Cover of Canson Mix Media Artboards

I am very excited to represent Dalvero Academy on the cover of the new Canson location pads: Mixed Media Artboards.

Photo courtesy Chris Brody.

This is a drawing of Mission Solano in Sonoma that I made in 2011 during the Dalvero Academy drawing trip to the West coast.  Best memories!

The other 3 pads are Watercolor Artboards, cover art by Veronica Lawlor; Canva Artboards, cover art by Margaret Hurst; Illustration Artboards, cover art by Evan Turk. Thank you, Canson, and thank you, Veronica and Dalvero Academy!

Celebrating Pilgrimage

Here's a drawing I made of a pilgrim woman tending her garden in the 17th century village at the Plymouth Plantation, MA, while on a drawing trip with Dalvero Academy.

With this drawing I'd like to celebrate my 21st anniversary of coming to America and "tending my garden" on this fertile soil since July 1st, 1994.

Notes From Cuba: Havana Bay

Recently, I spent 5 days in Cuba with my most favorite people, art mentors and friends Ronnie and Margaret.

We went as part of a larger tour group, and saw both, town and country life, albeit at the speed of the constantly moving tour bus. We stayed in Havana, with one night in the beautiful small town of Viñales. I hungrily seized those little pockets of drawing time that we got “on land” and will be posting some of the drawings in the weeks to come. Here’s the view of Havana Bay wall. Fishermen's boats take on a rather heavy meaning, once you find out that Cubans aren’t legally allowed to get into a boat, unless they have a fishing license or a permit, which pretty much makes Cubans prisoners of their own country. 

Havana Bay Wall and Fishing Boats

Here's Part 2: Streets of Havana >

Life Drawing Weekend, Part 2

[continued from previous post]

Kika

Patrick

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Kika

Check out Dalvero Academy on Instagram to see work of other artists, too!
#DalveroDrawingSocial &
#DalveroLifeDrawing

Life Drawing Weekend, Part 1

I had the best time this weekend during the 2-day life drawing workshop with Dalvero Academy, after Friday night's "aperitif" of a Drawing Social event that Veronica Lawlor and Margaret Hurst, founders of Dalvero, hosted at the Brooklyn studio.

Follow Dalvero Academy on Facebook to find out when the next month's Drawing Social is announced - everyone is invited to come and draw! 
 
Check out Dalvero Academy on Instagram to see work of other artists, too!
#DalveroDrawingSocial &
#DalveroLifeDrawing

Here are some selected drawings from Friday night and the weekend. We worked with 4 incredible models: Kendall on Friday, Patrick and Goldie on Saturday, and Kika on Sunday.

Kika

Goldie

Kika

Patrick

Goldie

2-handed drawing of Goldie

Goldie

Goldie

Kendall (Drawing Social evening)

Kendall (Drawing Social evening)

Goldie

Kendall (Drawing Social evening)

Kendall (Drawing Social evening)

Part 2 is in the next post >

Mayflower II Restoration in Mystic Seaport

The Museum of America and the Sea at Mystic Seaport is restoring Mayflower II, the 57-year-old wooden ship, a faithful replica of the 17th century Mayflower that brought Pilgrims to the New World. The original didn't survive. Mayflower II was built in Great Britain and then gifted to the United States; it symbolizes collaboration of Great Britain and the United States during the WWII.

Mayflower II is expected to be fully restored in time for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival, in 2020.

Meeting the Wampanoag People. Without their help, the Pilgrims wouldn't have survived the first winter in the New World.

We visited Mayflower II this winter and early spring with Dalvero Academy, at the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. It is much smaller than the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, and it has a cheerful personality. Presently, during restoration, there are only two masts on the ship. I look forward to seeing it fully rigged in Plymouth, where Mayflower II will spend the summer. 

Nudes at The Society of Illustrators

Another fun drawing experience at The Society Of Illustrators, this time the Tuesday Sketch Night, with two nude models.

Veronica Lawlor and Margaret Hurst were drawing there as well, so keep an eye on One Drawing a Day blog to see their beautiful art from this evening!

Scooter LaForge Fashion

Last Thursday, April 2nd, I went to the Society of Illustrators for their weekly Thursday Sketch Night, hosted by fashion illustrator Bil Donovan, and it happened to be "An Evening with Scooter LaForge", modeled by Arielle Harp and Kendall Weber (aka Sailor Moon). Scooter was on the model stand as well, for one pose. Here he is!

Scooter LaForge

We were told to look out for next week's Jimmy Fallon show with Madonna's performance: Scooter LaForge is dressing her back-up dancers, and this was a sneak peak of the clothing he's creating. I was so excited to draw, and my favorite accessory was this huge blue eye ball on a stick, covered with glittering spangles. I loved the graphics and shapes of Scooter's mish-mash-scribbly-patched-layered-torn-glittered-leather-plad aesthetics, which Ronnie (Veronica Lawlor) described as "gritty funkiness of the 1980s East Village". Check out her drawings in this eloquent post.  Also, look for Despina Geordiadis and Greg Betza posts with drawings of the event as well. At the end of the night, as Scooter, Sailor Moon, Ronnie and I were stuck on the subway platform waiting for the F for forever, we talked about our love of Picasso and Matisse, among other things. Scooter was holding a big black trash bag. With costumes. Just like that.

Anelle Miller, Executive Director of the Society of Illustrators, on the Model Stand