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Who remembers NBA2K on the PS2?

Ascent of the Mesozoic Mammals

Scientific American's online magazine has just released a new article about the mammals that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. 

For the cover of the magazine, we needed a dynamic image that showed how capable and specialized some mammals were. So we decided to show the flying squirrel-like Volaticotherium.



There were a lot of choices for the inside spread. Mesozoic mammals weren't all little shrews and mice. There were all sorts of amazing forms. I sketched up a lot of options in thumbnail form using watercolor and colored pencils.



One of my favorites was the badger-like Repenomamus. The fossil was found with the bones of a baby dinosaur inside its rib cage. Here are some black and white gouache sketches to help work out the composition.


I documented the making of the artwork in a free YouTube video called "The Mammal that Ate Dinosaurs. I also produced a comprehensive 35-minute digital download that you can get from Gumroad.

I show all the development stages, including thumbnail sketches, color comps, maquettes, field research, and the final painting in oil. My voiceover explains all the methods in practical terms, along with the thinking behind them.

This video reinforces some of the concepts and methods in previous videos, but it also includes new material, such as:

• The use of an air-dry clay for quick maquette building
• Techniques for rendering fur textures
• Ways to suggest rainy day conditions
• How to render whiskers and veins on an oil painting.

The production is packed with useful information that will interest not only the dinosaur artist, but anyone who paints creatures of any kind. The edit is fast-paced and entertaining enough to be worth watching again and again.



The Scientific American article appears in the June issue, but you can purchase it online now.

The Mammal that Ate Dinosaurs: Behind the Art 35:51 minutes run time, downloadable 1080p HD mp4 file.
For more info about how you can own the full video, follow the links below:

Sellfy: Buy now
Gumroad: Buy my product

Al Jaffee, Mad's 95 Year Old Cartoonist

Al Jaffee invented "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions" for Mad Magazine

He also came up with the popular "Fold-In" feature. He's is 95 years old and still going strong. In fact he was recently honored as having the longest working career of any cartoonist ever. Here's a video profile from the Gothamist. (Link to YouTube video)

Dancing and Painting in the Gardens

The opening of "Impressionism: American Gardens on Canvas" was a big success yesterday at the New York Botanical Gardens. Members of the Michael Arenella Dreamland Orchestra played Jazz Age favorites and demonstrated some hot dance licks in vintage costumes. (Link to YouTube video)

We spent about an hour studying the exhibition of American Impressionism curated by Dr. Linda S. Ferber, including inspiring pieces by Sargent, Chase, Twachtman, Hassam, and Dewing.

Garden Walk by James Gurney, oil on canvas mounted to board, 12 x 16 in.

You can see the original on display in the gift shop.

I painted a view toward the Conservatory. The walkers strolling along a peony border were based on five models who were kind enough to pose for me.

One of my models was Michael W. Haar. He practices the old-school art of barbering, and he's one of a bunch of people in New York City who wear vintage clothes and live a retro lifestyle 365 days a year.

That square white panel above me is a new windproof diffuser design that I've been perfecting, and I'll share how to build it on a future video.

As I painted, I had fun meeting the many members and guests of the Gardens who passed through.

The exhibition, Impressionism: American Gardens on Canvas, which brings together the two living traditions of flower gardening and outdoor painting, will be up through September 11. They encourage artists, beginning and experienced, to come and make art. If you forget your art supplies, they'll even provide some for you.

Rooster

For some reason I was able to hypnotize this rooster by making a bird call, and that made him cooperate and pose.

Impressionism Opens at the Botanical Gardens this Weekend

The New York Botanical Garden opens its Impressionism theme this weekend, with lots of fun events. I'll be there painting on Saturday, the day of the public opening.

Here's a list of events for this weekend.

May 14 & 15
10 a.m.–6 p.m.

Conservatory
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Garden guides highlight parts of the permanent collection and special exhibition to add insight to your experience of Impressionism.
Live Music

Visitor Center
12:30, 1:30 & 2 p.m.
Michael Arenella’s Brass Trio makes sure you will be tapping your toes to tunes from the turn of the century—from traditional Sousa marches to ragtime bits.

Tap Dance Performances
Ross Hall
1:30, 2:15 & 3 p.m.
Professional tap dancers from Apartment 33 interpret this uniquely American art form—as vibrant today as it was at the turn of the century! Learn more about the performers below.

Living Tableaus: Leisure in the Garden
12–4 p.m.
Actors recreate scenes of famous Impressionist paintings within the Garden’s collections. Period props are available for visitors to recreate the scenes themselves and pose for pictures to share!

Meet the Artist in Residence
Seasonal Border & Peony Collection
May 14; 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Renowned painter James Gurney sets up his easel at special locations around the Garden, and offers insights into the joys and challenges of painting out of doors. Watch him create inspired works of art from blank canvas to finished masterpiece during the course of the day. He interacts with visitors as he works, sharing inspiration and information on this particular genre.

Cake Contest
May 15; 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
In the Conservatory Plaza, the finest New York bakeries display their most beautiful nature-themed cakes to honor the Garden’s 125th Anniversary. Check out the entries and vote for your favorites, then stop by at 3 p.m. for the cake cutting ceremony and enjoy a complimentary sampling. View a list of participating bakeries below.

Plein Air Painting
Along the Seasonal Walk
12–5 p.m.
Pick up some materials (pencils, charcoal, or pastels) and create your own souvenir of the Garden to take home!

Fascinator & Boutonniere Crafting
Conservatory
11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Make a fascinator hair piece or boutonniere and don the styles of then and now.

Tap Dance Performances
Apartment 33, created by Chloe Arnold, is an eclectic group of tap dancers that moved to NYC from all over the world to pursue their tap dreams. Home to professional tap dancers Chloe & Maud Arnold, Apartment 33 has literally acted as a creative hub and often home for these artists, where the natural dynamic at play has led to the mentoring and development of diverse talents with a common passion. From Broadway to touring and even national television, these success stories are joining forces to celebrate the art that has brought them together: TAP! Pieces performed at NYBG are prepared by Artistic Director and Choreographer Chloe Arnold and Assistant Choreographer Jenna Roe.

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I'll also be back to the Gardens in June 4, 5, and 19.
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New York Botanical Gardens events website
Original blog post announcing event

What artists need to know about utility poles

Commonly called "telephone poles," utility poles carry a lot more than just phone service. 

They also conduct electrical power, street lights, internet, cable TV, signs, surveillance cameras, traffic signals, pedestrian signals, and seasonal decorations. 

Anatomy of a Utility Pole

Things to Look for:

• Functions are stratified by height, like life in a rain forest. Electric power at the highest voltage is carried on the top. In the USA, there are typically three uninsulated aluminum wires (each about 1/2 inch thick) spaced across the top crossbar, held up with three insulators. 

• For every few houses or businesses, there's a set of transformers—three big cylinders. These lower the voltage from the Primary Distribution Zone to the Secondary Distribution Zone below. Inside the transformer typically there's a coil of copper wire wrapped around a steel core, all bathed in oil. These generally don't explode in storms; there's a cigar-sized fuse that's designed to blow.

• Secondary distribution lines are also in threes just below the transformer level. The primary and secondary zones together comprise the "supply space."

• Street lights, yard lights, and traffic signals are wired to the Secondary Zone. Sodium vapor street lights are rapidly being replaced by LED lights, changing the color of the urban night from yellow to cool white.

• The twisted wires running off to buildings from below the transformers carry electrical power. Commercial businesses with high energy demands require thicker bundles. 

• The Communications Zone is the bottom level. It includes both fiber optic and coaxial cables with junction boxes and repeaters. These are usually the thickest cables. They serve internet, cable TV, police and fire alarm systems, and telephone. 

• There's normally more space between the Secondary and Communication zones than there is in the pole I drew at the top of this post. This space is called the the "Safety Zone," and its purpose is to protect telecom workers from high voltages.

• Telephone cables often can't support their own weight, so they hang from, or are lashed to, a thinner, uninsulated support strand, and they droop below that strand for stretches. There are various methods (such as loops) used to relieve stress or to store excess cable. Fiber optic cables sometimes have U-turns to store a longer section of cable without cutting it or breaking it.

• Horizontal rectangular boxes are junction boxes or splice boxes, giving access to the telephone connections. They also hang from the support strand.

• You'll see thin wires connecting to buildings for the phone service from this level. 

• The public or yard sale area is at the bottom. It includes posters and notices that people post on the pole. There are also numbers near the base that identify the pole.

• Poles are black at the bottom from creosote (or a modern substitute) to protect the pole from rotting.

• Support cables run down on a diagonal and attach to a stake in the ground. Draw these lines straight because they are under tension. They keep poles upright by opposing lateral forces. Those lateral forces may come from 1) Turns in the road, 2) Systems of heavy cables branching off to the side, or 3) Dead ends.

• All hanging wires follow a catenary curve between the points of support. These can generally be best drawn with the artwork turned upside down.

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If there are utility service professionals reading this post who can help me correct any errors, please let me know in the comments.

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Read more:

A highly visual book that I recommend: 

Infrastructure: A Guide to the Industrial Landscape (Revised and Updated)

Websites:
Archetypical utility pole (parts and diagrams)
Telephone power and CATV poles (more photos and explanations)
Wikipedia on Utility Poles gives an international scope

J.B. Monge Kickstarts Celtic Faeries

At long last, Montreal-based artist J.B. Monge is offering a collectable book version of his charming Celtic Faeries universe. For many years Monge's artwork has only been available in expensive French imports, but now it will come out in a slipcased book, with lots of new artwork and an English translation. The campaign has already funded in little over a day!
(Link to Kickstarter)

Painting a Bakery Case in Watercolor

Yesterday I painted a bakery case in watercolor. (Link to YouTube)

The challenge was to paint the pastries seen through the glass as well as the reflection of the skylights. 

This is difficult because the brain can't see these two overlapping realms at the same time. The camera does it more easily because it's monocular. 

At the pencil stage I laid out the perspective and also the shapes of the reflection areas. Within the area of each light reflection, I raised the values to a higher tint. Since it was transparent watercolor, I had to do this without resorting to opaque gouache.

Thanks to Heather and the Fresh 'n' Easy Café in Kingston, New York

The Ferncliff Gatehouse

Each of the old mansions along Hudson River had a gatehouse. 

Here's the gatehouse for the Ferncliff estate, once owned by the Astor family. It was designed in a Second-Empire style by architect L.A. Ehlers in 1877. 

It was abandoned when I first saw it, and it seemed an ideal setting for a story of the supernatural. I sketched it using pencil and gray wash, because I felt color would have taken away more than it would have added.