Pictureless post

No pictures with this update, but I hope to receive some from the DIY Spring Break workshop I completed last Thursday. The coordinator will hopefully send me her pictures of the students’ completed pieces. It was a ton of fun to see what the next generation of artists is doing, and be able to offer some insights and influence their work.

I really enjoyed developing the concepts behind the workshop and am considering creating a book to expound the topic. The first sentence would be:

“There are no shortcuts or secret formulas to creating art; I can offer ideas and guidance, and show how I draw and how I compose an image, but in the end, the path to being an artist is like the path to enlightenment: you must find your own way.”

Of walks and work

New art has been posted in the Design section. It is a concept logo to potentially be placed on future anthologies of my comic classes’ works.

Last week had several pockets of great weather, and I took advantage of the warmth to go on many walks around town. I took several pictures: some are from around my apartment complex, while others are from a return visit to the Japanese Garden.

A neighbors’ flowers are beginning to bloom:

The birds are out!

The trees need to wake up:

On the return trip to the Japanese Garden, the sun came out by the Sand and Stone Garden:

More art to come soon. I hope to get some comic art up next.

Corrupting the next generation with art!

In September 2009, I began teaching a nine-week after-school comics course for a local middle school. I was given total freedom to design the curriculum, dictate exercises, and generally guide the students through the process of creating a comic book. I’m very pleased to report that the success of the Fall class spawned immense demand for a return class for the Winter term, and subsequently, for the Spring term. I’m proud to be able to share a few glimpses of my students’ work.

Class of Fall 2009:

Class of Winter 2010:

I have an upcoming appearance at the Beaverton City Library on March 25th, 2010, where I will be participating in their Spring Break Workshop week. I will be presenting an Anime Illustration workshop, where the focus is on composition and current stylistic trends common to Anime-style pin-up art.

In April I will be returning to the after-school program and hope to help more students create some great comics.

There are a few more events planned after that, but they’re a secret until the dates get closer.

Sakura Spring

New art has been posted into the Illustration section, with a preview on the Home Page. Please take a look as it is splash art for my upcoming comic.

We had a rare glimpse of Spring weather in Portland, and the cherry blossoms around the city started to bloom. I went to the Japanese Garden over the weekend and got to enjoy the great weather. Unfortunately some sections of the garden were under construction, and there were so many other visitors that I couldn’t get very many photos. Here are the two that are internet-worthy:

This is the weeping cherry at the Garden Pavilion that is just starting to bloom:

A really nice flower in full bloom. I like the complimentary color contrast:

I hope the real Spring gets here soon!