Back from Pasadena

Reposted with permission from the blog of Aja Wells (Class of 2012)

It's been a few weeks since we have returned from the University of Hartford's Low Residency MFA Pasadena trip. I can't believe that the class of 2012 only has one more contact period before our final summer session and graduation!

As usual, our program director Murray Tinkelman lined up amazing illustrators and fine artists to speak to us about their careers as well as the illustration industry. Speakers ranged from children's illustrators to concept artists and even a court illustrator to expand our idea of all the different avenues illustrators can choose.

Speakers included illustrators and artists, Joan Charles, Gary Meyer, Keith Batcheller, Kenton Nelson, Paul Rogers, Scott Anderson (2007 alumni), Rob Ruppel, Dan Quarnstrom, Joe Cepeda, Bill Robles, and Lon Levin. We also had a great presentation by Crystal Falcioni of Magnet Reps, who helped us understand an agency/artist relationship, and we visited Jeff Hardy's Floor 84 Studio in North Hollywood, where we got to see a gaming studio in action. Below are some highlights from the trip!

Courtroom illustrator Bill Robles (above) shows illustrations from famous court cases including the Manson trial, OJ Simpson trial, and others.

Joe Cepeda (above) discusses compositions in his children's book illustrations, and the controversy of his illustrated book Nappy Hair.

Rob Ruppel (above) discusses creating concept work for gaming and motion picture entertainment.

Class of 2007 Alumni Scott Anderson shares recent work along with discussing his life and career post MFA.

We were invited to the famous and beautiful Castle Green to attend lectures given by Kenton Nelson and Paul Rogers.

After visiting Castle Green, we were invited to Kenton Nelson's beautiful studio to view more of his art and workspace.

Thesis advisors Doug Anderson and Bill Thompson (above) lead our illustration in context critique. Our assignment was to choose a subject, illustrator, and magazine from a certain era emulate their style for a cover piece.

Of course, this whole contact period took place in Pasadena which meant there were many other exciting things to see and do outside of class! Some of us spent an extra day going to Disneyland! Pictured (above) is class of 2012 Inga Polsitur, Magge Gagliardi, Jim Burke, Ryan O'Rourke, and me, Aja Wells.

Other students went to the La Brea Tar Pits. Pictured (above) class of 2013 Brad Albright. Many others spent their time at the Getty Museum, the famous Hollywood hills, and various other galleries and museums.

The weekend following our contact period, many students also went to the CTN Animation Expo. The CTN Animation Expo was a wonderful event showcasing some of the most talented animators and illustrators working today, including Bobby Chiu, Stephen Silver, David Colman, Peter de Seve, and James Gurney. Class of 2013 student Lee White was also a featured exhibitor.

Super-team Bobby Chui and Kei Acedera of Imaginism Studios were incredibly friendly people.

At the expo we also got to check out the new 27-inch Wacom Cintiq tablets. Definitely made me ache and wish I could turn in my 12 inch tablet for that thing of beauty.

Overall, it was another wonderful trip! Looking forward to this March, for Class of 2012's last travel period to Fort Worth, Texas!

Reposted with permission from the blog of Aja Wells (Class of 2012)

Bragging on my MFA

It's been almost three weeks now since I graduated from The Hartford Art School with my MFA in Illustration. It was an incredible, life-changing experience, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to brag on my program a little bit.

The photo above was taken during our San Francisco critique with the combined classes of 2011 and 2012. This is only a fraction of our faculty, but look at the talent and fame represented by the illustrators in this picture. Starting at the top with the Casey at the Bat book we have C. F. Payne. Moving right is Bill Thomson, Murray Tinkelman, Doug Andersen, Ted Lewin, Betsy Lewin  and Gary Kelley! These are the faculty - these are the professionals guiding and directing us to be the best we can be! Every day I went to class to learn from my illustration heroes... like I said, it was life-changing. I'd like to think my art has been lifted up to a new level of excellence. Thank you Murray and the staff and faculty at the Hartford Art School's MFA in Illustration program. I will miss you immensely.

Reposted with permission from the blog of Josh Brunet (Class of 2011).

Back from Hartford

Reposted with permission from the blog of Aja Wells (Class of 2012).

(Magge Gagliardi, C.F. Payne, and me at the Hartford MFA 2011 Thesis Show)

I can't believe it's been a year since I started my MFA. So much has happened in just one year, it really blows my mind. I moved to a different state, worked on a couple of books, got my feet wet in animation, got closely acquainted with Monster energy drinks, and learned the importance of a solid contract (many times over!). This year's trip back to Connecticut was just as wonderful and as recharging as I had hoped it would be. Some highlights...

This year I studied under four world class artists: Nancy Stahl and Zina Saunders co-taught a digital media course, and Gary Kelley and CF Payne co-taught a methods course.

In our methods class, both Gary and Chris demonstrated how they approach an illustration, and we had the opportunity to either create a new piece using their technique, or simply work on thesis projects with their guidance.

The majority of students tried Gary's monotype method, as can be seen below:

In addition to our courses, we also had numerous inspiring lectures from leading artists including Vincent DiFate. We also headed over to the Norman Rockwell Museum to view the collection and attend a panel discussion by Blue Sky Animation about character acting and design. The event was well attended, and some of us even got to meet James Gurney, which was a major treat!

Now I'm back home in PDX, with a bunch of work lined up and a whole new direction on my Thesis. More on that coming soon!

Reposted with permission from the blog of Aja Wells (Class of 2012).

Hartford MFA San Fransisco Trip!

Reposted with permission from the blog of Aja Wells (Class of 2012).

The San Fransisco trip started off with a bang! Bright and early on March 14th, we met at the Handerly Hotel in Union Square to load buses so we could head to Alice A. "Bunny" Carter's private residence. Carter comes from a long line of accomplished illustrators, and over the years her family has accumulated a massive private illustration collection. She was generous enough to invite us into her home so that we could view the pieces. 

When we arrived, Alice Carter, her mother/illustrator Jane Eisenstat, and her husband/illustrator Courtney Granner welcomed us with open arms. On display were a huge collection of illustrations, ranging from Norman Rockwell to Ralph Steadman.

Students examine private collection.

After we viewed the work, Jane Eisenstat gave us a brief lecture about how her collection came to be, (mostly luck- unfortunately original illustrations were often not very highly valued, so many were picked up at thrift stores) along with stressing the importance of being sincere about your quest to become an illustrator.

Afterwards, we piled back into the bus and headed out to LucasFilms at the Presidio, where we attended a panel discussion, lead by an ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) art director, about what it's like to work for LucasFilms, and how to properly prepare for a job with the company. If you're interested in learning more about working for LucasFilms, check out these two websites: http://www.lasjedi.com/index.html, and https://jobs.lucasfilm.com.

Through the rest of the week, we had a series of lecturers visit us, including:

Craig Frazier - Freelance Illustrator
"Look for work that feels most challenging, and for jobs that allow you to participate in thinking."

Chuck Pyle - Illustration Chair at Academy of Art 
"Know the fundamentals first."

Lou Brooks - Freelance Illustrator

 Robert Hunt - Freelance Illustrator
"The more sincere you are, the better you will be."

Bill Russell - Freelance Illustrator
"When you make a decision just for the money, it's probably not worth it in the long run."

Vivienne Flesher - Freelance Illustrator
"Expand as much as you can."

 Dennis Ziemienski - Freelance Illustrator

Cheryl Phelps - Licensing Coach/Freelance Illustrator
"Copyright EVERYTHING you make!"

Noah Klocek - Pixar Art Director/ Freelance Illustrator
"Learning requires stewing." and "Learn to balance your personal and professional work".

Courtney Granner - Professor of Illustration at SJSU/Freelance Illustrator

In addition to our lectures, much time was also spent on thesis advising and critiquing our reaction pieces to the New York City period.

All free time was spent visiting the various SF sights- students headed to Fisherman's Wharf, Coit Tower, the Legion of Honor, Chinatown- all over the city searching for inspiration for the next piece.

Friends at Pier 39

While the lecturers, critique sessions, and ILM visit were spectacular, my favorite part of these sessions are being around such a high caliber of fellow illustrators. We come from all over the United States, and have very different backgrounds and ages, but we all have this deep common thread that makes the experience simply precious. I'm already counting down the days to the next session, coming in July!

*If you are interested in earning your MFA through Hartford Art School's Low Residency program, please contact Carol and Murray Tinkelman via the program's website: http://www.hartfordillustration.com. Please note this is a professional level program, and all students should have a minimum of two years professional experience before applying.

A Tribute from Mollie Bozarth (Class of 2010)

Reposted with permission from the blog of Mollie Bozarth (Class of 2010).

Two years ago I had the opportunity to travel to California for the first time with a group from my master’s program.  I spent a week in San Francisco, walking over the city hills, wandering down by the Bay and Wharf, soaking in so many sights, sounds, cultures.  Our master’s homework was to create an illustration based off of our trip.  So, I sifted back through my favorite impressions of the week, and three things stood out:  pigeons, the Powell St. cable car, and a group of street dancers we’d seen one day.  This illustration was a fun challenge in pulling together 5 or 6 photos from the trip and making them feel like one cohesive scene.  I cut and pasted all of my images together in Photoshop, printing out the composition to use as my final reference.  It was a big step in the right direction of where I wanted to take my watercolor paintings (as opposed to the more stiff and over-worked look of my previous illustrations).

I have since graduated from that program with an MFA in Illustration.  However, some of my friends currently in the program will be headed to San Fran in a few days for the same trip I took two years ago.  So, this blog post is a tribute to them.  I hope they’ll enjoy the city as much as I did!