arleneellis-blog
Arlene Ellis
Arlene Ellis is a freelance illustrator, textile designer and surface designer. Arlene’s designs are deeply rooted in her love for art, fashion and biology.
PORTFOLIO: www.ArleneEllis.com
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Apparently, Norwegian police wear really tight uniforms. I learned this today on Facebook.
#Norway#norwegian#Police#Cops#Norwegian Police#Norwegian Cops#Norwegian Police Unforms#Humor#Cartooning#Inking#Fun#Illustration
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"How can you be an artist and not reflect the times? That to me is the definition of an artist." -Nina Simone
MISSISSIPPI GODDAM (Nina Simone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVQjGGJVSXc)
"Going home now
Going home now
Going home now
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
Alabama's gotten me so upset
California made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
Can't you see it? I know you can feel it?
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
This is a show tune
But the show hasn't been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think everyday's gonna be my last
Lord, have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here, I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayer
Don't tell me, I'll tell you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying, "Go slow!"
That's what they said, "Go slow!"
That's what they said, "Go slow!"
But that's just the trouble, do it slow
Washing the windows, do it slow
Picking the cotton, do it slow
We're nothing but rotten, do it slow
We're too damn lazy, do it slow
Our thinking's crazy, do it slow
Where am I going? What am I doing?
I don't know, I don't know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
I bet you thought I was kiddin'
Picket lines, school boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
But all I want is equality
For my sister, my brother, my people and me
Yes, you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie
Oh, but my whole country is full of lies
We're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust nobody any more
They keep on saying, "Go slow! Go slow!"
But that's just the trouble, do it slow
Desegregation, do it slow
Mass participation, do it slow
Reunification, do it slow
Do things gradually, do it slow
But bring more tragedy, do it slow
Why don't you see it? Why don't you feel it?
I don't know, I don't know
You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
That's it!
#activism#nina simone#art#Illustration#illustrator#mississippi#Mississippi Goddam#musician#civil rights
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ARTIST SNAPSHOT
"Drawing has a particular and seemingly universal anxiety connected to it. There are so many other activities that people are happy to not be especially experienced or even good at, where the stakes are generally much higher, like cooking a meal, or writing. There’s a sense that people are embarrassed that they lack a basic syntax of image-making, and will look foolish if their efforts are ‘wrong." -Christopher Muller
Artist: Chris Muller
Base: Brooklyn, New York
Education: B.A.- University of California,
Davis M.F.A.- New York University
Teaching Gigs: Visiting Associates Arts Professor at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, department of Design for Stage and Film
Specialties: Storyboard art for film and television; illustration for children’s books and many publications; set design; and teaching.
Here’s your Friday treat, because who doesn’t need something beautiful and fun to help wrap up their week? What you’re seeing above is a selection of my favorite Chris Muller illustrations. This past summer, I was having a difficult time overcoming my fear of drawing people, so a friend introduced me to Chris.
I remember the first time I visited Chris’s blog, Fig Drawing, I instantly fell in love with his illustrative style. By the way, as much as art teachers try to help you develop your own artistic voice, in my experience most of the time that teacher’s artistic sensibilities will reflect in your own work. I loved Chris’s artistic sensibilities and definitely wanted them reflecting in my work, so I couldn’t wait for him to start mentoring me. I will be discussing the importance of mentors more on this blog. They really can make a tremendous difference in an artist’s life.
Since Chris has begun mentoring me, my drafting skills have improved by leaps and bounds. I’ve received so many kind messages from friends and family who are inspired by how much I’ve grown artistically. Most of that improvement I owe to Chris. Besides being an extremely talented illustrator, he’s an excellent teacher and probably one of the kindest people I know. I’m sure if you asked any of his current or former art students at NYU, they would wholeheartedly agree. He has taught me that most of drawing is psychological. You have to learn techniques for quieting the constant yammering of your inner critic. Through his guidance and encouragement, I am finally learning how to overcome my fear of failure and draw as my heart desires.
I will be interviewing Chris next week about his journey as an illustrator in New York City. Stay tuned!
P.S. Chris has promised me that he will update his blog. In the meanwhile, I highly recommend you stop on over and read his insights about drawing.
#CHRISTOPHER MULLER#ILLUSTRATION NYC#ILLUSTRATION#ILLUSTRATOR#ILLUSTRATORS ON TUMBLR#NEW YORK UNIVERSITY#NYU#NYU TISCH#SET DESIGN#STAGE DESIGN#DRAWING#STORYBOARD ARTIST#ART#ARTIST#TEACHER
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Ha.
The current state of the art modeling world @aubreyzich
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DOWNLOAD HERE: http://illustrationfriday.com/2014/05/free-andrew-loomis-art-instruction-downloads/
Which artist doesn’t appreciate FREE stuff? I know we can all use the help! Here are is a very generous offering from the folks at Illustration Friday. FREE Andrew Loomis art instruction books. Please share with your fellow artist/illustrator friends.
#freebie#freebiefriday#andrew loomis#Illustration#IllustrationNYC#Illustration Friday#Download#Free Download#Art#Artists
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Are you an emerging illustrator looking for a support network?
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“For me drawing has always been the most fundamental way of engaging the world. I’m convinced that it is only through drawing that I actually look at things carefully. And the act of drawing makes me conscious of what I am looking at.”
-Milton Glaser (renowned illustrator and designer based in NYC)
Welcome to Illustration NYC, a light-hearted weekly digest about the illustration scene in New York City.
**Now on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest***
Hi. My name is Arlene Ellis and I’m an emerging illustrator. I created this blog to help other emerging illustrators, like myself, succeed in one of the most creative cities in the world. I’ll be posting illustrations by local artists, information about events, funding opportunities, educational resources, local parties and now for the FUN part…interviews of illustrators practicing in NYC!
(Did you think the parties was the fun part? Ha. Sorry. I love interviews).
Some of these generous illustrators will be featured as guest bloggers and give brief tutorials. I’ll also be interviewing industry insiders who influence the illustration ecosystem in NYC: agencies, art/design publications, popular blogs, and various design-centric tech companies.
Currently this blog is a one-person endeavor, but I welcome collaborators! If you are passionate about illustration and helping illustrators succeed, please email me at [email protected].
I hope one day Illustration NYC turns into a powerful force for good. There are so many talented young illustrators who just need some mentorship and a strong support system to help launch their careers. I hope this blog will give them a sense of both. If you would like to learn more about Illustration NYC, please email me at [email protected].
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A rare and remarkably profound 1995 interview with the late and great Jeff Buckley.
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Effects of Cold-stunning on Sea Turtles: The poster describes the physiological changes that lead to cold-stunning in a series of beautiful anatomical illustrations that were all based on medical images, but were drawn and assembled using computer design software. It also shows how to identify a cold-stunned turtle and provides the number of a turtle stranding hotline.
This entry was a winner in the newly renamed science and engineering visualization challenge: The Vizzies.
Credit: Katelyn McDonald and Timothy Phelps, Johns Hopkins University; Jennifer Dittmar, The National Aquarium
Do you love animating data, creating science apps, or taking macrophotographs? In the 2014 Visualization Challenge, sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Popular Science, your handiwork can receive its due glory and win you cash prizes. Find out more here.
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I’m starting an exciting project related to illustration in NYC. I am trying to be more fearless! This project will definitely eject me outside of my comfort zone. There won’t be a lot of room for shyness. Stay tuned!
#Arlene Ellis#Artist#Illustration#illustrators#New York City#NYC#art project#Art News#Illustration News
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I may not wear gold or any jewelry for that matter, but I like it when my birds embrace the bling. This duck was a patient at the Wild Bird Fund, Inc.
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Dress
Madeleine Vionnet, 1933
The Kyoto Costume Institute
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Repeated Encounters After Repeated Washes. (Arlene Ellis, 2014)
I've been looking at retro fashion illustrations all week. I had to get this quick fun sketch out my system.
I'm teaching myself how to sketch fashion illustrations quickly
I'm making myself experiment with different styles and not feel so self-conscious.
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The clustered illustrative work of Fumi Mini Nakamura
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It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face in marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Extract from “Citizenship in a Republic” by Theodore Roosevelt
The Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
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Contact the people you admire today
Last night, I emailed a famous illustrator whose work I have been following since 2011. Three years ago, a coworker of mine had forwarded me his illustrations and wrote that they reminded her of my drawings. She assured me that one day I would reach his skill level. I was flattered by her comments and knew I was far away from that level. But seeing his work awoken something inside of me, dear I say hope? When I examined his contour lines, vivid color schemes and use of pattern, I recognized a part of myself. It was the first time, I realized there was a market out there for my aesthetic.
This morning I woke up to a kind message from him stating that he read my email and would respond when he had a little more time. He assured me that he "doesn't bite." I am overjoyed right now. It shouldn't have taken me three years to gather the courage to email him. In 2012, I emailed the studio of a famous illustrator/graphic designer within months after watching a documentary on his life on Netflix. Not only did the studio respond, but I got to visit and interview him! That should have been a lesson to not let fear get in my way.
If you are wondering how the Gustav Klimt drawing above relates to this post, I included it because he is my posthumous artistic mentor. If he were alive today, I hope I would have the courage to email him. I love his work not only because I have a weak spot for the decorative arts (specifically art nouveau), but also because he was an excellent draftsman. Representational or academic drawing is too easily dismissed by many younger illustrators today, but the skills you gain from practicing this type of drawing will make you a powerful illustrator. Klimt is not around, but there are many other talented artists alive and kicking. I will make it a priority to meet them while I still can.
To all of you who are at the top of your careers and still take the time to respond to those of us at the beginning of ours, THANK YOU. Your generosity has a ripple effect.
Whose work do you admire?
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