"Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" Opens at Mystic Seaport!

The Dalvero Academy show at Mystic Seaport is finally open! I had the chance to go up and see it this weekend, and I am so thrilled that the show has come to fruition after 3 years and so proud to be a part of it.

My contribution to the show focuses on the theme of woodcarving as a symbol for the creation of the Charles W. Morgan, the last surviving wooden whaleship in the world, and the carving of global culture that grew out of whaling and survives today. These are a few drawings I did about the woodcarver's shop. Definitely go check out the show! In addition to drawings, I am also exhibiting my own wood carved sculptures and an animated short film, not to mention the incredible art from the 23 other artists I'm honored to be showing with!

You can read more about the show and its artists here:

Dalvero Mystic

Birthday Cherry Blossoms

 

My birthday happens to fall right around cherry blossom season, so I try to make a trip down to see them every spring. Chris and I had a wonderful day at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens where not only the cherry blossoms were in bloom, but the bluebells, lilacs, and wisteria. Definitely the right week to go!

Happy Spring!

"Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" at Mystic Seaport, Part 2

This is a drawing I made at last summer's Sea Shanty Festival in Mystic Seaport. Check out posts and drawings from other artists from the upcoming show "Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" by Dalvero Academy.

Alex Charner
Audrey Hawkins
Julia Sverchuk
Bill Martin
Si-Yeon Lee
Christine Foltzer
Danielle McManus
Rosa Lee
Veronica Lawlor

"Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" at Mystic Seaport

I am proud to announce that I am participating in an upcoming show at Mystic Seaport as a part of Dalvero Academy called "Restoring a Past, Charting a Future". You can see a preview of some of the wonderful art and learn more about the show here:

http://dalveromystic.com/

It is a group of 24 artists who have been documenting the restoration of the last wooden whaling ship in the world, The Charles W. Morgan, and the art that came out of that study and research.

Inspired by my friend and fellow Dalvero-er, Alex Charner, I'll be posting some drawings from Mystic that I've done that will not be at the show. Check out his beautiful daily posts here:

http://alexcharner.com/

As well as Julia Sverchuk's fantastic drawings from Mystic here:

http://juliaidrawings.blogspot.com/

Seattle: Pike Place Market

This summer, I had the chance to visit the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. It's a bright and colorful place with a diverse group of sellers (and the original Starbucks!).

My favorite was seeing the incredible flower shops run by the Hmong. The Hmong are a group of people from Laos, who, during the Vietnam war, came in large numbers as refugees to America. The Hmong were unsung heroes of the Vietnam War, with over 18,000 losing their lives in dangerous missions from the CIA in a special task force. As a result of the war, there are large Hmong communities across the country, with one of the largest in Northern California. Their flowers were brilliant, fresh, and endless.

Pike Place is famous for as a fishing market, and there are several fish and seafood shops. I'm not much for eating seafood, but it is an entertaining array of things to draw.

The "fish toss" is one of the main attractions of the market, with tourists lining up to take pictures as the sellers toss large fish back and forth.

Among the flowers and fish are stands of delicious and vibrant fruits and vegetables from local growers, so I decided to make a few fruit crate labels for the Market.

Featured in Varoom! Magazine

Exciting news!

My reportage of Seattle Gay Pride was featured in Varoom! Magazine, a UK publication put out by the Association of Illustrators.



"Depicting the celebratory nature of a Gay Pride march is always going to include the most flamboyant participants, and Evan Turk's drawings from this year's parade in Seattle capture the muscle guys and drag queens with rapid lines and streaks of colour. He expands the story by turning his eye to those watching the march and equally celebrates the older people and possible first timers sharing an empowering event such as this." -Derek Brazell for Varoom!

Very exciting to see, and also exciting to see a whole section on reportage in a publication like this!

Another of my illustrations from the event was used on the website.

Washington DC in Fall

This past weekend, Chris and I took a trip to visit my grandma and my aunt in Washington DC/Virginia. We had a wonderful time catching up with family! They are about 2 weeks ahead of New York in fall, and it's so beautiful there.

The treetops are beginning to rust, with some trees blooming in bright gold and red, while the rest of the forest stays the bright green of summer.

I realized how starved for trees we are here in New York after seeing how immense the forests are in Virginia. It feels like they go on forever.

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. You feel like you have to enjoy each warm day like it's your last, and join the trees one last time on parade before winter.