-year-old brother eventually evolved into picture books. He also described how his passion for art was strongly shaped by his mother's love of Vincent van Gogh.

My favorite speaker, though, was Jack Kreismer, President of Red-Letter Press. Mr. Kresimer started his publishing career by self-publishing the Bathroom Guest Book. After printing the book, he hired a small team of sales representatives and distributed the book in book stores and department stores throughout the country. He then went on to author, print, and distribute a whole line of novelty books.

Mr. Kreismer was an unlikely choice for a speaker at this conference because the books he sells are not illustrated and are not for children. However, his presentation was refreshing. He conceives, writes, edits, and publishes his own line of books. He is also a clever businessman, and enjoys marketing his own products. In short, he has made a successful career of amusing himself. I could only aspire to such greatness.