Oh Snap! Remembering lost art.



Last week one of the art teachers I work with pulled out a stack of posters she had collected over the years. In the pile was a Jerry Moriarty poster similar to the one in the previous post. Jerry Moriarty painted the poster back when I was in his class at SVA. I had forgotten all about this till this art teacher pulled the poster out of the pile.



So that got me thinking. I had an entire portfolio of illustrations that I created when I was in school similar to the zonkey painting. I no longer have any of the original paintings but I found some old transparencies (if you can believe that) in the attic. And that is where these illustrations are from (cira 1989).

This poster was painted by Jerry Moriarty, the guy who taught me 20 years ago when I went to SVA.

Look, I found the class description online:

DRAW ANYTHING: ESPECIALLY FROM YOUR HEAD
The problems confronted when drawing from your head are different from those faced when copying. Someone who can copy a photograph accurately may have difficulty in drawing from their head while some-one else who can’t copy as well may have no problems in drawing from their head. This class is for anyone (advanced or beginning) who wants to be able to draw from their head right now. You will be shown how to make up your own ideas and go through the sketch process, then the finished drawing. Finally, you will learn how to be objective about the results.

Freeing the Zonkey



This is me, when I paint. Not when I’m trying to create an illustration and not when I’m trying to capture what I see when I look at a water tower.



This is the art that comes straight from my head to my hand. No reference, no life sketches, just pure illustration like Jerry Moriarty taught me 20 years ago when I went to SVA.

I, Spy...



What's down there??

Turtle Day

Today, I went outside and cleaned the ponds of a winter’s worth of muck, leaves and more muck. Then we did the only thing left to do on such a beautiful day. We went turtle hunting.

We weren’t very successful at the first pond. All the turtles swam out to the middle of the pond. They were too big anyway. I was looking for a pair of small to medium sized turtles in hopes of trying to breed them.



At the second pond we caught four turtles, two small painted turtles and two very tiny sliders. Look how little this guy is!

The painted turtles look like they will make a cute couple, that is, if I sexed them right. One has long front nails and a long tail, definitely a male. I have to take a closer look at the other. I think she is a female. Short tail, but not so short, no long nails, but both these turtles a pretty young. hmmm.

Pony Wombat Eats Mor Chikin



Update: We had a good time last night at Chick-Fil-A. We read some and gave away some door prizes like books and cows and water bottles and more cows…

Then the kids asked me to sign their books… and their cows and their water bottles and some more cows and…



Join Author, Ian Sands (that's me) as he (me again) reads from his (still me) book

"Pony Wombat and the Second Ark"

Story Night
March, 20th
Chick-fil-A RTP
103 Residence Inn Blvd. Durham

Reading times: 5:30, 6:00 and 6:30.
Autographs, book purchases and door prizes will be available between reading
times.

Chick-fil-A
exit 278
off of Hwy 40.
It's on Hwy 54, just a little off of the hwy 54/55 intersection.

Hope to see you there!

Buy Pony Wombat Today!

Shellless

The Shellless are Hidden to everyone but Jirst. He's the only one who sees them.



Today, I dropped the first three chapters of SHELLLESS in the mail. I sent it on its way to become one of the many manuscripts wishing to win the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Work in Progress grant.

Shellless is the story of Jirst Bluefin the First as he tries to overcome his biggest problem, being ignored. After befriending Kacela Middleton, the one person in the world who is never ignored, Jirst discovers that it’s better to be ignored for no reason than to become popular for the wrong.

An Excerpt:

“Shellless?” she asks. “What’s that?”
“They look sort of like please-me-saurs. Like the lochness monster only the lochness monster is fake.”
“Do you mean plesiosaur?”
“Yes, but I call them Shellless 'cause they look like turtles that lost their shells.”
“And you talk to them?”
“They talk to me.”
“They talk to you?”
“Yeah, they are friendly.”
Kacela is looking at the pond again. She turns back real fast.
“So you communicate with imaginary, extinct plesiosaurs?”
“Shellless.” I have to correct her.
“And they are your friends?”
“Yeah. Most days.”


Wish it luck!!