A conversation with Ian Sidaway from “An Illustrated Journey”

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

Ian Sidaway has taught so many people to become better artists; as the author of many instructional books, he is a legend. I find looking at his work so inspiring — his watercolors are so pristine, the colors so vivid but still atmospheric. And his line is so consistent and almost photographic. I have learned the most from his compositions; he turns every landscape spread in his Moleskines into perfectly balanced CinemaScope.

Ian shares a lot more in my book. Here’s an excerpt:

“I was born in the Industrial East Midlands into a family of miners and clay workers. My passion was the great outdoors and collecting bones, birds eggs, nests, and pressed flowers, and in the 1950s and early 60s, believe me, not many working class boys did that! These are the things I would draw and I hoped to pursue that interest by working either in the Nature Conservancy or the Forestry Commission. Both required academic qualifications which were beyond me, so I went to art college as a way of entering either of these organizations through the back door, possibly as an illustrator. Once at art college, design became my metier and, after four years of study, I found myself working as a designer at the J W Thompson advertising agency in London, a job I disliked. There followed a period of freelancing during which time I began to paint. I guess I dropped out before I ever dropped in..…” (continued)

Please don’t forget to check out Ian’s blog.

A conversation with Brenda Swenson from “An Illustrated Journey”

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

Brenda Swenson was dissuaded from being an artist time and again when she was growing up, but her passion ultimately won out. Now she is a professional artist, an author, and a teacher who leads fantastic sketchbook workshops, helping others discover and  believe in their talent.  And she loves to travel and fill her sketchbook with juicy watercolors.    

Brenda shares a lot more in my book. Here’s an excerpt:

“One day I saw a billboard. Go to school to be a professional artist. Wow, I could be an artist! Right away I told by my step-mom. I know what I am going to be when I grow up. I am going to be an artist! I was abruptly told that’s much to difficult find something else. I was crushed.  The only thing in me that felt special wasn’t good enough. I was ten years old..…” (continued)

Please don’t forget to check out Brenda’s blog.

A lovely piece

Seth Apter, to whose book, The pulse of mixed media: secrets and passions of 100 artists revealed, I contributed to last year, has written a beautiful post about AKissB4UGo.

A conversation with Nina Johansson from “An Illustrated Journey”

Here’s the next interview with the contributors to my new book An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration From the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators and Designers

Nina Johansson lives in Stockholm so even the most mundane things she draws strike me as exotic. She is an amazing watercolorist and urban sketcher and I have learned do much from studying her work.

I hope you’ll enjoy what she has to say in her video chat and in the book. Here’s an excerpt:

“I find that drawing a place makes it more mine, no matter where I am or how long I’m staying. When I draw a street corner in my sketchbook, I take a little piece of this place home with me. All these little pieces end up in my bookshelf, as a collection of all ”my” places in the world. It’s not a greedy kind of ”mine”, it’s a grateful kind, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to visit and share all these places with the people living there…” (continued)

Please don’t forget to check out Nina’s blog.

Let’s draw together! C’mon!

So, listen, I have always thought it would be nice to get a group of people together and draw in a lovely place. You could call it a class, a workshop, a mildly dirty weekend ( if you are sloppy with your ink) , whatever you want, but it could be fun if I could ever get it together.

It seems I finally have.

Last fall I was contacted  by Arthur Samuelson, a  lovely man who is the director of the Rowe Camp and  Conference Center in the Berkshires in Massachusetts and asked if I might  want to come up and do a workshop there in late spring. It does seem like the perfect place to spend some time together drawing and so I have agreed to do it on the weekend of May 31- June 2.

It is an accesible place but also remote enough to be a proper get-away. And what I really like is how affordable it is, room and boardwise — they even are willing to price things according to need, so I hope you can manage it.

It will be a three day event, from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. We will get together on Friday evening, I will talk a bit and discuss a plan for the weekend. And I will show examples from my journal collection. Then you can thumb through em (and hopefully share some of your own). After a good breakfast on Saturday we will set out to draw in the woods, the lake, and the small town nearby. In the evening, we’ll sit around together and share journals and stories. Then on Sunday we’ll do some more drawing and writing and scatter home after lunch.

I will post a lot more about it very soon but just wanted to get the word out now so you can make plans a reserve a place (I think the number of attendees may be limited). This is my first time doing such a thing so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Here’s the link for details and registration.

Even if you have NEVER drawn before, please consider joining us. I will be fun and not at all traumatic, I promise! I really hope you can come.