Saint Louis Illustrators

See the Work of Craig Skaggs at the St. Louis Science Center

2012-01-25T17:02:00.000-08:00

Star Trek statue displays designed by St. Louis area illustrator/designer Craig Skaggs for the Bradford Exchange, along with copies of the design drawings, are on display now at the St. Louis Science Center as part of the ‘Star Trek Experience’ exhibition. The statues and drawings will be on display until the show closes in late May.

Craig will be at the Science Center the Friday, Feb. 3 to field questions about the designs (along with Alexander Siddig, who played Doctor Bashir in Deep Space 9!)

Stay tuned for more information about a presentation Craig will be giving about this work at the Science Center in March.

An Art, Music and Worship Event

2012-01-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

"It's Time to Sing a New Song!"

MLK Day, Monday January 16, 2012

At Webster Groves Christian Church

Opening Reception 5:30-6:30pm

Join us for the opening reception of a new show in the WGCC Art Gallery highlighting the art of two St. Louis illustrators, John Dyess and Kevin Belford. John has on display his portrait series done for the Civil Rights Walk of Fame and other illustrations of black history. Kevin's work features the illustrations he created for the book he wrote, "Devil at the Confluence," about St. Louis pre-war blues and jazz legends and their music.

Worship Celebration 6:30-7:30pm

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Worship Celebration in the Sanctuary with joint music and participation from Affton Christian Church, Centennial Christian Church, Memorial Boulevard Christian Church, and Union Avenue Christian Church; with preacher, Rev. Derrick L. Perkins of Centennial Christian Church.

Kevin's and John's work will be on display in the WGCC Art Gallery

Jan. 16, 2012 - Marchn 4, 2012

Webster Groves Christian Church

1320 W. Lockwood Ave.

Glendale, MO 63122

Gallery Hours are M-F 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm

For more information please call (314) 961-3232

Or visit www.WebsterGrovesChristian.org

January 10 Illustrators' meeting: sculptor Harry Weber and writer-producer Gerry Mandel

2012-01-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Guest speakers for our January Illustrators' meeting will be St. Louis sculptor Harry Weber and writer-producer Gerry Mandel. As usual the meeting will be Tuesday, January 10 at 7:00 PM.

Harry Weber is an award-winning sculptor whose works in bronze have been featured at the Museum of Fine Arts in Newport, Rhode Island, and are included in the permanent collections of the National Dog Museum and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Weber will discuss his sculpture work and process, including sketches, photos, and site preparation, mold making, and assembly. Weber’s presentation will feature "The Captains' Return," the monumental sculpture depicting the 1806 return to St. Louis of Lewis and Clark and their Newfoundland dog, Seaman.

Gerry Mandel has worn many hats in his years as a creative in St. Louis. Winning numerous national and international awards as a writer, director, producer, and creative director, he could be called one of St. Louis’s own “Mad Men.” Mandel will discuss his film "The Journeys We Must Take," which Mandel wrote and produced to document the creation of Weber’s sculpture "The Captains' Return." Mandel will present much of the 30 minute film during the course of his presentation.

The passing of Bill Vann

2011-12-05T11:30:00.001-08:00

It is with great sadness and grief that we share that our good friend, Bill Vann passed away in his sleep this morning. There aren't enough words to detail Billy's legacy and work, his teaching and mentoring and just being a good and devoted friend. He will be missed. Arrangements are pending at Bopp Chapel in Kirkwood, MO and will be finalized by tomorrow. Our sympathies and hearts go out to his wife Susan, sons Mike and Mark, His daughter Marcie, grandchildren, family and friends. What a guy!

Visitation for Bill Vann will be Friday, December 9 between 3 pm-8 pm at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester Rd (near Kirkwood/Lindbergh Rd.), Kirkwood, MO 63122, 314 965-7680.

Final services will be Saturday, December 10 at Bopp Chapel, 10610 Manchester, Kirkwood, MO 63122. Arrangements are not definite yet, but the service will be between 11:30 am-1 pm.

No Illustrators' Section meeting for December

2011-12-05T11:14:00.001-08:00

There will be no Illustration Section meeting this month since so many of us are busy preparing for the holidays. Our next meeting will be the second tuesday of January, the 10th, just as usual. See you all then.

Art Opening at Webster Groves Christian Church featuring the work of Chris Burton

2011-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

A new exhibit opens on Friday, November 18 at the Webster Groves Christian Church. It features the work of Chris Burton, who many Illustration Section members will remember as a graphic designer at Maritz. Chris is a fine artist these days, working in fiber, collage and paint.

The opening reception will be Friday, November 18 from 6-8 p.m. in the WGCC Gallery. Refreshments will be served and the event is open to all. The show will be up until January 8, 2012. Be sure to go by and check out the work of yet another talented St. Louis artist.

Webster Groves Christian Church / 1320 W. Lockwood Ave. / Glendale, MO 63122

Gallery hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more info call 314-961-3232 or go to www.webstergroveschristian.org

King Kong Night With Paul Daly on November 8th

2011-11-02T16:35:00.000-07:00

Join us November 8 at 7 PM for a presentation courtesy of our own Paul Daly, featuring his DVDs of behind the scenes art and special effects of the classic, original 1933 King Kong film and the 2005 remake by renowned director Peter Jackson.

Learning how movie special effects were done is always fascinating and the comparisons of 1933 and 2005 technologies should be doubly so!

We look forward to seeing the interested, the talented and those who just want free popcorn! Tell your friends and neighbors and if you don't have any friends... come and make some!

The Guild's section presentations are free and open to the public!

Weatherbird Cartoonist, Dan Martin, Talks Cardinals

2011-10-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

Dan Martin, the sixth cartoonist to bring life to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Weatherbird, has been as busy as the Cardinals this postseason. Win, lose, or rain delay, he and online editor, Mike Smith, have to be prepared for the next day's installment of the longest running comic in newspaper history.

View Original Article Here

Illustration Section: Linda Solovic to Speak October 11

2011-10-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

We invite everyone to our next meeting and presentation on Tuesday, October 11th at 7 p.m. when we will have the pleasure to present our guest speaker, illustrator and multi-media artist, Linda Solovic.

Linda is an amazing illustrator, designer and fabric artist. Linda will be speaking about her illustration evolution and where it has traveled with regards to her design and licensing expertise. Linda is also an illustration and licensed image design instructor at Washington University.

Please join us on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the St. Louis Artist's Guild, 2 Oak Knoll Park at Clayton Rd. and Big Bend, upstairs in the Member's Gallery. This presentation is free and open to the public. See more of Linda's work at LindaSolovic.com

R.J. (Bob) Shay Opening at Webster Groves Christian Church Art Gallery

2011-09-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

“A Variety of Gifts are Given”

Come Spend a Special Evening with St. Louis Artist and Cartoonist R.J. (Bob) Shay Sunday Sept. 18, 2011 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Webster Groves Christian Church, 1320 W. Lockwood Ave., Glendale, MO 63122.

Bob will give a presentation about his work, life and career in Love Chapel with an opening in the Library area and work displayed in the Webster Groves Christian Church Art Gallery.

Refreshments will be served and Bob’s presentation will begin around 8 p.m.

R.J. (Bob) Shay is a long-time St. Louis based illustrator and student of life, observation and inquiry. His art studio has been located in Benton Park West in St. Louis for over 30 years. Bob’s work will be on display in the WGCC Art GallerySept. 11, 2011 — Nov. 13, 2011.

Gallery Hours are M-F 8:30 to 12:30 and 1:30 to 4:30

For more information call 314-961-3232 or go to www.webstergroveschristian.org

www.rjshay.com

Ceci Bartels to Speak September 13

2011-09-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 13, at 7:00 PM, join the Illustration Section and our guest and speaker, Ceci Bartels of Naked Branding, as she presents:

Getting to the bottom of it. Branding + Engagement

Naked Branding is a St. Louis based company specializing in moving companies and products forward with focused vision!

Ceci is a long-time industry professional whose experience and talents cover a wide range of knowledge and mediums. She has been involved with many facets of our profession including having been a well known national artist's representative for many years. Ceci brings an accomplished and knowledgable perspective of our business and its future to our group on Tuesday!

Please join us for what promises to be a great evening!

This is a free event and open to the public. We invite you to be part of an active group and organization that cares about where we've been...and where we're going!

Illustration Section: Next Meeting August 9

2011-08-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 9th at 7 pm we will have a slightly different evening set up for all. Jean Probert will be presenting a preview of a total redesign of stl-illustrator.com, the low-cost, opt-in portfolio site available to members of the Illustration section of the St. Louis Artists Guild.

The new site will be dramatically different from the existing site, with new features and capabilities which will maximize flexibility and updates for all our participating members.

Instead of posting a set of 12 pieces for the year as is now the model, the new site will allow members to update their own images and contact information anytime they want throughout the year, without having to wait for a specific update time window.

New features include a new user-managed interface, data-base driven image service, site search and keyword tagging! This is your opportunity to see all these features demonstrated firsthand, and get the skinny on how to prepare your images and do your own updates. This is a fantastic opportunity for all our members to participate with a name brand entity, i.e.,the St. Louis Artists' Guild.

Also at this meeting:

Our Guild President, Karen Glines will be on hand to speak to us for a few minutes about upcoming events.

For those members who are available, this will also be an evening of a short Show and Tell. If you've been working on a project that is interesting or have something coming up, we will try to have time, schedule abiding to have you show us what you've been up to! Keep it short, but enthusiastic!!!

Illustration Section Plein Air Outing July 16

2011-07-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

Call for Fun!!

Illustrators, painters, sculptors, pottery jockeys, artists, amateurs, et. al... if you've never painted en plein air, this is your chance to give it a go.

On Saturday, July 16 at noon, we will congregate at the home and property of our own Jo Ann Kargus in Imperial, MO.

Our plan is to meet up at noon and get situated on the property to execute a piece of art that day. We will paint the afternoon from approximately noon to 4 p.m. We will play it by ear and be flexible so that in late afternoon we can then B.B.Que and socialize.

Tips for preparing for your adventure:

Ideally a portable easel of some sort is recommended though not entirely necessary.
Oil paints, water colors, pencils, charcoal, conte, etc.
Brushes
Turp, water (for cleaning brushes) paper towels
Any medium you prefer.
I am bringing the minimum and that is primary colors and titanium white. (Bring as much or little as you want)
Keep your canvas or workspace area manageable so you don't get overwhelmed.
Folding canvas chair
Cooler with water
Drinks or adult beverages
Food for grilling later

Plein air expert, Billyo will be on site to share the afternoon painting and maybe even dispensing advice for us amateurs. We will also have a live model from 1–4 pm. For those who wish to paint a model in an outdoor set up, we will require a small fee to pay her. Exact cost will depend upon the nuber of participants. Billyo will also be posing the model!

Bring water shoes if you want to get wet
Bug spray
Paint clothes
There will be bathroom access and the patio for relaxing later.

Please RSVP Bob Shay if you plan on participating so that we can plan on other details for the afternoon! Bob will have directions and a map for those who plan to attend.

email: rj@rjshay.com
cell: 314 753-8383

No Meeting July 12

2011-07-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

Please note we will not meet on our regular second-Tuesday meeting date. Join us instead for an afternoon plein air painting session Saturday, July 16. More info coming soon.

Rip Kastaris to Speak June 14

2011-05-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

Our June guest speaker will be the incomparable Rip Kastaris who makes most of us look like slackers when it comes to the amount of work he produces...and sometimes in huge proportions! If it's possible, for those who don't know Rip's work or history, he's a grad of Washington University and was valedictorian of the School of Fine Arts. I had the pleasure of being an adjunct instructor at Wash U in 1980 when Rip was a mere pup. The illustration class I conducted was filled with a lot of talented artists, but none so dedicated and work oriented as Rip. Rip always went beyond the assignment and was easily the hardest working Greek in show business in that class! I was amazed at his conceptual abilities and the discipline to not only finish the assignment, but do so more intelligently than most. How easy teaching would be with a room full of Rips!

Rip Kastaris' successful 25-year artist career began as a designer and commercial illustrator before he more fully pursued his passion for fine art. He is the first Hellenic-American to be chosen by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to commemorate US athletes. His company and studio, Petra Fine Art, Inc., is based out of St. Louis, Missouri. However, Rip's works have been prominently displayed, published and distributed throughout the United States and abroad. Kastaris has also served as Creative Director for the Hellenic Cultural Foundation since 1999. His artistic career includes lectures and presentations where institutions and organizations continue to request his skills as a communicator as well as a creator.

From the the Rock Star Sting to the Olympic Committees of both the United States and Greece, various prestigious individuals and organizations have commissioned Kastaris to create original paintings, electronic media presentations and published prints. "KYKLOS" his epic mural commissioned by the Hellenic Cultural Foundation resides permanently inside Athens Olympic Stadium's VIP Salon. Rip has been profiled in the PBS documentary series "The Greek-Americans" and on the "Horizons" international satellite television show out of Athens. He has been a guest numerous times on the international ERT Radio program, "Voice of Greece" and in 2003 he received the prestigious Artist of the Year Award from the Elios Society in San Francisco.

Please join us on Tuesday, June 14 at 7 p.m. for our guest presentation by noted international artist, Rip Kastaris.

Our meeting is FREE and OPEN to the public! The St. Louis Artists' Guild strives to be an influential and vital part of the St. Louis community creative scene.

Bring your friends!

Bob Shay / Chair / Illustrator's Section

Lisa Ober to Speak May 10

2011-05-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Our May guest speaker will be noted portrait artist, Lisa Ober. Lisa, a Wash U grad, specializes in oil and pastel portraits and has an impressive resume of clients.

Her private and corporate commissions include sports figures, noted religious figures, Supreme Court justices, corporate executives and many others. We look forward to Lisa and welcoming you all to a continuing series of engaging and talented St. Louis artists and related guests.

As always, this amazing event is FREE and open the public, so please bring a friend or two and introduce them to a wonderful facility and organization, the St. Louis Artist's Guild.

Visit Lisa Ober's website to see more of her work. Join us May 10 at 7:00 PM at the St. Louis Artists' Guild to see and hear Lisa in person.

April Meeting Highlights

2011-04-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ted Wright

Greetings creative savants! Okay, maybe we're not ALL savants and maybe sometimes we're not that ALL creative ( Hey, I grew up on the East Side!), but I do know that what we do have in common is the enthusiastic search for all that is mentally and universally challenging! Discovery is like Christmas everyday. Seek and ye shall stumble over it...much like my studio any given day. I just found a whole unopened pack of Brittany Spears trading cards from like, 5 years ago! Yeah, cool.

But I ramble. Last Tuesday night we were treated by our talented and good friend, Ted Wright to an evening of really, really great illustration and design. It was 10 o'clock and we had to throw everyone out. And as always, we retreated to Applebee's where the lies and tales continued until 12. We had a good group of 13 afterwards and it's as much fun as our meeting. So, for those who can't pull it together to show up..think of it as going to the gym or church. It's real easy not to go but once you get there, you're glad you did.

Ted Wright to Speak April 12

2011-04-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

It seems like only last month when Michael Anderson wowed us with art on the iPad at our last get together. Time really does fly and you can't get back what you've missed. This Tuesday, April 12 at 7 p.m. our own home town's renowned illustrator and designer, Ted Wright has graciously agreed to be our guest speaker for the evening. While I have to clean his pool twice and detail his Porsche like they do up in North St. Louis, I think it will be worth it.

Ted's resume reads like a who's who of clients and the rich and famous. He's an alumni of Maritz Motivation where about a gazillion of our town's great talent spent some quality time once upon. While I could list Ted's accolades about his many awards, the unbelievable projects he has been assigned, the glitterati, the celebrities and let's not forget, the illustrator groupies, Ted asked me to let him do that.

Ted Wright will bring it all on Tuesday and have lots of work we've never seen, spellbind us with tales of an illustrator still working and helpful tips about the best ways to avoid the paparazzi.

You don't want to miss this night... and there will be gift coupons for seniors, chum gum and balloons for the kids!

I can't wait and I'm on my way right now to skim the pool!

Bob Shay / Chair

Michael Anderson to Speak March 8

2011-03-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Greetings Illustrators and artists of all persuasions! We have another tantalizing evening planned on Tuesday night, March 8, 7 p.m. at the St. Louis Artists' Guild.

Our own Artisans' Section Chair, Michael Anderson, has generously agreed to reprise his January demonstration of the new artist's smart phone and digital tablet technology applications: Brushes and Autodesk Sketchbook Pro.

British painter David Hockney used Brushes to create all the images in his current exhibition in Paris. “I love to draw,” says Hockney and he uses his iPad as a drawing tablet to capture sunrises, flower arrangements and interior vignettes in his expressive, painterly style. Hockney also likes the feature that replays his finished paintings from beginning to end, brush stroke for brush stroke.

Artist Susan Murtaugh’s digitally-painted images are used as promotional pieces on the Sketchbook Pro catalog page on the iPhone/iPad App Store. Many of her paintings feature distinctive brush strokes and textures. Drawings created in Sketchbook Pro can be exported as pdf files as well as layered Photoshop files.

See you there!

Bob Shay / Illustrator's Chair

(digital sketches in this post of Stadium, Sunrise, and Tower Grove Park are by Michael Anderson.)

M. Shawn Cornell to Speak February 8

2011-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Where does life take you, my illustrator friends? I hope it cuts a wide swath of adventure and new experiences for all of you everyday. Okay, I'm through being retrospective. As long as life is floating you down the stream of consciousness...sorry.....what I mean is...let life take you to the Illustrator's section meeting this Tuesday, February 8 at 7:00 p.m. That would be nice.

Our guest speaker this month is a fantastic painter, M.Shawn Cornell who if you ask will probably also tell you what an excellent designer he is as well. But, that's another life and story. What we have here is a guy who left the corporate design world to follow a passion of expression that keeps getting better and hopefully more satisfying.

A fixture of local art shows and exhibits, Shawn Cornell is a plein air painter in the strictest terms: All his paintings are completed 100 percent outdoors. There’s positively no indoor touch-up. His paintings are neither cutting edge nor deep in metaphorical meaning. They’re merely scenes and stories about brief moments he experiences and witnesses during his excursions. He’s a founding member of Missouri Plein Air Painters’ Association (MOPAPA), and serves as the group’s organizational manager. Every Sunday will find him out painting with his father, artist David Cornell. “We used to go fishing together, now we paint together,” says Shawn.

Shawn's paintings are the type of visual representation that worries less about detail than the emotional and pleasant tether it becomes to peace and calm. You study his work, sit back and say, life is good.

And, Shawn's work is just plein good. Sorry again!

Don't miss this one folks!

Bob Shay / Chair

We're in the RFT!

2011-01-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

The collective blogs of the St. Louis Artists' Guild have been named among the finalists in the RFT Web Awards, Best Art Blog category! We're thrilled to be a part of this group.

Check out the Guild website blogs page to see what other blogs are included, and what the other sections of the Guild are up to.

Thanks to all our contributers and our guest artists!

John Blair Moore to Speak at January 11 Meeting

2011-01-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

John Blair Moore, (formerly Tiptonn Cuppleditch 1V), explorer, adventurer, savant (whatever that is) and discoverer of "Nuerbles", the most plentiful yet apparently secretive life-form in the universe... covets your presence and tentative attention Tuesday, January 11, 7 P.M at the St. Louis Artists' Guild, 2 Oak Knoll Park...somewhere upstairs.

The "Perfessor" as I like to address him, will astound us with pertinent and life-changing cartoon revelations meant to stir the vey core of our addled brain neurons and hopefully (his words) drag us kicking and screaming if need be from the prison of self-denial with regards to the inhabitation of galactic, biologically engineered, ambition-less and doughy entities currently residing without motive in the recesses of our existence. That unequivocally also includes our shorts!

That amazing knowledge and a half dozen or so Jagermeisters will convince us (short of that whole fiery chariot from heaven stuff) that ... "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus".

Hey, I just write what I'm told but I think John will also have a whole bunch of his cartoon madness in a physical solid state form and stories and tales of industry shenanigans! He may also vent about the consistent snub he has received from the Nobel committee!

Let’s begin the New Year with Enthusiasm and Participation of the Illustration Section and let's take control of our "Nuerbles" in 2011!! www.nuerble.com

With appreciation,

RJ Shay / Illustration Chair

Wally Hauck to speak at November Meeting

2010-11-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hey current and past art loving aficionados, save the date for Tuesday, November 9 at 7 p.m. when our Illustration Section guest speaker will be hometown sculptor and model maker, Wally Hauck of Zymo Studio.

There aren't may people who do what Wally does and he will be bringing some samples as well as a disk of projects that we can all enjoy. Our vision for this section is to introduce and showcase the myriad of fantastic talent our city has. Wally is a long-time professional who will show us a side of the industry we don't always get a chance to see. Can't wait to hear about some of this stuff happens. We look forward to seeing you there.

September 14 Meeting to Feature Tim Lane

2010-09-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hey, all you crazy arteests who are old enough to have grown up on comic books, Mad Magazine, Creepy and many more...Tuesday night, September 14th at 7:00 pm, we are proud to announce our guest speaker, artist Tim Lane.

Tim's style is reminiscent of the old EC Comic series of terror comics and the precursor to present day graphic publications. Tim is a fantastic graphic novelist, illustrator, writer and all-around man you must meet. Tim comes to us via New York City and that's their loss.

You've seen Tim featured prominently in the Riverfront Times and his graphic novels like "Abandoned Cars" and the "Stagger Lee Story". His work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, Wall St. Journal, the Village Voice and many more.

Come and spend some time that night having some fun, looking at some great stuff being a part of a Guild section that is unique!

August 10 Meeting to feature Michael Swoboda

2010-08-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, all you illustration and graphic practitioners of the art! This month's meeting on Aug. 10 will be a wake-up call to everyone who thinks they know everything they need to know about Adobe Photoshop. On the contrary my friends, because I thought mostly the same until I met up with a guy a while back at Meramec CC. Michael Swoboda is his name and if you haven't heard, he will easily forget more about Photoshop then we will all probably know.

I've had a year and a half in his classes and I'm going back for more in the fall. You just can't get enough of this stuff. Michael will be giving us a smattering of what he does, how he does it and why you should quit the business and sell tomatoes out of the van down by the river. Kidding! I kid because I love!

Seriously, if I can be serious. I have already taken techniques and hot keys to different levels in my own work (which isn't saying much, I know), but this guy is really GOOD and I mean Jean Probert GOOD at what he does!

Don't miss this exercise in digital magic because we're all out of shape...digit-wise!

RJ Shay / Chair / Illustrator's Section

No July Meeting, Meetings Resume August 10

2010-06-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

The Illustration Section will not meet in July. We will resume our regular meeting schedule August 10, 2010.

Flying McCoys to Speak June 8

2010-06-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hey kids! SAVE THE DATE. June 8th at 7PM!!!! That's when the famous Flying McCoys make their Guild appearance for ONE NIGHT ONLY! Gary and Glenn McCoy have spent a lifetime perfecting the fine art of stupefying crowds the region over with their hilarious antics and occassionally funny cartoons. Both national award winning and syndicated cartoonists, they promise to be crowd pleasers and Gary has graciously agreed to get anyone in a headlock for free. Both Gary and Glenn keep cheese in their socks. Enough said I think.

For those who missed last month's meeting, too bad..too sad. Our guest speaker, Tom Huck was off the chart crazy, interesting and inspirational. His gigantic wood cut prints were amazing. Man, he would still be talking if we didn't have to turn off the lights. Great night, good crowd and a first hand look at an amazing artist and his work. Doubt if you'll see anything like it for a while. That's what this section is all about.

RJ Shay/ Illustration chair

Extra! Extra! Hot off the Presses! Glenn McCoy Wins Cartooning Award

More About the McCoys:

TOM HUCK TO SPEAK AT MAY 11th MEETING

2010-05-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

Tom Huck to Speak at May Meeting
Join the Illustration Section of the St. Louis Artists' Guild May 11 at 7:00 PM for a short business meeting, followed by a presentation by woodcut artist Tom Huck.

About Tom Huck

Tom Huck is a Missouri boy, born and bred and way more important than let’s say, Brad Pitt or John Goodman, (also Missouri boys). Sure, they may be entertaining but can’t draw a lick. Besides, not only did Tom graduate from college (Hey, Brad...John, what’s up with you guys?), but he also has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Wash U. I am not going to hold that against him though because Tom’s a bonafide anomaly. He has a degree... and TALENT!

Tom’s press, Evil Prints produces some of the best stuff I’ve seen in a long time. Tom performs old school magic the way it should be done. He has been an exhibitor and lecturer across the country since 1995 and his work is included in numerous public and private collections, including the Whitney Museum of Art, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Saint Louis Art Museum, the New York Public Library and many more. Tom also travels and conducts EVIL PRINTS workshops around the nation.

This is a MUST SEE event and be sure to tell all your friends and “the just plain curious” that if they want to see some outstanding, remarkable work, then be sure to be here at the St. Louis Artist’s Guild/ Illustration section on Tuesday, May 11 at 7 pm. to see a guy the Riverfront Times compared to Albrecht Dürer, R. Crumb and Burne Hogarth. Pretty good club. I don’t nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ no babies and I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout art, but I do know what I like...and THIS IS the real thing!

RJ Shay/ Illustration Section Chair

Tom Huck was born in 1971 in Farmington, MO. He attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from Washington University in St. Louis in 1995. Since 1995, he has exhibited on a national and international level, and he has lectured widely across the U.S. about his work. His woodcut prints are included in numerous public and private collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, Spencer Museum of Art, Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Saint Louis Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, Fogg Art Museum, and New York Public Library. He now lives and works in St. Louis, MO where he runs his own press, Evil Prints.

"Tom is going to be considered one of the most famous artists that ever came out of the state of Missouri," says Philip Slein, owner of Philip Slein Gallery on Washington Avenue and, since they met as Master of Fine Arts candidates at Washington University, one of Huck's best friends. "Not everybody finds his work easy, and not everyone wants to live with his work because it's very graphic. But I tell people, 'Listen, even if you don't like it, buy it, put it under your bed, put in your closet. You're going to be glad.'"

Carmon Colangelo, dean of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University (where Huck teaches printmaking), calls Huck an "incredible artist." Adds Colangelo: "We're lucky he's decided to stay in St. Louis."

Next Meeting Feb 9, Speaker Dan Zettwoch

2010-02-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

Dan Zettwoch is a prodigious and talented exerciser of time well spent. He
creates boatloads of art every week. You'd think with a schedule like that
the man has no life! That's right! He has NO life except to share what
little he has with us on Tuesday night, Feb. 9th at 7pm at the St. Louis
Artists' Guild. Don't miss a chance to see his original art, prints and a
discussion of processes from the drawing board to the silkscreen. I don't
know where he finds the hours to produce because I have NO life either and
haven't done squat this week! Tell your friends and neighbors! This guy is
really good! See you on Tuesday.

Dan is right at home painting on any surface...

Here is one of Dans' many images for the RiverFront Times.

See Dan's work at http://www.danzettwoch.com/

PAUL DALY... NEW WORK ON THE PHANTOM

2009-11-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

Paul Daly, a St Louis based, and nationally known Comic Book artist, has drawn another exciting period adventure story! Be sure to go to your local comics dealer and ask them to look in the November 2009 issue of the Previews catalog under Moonstone Comics. (You must order this ahead of time, as it won't be available in stores) This is the 40 page one-shot of the 17th Phantom's twin, Julie Walker.
Elizabeth Massie writes an exciting tale which is drawn by Paul and colored by Stephen Downer, where Julie Walker is forced to take over the Phantom role and guard her friend, Nellie Bly on her historic trip around the world!... but someone does not want Ms. Bly to succeed! Go! Go now! If you can't go, tell all of your friends and their friends to go!
Paul has drawn one of the four covers that are being offered. Ask your retailer to order his cover, too!

The Phantom: Julie Walker - Race Against Death comes out in January

Paul has been working with another St louis based Comic Illustrator... Don Secrease for some time now on a series of web strips.... says Paul "Don Secrease and I reworked our short-lived comic book from the 1980’s The Terranauts, for an ongoing web site. Shortly thereafter, I wrote the Athena Voltaire web strip, which was nominated for an Eisner award. The Comic Book mini-series Athena Voltaire: the Flight of the Falcon for Ape Entertainment followed.I have since departed the Athena title, but Don an I are still doing the Terranauts web strip and a comic book mini-series, Terranauts: A Sea Change at Ape Entertainment.
Plus a period adventure series that I’m writing and drawing will be announced here soon. Stay Tuned"!

Terranauts: A Sea Change cover#1

Terranauts: A Sea Change cover#2

For a link to local stores that stock Moonstone books, go to http://csls.diamondcomics.com
To see more of Paul's artwork, go to http://comicspace.com/pauldaly

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM "AT THE END OF THE DAY

2009-11-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

The St. Louis Illustrators' Section of the St Louis Artists' Guild held their opening reception to this years "AT THE END OF THE DAY" exhibit. The opening was well attended by many members and guests of the Guild. I will be posting all of the Exhibitors works in this posting from the November 15th opening. Each piece will be identified with the name of the exhibitor, and the work will speak for itself.
Email comments after reviewing the following work. We'd love to hear from you...

BILL VANN

TONY LEON

SAM WASHBURN

R.J.SHAY

ROBERT FRASER

RICHARD BERNAL

PAUL DALY

MARK WISEMAN

MICHAEL HALBERT

KEVIN BELFORD

JEFF WEIGEL

/>JEAN PROBERT

JOANNE KARGUS

JOHN DYESS

GREG MCNAIR

DAN STORM

DOUG ROSS

DAN MARTIN

CRAIG SKAGGS

CHRIS SHARP

CURATORS' STATEMENT
THE ILLUSTRATION SECTION HAS HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO CALL THE ST LOUIS ARTISTS' GUILD IT'S HOME FOR OVER A DECADE. OUR BIANNUAL EXHIBIT HELPS TO PROMOTE AND EXPLAIN WHAT IT IS THAT "ILLUSTRATORS" DO FOR A LIVING. THIS SHOW REPRESENTS ST. LOUIS ILLUSTRATORS' WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING MEMBERS OF THE SECTION HERE AT THE GUILD. AS CURATOR, I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF KNOWING ALL OF THESE EXHIBITORS' AS FRIENDS, AND COMPETITORS. THE SHOW IS STRONG AND DIVERSE. EACH WORK REFLECTS THE INDIVIDUAL STYLE OF ITS' CREATOR. ALL ILLUSTRATORS WORK EXTREMELY HARD TO CREATE A UNIQUE LOOK TO THEIR ART, WHICH IS WHY THEIR CLIENTS KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE. AS YOU VIEW EACH PIECE HERE IN THE LOPATA GALLERY, TAKE SOME TIME TO REFLECT AND APPRECIATE ALL THAT GOES INTO THE ARTISTS' EFFORTS, AS THE WORK APPROACHES THE FINAL STAGE ... AT THE END OF THE DAY.
Bill Vann-Curator

RECENT CARICATURE ART BY BILL VANN

2009-11-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

The folowing posting involves two different completed projects for one of my clients that invove telling an inside story of certain events that took place , over a period of time, during the preparation of the launching of Preferred Common Stocks for two separate companies that are clients of the R.W.Baird brokerage company out of California. This first image is what I prepare from many phone conversations with several individual broker / clients of mine. This preceeds any exchange of reference material form the client. I'm pretty much on my own, and "winging" it trying to see if the client and I are on the same page. there's always a lot of call-out notes all over the first rough, to help identify where the people will be placed, in the context of the final image. If you look closely, you can see that there are some major shifts from the rough to the final pencil. Mostly, it is in the sizing, and details of the charicatures, and somewhat in the accuracy of the props used to tell the story.

This part of the project... the preliminary pencil "rough" is always the toughest part of these type of assignments. the reason being that I have to be introduced to my clients' "CLIENT", in this case they are FRANKLIN STREET PROPERTIES, a company that buys and sell other properties of mostly of a commercial nature. I rely on the conference phone call sessions, which can be numerous, to try to capture as many incidents, company events, both of a professional, and a personal nature, inside jokes, outside interferences ( like other companies trying some corporate sabotage ), or whatever seems to me to be worthy of a great visual image to make the final piece work!

Above you see the final detailed line art that I had printed on a watercolor paper, and mounted to Gator board for the final color application. The medium was Holbein Acryla Gouache, using an Iwata airbrush and color washes by hand. No Digital formats used here...

Here is the final artwork for this project that went to FRANKLIN STREET PROPERTIES,
another of R.W.Bairds' clients. The dinner meeting, in which this art and some 20 print editions were given, as gifts, was just held last week, on Friday Nov 13th,2009.
_____________________________________________________

This was one of two recent projects for the R.W.Baird Company out of Palo Alto, California. The following was completed at the end of 2008,and finalized in the beginning of 2009.

The image ,above, was the preliminary "rough" pencil sent to my client for final approval, before I began to execute the final line art, seen below, and the full color rendering, that completed this project.

This posting reveals the preliminary art, the final pencil, and the full color rendering that was delivered to R.W.Baird for their NOVARIANT client.This company makes available to their client base very high end, technical GPS systems, that have an amazing range of operation.

These examples are just a few of the many projects that have been created for the R.W.Baird Financial Brokerage company over the past several years. They are made to create a lasting memory of a particular stock launch for the R.W. Baird client base. The original art, and several print editions are given to the clients Executive officers, as well as the brokers that finalized the stock launch. Obviously, there are a number of in-house references,that have a special meaning to those who will be on the receiving end of these original works of art.

Bill Vann www.billvannart.com www.stl-illustrator.com

MICHAEL HALBERT CREATES NEW SAMUEL ADAMS LABELS

2009-11-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

This project was for a new label design to be used on a soon-to-be-released line of beers by The Boston Beer Company called “Samuel Adams, Beer Barrel Collection.” My job was to do two scratchboard illustrations that would be used on the label: one of some hops, and one of a beer barrel.

This job came to me by way of Adam&Co, a design and packaging firm in Boston, MA. They sent me a comp of the new label, which showed me what they were looking for in the illustrations.
I did pencil sketches of the hops and beer barrel based on the comp, and then submitted the sketches to the client for approval.

Once the comps were approved, I completed the scratchboard drawings.

You can see a video on YouTube that shows how I rendered the illustration of the beer barrel.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Er_tCEOB7o )

You can see another video on YouTube that shows the illustration process used for Amber Bock.
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4_NEyn1u80 )

Michael Halbert http://www.inkart.com
875 Spring Crest Dr.
Fenton, MO 63026
Phone: 636-349-1145
Cell: 314-775-5548

ST LOUIS ILLUSTRATORS' EXHIBIT... SUNDAY, NOV 15th

2009-11-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

The Illustration Section of the St Louis Artists' Guild will be hosting their Biennial Exhibition, once again, on Sunday, November 15th, from 1-3 p.m.
"AT THE END OF THE DAY" features the works of some twenty plus St Louis Illustrators. All the work shown, has been created over the past 18 months. The show is Curated by Bill Vann, the Chair of the Illustration Section. Each work exhibited, reflects the individual style of its' Creator.The purpose of this exhibit is to promote, and help explain, what it is that Illustrators' do for a living.

Illustrators' work extremely hard to create that "unique" look to their art, which is why their clients keep coming back for more.
The show will be at the Guild from November 15th through January 8th, 2010.

ILLUSTRATION SECTION MEETING, and EXHIBIT 2009

2009-11-09T11:03:00.000-08:00

To all Illustration section members, students, and friends of the Guild,

The November ( 10th ) meeting of the Illustration Section is this coming TUESDAY at 7:00p.m.

This will be the final meeting for 2009, as there will be NO MEETING IN DECEMBER.

Our guest speaker will be JEAN PROBERT, and she will be showing us the benefits of using one of the more
outstanding "onsite" learning resources available today.......... namely, LYNDA.COM

You may or may not have heard of this amazing learning site. More the reason to join us this Tuesday night.
Be sure to tell your friends, or any students you know, about this presentation.

The business portion of the meeting begins at 7:15p.m., and Jeans' presentation will follow.

Hope to see everyone on Tuesday,
Bill Vann
Illustration Section
St Louis Artists' Guils

To all Exhibitors.... END OF DAY Biannual Illustration exhibit 2009....

Just a reminder that the DROP OFF dates for the upcoming exhibit are this MONDAY, NOV 9th - WEDNESDAY, NOV 11th.

Check with Gina Alvarez (our Gallery Director) about the time available for your drop off.

See you at the regular Section meeting on Tueday night at 7:00p.m.

Bill Vann-Curator
'END OF DAY' Exhibit
St Louis Artists' Guild

Jeff Weigel... new book on ZOMBIES

2009-10-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

As an ongoing series of postings for the St Louis Illustration Section, we are featuring the recent work of Jeff Weigel, another of our talented members. It's not quite the Christmas Season, but then the imagery of Jeff's work, shown below, isn't a typical subject associated with the Christmas season. It's quite a unique, and novel approach, that must be viewed to be enjoyed.....

Everyone knows zombies are hot right now. From bestselling books like the Jane Austin parody, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to movies like Zombieland, the undead are all the rage. When the New York publisher HarperCollins decided to get a piece of the action with a volume of zombie Christmas carols, they enlisted Artists' Guild Illustration Section member Jeff Weigel to execute 32 spot illustrations to breathe life into the book. The result is called It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Zombies by Michael Spradlin, and it's just now hitting the bookstore shelves. Here's just a sampling of some of the brush, pen and ink art Jeff created to enliven this MAD-style satire on the holiday season.

Above, and below are a few of the spot illustrations I did for this book that's just hit the book stores recently. It's called "IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE ZOMBIES:A BOOK OF ZOMBIE CHRISTMAS CAROLS" by Michael Spradlin, and it's published by HarperCollins.
Jeff Weigel,2009

THE FIRECRACKER PRESS at OCTOBER MEETING

2009-10-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

This poster, and the following images are some of the recent designs made available in the print shop of the incredible "FIRECRACKER PRESS"!!

The Firecracker Press opened shop in February of 2002 as St. Louis, Missouri’s only graphic design studio and letterpress printshop. They combine antique printing technology with new thinking to design and produce objects that people enjoy seeing and feeling. They use computer design software to conceive ideas but still carve woodblocks and print by hand to produce event posters, business cards, party invitations, advertising and more.

Here is just one of the many examples of items in the original category of stationary available at FIRECRACKER PRESS.

This meeting will be one that you won't want to miss. The Firecracker Press is one of the most unique Print shops in our town.
We want to thank Eric Woods, the owner, for being our presenter at the October 13th
meeting. We will be getting underway at 7:15p.m. Everyone is welcome.

MICHAEL HALBERT_REVISION FOLLOW-UP...

2009-09-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

The image shown here is the revised and approved illustration for the Novartis illustration that we posted earlier this month, on a recent scratchboard project done by MICHAEL HALBERT.

This description was sent in by Michael to explain the revision he made for his client.
You can compare the art to the older posting by scrolling down to the original post.

"The client's first impression upon seeing my finished rendering of the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing was that instead of looking like the wolf was wearing a sheep skin, it looked to him like the sheep was alive and riding the wolf. Looking at the drawing again, I could see his point. To fix the drawing I just made the wool for the sheep's legs hang down instead of following the wolf's legs and stomach, and I closed the sheep’s eyes. The client also wanted the sheep’s head to be more prominent, so I moved the wolf’s ears behind the sheep’s ears. After making those changes, the client approved the art." .... M.Halbert

We thank Michael for showing us a part of the business of Illustration that most of us are well aware of.... It's never really over until it's published!!

TREATY OF THE LITTLE ARKANSAS by BRYAN HAYNES

2009-09-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

“Treaty of the Little Arkansas 1865 - Black Kettle Speaks” - one of two 5x10 ft. murals commissioned by Fidelity Bank of Wichita, KS for the rotunda of the newly renovated 1915 Carnegie Library was completed in late July. The assignment started as a typical illustration with lots of freedom. Days of reading and research, drawings, photographing myself and models in costume, numerous life drawings, and preliminary sketches culminating in a color rough sketch for approval. You all know the drill. The client was happy, so four weeks remained to start, finish, and deliver the 5x10 foot canvas for their soft opening.

“We, the undersigned, the chiefs and headmen of the bands of Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians, now south of the Arkansas River, having been forced, in self-protection, to fight the U.S. troops under the command of Colonel J. M. Chivington at Sand Creek, Colorado Territory, and having through the interposition of a kind providence, escaped our intended massacre...” So was written a truce document in August of 1865 by the peace chief of the Cheyenne, Black Kettle.

“Black Kettle, when he spoke of the desolated wigwams, murdered braves, squaws and children on that occasion, sent a thrill throughout the whole of the Indians present and even in translations touched every heart there.” Secretary Samuel A. Kingman

The second painting will depict a story of the founding of Wichita and the bribery required to steer Texas cattlemen towards the 1871 village and the railhead.

This posting depicts the new mural work of BRYAN HAYNES. It will show the first part of a two part mural project that bryan has been hard at work completing.
There are several pencil studies, a preliminary sketch of the first mural, along with a color study, and finally the finished work, with several detail images to get closer to the final work.

Here is a little info on Bryan's background:
Since graduating of the Art Center College of Design in 1983, Bryan’s artwork has been represented by Bernstein & Andriulli in New York, Ron Sweet in San Francisco, Foster Represents in St. Louis, and Jack Olsen of Kansas City. Some of his many patrons have included Disney, Estee Lauder, Warner Bros., Toblerone – Switzerland, Universal Studios, IBM, Nike, Sony Music Corp., and Anhueser Busch.

Awards include: The Society of Illustrators-New York awards, Print Magazine Awards, Communication Arts Awards, and Graphis-Switzerland.

Gallery representation includes: American Legacy Gallery, Kansas City; Augusta Wood Ltd., Augusta; Kodner Gallery of Ladue; Soho Arts South of Palm Beach, FL.

www.artbybryanhaynes.com

Fully researched pencil studies of the figures represented in the mural are crucial to the accuracy of the murals' content. Bryan goes to great lengths to find all the necessary refernce on proper dress of the period, and may, at times even have costumes made for his models to wear during the making of these studies.

Here is the approved pencil sketch, in full tonal value that Bryan will use to execute his color sketch below, before proceeding to the finished art stage.

Here, we see the completed color sketch that bryan used to move to the final stages of completing the final art.

These images are details of the mural to show the intricate application, and painting style that Bryan has developed as a very successful Illustrator.

We'll post the follow-up to the mural project, as to the second panel, as soon as
we hear back from Bryan on the successful completion of this wonderful mural project.

1965 MUSTANG... by DAN STORM

2009-09-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

Dan Storm has been working hard at completing a series of automotive Illustrations, over the past several years. I have had Dan take my Graphics classes at Meramec Community College, recently. I think he has a solid direction in the launching of a career as an Automotive Illustrator.
He has recently completed the base art for an image of a 1965 Mustang. It looks spectacular! Since he is one of our attendees at the Illustration Section meetings, and a very talented Illustrator, I've asked him to write up a synopsis of the process behind the creation of this work, that can be shared with all of our fans, and visitors.
Bill Vann, Illustration Section
St. Louis Artists' Guild

You can read, here, Dan's process, in his own words.

I took the reference shot of the car at a local car show. Made an 8.5X11 value study drawing in graphite. I used a grid and measuring to enlarge the drawing to fit the 12X24 gessoed board. The next step was to use transfer paper to transfer the enlarged drawing onto the gessoed board. I sprayed the finished transfer drawing with fixative, then I painted the image in shades of Raw Umber and Titanium White using oils. A 000 brush was used for the smallest details. When this painting is dry, I will glaze colors on top of it. A follow up posting on the color work, will follow, as soon as Dan wakes from a long deserved nap, and starts to begin.... again.

Our next posting will show what Bryan Haynes has been up to lately, with a new "Mural" assignment... Check back with us, often.

JAZZ ART by ED KOEHLER

2009-09-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

This image, plus the following, are part of a series of sketches by ED KOEHLER, a St. Louis based Illustrator, who has been one of the regular attending members of the Illustration section of the St Louis Artists' Guild.
We are establishing a regular weekly / monthly postings of the working examples of many of our members, for your review. If these images appeal, or talk to you, send your comments on this Blog, or contact the artist personally. We are including their contact info at the end of each posting.

Here is ED'S own words, describing his work.....
These are images from my new Moleskine sketchbook dedicated entirely to jazz musicians. These were drawn in Prismacolor and marker. This is my first time using this wonderful sketchbook. If you haven’t tried Moleskine, I highly recommend them. The creamy paper is substantial and holds up to penicil, ink, marker, gouache and watercolor. If you use both sides of a page, stay with a water based marker as a solvent marker will bleed through.

As a longtime jazz fan, I tried to capture a 1950’s West Coast Cool feeing, like the red toned bass player wearing the shades. I love the art of Coby Whitmore, Jon Whitcomb, Al Parker and other great illustrators who thrived the 50’s.

I have a confession to make. For too many years I neglected sketching, except where money was involved. As a professional illustrator I figured I did enough “sketching” providing roughs for clients. A few years ago I got back on track, inspired by the wonderful sketchbooks of Brian Zampier and Richard Heroldt, a couple of very talented guys. The freedom and joy expressed in their sketchbooks reminded me that this really is supposed to be fun, and there is simply no better way to keep your drawing skills fresh and up to par. I hope my sketchbooks pay it forward and help others pick up their pen and pencils and get back into the groove.

ED KOEHLER
www.edkoehler.com
www.web.me.com/edkoehler
edkoehler@me.com

NEW WORK FROM MIKE HALBERT

2009-09-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this BLOG is to feature the current work(s) of the many ILLUSTRATORS' who are currently, and actively pursuing the business of creating ILLUSTRATIONS, in SAINT LOUIS. The art posted in this column is from Michael Halbert.
His website is http://www.inkart.com and his contact info is: 636-349-1145 and
Cell: 314-775-5548

This illustration was done for Novartis, a pharmaceutical company, and will
be used in a series of ads for one of their drugs. The art director showed
me a comp of one of the ads, but they kept the topic of the ads secret by
using FPO copy. My first thought was that the ads may be an anti-healthcare
reform promotion, but they assured me that it wasn't and that ads dealt with
correctly interpreting symptoms for a specific disease.

With that, I got to work on the pencil stage. The concept for the drawing
hadn't been completely worked out for the final drawing, so I did two very
rough pencils to show two different directions for the drawing. The client
picked one and then I did a tighter pencil for the client's approval. They
made one miner change to the pencil, which I made, and then they approved
the pencil and gave me approval to start the finished drawing.

The finished black & white drawing was done by hand on scratchboard. The
drawing was then scanned and color was added with PhotoShop.

Return, often to see the creative talents of other St. Louis illustrators' posted on this BLOG.

BERNIE FUCHS (1932-2009)

2009-09-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

A GIANT: BERNARD FUCHS (1932-2009)
(The following article is from David Apatoffs' Blog, recently published as his tribute to Bernie Fuchs)

Bernie Fuchs started from a most unlikely place and time.

Born in a tiny rural town in the heart of the Great Depression, he grew up with no father, no assets or connections, no art training, and no prospects. He was even missing three fingers on his drawing hand (the result of an accident in his youth). Yet, Fuchs was quickly swept to the top of his profession on a wave of talent and personal quality. The New York Artists Guild named him "Artist of the Year" by the time he was thirty; he became the youngest illustrator ever elected to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame; and for over forty years, his work was selected by one jury after another at the Society as among the best of the year. (Try to think of another illustrator who has been as influential to the field in the latter half of the 20th century.) As Walt Reed wrote, Fuchs' pictures "are probably more admired-- and imitated-- than those of any other current illustrator."
I met Bernie Fuchs a few years ago when he reluctantly agreed to be interviewed for an article I wrote about him. As much as I admired his work, I grew to admire him as a person even more. I never heard him utter an unkind word about anyone; he was humble and sincere to a fault, always quick to give credit to his colleagues, or to anyone who extended a helping hand along the way. But as generous as he was to others, he held his own work to the toughest standards, decade after decade, right up to the end.
I recently made a pilgrimage to Bernie's hospital bed. He was pale, gaunt and under heavy sedation. He could no longer eat or breathe except through tubes. He had lost the ability to speak so he used a little notebook for scribbling short messages to his family, which had gathered around him for the end. I looked down at his notebook and saw he had been sketching a human ear. I said, "wow-- still drawing? You don't give up easily, do you?" He gave me a tight lipped smile with a tough, defiant look in his eye and shook his head no, he didn't give up easy and he was damn proud of it. That attitude, which was the core of his greatness, was still inside him then, and would be the last part to leave.

The expression in his eyes alone was worth the trip to Connecticut.

Last night, Bernie's work was done. The wave that took him to the pinnacle of success in his field swept him onward to another shore.

David Apatoff

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Sadly..... I came across this article in David Apatoff's Blog this past week.. One of the giants of the Illustration Industry... Bernie Fuchs' , passed away
September 17th in Connecticut. He WILL BE MISSED by many as a friend, and mentor. our prayers are with his wife, Babe, and his family.

Bill Vann
Illustration section
St Louis Artists' Guild.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

I had the good fortune to have known Bernie thru several University Symposiums in St. Louis, and Illustrator workshops, in New York, from days gone by. He was one of the major mentors, and reasons for my involvement in the Illustration industry. His influence will be felt for many years to come.

There have been many tributes on the vast numbers of websites and Blogs we log onto daily, that have paid their respects to one of America's greatest illustrators to ever create and publish an image. The images we have posted here are only a few, of the many unique ways that BERNIE FUCHS, held our interest, while telling us a story.
There isn't a lot more that can be said about him, so we thought we'd let his images talk to us, once again.

SEPTEMBER FANTASY GROUP

2009-09-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

The September session had a few more attendees than the previous. August session. We decided to post several shots in this posting of some of our members, hard at work, pumping out an incredible number of sketches over a three hour time slot.
We'll post a few sketches, and photographs in the follow-up posting.

SEPTEMBER FANTASY SKETCH GROUP...cont'd

2009-09-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

The Fantasy Sketch Group met this past Friday night, at the St Louis Artists' Guild for yet, another session of drawing, movie theme music, and general drawing fun! Our group is growing larger, it seems, each successive month that we meet!
We are attracting more students from the major ,local Universities, and Community Colleges.
We are also getting a number of Photographers to join us for the night sessions. here are a few shots taken by david Coblitz on Friday night....

Once again.... I'm asking our Fantasy Sketch group members to contact me about posting examples of their current sketches completed at the last Sketch session. Please email me for the submission guidelines at bvannart@accessus.net

New Works from Sam Washburn

2009-09-10T14:36:00.001-07:00

These illustrations have been produced as parts of separate series.
The Lobster is one the early figures developed for a series I am hoping to launch soon called "Animals in Suits" which grew out of a recurring theme in my sketchbook during my senior year at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. The project should hopefully be launched soon.
To check out Sam's BLOG... go to: http://washburnillustration.com/

The militant looking pug is based on a fascination I have with Europe in the mid 1800s. It's somewhat of an experimental piece, as I figure out different approaches to producing stories and illustrations on this era. He is based off of Otto Von Bismarck, the Prussian Prime Minister who was instrumental in forming the current unified German state.

The last image, of Marilyn Monroe, was produced for this terrific site called "Illustration Friday". The site gives you a weekly topic to illustrate and lists all the entries for you to browse through. Even better, it gives you access and incentive to keep blogging, which I find to be essential to keeping you drawing. The theme for this image was "Magnify".

New Work from John Dyess...

2009-09-09T10:45:00.001-07:00

We will be posting new works from Illustration Section members, who have been part of the St. Louis Artists' Guild for some time. The following is a descriptive quote from John, about his image posted here on our Blog......

"This is a CD cover I created for singer and songwriter Tommy Redd. He was part of the group Nantucket that toured with Kiss,AC/DC,Doobie brothers , Styx. One of Tommy's hits is Heart Breaker. More info on this CD can be found at roccorecordings.com.My wife Carolyn's brother owns Rocco Recordings".

___________________________________________

We also had a Great speaker at last nights' meeting. It featured Kevin Belford, author,
and Illustrator of his new book "Devil at the Confluence" A book about the History of some very famous Blues musicians that established themselves in the St. Louis area over many decades of the Blues Music Industry. ,
A recording of Kevins' presentation was made at our meeting, and we will be posting it on this Blog very soon. Keep coming back, and you'll be able to relive last night with Kevin Belford, as he talks about all that went into the production of his new book.

FANTASY SKETCH GROUP _ MORE SAMPLES OF THE WORK

2009-09-08T15:06:00.000-07:00

The Fantasy group has been getting quite a number of participants during the re-start of our sessions in the month of August. We've seen many more students from several local Universities showing up on a regular basis. Keep it up, people!!

Illustration Section Exhibit scheduled for end of this year at the Guild

2009-09-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

Illustration Section Biennial Exhibition

Opening:

November 15, 2009, 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Exhibition Dates:

November 15, 2009 - January 8, 2010

Admission:

Free and Open to the Public

The exhibition will highlight work created by members of the St. Louis Artists' Guild's Illustration Section. Stay tuned for more info.....

____________________________________________________________

The Fantasy Sketch Group is still meeting on the Third Friday of each month. We are asking our current attendees to email their drawings and sketches to Bill Vann at bvannart@accessus.net.

He will be posting the new works each month on a regular basis.

So get busy scanning those images, and try keeping them to a file size no larger than 600 KB's.

Fantasy Sketch group adds MEETUP GROUP

2009-05-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few sketches from this past months' drawing session at the Guild

At our monthly Fantasy Sketch Group meetings at the St. Louis Artists' Guild, we've been fortunate to have been joined by another local sketch group. Here's their website___

/http-::www.meetup.com:figuredrawing-110:.webloc

We invite all the MEETUP members to frequently visit our Blog and leave comments / images for us to post, along with other current info from our regular sources.

All of the fantasy members need to visit the website and log on, or join their group to add to the other opportunities to create new art from the live model.

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Bill Vann-Chair
Illustration Section
St Louis Artists' Guild

A LINK TO MORE PEAT WOLLEGER MASKS!!

2009-03-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have a link to Peat Wollegers' other Mask Stencils that you might enjoy viewing.

Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/stensoul/sets/72157604425739240/

Let me know what you think of his work. I can forward any and all comments to Peat.

Thanks for viewing the Blog.

PEAT WOLLEGER CREATES ANEW MASK

2009-03-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

We had a real treat at our February illustration section meeting. We were visited by Peat Wolleger, one of St. Louis' best Stencil artists'

He showed us many of his new You Tube videos, as well as some of the outside wall stencils that he has been busy with. His new Mountain Dew bottle design was a "Big
Hit" with the crowd in attendance.
Later on, during his presentation, he brought out a new mask, which is one of a series that he has in the exhibit at the Guild. Here, pictured, are several pics of the steps that Peat took to help complete the mask, after the
audience had a chance to add their individual marks to the base art.

He had come prepared with some pre-cut stencils. He had many cans of spray lacquer acrylics.
You can see, from the following pics how quickly the process works, and how fast the paint dries for layering the many different opaque applications.

There were only a few stages left to complete at this stage. The entire process took Peat about 45 minutes. After he finished the last few sprays of paint, he announced to his audience that his intention was to add the piece worked on that night to the present exhibit he had running in the LaPata gallery on the second floor. Here's how it looke at the final stage.

We will be posting more upcoming reports on the new things that are going on at the Guild.
Look for the new postings soon....

HORIZONS .... FINAL POSTING

2008-09-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

This will close out the photo essay on our recent "HORIZON" painting event. In this posting you will view some of the work
of the attending illustrators, and their three hour "creations".
Rip Kastaris was very generous with his time for our illustration section this past month. we want to thank him for the very
informative instruction, and his usual enthusiasm!! Here you can see him putting the final touches on one of his demo pieces.

And this is how it turned out....

Rip also brought along a large number of experimental sketches that he creates in a rapid manner, when he's looking for a
new theme of work to produce.

These last few images show the results of the fun time spent with Rip, and what a few of us learned from his sharing of a few secrets on speed painting!!

....and here are the final results of the evening.

In our next posting we will be bringing you info and visuals from our upcoming Fantasy sketch group event, as well as our next meeting, and the next presenter and what he or she has to offer to our group.

...UNTIL THE NEXT TIME

Bill Vann-chair
Illustration section
St louis Artists' Guild

HORIZONS.... POSTING CONTINUED

2008-09-23T13:00:00.000-07:00

ere we can see the progress made by a few of the Illustration attendees' at the "HORIZONS" event, hosted
by Rip Kastaris, a local artist who has journeyed thru both the Illustration field, and is now selling his work
as an easel artist, accepting commissions from all across the USA.

We had two brave souls slinging paint right next to one another.... that takes a lot of COURAGE!!

Rip brought along several recent pieces he had been working on to help inspire the group along as they ventured into unchartered territory!!

Ed Kohler with the end result of an evenings' work.

To be continued .................

RIP KASTARIS PAINTS A HORIZON THEME

2008-09-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

For our second posting, you will see lots of visuals of our presenter, RIP KASTARIS, for the september Illustration Section meeting
at the St Louis Artists' Guild. The event was to simply show our illustrator members how to tackle and execute a complete "HORIZON" theme painting in less than three hours.
Rip has been traveling widely lately to Arizona, Chicago, and other parts of the USA to sell his work. he has learned a system of being able to crank out 6-8 large paintings a week. This system is what he shared with all of us this month!

This series of photos will show the step-by-step process that Rip showed all in attendance how to work in his system.
It includes all stages... from establishing the horizon line on the canvas to the final stages of development. ENJOY THE VISUAL RIDE!!

Next we'll see some of the Illustrators in attendance for the nights' event. A GOOD GROUP of artists!!

Here we see Rip adding a "Sun drop" into the background sky area....

I will be adding more shots taken that night as the week rolls on.... GOT TO RUN FOR NOW....///
I will also be adding a few of the sketches from the fantasy sketch Group that just met this past friday night. Stay
tuned for some more fun stuff to check out.

Bill Vann-Chair
illustration section
St louis Artists' Guild

THE STL-ILLUSTRATORS BLOG

2008-09-09T11:24:00.000-07:00

This is the first posting of the STL-ILLUSTRATORS Blog. the local group of St. Louis Illustrators already have a website. Go to http://www.stl-illustrator.com to check out their unique, individual styles.

This group of artists' meets each month at the St louis Artists' Guild, in Clayton's OAK KNOLL PARK location, to network, hang out, and have fun!!

Posted here on our Blog are a few of the recent post Card mailings we have sent out to prospective clients, and buyers.

We will be posting work of our members, challenge projects, and throw-downs, for fun in the near future.

For now, check out our mailers, and our website, and look for some very interesting visuals soon!