illustrationclass

Groot in a Box designed by Kelly Weihs

Invest now in Guardians of the Galaxy collectible toys! O.K, I was wrong about Beanie Babies & Longaberger baskets. But I should have trusted my gut and bought a second Pee-Wee Herman Doll in 1985. Kelly Weihs is a 2010 grad from Kutztown University’s Communication Design major with a dual concentrations: graphic design and illustration. She designs the packaging forContinue reading “Groot in a Box designed by Kelly Weihs”

Tom Hart & Leela Corman on Grief & Cartooning

I went to NYC for the 92nd meeting of the NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium. I’ve missed 90 meetings, but they are a welcoming bunch. The Symposium pops up someplace different each meeting, so you need to find it. The Symposium is free, info here. This is not Comi-Con. The emphasis is on D.I.Y., independent and innovativeContinue reading “Tom Hart & Leela Corman on Grief & Cartooning”

Tom Quirk’s Stations of the Cross: Sacred Sequential Art

St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Kutztown, PA is out by the Rt. 222 bypass. From the highway it looks like a typical mini-mega-church. Inside there is something to behold -the art of Tom Quirk. Stations of the Cross are a fixture of Catholic and some Protestant churches. The stations are 14 sequential images depicting the crucifixion ofContinue reading “Tom Quirk’s Stations of the Cross: Sacred Sequential Art”

WATERCOLOR STORYTELLER Felix Scheinberger

Urban Watercolor Sketching: A Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Storytelling in Color by German illustrator Felix Scheinberger. What a wordy title! Maybe it’s all one word in the original German? – Something like, um, –“AguaZityKunstenKolor.” * I found this book quite wonderful, though it might not be ideal for an absolute beginner. Scheinberger does provide how-to lessons onContinue reading “WATERCOLOR STORYTELLER Felix Scheinberger”

Gabby’s Dinosaurs: Not Based on Photos

Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Shelly, class of 2014, shared a coloring book available at Amazon. I asked Gabby to tell us a bit more about the project. Gabby: “Dino Day Out was created primarily for my Senior Illustration Seminar at Kutztown University with Prof. Denise Bosler. I created it for the class, but also kept in mind thatContinue reading “Gabby’s Dinosaurs: Not Based on Photos”

Murray Tinkelman at the Norman Rockwell Museum

I know of 3 Norman Rockwell Museums*, but only one Murray Tinkelman. The best of the Norman Rockwell Museums, the one in Stockbridge, Mass, bestowed the honor of “Artist Laureate” on Murray Tinkelman this weekend. He is only the third person to receive the honor, after artists Barbara Nessim and David Macaulay. Tinkelman’s distinctive penContinue reading “Murray Tinkelman at the Norman Rockwell Museum”

A Library of Comics: Am I in Heaven?

Caitlin McGurk has had the 2 coolest librarian gigs in the world. Now she is at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at the Ohio State University. The Billy Ireland is the world’s largest academic research facility documenting printed cartoon art. Before landing this job she was the founding librarian at the Schultz Library atContinue reading “A Library of Comics: Am I in Heaven?”

Pretty in Ink: Trina Robbins Schools Me on Women in Comics

In the 1980’s I drew the occasional cartoon for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, an alternative weekly newspaper. Trina Robbins, the great underground cartoonist, drew a strip for them, too. We never met until last month at Pittsburgh’s PIX comics convention. Trina is the foremost expert on the history of women in comics. Her newestContinue reading “Pretty in Ink: Trina Robbins Schools Me on Women in Comics”

OAXACA KU Study Abroad Winter 2015

Update: Kutztown U’s Oaxaca Course will be offered again. Tentative dates: Dec.27, 2015 to Jan.10 2016. Details in August. For a new non-credit 6-day (Jan 10-15, 2016) Oaxaca printmaking workshop see offering here via Oaxaca Cultural Navigator. Kutztown University is offering an affordable opportunity to study in Oaxaca, Mexico with Prof. Kevin McCloskey. Oaxaca may the bestContinue reading “OAXACA KU Study Abroad Winter 2015”

Q & A with Mellen

As noted in prior post, December grad Melissa Rae Reinbold, who goes by Mellen, landed a job a Crayola. She also was awarded the Don Breter Award for Best Illustrator in KU’s class of 2014. I sent Mellen a few quick questions about her success in landing such a great job. I’d heard folks atContinue reading “Q & A with Mellen”