Friday, February 29, 2008

Week 6

Jerry Friedman has been a friend of mine for the past few years. We met somehow on livejournal neither of us really remember how it came about but its most likely because we both have photography in our interests. Jerry graduated from Pratt in 2003 with a BFA in Graphic Design. When I met him he was living in Jersey but has since moved to Texas where he is a senior graphic designer at a company whose main clients are Frido Lay, Pepisco, Cadbury Schwappes, and Quaker/Tropicana/Gatorade. I know him mainly through his photography so that is what I wanted to hi-light I highly recommend you check out his Flickr page.

I was really surprised when I found out how many people I know actually read this blog and since he is one of them I told him I wanted to interview him for the blog. This is what he had to say:

What do you do with your photography, is it just a passion on the side?

"Being that I pretty much sold out my graphic design, I use it as my personal expression. I don't do very much commercial photography (but I do art direct many shoots). I find shooting for myself very fulfilling and I actually also like taking people along with me and teaching them. I'm considering teaching, actually. The output from my shoots I usually post on my flickr page, make prints, and supply to people featured in the shots if they'd like. I feel it's a fantastic trade... they work with me to get a great shot and they can take it home and show their friends : )"



Tell me about some of the events you frequent mermaid parade etc.

"Im a sucker for costumes, admittedly. I do very much like shooting fringe festivals like Mermaid Parade as it brings out many non-standard individuals that bring their diverse talents out in the open. Even though I see many people shooting at parades, I gun for moments that are more exotic than the standard documentary sideline shots that the crowds get. I prefer to work in the parade line at close range, and thankfully the police have never had any issues with me. The same applies to my street photography, I'm not a fan of surveillance. I prefer to work at closer range with shorter lenses so that my shots show the relationship between the subject and I."

Friday, February 22, 2008

Week 5

For the past three weeks I have been going to Amy Wilson's continuing education figure drawing class. Since I already have drawing from 12-6 on Fridays it was kind of like a 3 hour extension. Making Friday a nine hour draw-a-thon! I really liked going to the classes, for me figure drawing is a way for me to relax and just enjoy myself. The class was also a lot of fun, it was my first time drawing two models at once, and with the lights turned off and the music playing it really just gave the entire class a good vibe. I'm going to miss the class but now that its over hopefully it will have been the kick in the butt I needed to start drawing for myself more often. I promise more of my own drawings (and not just figure drawings) will be posted soon. 








Friday, February 15, 2008

Week 4

For three years in high school I went to classes six days a week. I was part of the Westchester Art Program which selected three students from different high schools throughout Westchester County and put them in a Saturday art class. For two of those years Toni Quest was my teacher.
Toni Quest is a self taught artist known as the Screaming Woman. After surviving a car crash there was not much else for her to do in her recovery except produce art. To deal with her physical and emotional pain she created the screaming woman series.

Toni Quest is also a published author, her poetry, as well as her award winning cover artwork, can be found in the novel View From the Middle of he Road Vol. II. Toni is so much more than a great artist, she is also a wonderful teacher, mentor, and friend.

Friday, February 8, 2008

Week 3

I wanted to introduce you to an artist who I have been interested in for a while now, Rob Dobi. He does a lot of illustration work including:
He also does t-shirt and poster design for many different bands as well as his own clothing company 
AND he is a photographer (if you didn't think he could do any more) who photographs old abandoned buildings and insane asylums 

Friday, February 1, 2008

Week 2

I'm a huge comic fan. A nerd if you will. I have been to quite a few conventions *blush* including Ubercon, Connecticon, and MOCCA (Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art) festival (a few times).  Most recently I have been reading webcomics (mainly because graphic novels take time to find and read, time which I do not have). 
I read a variety of webcomics but these are my top three which I read religiously everyday.

I have actually met this artist, Jeph Jacques three times, twice at MOCCA Fest and once at Connecticon. If you decide to read his comic you have to start from the beginning because the storyline is great and to watch his art skills progress is insane.

I have also met this artist, Jennie Breeden, three times I have followed her into three different states (mwhahaha) to Ubercon, Connection, and MOCCA Fest. She is a completely insane uber-feminist from Georgia and I own all of her books which she has autographed for me over the years.

Danielle Corsetto is the only artist out of this bunch that I have not met, but I am working on changing that. I am definitely a huge fan of the comic and all her other artwork.