The Works of Others

I have been in a little bit of a pause, in terms of painting, over the last week. I've got some things in mind (more raccoons!) but am not quite satisfied with the sketches yet for me to commit to painting them down. No real reason for this, it's not like I'm really busy or anything, but sometimes I get distracted by the works of others (and sometimes I wonder why I even bother!), especially when they're so good!

I recently heard about Tiffany Bozic who paints, in acrylic, these incredible large-scale pieces of realistic animals in some sort of twisted dark imagined landscape. Totally amazing and an inspiration to me. Since I'm not very good at describing art in words, it is best that you visit www.tiffanybozic.net. Check out the short film on her work process under the Press tab. Right on!

The depth and expertise of her stuff reminds me of Walton Ford. I don't see that he has his own website, but if you google Walton Ford, you'll find a bunch of websites on him as well as google images of his stuff. These are large-scale watercolors and I got the chance to see some of them at the Brooklyn Museum last year.

Finally, I attended a workshop on drawing wildlife at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge by Patricia Wynne, science and book illustrator. This was an awesome workshop, I had a lot of fun at it, and came away with techniques and tips on how to better draw wildlife. Like I've said before, it is rare for me to find workshops or classes on drawing animals specifically. This class energized me and inspires me to pursue further classes on the craft of illustrating wildlife. Also, it was free! Thank you, Patricia and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge!

Finally, not art-related, but another person I admire will be speaking tonight:

Wednesday, Apr 23 — 6:30 PM at Mid-Manhattan Library (455 Fifth Avenue at 40th Street)
Author @ the Library presents: "Great Trees of the Metropolitan Area" with Edward Sibley Barnard.

The author of "New York City Trees: A Field Guide for the Metropolitan Area," will take you on a slideshow nature walk through parks and preserves in around the City looking for some of the oldest, tallest, rarest, and most beautiful trees. You will stop by great tulip trees surviving from colonial times, admire the gnarled trunk of a 600-year-old black tupelo, and witness the City's most extravagant sylvan floral displays. The metropolitan area boasts an unsurpassed collection of trees. You will visit the best of them with Edward Barnard's arresting photographs.