On Wednesday I visited New Hampshire Institute of Art for a demo and lecture. The school occupies 12 historic buildings in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire.
NHIA offers BFA programs in Ceramics, Painting, Photography, Interdisciplinary Arts, Arts Education, Graphic Design, and Illustration.
There are 170 illustration majors out of a student body of 540. The Illustration faculty includes (from left to right) Ryan O'Rourke, Leigh Guldig, Jerry LoFaro, Kristina Carroll, me, Natalya Zahn, Jim Burke, and Doug Sirois. Follow the links to see their work on their personal websites.
Kristina Carroll teaches courses on Science Fiction/ Fantasy and Worldbuilding. Above are some samples of student work. Kristina says: "Good technique is the foundation of all illustration, and concept is the heart of it. Regardless of style or subject matter, by learning the tried and true methods of the old masters and developing a strong process, students will acquire the tools to develop share their ideas clearly."
Speaking of tools, one student named Daniel showed me the sketching box he improvised. He hot-glued watercolor half pans onto the inside of the lid at far right, and mixed the paint on the inside surface. Smart idea! Who needs to buy those expensive watercolor sets?
NHIA is also hosting a small show of 25 original Dinotopia artworks, including "Dinosaur Parade" (above, frame by Troy Stafford), "Garden of Hope," "Dinosaur Boulevard," "Small Wonder," "Up High," and "Waterfall City." There are also a few preliminary sketches and reference maquettes. The show, organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, contains a completely different set of artwork from the recent show in Connecticut. The NHIA museum is located at 77 Amherst Street and will be up through March 13.
9 comments:
James seeing you next to your painting "Dinosaur Parade" I realize that it is quite large. I wasn't aware they made illustration board that big, or is this one on canvas?
Thank you for the mention James! There's no question that my students hear your name quite a bit in my classes and several of the techniques from your books/blogs have been recurring tools. This was such a fun day for both students and faculty. I can't wait to go back and check out the gallery when it's a little less crowded too.
So wonderful to meet you and see your demo! My students were so excited to see your work in person and hear about your process.
Future blog entry request time! I for one would love to see something you drew/painted at the lecture/demo!
James - Seeing your paintings in person was an absolute treat - and your lecture just brought the house down. Thank you for the full day of inspiration and insight!
Hello Sir!
I just wanted to say that I appreciate all the time you put into your blog posts- I've just discovered your blog and I've been checking it every day now. Learning a ton about drawing and painting- thank you for continuing to teach us all- even the students who aren't lucky enough to attend the schools you visit!Hope to see you in Seattle sometime!
Speaking of Institute visits, how did WPI go? I'm a huge fan of yours, and graduated from WPI about 5yrs ago. I was so surprised to see you were visiting an engineering school, let alone my tiny school. I wish I was still in the area so I could've attended the lecture and helped show you around. How did it go? I was worried because I didn't see a post about it. I hope they took care of you, and the lecture was well attended! :)
Thanks, everybody.
Yasu, WPI went great. I'll post about it tomorrow.
Keith, the larger paintings in the show are on canvas mounted to 1/4 inch birch plywood.
I am a poet and my husband an attorney, but we traveled to Manchester to hear your talk. We had your books which our kids loved. Great inspirational & funny talk for us creative types. Great to see one who has made it over the top & still kept his humanity. Not a robot.
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