Deducing the Composition

My latest project is a cover for The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

After scribbling down some ideas, I arrived at a composition that reveals the mind of Sherlock in a "down-the-rabbit-hole" fashion. With so many free-floating objects, I thought that the best way to go about it would be to draw the elements separately and then combine them in different ways in Photoshop. Here are three different versions I tried:

 I felt the first had the best balance of negative and positive space. The other two had too much negative space at the top (the black) and more awkwardly clumped positive space (the stuff).

The voice of reason (a.k.a. my sister) suggested I make Sherlock larger and consequently a few other things in the composition changed. Most noticeably I have more objects "flying" out of the border of the image, which helps to distribute the negative space evenly. I also scaled down in size some of the less important objects. The only other thing I can think of changing at this point (other than refining in detail) is the barometer directly behind the text "SHERLOCK HOLMES" and the large billowing folds of the curtain, which should be smaller and multiplied. The large amoeba shape in the upper left will be a hansom (a type of carriage). What I had just wasn't working in that space.

On to the final drawing!

Dead Artist Feature: Julian Russell Story (b.1857- 1919)

Let me tell you about Story. No, not a story, the Story--Artist Julian Russell Story.

I first came across the work of Story at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia. The museum is very stately with its handsome statues of well-known artists in the front.

I proceeded into a room with several large oil paintings. One held my attention much longer than the others.

Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times

It was a massive 135  ½ x 205  ¾ in. painting of what appeared to be a knight and a fallen king. I imagined there must be story behind this one. I soon found out there is a Story and a story behind this painting. The painting is titled The Black Prince at Crécy (1888) and features the "Black Prince", also know as Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, and Prince of Aquitaine. The painting depicts the Black Prince paying his respects to King John of Bohemia at the aftermath of the Battle of Crécy. Story does exceedingly well creating a sense of movement in a sombre moment. The appearance of wind blowing the knight's ragged clothing, the black birds arriving to get their share of the spoils, the agitated stance of the prince's steed, and the looseness of brush strokes liven up the scene. One of my favorite parts of the painting as far as rendering goes is the dead horse. You can almost see its last heartbeats as it fades away. I also love how Story reservedly kept the dead king in the same tonal range as the horse, which for me at least kept him hidden until I wondered what the knight was looking at.

This small image does no justice to the painting and makes me more aware of how important it is to view traditional art in person. Just like with music recordings, you are only getting a fraction of the experience as opposed to going to a live concert. 

Back to Story. It is interesting that Story chose to depict Edward of Woodstock in an act of sensitivity when, historically, the Prince was infamous for his brutality, such as burning and pillaging villages. On the other hand, it would be hard for anyone to disrespect the death of a king who fought in battles despite being blind. 

Julian Story studied under American artist Frank Duveneck in Venice after his graduation from Eton and Brasenose college, Oxford University, England. Story became known for his portraiture upon moving to Paris where he studied under Henri Gervex, Ferdinand Humbert, and Jules Lefebvre. His being friends with the likes of John Singer Sergeant and the cumulative influences of his instructors may have played a part in in Story's approach with his brush work. Story continued to travel throughout his life, submitting award-winning work to exhibitions in Paris, Berlin, San Francisco, Chicago. The Black Prince at Crécy was painted for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1890 where it received a silver and was subsequently purchased by Carl Brandt, the first director of Telfair.

Ballpoint Pen Portraits

When I'm not working on toned paper for sketching, I like to use ballpoint pen:

 
It really forces you to be choice with the lines you put down. I admit that for these first two sketch portraits, I started over from scratch after making just a few bad lines. Typically, I would continue the sketch, but likenesses are unforgiving of stray lines.

What helped me create a better likeness of my subject was approaching them as caricatures, oddly enough. Try as I might, I found it challenging to create the intense exaggeration of proportions typical of caricatures on the faces of my subjects, so I knew that I could go pretty far in my mind to exaggerate these portraits and end up with a portrait that is very close to the actual facial proportions. This mentality helped me keep looser and bring to the front the unique parts of their features, which might be rendered invisible if I tried to copy the photo from top to bottom.

Another unusual method that I found worked for me for producing better likenesses was proceeding from one section of the face to the other instead of building everything gradually. I was able to space the various parts of the face more accurately this way than in my earlier attempts to put crossing lines to indicate the symmetry of the face. Unfortunately, this method made it harder for me to pick up the natural asymmetries of the face. However, in most cases, one should not start from one end of the paper to the other lest you find yourself with limbless figures. In this instance, a loose outline of the head was all that I needed before detailing.

Tips for Applying to Graduate School

At the moment, I am deciding between two schools to attend for my Masters in Fine Art in Illustration. Fancy stuff. How did I get to this point? How does one go about applying for graduate school? My friend, I have some advice for you from my memory banks of wisdom, fresh with experience...

1. Understand why you want to go to graduate school.

Graduate school isn’t for everyone. Many are able to go straight into employment after their undergraduate education--maybe even out of high school if he or she is a very talented and business savvy individual. My reasoning was that I didn’t feel I had the resources and connections to go straight into the workforce. I would throw in experience in there, but really the only way to get experience is by doing. For me, going to graduate school would put me in an environment where I could get feedback on classwork and commissions from my peers and teachers. It would be more challenging, but not impossible to do this on my own. There are websites like Illustration Age that do a great job helping beginning professionals. Graduate school provides the extra pluses of face-to-face interaction and a critical eye at your beck and call granted you are sharing a studio. Become very familiar with the “why” because you will be writing it down in your applications and verbalizing it at potential interviews.

2. Research and organize your knowledge of potential schools.

There aren’t too many art schools that offer an illustration emphasis for an MFA, so I started with writing down a list of schools that did and went from there. I also looked at schools that didn’t explicitly list an “emphasis”, but had great faculty members and what looked like a well-developed graduate program. It is a title after all, but odds are schools that do offer an illustration emphasis have more illustration faculty and students as well as opportunities specifically aimed towards illustrator padawans.

After you make your list (I made mine digitally), expand it to include everything you find important about the school. This should include strengths and weaknesses. You can list everything from specific faculty members, curriculum, successful graduates from the school, and the financial aid they offer. This list will be helpful in determining which schools to apply for.

3. List your deadlines.

On the same list, or on your calendar, write down the admissions deadlines. Make a note if there are any parts of your admission package that need to be mailed. This may include your transcript, letters of recommendation, portfolio, or Statement of Intent depending on the school. You should move up the deadlines for those parts a week sooner to make sure those materials arrive on time once shipped. Now, you can prioritize which school you need to complete your admissions materials for first.

4. Notify your recommenders early and be informative.

Most schools call for two, some three. Look at what type of recommender the school is looking for. Make sure you are giving your recommender plenty of time to complete your letter of recommendation, especially if it is a mailed letter. Inform your recommender of the deadline and whether the letter needs to be mailed physically or emailed. Also, forward them a description of the recommendation letter from the school website if there is one. Remember to be patient and give a heads-up to your recommender if the deadline is fast-approaching. Send frequent, friendly reminders if need be.

5. Customize your Statements of Intent (a.k.a. Statement of Purpose), but make sure you follow the school’s guidelines.

I thought I was on fire getting all of my statements done first thing. I was very specific to each program, writing down who I wanted to study under, which courses I was looking forward to, and why I thought grad school would make me a better artist. Not a good idea. Whereas some schools are looking for this kind of statement, others are more interested in what exactly you would be doing in their program (building a portfolio aimed at x genre, for example), and still others, why their program is different from the other programs you are applying to. The best way to make a statement that stands out is not to be so formulaic. Answer clearly and specifically the “prompt” that the school provides on their website for the Statement of Intent. You can still get to the point while demonstrating your research of the school.

6. Get an opinion from the inside.

Find a way to contact recent graduates or current students in the program you are applying for. If it is a graduate it is important that it be a recent graduate since a program can change within a matter of years. They may surprise you and can often tell you things about the program that aren’t visible from the website or even a day visit to the campus of your dreams. It is also nice to get to know some of the folks you may be sharing a studio with and maybe even collaborating with in future jobs.

That’s it! Not really. There is much more, but this is is the advice on things I struggled with the most. I did not mention much about portfolios. Those are important, trust me, but I trust you have already developed yours extensively to be thinking about graduate school. I wish you the very best in your endeavors and don’t hesitate to ask me any more questions about the application process!

Bloopers

I am finally back to a normal weekly schedule! To kick it off, here are some photo reference "bloopers". All of these were taken during my highly productive photo reference sessions. I'm lucky if I succeed in gathering a handful of useful shots to be used for my final paintings. I am even more lucky when I find a few gems that stand alone as works of art:

 "Approaching Vampire"

 "Head Over Heels"

 "The Devious Corgi"

 "The Phantom"

 "Man with the Jewel Eyes"

 "Mefistofele"

 "Mr. Phalenges"

 "A Friendship Rekindled"

 "Close Encounter of the Fifth Kind"

"Temporary Paralysis"

Next week I will have a more pertinent post related to applying for graduate school. I am near the end of my application experience and would love to share my insight into the process, especially to those interested in applying for an MFA in illustration. Stay tuned!

Senior Clarinet Recital

Did I mention that I also major in music? If you are looking for an exciting, free concert of relatively contemporary works for clarinet, I invite you to check out my senior recital this Saturday (4/13) at 2pm at the University of Redlands.

I made the poster using gouache, black colored pencil, and Adobe Photoshop (the text and atmospheric effect) on matt board. I was surprised with how well the matt board took the moisture from the paint. Just a little bit of bending to the board, but otherwise little warping. This board is great for giving you a nice mid-tone to work off of and a nice texture.

Redlands Senior Show Open

It has been a while friends! Here is the lovely poster for the University of Redlands Senior Art Show designed by the lovely senior design majors:

The closing reception will be on April 17 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. It would be great to see you there!