Meet the Artist
-My Life
-My Passion
-My introduction to art really came from a lot of animation from videocassettes-VHS; some children's books, Dr. Seuss, for example.
The beginning of my painting career came from an old art project back at the Northshore Education Consortium: Mary Channel, one of my old teachers, had me copy a picture of a spring scene with some trees; that I SO did. That painting, which still exists in my house, to this day, had influenced me to make more beautiful paintings, but that wasn't an end goal in itself. By and by, I had started looking at old animation artwork, designs and paintings to fuel up my creative aspirations, but never losing sight of real life.
Getting back to the VHS's, I didn't get started to really get serious about the other art form until I learned to control the VHS VCR.
-My Beginnings
-School
I started my school years at the NEC:Northshore Education Consortium.
-First Art Classes
One of the first art classes I had was that I learned how to paint with Olga; you know, that nice Russian lady; I went to the educational institution with her son, whose name I've COMPLETELY forgotten now.
The first lesson I had from Olga was copying a scene from a photo or an actual painting and painting it. One of my most awkward periods as an artist was I could just draw everything straight ahead and not worry about getting it perfect; albeit I couldn't get a nice flat block of color and control of the brushstrokes.
-My Middles
-New Art Classes
I don't know if I'm getting to angsty, but here's the thing that REALLY changed my life, drawing-wise. In October 2003, I attended my first Salem YMCA Art Class with one of my old teachers, James Fox, and boy, that was the turning point of my career.
He taught me a lot about drawing what I really see- with media like graphites, charcoal, conte crayons, pastels and watercolors, etc. and more importantly, the elements of art: Line, Shape, Space, Form, Color, Value, and Texture
-Animation Interests
-Back at the YMCA's Teen Center, I learned quite a bit on how to animate on a program known as Flash. I used the book Project Flash MX and the 2004 version of that software on a Windows XP desktop. It was very much of an education for me.
-I started watching my Ren & Stimpy VHS's for the beautiful artwork and backgrounds (particularly the gross-out close-up panels). Where I first got them was from AJ Wright at the Woburn Mall back in late part of '99 and also from, in those days, Blockbuster Video. And I'm drawing a blank on the last one (the clothing store on Peabody). Most importantly, it's probably my main influence out of all the others in animation, cartooning and art.
-When I started watching my Disney's Cinderella(1950) 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, I discovered two bonus extras: one's From Walt's Table: A Tribute to the Nine Old Men, which re-ignited my interest in Disney Animation,
for it showed you their philosophy in the art form which consists of animating with feeling and solid drawing skills; and The Art of Mary Blair, which was a fluke due to my hearing of her name on my Peter Pan(1953) VHS from Disney.
That got me going, Wow! I wish I could do something like that!
- I learned how to animate since I was a little precocious punk. First on some Disney flipbooks, for how it all worked. Then an old '90s Cartoon Animation Kit from Walter Foster. Next making a Cocoa Puffs flipbook from an old issue of Nickelodeon Magazine, back when there WAS one. Also making flipbooks in art class, and now learning to draw cartoons for animation
from the Walter Foster and Preston Blair books, all of which I still learn from to this very day, well I STILL have them.
-New Schools
I have been through several different schools. I'd even been through the Northshore Academy (the best 3 years of my life as an artist), and a year at Salem High, Salem Prep School from September-November 2010, and about 2 1/2 years at Chamberlain School. I also went to, for 4 years, Shore Educational Collab. Today, I go to art classes at ArcWorks, Peabody, MA, and Shoetown in Haverhill, MA.
-What I'm doing right now:
-I'm teaching myself how to draw for animation, cartooning and art. Just for that, I give John K. Stuff and ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive (now Animation Resources) credit where credit is due; paying them both as much money as I can if I'm allowed to. I'm working on my own children's books, and some ideas for comics and a graphic novel.
-Did I mention I'm working on some ideas for animation shorts? I mean really?
-What I REALLY want to do is work at a virtual cartoon studio called John K. Enterprises. (To learn all
the basic skills!)
The reason that is because I'd recently started going on blogs of my hero, John Kricfalusi, Jim Smith, and a host of my
artist heroes and heroines.
-My Life
-My Passion
-My introduction to art really came from a lot of animation from videocassettes-VHS; some children's books, Dr. Seuss, for example.
The beginning of my painting career came from an old art project back at the Northshore Education Consortium: Mary Channel, one of my old teachers, had me copy a picture of a spring scene with some trees; that I SO did. That painting, which still exists in my house, to this day, had influenced me to make more beautiful paintings, but that wasn't an end goal in itself. By and by, I had started looking at old animation artwork, designs and paintings to fuel up my creative aspirations, but never losing sight of real life.
Getting back to the VHS's, I didn't get started to really get serious about the other art form until I learned to control the VHS VCR.
-My Beginnings
-School
I started my school years at the NEC:Northshore Education Consortium.
-First Art Classes
One of the first art classes I had was that I learned how to paint with Olga; you know, that nice Russian lady; I went to the educational institution with her son, whose name I've COMPLETELY forgotten now.
The first lesson I had from Olga was copying a scene from a photo or an actual painting and painting it. One of my most awkward periods as an artist was I could just draw everything straight ahead and not worry about getting it perfect; albeit I couldn't get a nice flat block of color and control of the brushstrokes.
-My Middles
-New Art Classes
I don't know if I'm getting to angsty, but here's the thing that REALLY changed my life, drawing-wise. In October 2003, I attended my first Salem YMCA Art Class with one of my old teachers, James Fox, and boy, that was the turning point of my career.
He taught me a lot about drawing what I really see- with media like graphites, charcoal, conte crayons, pastels and watercolors, etc. and more importantly, the elements of art: Line, Shape, Space, Form, Color, Value, and Texture
-Animation Interests
-Back at the YMCA's Teen Center, I learned quite a bit on how to animate on a program known as Flash. I used the book Project Flash MX and the 2004 version of that software on a Windows XP desktop. It was very much of an education for me.
-I started watching my Ren & Stimpy VHS's for the beautiful artwork and backgrounds (particularly the gross-out close-up panels). Where I first got them was from AJ Wright at the Woburn Mall back in late part of '99 and also from, in those days, Blockbuster Video. And I'm drawing a blank on the last one (the clothing store on Peabody). Most importantly, it's probably my main influence out of all the others in animation, cartooning and art.
-When I started watching my Disney's Cinderella(1950) 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, I discovered two bonus extras: one's From Walt's Table: A Tribute to the Nine Old Men, which re-ignited my interest in Disney Animation,
for it showed you their philosophy in the art form which consists of animating with feeling and solid drawing skills; and The Art of Mary Blair, which was a fluke due to my hearing of her name on my Peter Pan(1953) VHS from Disney.
That got me going, Wow! I wish I could do something like that!
- I learned how to animate since I was a little precocious punk. First on some Disney flipbooks, for how it all worked. Then an old '90s Cartoon Animation Kit from Walter Foster. Next making a Cocoa Puffs flipbook from an old issue of Nickelodeon Magazine, back when there WAS one. Also making flipbooks in art class, and now learning to draw cartoons for animation
from the Walter Foster and Preston Blair books, all of which I still learn from to this very day, well I STILL have them.
-New Schools
I have been through several different schools. I'd even been through the Northshore Academy (the best 3 years of my life as an artist), and a year at Salem High, Salem Prep School from September-November 2010, and about 2 1/2 years at Chamberlain School. I also went to, for 4 years, Shore Educational Collab. Today, I go to art classes at ArcWorks, Peabody, MA, and Shoetown in Haverhill, MA.
-What I'm doing right now:
-I'm teaching myself how to draw for animation, cartooning and art. Just for that, I give John K. Stuff and ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive (now Animation Resources) credit where credit is due; paying them both as much money as I can if I'm allowed to. I'm working on my own children's books, and some ideas for comics and a graphic novel.
-Did I mention I'm working on some ideas for animation shorts? I mean really?
-What I REALLY want to do is work at a virtual cartoon studio called John K. Enterprises. (To learn all
the basic skills!)
The reason that is because I'd recently started going on blogs of my hero, John Kricfalusi, Jim Smith, and a host of my
artist heroes and heroines.
