Will Godwin

Mixtape 11

2012-01-24T18:51:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked (nearly a year ago) by Chris Payne, founder of The Richmond Scene, to do the cover of the mix tape last year. I was really stoked about it, but also at a complete loss of what to do, given absolutely no guidelines. So I just started drawing with my dip pen. Eventually, the final below came to be. I actually cut the drawing in half a few times, redrew stuff on other sheets of paper and eventually frankenstein'd the thing back together. I then had to set it up to be screen printed...

Triple Stamp Press screen printed it and did a mighty fine job. Espeically with all the tiny hatch marks. I couldn't believe it. The thing is only 5"x7"! I think about 500 of these got printed. inside was a CD of the best music from RVA musicians in 2011.

I asked for about 20 extra and painted them all. Then snuck them back into there piles at record stores, coffee shops and clothing stores around town. Below is one I kept for myself.

It was originallly planned to be a two color job, but that got nixed last minute. Below was the file for that. (front/ back)

Liberator

2011-11-28T14:34:00.000-08:00

This was a commission for a friend who let me decide what to draw/ paint. This is the result, quite fun. Ink, Watercolor and some other stuff.

Bellytimber Tavern

2011-11-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

Not only do I work under my boss (Visionary / Creative Director) Gabe Ricioppo at Need Supply Co, but also as a Designer and Illustrator for his own firm, Serious&Ly. The same creative team of Need Supply Co also makes up the firm Serious and Ly; myself, Eric Wolinksy and Gabe.

These are Illustrations for Bellytimber Tavern, a local restaurant in Richmond Va. Serious and Ly also developed the website and identity system for Bellytimber. Gabe had the idea of building the lore of Bellytimber around an epic battle between an eagle and bear.

original drawing, ballpoint pen on paper, 18x24"

This guy is on the to go menu

watercolor on bond, 8.5 x11

These two are how they've been implemented in two magazine format's for RVA Magazine and a photo book they put out.

Alden x Need Supply Co. Seven Hills Indy Boot

2011-11-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

I was asked to do Illustrations for a Indy Boot (Indy = Indiana Jones) for a collaboration between Alden and Need Supply Co. The boot is the first of it's kind; an Indy Boot with white Vibram sole, all around reverse welt, painted brown eyelets all the way up (no speed hooks). It was a fun challenge merging many different boots and shoes and ending up with something that doesn't exist yet.

Need Supply Co.

2011-07-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

The day I graduated I saw a well dressed man who I thought carried himself confidently, stroll through my senior show for Graphic Design. Of the hundreds of people that strolled through that night, he stuck out to me for some reason and thought "he knows what's up". I later saw him at the restraunt next door and thanked him for stopping by. I gave him my business card and that was that. Two weeks later, I recieved a call from him and he was one of the owners of Need Supply Co. and hired me as a designer.

I was beyond thrilled.

My first project while at Need Supply Co. was to work on the summer lookbook zine with the one other designer at Need. I think my mouth was open, and smiling the entire week. "Holy crap. I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this." above and below are the result at 8.5" x 5.5"

We had hundreds and hundreds of photos to work with. The simplicity of the zine reflects the simplicity and effectiveness of the brand. I think in the end I had around a hundred pages laid out. The zine was only 16pages. It was a blast and more difficult than I had imagined. Below are some of my favorites that didn't make the cut.

hope you enjoy!

Last semester studio/community

2011-07-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

Last semester, (the last semester of school for me. probably ever. hopefully) I basically moved into VCU's Graphic Design building, known as 1509. It helped not being 3 feet from my bed while doing work. Once I moved in and got cozy, another designer moved in, Melissa Vaughn, and then another, Matt Boteihlo. This became my core community my last semester studying Graphic Design. Community was something I really missed while in Graphic Design until I found it with these two people. It was a totally different feeling than Illustration, and something I think carries over into the professional field with both industries. Community is stressed and a much more important factor in the Illustration community than the design community, I think mostly because with Illustration, it's almost all freelance which means almost always working alone, while with Design, it's mostly small or large firms = human contact on a more consistent level.

Luckily, we all liked working in low light.

It was the best and most productive semester I've had in school. forget the haters. work hard and be nice to poeple. It's really that simple.

Cricket, Matt's dog.

Behind Matt, we had a giant chair from Melissa's place and a coffee maker. It was tight. I wish I took more photos of the whole space.

If you're a rising senior in the design program or anyone in their last few years of school, build your community, the more the better. The more diversity in people and different majors the better. Learn from each other, don't be an island. And for freaking goodness sake, don't see each other as competition. Be a part of the whole.

The Listening Room, Series II, Volume VIII

2011-06-13T05:39:00.000-07:00

I was honored to be asked to do another poster for The Listening Room. I had a ton of ideas, but this is what happened.

I inked the image in watercolor ink, put a wash over the image and let the ink bleed around and do it's thing. It gave a nice effect and was fun to work with.

some deets.

June 21st, Richmond, VA, come on out!

Thanks Matt Klimas

Pretty much first published Illustration!

2011-06-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

STOKED. This piece was published in Ink magazine, a student run magazine at VCU. Thanks Christine Erikson for the gig! The magazine has some rad designers working for / art directing it. Watch out for these heavy hittin designers in the future; Dominic Butchello, Marleigh Culver Alexander, Hannah Swann.

I really want to be an art director....

Vesuvius

2011-06-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

I took a Book Arts class this last semester of school which was rad. This was one of my "books"

This project was inspired by a Sufjan Stevens song, Vesuvius. My goal was to mix in a little bit of (almost) everything I love: Design, Illustration, narratives and Sculpture. And then being a three-dimessional piece, incorporating photography to photograph it. (A note on that: On my last tour to Austin with The Diamond Center in April, I lost my main camera setup Canon 30D and IS lens... Luckily, still have my Rebel and was able to bring it back from the grave)

Underneath the Volcano, is a book slipcase and book telling the story of the couple in the landscape traveling to the volcano.

It was an interesting challenge working with a triangular shaped book and triangular compositions with and actually very fun with the illustrations.

dip pen, digital color and wacom tablet for the typography.

The trees and bushes etc. the the type is set on, are the shrubbery files that I used in the physical 3D landscape.

Here are the drawings.

I forgot the one below in the final book. It acted as a rest between the forest spirit page and second to last page before they hurl themselves in to the volcano (spoiler alert)

warmup drawing with the dip pen. It's been quite a while. but I really dig this drawing.

mock ups. I like the first one the most of the entire project. OH WELL.

Tour Zine/Poster

2011-05-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to encorporate my the photos I've taken while on the road with The Diamond Center other than just the web for quite a while. I am also really interested in magazine design and would absolutely love to be an art director one day. So I recently created a small 6 page zine, with no sort of binding necessary. You'll see why after a few pictures. I developed a typeface for the headlines, that looks like a lot of other typefaces, but who cares, this ones mine, and it will be downloadable soon as a working font!

Behold: Numero Uno.

I wanted this to be a small behind the scenes look at us on the road, hanging out, etc. I found that a photograph has to be really good to work as a duotone image in cyan because of the extremely small value range of a picture when converted from black and white, to cyan and white. So, many pictures I had laid out could not make the cut.

Not only just a zine, buuttt....

The zine unfolds and becomes an 11"x17" poster on the other side. I wanted it to look like a poncho, kind of.... I dunno.... Anyways....

I actually really enjoy the unfolded zine layout / back of the poster the most. Cyan ink on Mohawk cream 20lb paper. Numero Dos and NumeroTres are on there way!

Will this be available to the public? Not sure. But hope you like!

The Diamond Center 7in Special Edition Album Cover

2011-05-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

I recently completed one of the largest projects I have ever taken on. The two lead members of The Diamond Center, Brandi Price and Kyle Harris commissioned me to screenprint 100 album covers for the special edition white vinyl, for our new 7in release. (I also play in the band, hense, the "our")

I didn't want to plan this one out, because the act of screenprinting is so mechanical in itself, I just wanted to dive in. So I did, with a ballpoint pen.

I didn't expect to like it once finished, but I did. I started playing around with digital color for a bit and nothing was really clicking. So I started over, with a little more thought involved.

I decided to paint the piece, even thought it would make printing it much more difficult, I would be happier with the result in the end. I would print it in CMYK. It did in fact make it much, much more difficult.
Final piece: 20"x 14" ballpoint pen and watercolor. the printed piece would be 10"by 7".

Little did I know that I was meerly less than a quarter of the way to the finish line. Bwahaha.
The printing process was much more exhausting than I thought. It took a few hours per color.
Magenta:

while creating the halftones in photoshop, I made the dot frequency WAY too high, around 60. maximum recommended is 35... The ink was drying in the screen every few minutes. But thanks to my super awesome instructor Andrew Kozlowski, he showed me how to make it work.
The Yellow:

I made my own batch of CMYK inks and thinned them down till it was nearly as fluid as water so it could pass through the tiny holes in the emulsion. I learned a whole lot about screen printing ink and screen printing this semester from Andrew.
The Blue:

Each pull needed to be nearly consistent with the last. Too hard, and the whole image would get lost in whatever color I was pulling, too soft and spots wouldn't print. So I learned how to do consistent pulls real quick. I decided not to print black, instead just left it at Cyan Magenta and Yellow. Black looked much too harsh and sucked out alot of the warmth from the piece.

Then I screen printed the type. The lower type is set at 7pts. what I also like about it is that it acts as a mini poster. the bottom quarter of the print folds back around the album as you will see below.

Then came the cutting, signing numbering and stuffing.

all 100

Screen printing is known as a production art, producing multiples of a print. What I love about screen printing, or what gets me excited about how I print, no matter how naive it is, is how every print is a little bit diferent. Below you can see a few diferent variations in color that came out, and I love that.

So, 10 bucks gets you a screenprinted cover/ poster AND white vinyl. A deal.

This is also the first recorded and pressed album I've been on. So it was double the excitement seeing the visual and musical art come together at once.

Brandi made dozens of buttons. awesome.

You can see a video from the vinyl release party and some recent videos, photos and interviews with the Diamond Center here on my tumblr, and also our website

Order the 7in here: SOMEDAYTHISWILLALLMAKESSENSE

A very special thanks to Andrew Kozlowski and Meljska Fawn

The Construction of the Self

2011-03-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

This was for an article for Ink magazine about the ongoing puzzle of constructing yourself. I used Tetris as a metaphor as the game we play trying different 'pieces' to see what fits, but also a game we play (self discovery and tetris) that can go on forever. (when you fit a row of blocks all the way across, it disappears) I hope the strange nature of the illustration plays off the awkwardness the article also mentions during the periods of self discovery.

In Progress...

2011-03-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have a ton of stuff in progress from the past month or so, a couple are school assignments, but mostly outside work or for fun. The first one I finish will get a proper update!

drawings

2011-02-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

Just a couple drawings from today.

35mm photos

2011-02-12T12:56:00.000-08:00

New poster for The Diamond Center

2011-01-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

Just finished this poster for our next show in Richmond at Cous Cous!
I imagined the type being war paint for the buffalo, and gave the type my own psychedelic flair. I was most pleased that it is still readable at a 3.5"x4" printout.

This past semester in Graphic Design was invaluable as far as what I learned and how much I learned about typography. Not that it is reflected in this piece at all, maybe just in spacing and readability.... I may post some typefaces I designed soon! maybe...

Wedding Invitations!

2011-01-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

I had the joy of designing and printing wedding invitations for two dear friends of mine, Amanda Dodson (now Amanda Hays) and Christian Hays.

I was given a stack of these blank cards with a green border on them. After many roughs and mock ups that just were not working, they described what they wanted for the invites as "simple and woodsy" and bam. that was all the information I needed. And so I printed over 300 of these suckers each (so around 600 cards total) from my printer for nearly 14 hours straight. Fun and nerve-racking, but incredibly rewarding.

I also decided to hand letter all of the text. I had no idea how long that was going to take me, but I really didn't want to do the traditional extra-scripty typeface. They wanted the cursive script, but the long flourishes of the run of the mill wedding invitations just didn't fit them. The hand written type fit that balance and they and I both were very happy with the results. Plus the wedding was in a barn. awesome.

I also had the pleasure of learning and then playing mandolin for their wedding. Also nerveracking as crap since a month prior to the wedding I had never played a stinking mandolin in my life! But the same goes; nerve-racking but an incredible honor. Thanks for asking and trusting me to play in your wedding Amanda, and Jana for helping me out with the songs!

Store

2010-12-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have set up a store section, you can find it just above here, listed next to my LINKS, FRIENDS link.
If there is anything else not in the store that you are interested in purchasing, please email me at williamkgodwin@gmail.com. thanks!

Internet Neutrality PSA

2010-12-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

I recently completed a Public Service Announcement addressing Internet Neutrality. It was a group project which included myself, Austin Laverty and Ada Cooke. It took 3 weeks to build the sets, by trial and error and the shoot took about 14 hours. We only had one shot at it since after every scene was completed, a number of the legos used in the completed scene were recycled for the next scene.

Net Neutrality PSA from VCUdesign on Vimeo.

Internet neutrality is what the state of the internet is in right now, anyone is free to browse the internet, unrestricted. What is at risk is that internet service providers such as Comcast and Verizon want to be able to control what content is available under their subscriptions. Depending on your subscription, the more money you pay the more websites you will be able to access, plus faster loading times. Your internet subscriber will also have the power to block any of their competitors websites and any websites they want to. So right now, the term of net neutrality exists. The competitors are neutral and not screwing everyone over.
So, how we can keep the internet neutral, is by going to Savetheinternet.com and get involved in a number of ways.

drawing from church this morning

2010-12-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

i think 'boom' is unconsciously my favorite word...

Screen Printing: Four color printing (CMYK)

2010-12-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

Finished my first class in Screen Printing this semester. I've done it casually, but never taken a class in it.
One thing I enjoyed the most was screen printing my photographs.

Each one of these suckers is 18" X 24". They took a long time to register and print. want one? Some are just three color prints, cyan, magenta and yellow, some are made up of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

11"x17ish" I have no idea what this ones about. I designed it while speaking in a british accent. So read the text while speaking in your best european-ish accent, and maybe you'll get it...

postcards. Seriously, I could not get one print to turn out the same. Ever. But I actually like that.

I'll post more later. thanks for stopping by! -Will

New little Illustration

2010-11-27T19:47:00.000-08:00

new sketchbookery

2010-11-17T21:30:00.000-08:00

Some recent drawings and stuff in my sketchbooks. Mostly over coffee in the morning, my new favorite habit.

THE ATTACK

2010-10-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

I only had half a day to complete this from drawing to screen print so i just started drawing on tracing paper with a micron (haven't used one of those in while...) and had several other layers of tracing paper with ink washes for the diferent colors in the print

Overall I think I like the original drawing on tracing paper best.

this guy is my favorite.

I made about 7 of them because I dint set up any registration marks. I had to eyeball every pull and made sure it fit. The last layer was the black line work screen, and I wouldn't know if I got all the colors printed in the right place till I screen printed the line work. I can say with confidence that every print is VERY different from the next. :)
below is screen printed only. 5 color screen print.

for the rest of them I applied watercolor washes

For my first screen print of the year I'm pretty ok with it. My inspiration for this piece was the movie, Mongol, Godzilla, Shadow of the Colossus, Contra, and Josh Cochran's Zombies vs Unicorns. I was asked what the narrative was and that got out of control in the best way possible. I have a few left if anyone is interested in purchasing them.

***strong possibilty that I was also subconsciously inspired by fellow illustrator Cam Floyd's ATTACK . his is way better though.***

In the Toolbox

2010-10-05T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple tools I've been using extensively and appreciating recently.

Not the nib, but the holder. It's a Tachikawa T-36 holder and man has it made a difference in the amount of time I can draw with a nib. The standard sort of "economy" nibs are thin left my hands cramped and only able to ink for about 30 minutes at a time. I decided to invest in one after completing this piece.
$5.40 on jetpens.com

This is a carpenters pencil, but I think this one came in a dinky graphite starters pack I had in 3rd grade. But nonetheless, it is an excellent mark maker. Plus you have to use a knife to sharpen it, which I have absolutely no complaint about. :) Heres some drawings below showing some of the variation you can get with this mighty beast.

I actually started sharpening all my pencils this way. I noticed I can actually get a much longer life out of the graphite before having to sharpen it again!

Screen Printing- chalk pastel

2010-10-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Blackfoot in Full Feather, 20x30ish on stonehenge

I've been trying out screen printing with chalk pastels. you basically draw with chalk pastels on a blank, stretched screen (on the side that will be touching the surface you are printing on) and instead of pulling ink across the screen in a traditional screen printing manner, you pull transparent base and it transfers the image you've drawn with chalk pastels onto the paper/surface. this guy took about 4.5 hours from drawing to final print.

It feels very primitive drawing on a screen with chalk pastels. you cant blend and you really have to dig into the screen, especially if it's very fine mesh. ALSO, you only get one print. So it's really a monotype screen print. at first I really liked the ghostprint much more, now I think I like the first pull best.

ghostprint (2nd pull) with my feet for scale :)

Nick Coward and the Last Battle- CD release!

2010-09-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Nick Coward and The Last Battle had their CD release show last week at The Camel in Richmond VA. I designed/illustrated the album art and hand lettered the type. It was a very long but very rewarding process and seeing them play again was the cherry on top. The final printed cover was much darker than the original colors, but I was totally ok with that.

It came in a sleeve like a record would.

It was a great show, I'm really close with the bands that played before them and there was lots of friends in attendance. Heres their mypace: http://www.myspace.com/nickcoward

They wanted something based off of the midevel era woodcuts; simple, almost naive. Their lyrics are full of mythology, metaphors and epic narratives so I had a TON of ideas and just gave them a slough of ideas and thumbnails and they decided on the idea that is seen here. So I went with it.
Any time I started planning out anything, placement of the figures, the type, what was going to be in the picture, I would get super frustrated, so I just started drawing at the bottom with a 6B pencil and worked my way up the page and it turned out pretty ok!

The Eames Chair

2010-09-19T09:53:00.000-07:00

If you'ev rested your buttocks for a minute in one of these.... you know

via bestmadeprojects

Self Portrait

2010-09-17T08:25:00.001-07:00

I dont remember the last time I did one... but I'm really digging this direction.

getting closer

2010-09-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

yesterday morning over coffee.

Ink and watercolor in a new sketchbook made by M! Thanks M!

+ worry not mortals, the current banner is merely a placeholder for a better more effective one+

+update+ banner replaced. rejoice. +

please excuse...

2010-09-12T15:33:00.000-07:00

please excuse the wack layout that my blog is undergoing. I am currently working to have it a part of my website and attempting to make both seamless. this may take some time. thank you.

raison d'etre

2010-09-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Check out Edward Kinsella III's awesome inspiration blog of great pictures: http://dailyraisondetre.blogspot.com/

a little play...

2010-08-18T10:36:00.001-07:00

Looking back on the past year I saw I needed to sharpen up on my draftsmanship and painting. I hava a large collection of my Grandfathers B&W photos from all over the world and this is from one of them, (of course, I added a few things....). I did this to brush up and have some fun with graphite watercolor and acrylic on bristol (7.5 x 11"). I have a few more in progress, and I feel like I'm getting closer to that something.... Thanks for sticking around on this journey :) Another poster coming soon!

...and now a closing and very important quote from Jillian Tamaki that I spotted on her blog:

"Making “art” (in the loosest, purest sense of word) for a living is tough. I see students, often in the 2nd semester of 4th year, come to a sinking realization that Illustration is sometimes not fun at all.It’s work. Work that is sometimes boring, frustrating, by-committee, and maddeningly collaborative. Some people are great at viewing illustration as just a profession, a job, filling a need, rendering a service. No problem with that at all. Part of me views it that way too (it’s part of “being a professional”). But I do sincerely believe that without personal work and comics, I might go nuts. For the most part, there is little Sense of Play in commercial illustration (there are a few glorious exceptions to this rule). And the Sense of Play is really what nourishes creativity and, ultimately, good work (paid or otherwise). Sometimes, I think, it’s actually more important than rigorous practice." link to post

Pencil fun

2010-08-16T15:07:00.001-07:00

The Young Sinclairs/ The Diamond Center- poster

2010-08-14T17:21:00.001-07:00

I had almost a day to do this poster, but I had a lot of fun with it. I would like to revisit the type. But nevertheless I got it off in time, and turned out pretty ok. I left a little bleed at the bottom, because i liked it for some reason. Of course I still find the sketch more interesting than the final

I'm really excited to play at this show. I've been with The Diamond Center for almost a year now and been all over the place touring and playing shows and meeting alot of great musicians and people and things are going really well. Some projects and deals are possibly in the works with us.

I'm working on another poster for a show that got canned, but I'm still going to finish it and post it soon.

Some sketchbook stuff coming soon also!

Nick Coward and the Last Battle

2010-07-23T23:01:00.001-07:00

Ive been working with a local Richmond, Virginia band, Nick Coward and the Last Battle for a bit on there new album cover and few other things too, but I will revael those once they actually release their album in September and everything gets set and printed. This is the album cover to their new ep. Kings. I look forward to revaeling the rest of the project soon!

Thao with the Get Down Stay Down

2010-07-23T15:32:00.000-07:00

This was a screenprinted tee shirt design commissioned by Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. They are one of my favorite bands to see live. Just before leaving on tour with the Avett Brothers and Mira, Willis Thompson, their drummer and also 1 of 2 drummers in my band The Diamond Center, saw The Listening Room poster i did and asked for a poster and tee shirt for Thao's summer tour. (sorry long story) Both had supersuper tight deadlines and just as I was putting the finishing touches on this one, because of pre-tour unforseen difficulties, it got canned.... I was bummed. but. here it is. Thanks so much to Willis and Thao for the opportunity!!

The Listening Room Vol VII: poster

2010-07-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

I was honored to be asked to do the sixth installment of The Listening Room poster. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted to as long as there was a bird and a gramophone in the poster and all the info of course. Since then some friends of mine have also done a poster for the event.

Free music, food and coffee. It's a great thing and if you're in the Richmond area, you definitely need to come out.

Quick portraits

2010-07-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

While at my short but sweet stay at the Illustration Academy this year, we took a break and did some 20 minute portraits. I used some new FW ink I had just bought. I realized I had to think about temperature and form to make a limited color palette work. These are in order from first to last. all 5" x 8"

Beastie Boys Type Poster

2010-05-22T09:54:00.000-07:00

This is an expressive type poster with the complete discography of the Beastie Boys. After a ton of Reasearch, I think I got everyhting they did, but I probably didn't, because they do, and have done so stinking much. For the "Beastie Boys" treatment, I wrote out their name well over 20 times, scrapped the bad ones cut up the good ones and collaged what was remaining. Then I wrote out all the content straight with ink. Somehow, all the content fit perfectly and their was just enough room in the bottom corner for my initials. As one the longest lives hip hop groups with a tenacious DIY attitude, I hoped to bring some depth to the poster, and do it by hand. I was happy to be the only one to turn in a poster that wasn't printed. I left some edges unglued/ hanging off to further the rawness and attitude of the BBoys, but some people didn't really get it. too bad. 18x24" Sumi ink on paper. and glue.

A showing of Work

2010-05-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

A special thanks to Heather Brown who had me show a bunch of work at The Courtyard, an outdoor venue that she runs and organizes, that opens up every First Friday and hosts artists and musicians. It was my first time being there and it was a blast. Lots of great music, got to meet some new faces and overall just got to enjoy the night. Right after finishing up the semester too (finally). I pasted paintings, drawings, a coke bottle and 35mm photographs and created my wall. Thanks to my friends who came out! it was great to see you!

I also hung 4 of my sketchbooks from the rafters. It was fun to see people flip through them.

Afterwards I headed to CousCous, Richmond's finest unique Mediterranean cuisine, with a few friends for celebration and merrymaking, while listening to DJ Modecai and Dj Skruff spin some old school jams. Was a good night indeed.

Yes, I'm still drawing...

2010-05-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

....Despite having been glued to my computer screen endlessly fighting applications (If the adobe creative suite had a face I would punch it) and coding (a language I found cold, entirely emotionless and unforgiving language. Those of you who code in HTML, etc, know what I mean...)

So, heres about 4-5 months worth of selected sketchbook stuff.

My pocket sized moleskine. Yes those of bite marks on the left.

I've been trying to write like an architect/ like my Grandpa because I always thought it looked cool, so if you see you're name, it's just cause I was trying to practice. Not a hit-list... well, maybe...

Went to and played at Macrock and hung out with Lisa Puckett

I got to do alot this past few months. I went on tour with a band I am now a part of, The Diamond Center. My sketchbook and camera kept me occupied during long drives and waiting to play. It was an amazing experience. I took a ton of photos while on tour also. See them here on my flickr site.

No matter where we ended up or who's couch we crashed on there was always a warm cup of coffee in the morning.

(end of tour sketches...)

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Learning to run sound
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The Time is Drawing Near AGAIN!!

2010-03-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, The time is coming ladies and gents for the Illustration Academy 2010, which will be held in 2 locations; Richmond, Virginia and Kansas City , Missouri!! It will be held from May31s through June 25th (4 weeks) This is the first year the Academy will be held in it's own private space, which means complete and TOTAL immersion, 24 hours. One thing I can promise is that IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE (As an artist!) I will be there for two weeks thanks to the Visual Literacy Program, where I won 1st place (with this piece which I did for the competition) in the monthly competition held for subscribers. If you have been considering attending or been on the fence, this is the year to do it. It's been dialed down and perfected and only 30 spaces per location. I cant wait and hope to see some of you there. It is the best investment you can make in your artistic development and career. period.

Project Winterfood

2010-03-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

not what it looked like in the show(wompwomp), buuut this is the finish

I participated in Project Winterfood, put on by the DesignRebels of VCU Graphic Design at the end of last semester. There was some awesome work featured.

Heres a basic synopsis:

"Project Winterfood will house an art exhibition made up of work that celebrates three winter foods: apples, spinach and sweet potatoes. The artwork has been donated by local artists and will be on sale during the exhibition. All proceeds from the artwork will go to benefit The Central Virginia Food Bank and Gallery 5, a non-profit gallery that supports using the arts to promote positive social action....The team at Project Winterfood is passionate about sharing and preserving food culture. It is our mission to share with others in the community how easy, accessible, practical, beneficial, inexpensive, and fun it is to utilize local food options. Project Winterfood is reaching out to everyone— those who already enjoy farm fresh foods and those who have heard the phrase “eating locally” without getting a chance to learn what it’s really all about."

So, I started this the night before the show, I wish I stopped shortly after taking this picture:
But alas, I had too much fun overworking it. Fun nonetheless
I picked the piece up after the show, nearly puked seeing what I had turned in, and knew what I wanted to do. 5 minutes later:

It now felt much more like Winter, instead of Summer on an acid trip.

Watercolor, acrylic, pastel, ink and charcoal on Rivas BFK. Almost tore a few holes in that stuff, but I really love how watercolor and pastel react on it.

It's been a while ya 'ol blog.

More 35mm

2009-12-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

I've been taking alot of photos with my Dad's 35mm Canon AE-1. These are some of my favorites. Theres a ton more on my Flickr, and also some work that I haven't posted here:

++++ My Flickr stuff ++++

2009-12-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

At long delay, here I am. I have my own scanner! it's been 2 1/2 years since having my own, I usually go to a library or use my friends. This, in theory, should equal to more posts.

So, I finished my first semester in Graphic Design at VCU....Tough stuff. All expectations dead wrong, for good and for bad. But I've learned a TON of stuff, and I'm siked to have a break to crank out some work and for a new start next semester.

I really have nothing worth posting from the past semester, besides working in my sketchbook.

I have a large painting in progess and a buch of 35mm photos that I will post soon. I am also about to start illustrating and designing a really rad Richmond bands new album. But for now: here ya go:

Frankensein book cover

2009-11-11T20:26:00.000-08:00

Book Cover for a story I, and maybe we all, know and love, Frankenstein.

Initial type treatment is being revised, I kinda rushed it... I still want that feel to it though.

Sumi ink and FW white on Rives BFK. I almost tore a few holes in it, not as durable as I thought, but I loved feeling the impressions and the dig that the dip pen left in the paper.

35

2009-10-09T08:30:00.001-07:00

Whenever I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, I'll sometimes grab my bike and my Dad's old 35mm Canon AE-1 and just ride around, stop by some friends houses, grab a bite and shoot some film along the way. Or I'll just decide in the beginning of the day when I wake up that I want to carry my camera with me.

From shooting digital for some time, there's something really special about film. I even like the really crappy pictures I take for some reason. There's just things strange nostalgic/intimate quality about it that I love. Plus its like Christmas when you go to pick it up after being developed. Just thought I would share.

Muddy Waters-Sumi Ink

2009-09-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Took a break from homework last night. Yeah. I did a jazz musician, like everyone does, except that it's Muddy Waters and out of this amazing book of photography of William Claxton , Jazz Seen. It was my Grandpa's and I asked if I could have it and said "SURE!" He's cool.

Being a musician, I get really anal about drawing instruments and seeing how others draw instruments, especially if the strings are drawn all over the place. Well, mine where all over the place, so I scraped them out. Of course it depends, sometimes the looseness works with the piece, Sometimes it harms it, and that balance is a delicate one, and one I try and keep in mind to improve on.

This was allot more than I planned to write. Crits more than welcome, Im all ears.

Recent sketchbook pages

2009-09-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share some pages. School is in full swing and going well. I've got a couple personal paintings going on and a gallery show with a whole new body of work to prepare for. More on that later, I'm stoked on it though. There's a lot going on at once, but I'm excited and glad to be busy.

Good 'ol Grandma, always taking me out to lunch.

End of the summer grill out. So good.

yesterday
hair. today during a critique of a website mapping project...
I found this flyer printed on brown paper. Fun for pushing and pulling values around. 4x5"

Hope you enjoy,

Last Weekend: Sterling Hundley, friends and photos

2009-09-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was awesome.

Jenna Chew stopped by and generously prepared a few Alaskan Salmon that she caught while up there this summer for me and my roomate and artist, Duncan Robertson.
I made rice...

So good, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself. Be jealous.

Sterling Hundley's show opened last friday at the Ghostprint Gallery. I was graciously invited to the preview on thursday night, and bought my first work of art. Number 1 in the "Anon" series pictured above. It was pretty overwhelming and something I won't forget.
My buddy Francis Vallejo drove up from Florida to see the show and crashed with us for the weekend. We headed back to the show on Saturday to spend some quality time in the gallery and try and digest it all. It was pretty incredible.
Stopped at Richmond's sketchiest bookstore and snagged up some sweet prints and comics.

Headed over to grab some coffee and draw with Tin Salamunic and Patrick Benbow
Francis, Duncan and I were invited to stop by Sterling Hundleys house and man oh man. what a place. Paintings and Illustrations by my heroes, wall to wall. We got to see the garage studio, and a million illustrations and paintings, and drink his coffee. Delicious. Thats me about to eat all of his illustrations. Thanks Sterling.

Last weekend was awesome.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia!

2009-09-02T10:37:00.001-07:00

The Devil Went down to Georgia, 20"x16", dip pen and wash (sumi ink) on 300lb WC paper

I completed most of this piece at the Illustration Academy this summer. The assignment was given by Chris Payne, and the assignment was 'a conversation'. So, through much processing and ideation song, 'The Devil goes Down to Georgia' by Charlie Daniels came to mind. I was inspired by boss battles I wanted to give it a David and Goliath feel.

The piece is 20"x16" which felt a little daunting, tackling pretty much the entire thing with a dip pen. The washes were added in the end. I wasn't planning on adding ink washes; I wanted to get tone with line, but I felt it appropriate and I think that it helped add a sense of atmosphere in the image.

A goal I had was to pencil in as little as possible. Mostly just to keep the almost endless hatching and drawing fun for me. Because there was no way I was penciling in that beard and tracing it in ink. I got away with only marking in the face, most of the violin and part of the hand. The rest was exploration. It was a blast and Im pretty happy with the result.

Another goal was that I wasn't going to white out my mistakes, and there were ALOT of mistakes. Instead I planned on just scratched them out with a razor. You can see in the detail shot below, I scratched out little Johnny twice. That was scary. He needs to be redone, but he'll do for now.
beeeaaaarrrd. I have one too.
I just realized I forgot the strings on the Devil's violin... I'll be working on that! In the mean time let me know what you think! Thanks!

Gift for a friend/ Current update.

2009-08-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

I mailed a sketchbook to a friend and decided to do a small painting (around 5x7") along with it also. She's an incredible draftsman and artist. Check her out. Much props.

I just remembered I showed a preview of the painting in a previous post.

I realized I really love giving my work away. Anytime someone says they like something, in my head I always reply, "do you want it?" But for now, where I am, one of the most helpful things has been able to constantly pull out some old/recent pieces and learn from those; what I did well,(very little) what I didn't, (alot) what I need to improve on (everything). Its based on something I read in The Art Spirit by Robert Henri. By far one of my favorite books and one I recommend constantly.

I have a few more things in progress/finished that I just need to take some time to properly photograph and edit. Currently I am also a full time Graphic Design student, this being my second major, my first being Communication Arts, VCU's Illustration course, which I finished this past spring. I didn't graduate, but I walked with my buddies that I had learned and grew with the past 3 years.

Plan to see a little bit more of everything on my blog; illustration, photography, maybe some design based stuff too. I'm excited to make this a little more personal and enjoyable for myself and hopefully for everyone and anyone who stops by. Thanks for following, I appreciate it greatly.

If your interested and have twitter, I post some in progress and studio shots on twitter and some stuff that I might not post on my blog +http://twitter.com/WilliamGodwin+

Here's currently what's on my drafting table, a gift/birthday present for another friend. Really excited about this piece. It's taking a loooong time and I can't wait to share.

That's all for now, thanks! Later!

Painting around Richmond

2009-08-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Crossroads. 8x8" graphite and watercolor
Coin Laundry. 5x13" dip pen and watercolor
Rumors. 8x8" graphite, watercolor and acrylic

Bunny Hop. 7x 11" graphite
Crossroads. 8x8" Graphite and Watercolor

This is some work from my last semester in Communication Arts @ VCU. This work was all drawn from life, and painted from life, from photos and from memory. All locations were locally owned and operated shops in Richmond and was also an exersize in getting the life and whatever that's in my sketchbook into my work. I can feel it starting to get there.

In the end I settled on a size, 8x8" which made it easy to carry around, and on 300 lb Watercolor paper for durability. I hated squares when I started doing these, but now there my favorite. I found that they frame and feel better than something that is almost a square like 3x4 or 8x10. to me at least. Lemme know what you think. thanks!

****UPDATED POST BELOW- PLEASE READ AT THE BOTTOM AND RESPOND IF YOU'D LIKE, THANKS!****

The Future...

2009-08-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

*Reposted from Chewy Lives! Check out his blog, updated inspiration tri-daily.

poster by Roland Tiangco

awesome. Does it? As the digital age wears on, will a higher value or appreciation be place on the hand made or at least a hint of the hand crafted involved? I hope so. I think so. You cant deny that there is something so much more personal in the way someone draws or writes than anyone else. That person owns that. It's part of there personality and personality is something that is getting lost in so much current work these days. A personal point of view, as is stressed at the Academy, and something I think about everytime I touch a pen, pencil or paintbrush. Sure, there are faster and smarter ways of working on the computer. But it is a tool just like a brush. I guess I'll end with a quote by Barron Storey, which is the best way to end anything; "The best present you can give to anyone and your illustrations is TIME. Look good, be good and mean good."

Sufjan Stevens: process drawing

2009-08-25T15:36:00.000-07:00

I thought I should post some of the process drawing from the piece I posted yesterday (thanks dadu!) This was a small part of the process in coming to a solution, but by far the most enjoyable of any piece I have done.

Overall, I love this page in my sketchbook much more than the piece itself. You may too, maybe. As always, it's just fresher and without any reserve. I guess they both serve there own purpose, but I remember how fun it was just to draw this with my trusty 'ol dip pen and ink. Hope you enjoy!

Sufjan Stevens

2009-08-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

This is a portrait of Sufian Stevens, done this summer at the Illustration Academy.

His music being primarily "folk" I thought that having it in cut paper would give it that folky feel. Many of his songs are about the American landscape and certain cities and states. I placed him in this "American landscape"( I tried). I made him like a giant, which is kind of a metaphor to the big sound of his music, and his pose, somewhat childlike because of his shy nature. Almost like the landscape is his playground for his music and experimentation.

It was fun and different from what I have done before, but there is something about this piece that I hope to keep in my work.

I cut so many different types and shapes of everything that I could have made 4 of these pictures by the end of the week, haha.

Every piece was painted, cut out and stuck on. An enjoyable, but much longer process than I thought, but enjoyable nonetheless. Let me know what you think, comments, crits, etc. thanks!

"Emergent" Sterling Clinton Hundley's Solo show

2009-08-22T08:06:00.001-07:00

In two weeks, Sterling Hundley's solo show opens up at Richmond's Ghost Print Gallery. I'm stoked. You should be there.

"Emergent", The debut solo show of painter Sterling Clinton Hundley opens september 4th at Ghostprint Gallery in Richmond, VA. from 7pm- 10pm. The artist will be in attendance.
220 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
(804)344.1557
http://sterlingclintonhundley.blogspot.com/

--

Press Release:

August 14, 2009, Richmond, VA . . . The solo show of painter Sterling Clinton Hundley debuts at Ghostprint Gallery on September 4, 2009.
Hundley’s new body of work, entitled [i]Emergent[/i], evolves from his noted career in illustration. His title derives from the scientific term emergent, referring to the process of complex systems that are composed of lesser parts.
Hundley’s creative process begins with a 3" x 3" monotype, which he then develops into a sequence of progressively larger and more complex works based on a grid of square panels. The new works use radically different techniques while further revealing Hundley’s intense skill as a conceptual image-maker. The images are suffused with his signature wit and layered meanings.
Says Hundley, “I navigate the gauntlet of abstraction to arrive just this side of representational.”
Hundley’s honors include three gold and two silver medals from the New York-based Society of Illustrators. In addition, from 2006-2008 , his work received more awards from his peers than any other illustrator in the U.S.
His clients have included Richmond Magazine, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The L.A. Times, Atlantic Monthly, Entertainment Weekly, G Q, and The Washington Post as well as prominent theater companies. One of his paintings accompanied by an original story, has been reproduced on the final page of Virginia Living for several years.
Hundley is a Professor in the Department of Communication Arts at VCU in Richmond, Virginia and a core instructor at the Illustration Academy, which is currently held on the campus of Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.
Information on the development of Hundley’s new paintings is available at his blog: www.sterlingclintonhundley.blogspot.com
[i]Emergent[/i] continues at the Ghostprint Gallery through September 26, 2009.

Check out his blog showing the process and photos of the upcoming show: SterlingClintonHundley.blogspot.com

2009-08-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

This is a crop of a really small painting, 5x7", that's a gift for a friend. I'll post it once it reaches it's destination. It's at about %300, which is probably why it looks a little sloppy. oh well.
My friend Allison and I crashing after working on our bikes all day.
Yesterday, drawing with the crew on the rooftop. That's Leslie.

I'm up to my eyeballs in Graphic Design homework right now. My own personal projects are what's going to keep me chugging. I still have some pieces from the summer that I will post once I figure out how to properly photograph them. Later friends!

Sketchbook- moving, settling and starting over

2009-08-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Chewie!

2009-08-03T21:25:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm finally getting settled in my new place in Richmond, VA, and had some time to finish this portrait of everyones favorite wookie, Chewbacca; It was an exercise in combining ink and watercolor. I was just working on the head, but thought I should take it as far as I could as a finished piece.

More coming soon as far as some new studio shots, pieces from the Academy, sketches, etc.

Thanks for stopping by!

This is annoying.

2009-07-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sam Flores blatantly rips off Jon Foster in his new limited edition print which already sold out. You can only do the same thing over and over for so long...

A comparison of the two pieces: http://dwlfennell.googlepages.com/c.gif

and the poster: http://omgposters.com/2009/07/23/dragon-tree-art-print-by-sam-flores/

Weak mr.flores, weak.

I'm in the middle of moving. Not alot of time for me right now, but Jon is an awesome dude, and extremely hard working. He really helped me out a whole lot at the academy this year, artistically, with the personal issues I was going through and as a friend. And this really pisses me off. Back to moving.

yesterdays sketch

2009-07-23T14:02:00.001-07:00

Feels good to be back in the sketchbook. Started a new one, made by Kunst and Papier, found at New York Central Art Supply. 6"x 8.25". Gettin back in the flow...

Sketches, news, more to come soon...

2009-07-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

sketching on the way home from the Academy, above and below...
Back in Richmond watching The Pagemaster (you should watch it) with awesome friends.

Hey friends, I've just returned from the Illustration Academy and boy was it a journey. I'll have to give the Academy it's own post soon. So much to say about it; such a great experience. I've been dealing with allot of personal crap lately and grinding away in my sketchbook has been almost nonexistent while doing so. But I'm recuperating and trying to get back into the flow. So this is just a few pages that I've done in between everything. I'll post a bunch of work really soon, alittle bit tomorrow hopefully, and I'm really looking forward to it!

OOOOPS.

2009-05-28T12:05:00.001-07:00

I was working on this to submit to the Kitty Pride benefit show. I was pretty stoked on it when

suddenly....

BAM! Attack of an entire bottle of Sumi ink! Haha, oh well.

Portfolio

2009-05-19T15:22:00.001-07:00

I made a presentable portfolio box for when I meet with clients. I covered the box with fabric from an old military jacket. The logo screen printed on the box is based off the Godwin family crest.

I had made a small handbound dummy book that fit inside. I could've had it sent off and gotten it printed in book form for pretty cheap, but I really wanted to bind it myself, Even though it's not top notch quality, nor would I show this this version to anyone, it was a great expierience learning how to layout the spreads and pages french fold style and stitching the book was a blast. The last thing I did was the quick and sloppy screen print of my logo on the cover. I'm working on a NEW! SICK! CRAZY! REDO! NOT CRAPPY! AWESOME! version of it...
Just a few pages and spreads.

Graduation

2009-05-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

Really glad I had my sketchbook handy during graduation. The first one was done for the School wide VCU graduation commencement and the second one during the School of the Arts commencement. It's also really funny looking back at these, the contrast between the two; the first having a hellish feel and the second, old christian iconography. It figures, Dean of the School in the first, Dean of the Arts in the second.

In the Toolbox...

2009-05-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share some recent on-the-go stuff I've been using.

Iv'e been wanting to carry around a dip pen for plein air sketching but I was scared I would ruin the nib in my pocket or in my backpack...

Then I just stuck in it upside down, and BAM! I can take it anywhere now.
Also been using this portable ink well; one side filled with water, one with ink.
It's got a clip on the bottom to attach to drawing board or sketchbook. (drawing done from life, just using it as an example, I'll post the finished piece later!)
Also, Iv'e been painting/drawing with inks (watered down FW ink), It's nice because they're much faster than watercolors, but the annoying part was the inks dry out if I want to take a break, or don't finish in a day. Plus I dont feel like buying an airtight pallette just for inks. So a friend suggested to just use masking tape to seal and save, and the inks stayed wet for over a week! That excited me and I tought it would be helpful and thought I would share.
This is a ballpoint pen I've been using off and on. It's a .05 Foray ballpoint pen, which I think performs and feels much better than the "James Jean" S.K.B. I've just had terrible luck with those pens... But these are available in the U.S. at Office Depot! but I think it may be discontinued... not sure. hope not.

In New York..

2009-05-15T07:22:00.001-07:00

New York is cool. Just don't drive there.
Took some pics...

The Society of Illustrators Student show was great! It was such an honor to be chosen and to be there. It was a pleasure to meet some fellow artists in and at the show. Congrats to everyone there. My cheeks look extra rosy in this photo, haha.
Sketch at the Society of Illustrators of Scott Bakal on stage announcing the award winners

In the News..

2009-05-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

I have a majority of my work showing at the North Cumberland Library for the month of May.

In the Sketchbook

2009-04-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is a small portion of recent stuff, It's become harder to share sketchook stuff... Maybe because it's become very personal to me... most of which I haven't shared :)

Old Sketchbook finally finished (a month ago)

2009-04-25T10:38:00.001-07:00

Anderson Gallery Student Exhibition

2009-03-27T15:31:00.000-07:00

VCUarts recently had the annual student show for each art department, and I finally got in this year. I've entered every year and it was a great honor to be a part of the exhibition and represent the Communication Arts department. 18 pieces in all where in the show and I got 2 in, 1 being a collaboration with Jenna Chew, which I was super excited about.

Because of the space limitation in the gallery, they also made an online exhibition, which I had the other 4 pieces that I entered. here's the link to the online and Anderson Gallery stuff that got in. : LINK!

I took this image from the online exhibition. It's a bit overexposed, and started to get me thinking about vewing art online versus viewing the originals in galleries, etc...

From the show:
Me with the insanely talented Jenna Chew by our unintended collaboration creation.
I made a hole in the back of the cup and strung some hemp through and made a loop for them to hang it by. I was so stoked that they used it and it was really the only thing I cared about getting in, cause that would be awesome: a coffee cup, in a gallery. Sweet.

My friend Michelle stopped by and I thought I would give her some credit for posing for reference shots a MILLION times for this piece. Thanks Sis!

Sketchbook dump (finally)

2009-02-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

I've literally been trying to make this post happen for two weeks. It was such a hassle in my mind. but its over now... So:

Airport/plane Drawings, I almost got arrested from drawing the security checkpoint area. I got a pretty harsh warning. So draw the security area if you want to get arrested. Not even kidding..

flying with Air Tran is my favorite; free coffee and cookies. YES.

Train/Subway drawings:

posted this sketch a while back when it was just the stuffed tamale in the center of the page, and now it's full.
This is for a painting Im working on. more on that later....

I hate poker, but I love drawing, I did play for a bit, and kept getting tons and tons of chips (luck) but I wanted to draw, so I gave all my chips to the guy next to me.

Chipotle

This (below) was at the 2nd annual Richmond Rail Jam, hosted by Banditos. Maybe next year I can get in on that. the ramp in the middle was a giant keg, but didnt have enough momentum to do anything after the rail. but it was the most snow RVA has seen all year!

Ive been glazing a coat of matte medium over some of my pencil drawings cause after a while they smudge into oblivion against the facing page. Any other recommendations besides matte medium? (or spray fix)

Society of Illustrators

2009-02-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

I was honored, humbled and extremely thrilled, to find out that my illustration, Blue, of Babe the Blue Ox, was accepted into the Society of Illustrators student scholarship competition. Congrats also to my fellow VCU classmates Vikki Chu, Raven Herrera, Geary Day and Richie Pope

Blue: ink, ink transfer and acrylic ink.

Studio Space(s)

2009-02-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here's are my caves where I spend probably 90% of my time . I realized that when I see an artist presentation my favorite part of the presentation is when they show their studio area. I cant really explain why.

First shot is my space at my apartment. I somehow managed to fit 3 desks, a bed and a corner chair in my room. It's great having the 3 desks though. To the left I have a small desk where I read and work on thumbnails, (with a small fridge right behind it) then the computer desk and then the drafting table. and of course my book shelf, I just filled it up. I love books. Piled on top of the books are countless posters and orignal art that I need to get framed, from George Pratt, Sam Weber, James Jean, etc. I mostly work on personal projects here.I also have to cabinets on both sides of my desk filled with mediums and materials. How many coffee mugs can you find?

And this is where I'm doing most of my work nowadays. I have a studio through the VCU Communication Arts program and it's great! I share this room with Leslie Herman, thats his desk on the left in my wannabe panaramic shot. this is just one room in the small building. Also in the studio are friends Raven Herrara, Jenna Chew, Stanley Rayfield, Geary Day, Guy Parkhomenko, Brianna Hertzog, and Duncan Robertson. I take up most of that shelf with different papers/canvas, cameras and books
I had my wall covered in inspirational work from my heroes, but I just find it less distracting with a blank wall; it's easier for me to zone out while working. It's been really nice to have a studio away from the living space, and also really great to be with friends/artists for critiques and to feed off of. I definitely feel very fortunate to have 2 studio areas, and really trying to take advantage of it while it lasts!!! If your ever near either of these places feel free to stop by, borrow some books, draw, chill, etc. Company is always welcome

Thanks for stopping by -Will

"Peace, brother"

2009-02-14T09:15:00.000-08:00

acrylic ink on bristol vellum, 11x14"

Figure Drawings!! (from the Sketch Books)

2009-02-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

The first set is from Richmond's first Dr. Sketchy's, hosted by Gallery 5. I had no idea it was Dr. Sketchy's, just thought it was another gallery hosting a figure drawing session. (except that Gallery 5 is tiiiiigghht!) It was alot of fun. Music, drinks and new friends. Not sure if I will continue to go to Dr. Sketchy's though. At Dr. Sketchy's the models are not completely nude, but I feel that sometimes almost nude is worse than totally nude (which there are many variables in deciding that) in the figure drawing context. Not that the nude in the art historical and informative context is offensive, but I feel that Dr. Sketchy's overall, walks the line between class and no class at all. And thats a totally personal opinion. This session was totally classy, Maybe it'll stay that way in Richmond, if so, sweet, because it was a blast!

Model: Attila

Graphite

B.P. pen, Foray Presision Point .05

I won some beast dragon tattoos for this drawing. She was dressed as an "ice queen" and we had to incorporate fire in our sketches. Maybe I'll post myself rocking the dragon tattoos....or..maybe not....These were done tonight at the Society of Communication Artists. I started drawing with a mechanical pencil(mistake) and then thought I would try dip pen, and that was a blast. I used my favorite, the Speedball Hunt School 56 . I also used a tad of watercolor and a dried out brush pen, always have one of those handy.
I got "Dont Go Chasing Waterfalls " by TLC stuck in my head while on the last 20 minute drawing. I haven't heard that song since 3rd grade at the roller skating rinks (I'd skate so fast when that song came on...You dont even know...)
EDIT* my last post, Feb 12th, was updated with my reference photos.

Cosmicomics Painting-At Daybreak

2009-02-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

Watercolor on Plate Bristol 13"x9"

I'm taking part in a independent study with Sterling Hundley and Robert Meganck in which we (the students) are illustrating the stories in the book Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino. A really open ended, strange and intriguing book. the book consists of 12 short stories all connected in one way or another. This is a painting for the story At Daybreak where they see color and the sun for the first time. The character in the painting is the Narrator's little sister who I imagined would be intriqued and scared at seeing color and light for the first time. In her eyes is the reflection of the sun rising. He is a short from the text where I got some inspiration for the image:

"...she abandoned herself to dreams. They weren't dreams like ours (in the midst of darkness, we dreamed of more darkness, because nothing else came to our minds); no, she dreamed- from what we could understand of her ravings- of a darkness a hundred times deeper and more velvety."

I think it's the longest I've ever spent on a painting...I have no idea how long it was, haha. I was going to do it on hotpress watercolor, but at the last second decided to do it on plate bristol.

Here's some process work also

Thumbnail:

Photo reference: A special thanks to my friend Michelle. I ended up taking reference of her 5 TIMES(!!!) of the same pose, but I would always realize afterwards when reviewing the photos that I forgot to do something or just had taken the wrong angle or not enough information. All my fault and was extremely frustrating, but totally worth getting it right, especially for this piece where the whole thing was a face. Thanks Michelle! :)

Color Study, which I should of explored more, because I ended up just falling in love with the second one I did and said, "Yes! thats what I'm doing.."
Eyeball study and the relationship of soft and hard edges

in-between stage...
aaand the final up top.

Hope you enjoy! and maybe this was helpful. -Will

Wolf painting on Yupo (you-po?) (yup-o?)

2009-02-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

This is an experimental painting on yupo paper. I dont know if it's pronounce with a short U or a long U, but I say (You-po) cause (yup-o) sounds..I dunno, lame. uh...anyway, just trying some stuff to see what I can get away with. I really like this paper though. -Will

A page from the trusty 'ol book.

2009-02-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share a page that I would work on between classes. Big sketchbook and Painting and tools of the trade post coming soon!! A Thank you to the people who have left kind words and honest critiques in previous posts. Thanks!! check back soon!

-Will

Watercolor+ink/ Passing of one of the Greats..

2009-01-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

Man, it's cold in RVA today ...Finished this a few days ago. It's from one of my favorite photos in a book I bought called Street World: Urban Art and Culture from Five Continents. (Its an awesome book) It was to give me something to do over the parts of winter break while I was home and explore and experiment with watercolor some more. the line work was done fast and loose and the watercolor slow and tight(er). Done on 2 ply Bristol Vellum. I was looking forward to working on the paper as it bent and warped a little bit. the dried final isn't warped to bad though, just has a little bit of extra character.

Also earlier this morning Andrew Wyeth passed away. I've had books of his from my grandpa since highschool. And I finally got to see an original in person in December at the MoMA.

This is a picture I took of the piece, and though it's a bad photo, I just thought I would upload my own because it was the most memorable piece for me to see and left one of the greatest impression on me of any work of art I've seen in person.

Sketchbook Jam

2009-01-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends, here's some stuff from my sketchbook that I've been working in. It's the big 7x9 Global Art Sketchbook I posted about around Thanksgiving. It's taking forever to fill up, but thats fine with me. I really like to fill up the pages cause the paper is really nice and I want to get as much out of it as I can.

I've also been sketching in a small 5.5 x 5.5" global art (hand book) sketchbook which I'm really enjoying and I'll post some of that soon.

My last semester is underway and I'm real pumped to produce some new and fresh pieces and work my butt off. Later!

In Progress...

2009-01-09T06:40:00.002-08:00

These are some progress shots of two pieces I'm working on and excited about. This first one is a portrait of my Grandpa, my Moms dad. It's watercolor on yupo paper. Really difficult for me to achieve the right edge control. Those eyes took hours and hours; but they probably shouldn't have, haha.

Dip pen and watercolor on bristol vellum paper on this one here..
Just got back from another awesome visit to New Jersey and New York. Can't wait to go back.

Mini Colab.-SILA show

2009-01-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

I was at one of the many local coffee shops in Richmond a few weeks ago with Jenna Chew and she did this sweet drawing on my coffee cup out of nowhere, and I thought it was really cool. so I kept it and took it home and decided to paint it with watercolor. So I guess you could call it a collaboration. It was a blast, the cup took the watercolor really strange, but turned out pretty cool.

I just found out this morning that I got this piece into Society of Illustrators LA show. I was really excited. Congrats to Raven, Francis and Oliver who also got some pieces in the show.

Jack and the Beanstalk

2008-12-26T04:32:00.000-08:00

This was an in-class assignment. We had to take a fairy tale and tweak the story a bit. So I said that the giant made it down the beanstalk and chased Jack, instead of falling down the beanstalk. So, this was what was down at the end of the class period.

I played around in the pencil stage and tried to have like, 3 or 4 giants in the background all looking for Jack, and I wanted to make then kind of rock-like, but I knew time wouldn't allow for that.

I also tried to give the composition kind of a "quiet" area in the corner where Jack is, in the midst of chaos. I couldn't decide between line or tone while working on it.

11"x14" on 140 lb. hotpress, Cartiera Magnani watercolor paper.

Christmas Gift....

2008-12-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

9"x12" watercolor and acrylic on old watercolor paper.

This was a gift to my Dad for Christmas; It's a portrait of his Dad around the time before he passed away. I wish the scan was better.

All the different aspects of the piece were from old photos; Him and my grandma, the house my Dad grew up in and family/ friends. I had about a day to do this and it was pretty enjoyable. My Dad enjoyed it also.

Merry Christmas!!! an oldie...

2008-12-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is an oldie..I did this at the beginning of the semester. I first stained the paper with Thai coffee. yum. The concept comes from a lyrics from Swicthfoot, "Church of the dropouts the sinners,the failures and the fools, it's a beautiful letdown.." The message is, a church is (supposed to be) a place were all are welcome as they are, a place to be vulnerable without fear, a place to be honest. not a place to dress nice, act morally superior and like everything's ok.... So, every character is a metaphor/ analogy to a personality or stereotype I've encountered in the church. Some positive, some not so posi...:)

16x20" on the wrong side of fabrino 300 lb WC paper.

This piece is based off a sketchbook page. It could be better, lots of ways this could improve,

This is a sketch in my sketchbook, done from life at my cousins church. My friend Stanley Rayfield saw it and said "You should do a piece from this!"So I did, I kept the pastor as he was in my sketchbook, beedy eyes and all. Which is the biggest problem. He's the boldest shape and technically, isn't handled as well as any other part of the picture. I almost want to crop the whole piece at the pastors waist. AND, I did this piece on the wrong side of the paper....now I know, haha. I ended up muting the whole backround because it was just too complicated and distracting = I didn't handle it well at all, ahaha. The VALUES!! argh. Still missing that something that pulls it all together; that special sauce, the kind that makes a big mac, a big mac...

Some of the most enjoyable parts to paint-

Should I cut back on the self critiquing? or...Naw, whatever. Merry Christmas!