Learning Blender

I have recently started to tinker around with a 3d modeling and animation program, Blender. I want to make an effort to learn to model in 3d because I think it will make creating wild perspectives and forms much easier and interesting if done right. Unfortunately 3d max and Maya are way out of my price range at the moment. So for now I am going to see what I can do with Blender, which is a free open source program. Just google Blender 3d program and you will find it.

Anyhow in my first day of playing around with the program I was able to model in 3d a submarine, with multiple moving parts, and animate it as well. It is certainly nothing fancy, but hey , it's a start.

Final San Fran. painting

Here is the final painting for my San Francisco assignment given back in March as part of the MFA program at the Hartford Art School.

I posted a few earlier posts in which I showed some of the preliminary drawings, as well as the painting in progress. This painting is now hanging in the 2009 thesis exhibit which is taking place now through the 24th at the Silpe Galley, University of Hartford. The entire show show is pretty amazing, and includes 13 artists from around the country, all working in different styles and mediums. I encourage anyone that is interested in art to stop on by the show, it is one worth seeing. The opening reception will be Friday, July 24th. , 5-7 p.m.

Full Service

Full Service from Phillip Schaal on Vimeo.

In the last few weeks I have put rock climbing on the back burner. Between rain, tornado's, a tweaked finger, and most importantly school, there just really has not been time for the rocks.

So I figured I would post a little video that Phil Schaal shot while in Hueco Tanks this past winter.

The climb is Full Service v10, and I believe it was one of the earliest problems of the grade in the United States, a classic for sure. I tried it maybe 6 or so years ago with out much success at all, I  could barely  do the moves at the time. So it was nice to go back older and wiser(certainly not stronger) and complete the problem. I had not done the top out , which resulted in me sketching out and losing my hat in the tree( Uh Dab!). Luckily my friend Adam Strong was there  to provide some encouraging beta , which certainly helped me claw my way to the top of the problem. I think I would have pitched had Adam not been there with the clutch beta to use a lower hold.Thanks Adam!

New Favorite Artist 2

Erik Desmazieres 

The Wheels 1974

Erik Desmazieres 

The Ramparts 1972

Erik Desmazieres 

The Great Battle 1978

Erik Desmazieres 

The Deserted Fortress 1979

Five years ago while visiting the Rembrandt House in Amsterdam I came across a book in the book store featuring the  art work of Erik Desmazieres. The incredible drawings and prints of this artist had up until this point been unknown to me. I was blown away at what I saw, and his work continues to amaze, inform , and inspire me in present times.

Erik Desmazieres (b.1948)  is a printmaker and his  work has been associated with that of the Art Fantastique Visionnaire School, whose artists find their work heavily influenced by Bresdin, Piranesi, Callot, and Durer. The work of Desmezieres can certainly be compared with that of Dutch Artist Maurits Escher (1898-1972) , as both artists had an amazing knowledge of perspective, and an ability to distort it. Although there are many similarities between Escher's and Desmazieres work I believe that there is also a large fundamental difference in the imaginative  architectural superstructures in which they created. In contrast unlike that of the work of Escher , Desmazieres's prints have a much more believable sense of atmosphere. Desmezieres's sense of light, control of values,  and his realistic rendering ability  makes it possible for him to create  convincing  environments that the viewer can believably enter.

Much of the artists early work such as,Wheels, and the Ramparts are direct reproductions of pre existing drawings. Desmazieres transfered these insanely tight drawings  directly onto the printing plate.The finished prints were almost identical to that of the preliminary drawing, not fully utilizing the print medium and all of its beautiful possibilities for spontaneous results. 

In later years Desmazieres approached the printing procedure in a much more spontaneous manner. Rather than creating a fully realized drawing and transferring it onto his plate, he created much more simple sketches in which the finished drawing upon the printing plate was based upon. In the Great Battle ,  Desmazieres started with nothing more than a few rough drawings indicating the placement and shape of the robotic battle machines, the rest was done directly upon the printing plate in a more improvisational manner. 

The Deserted Fortress is another favorite of mine.In addition to these imaginative images , the book  that I own on his work also includes a lot of the artists other work. The book titled Desmazieres includes still life work , commissions, and landscapes, all are pretty remarkable. If you are not familiar with this artist you should google him and have a look at some more of his work, or buy the book if you can find it. You will not be disappointed!

Monkey See Monkey Do

Tonsai Bay

Acrylic on Masonite

24x48 inches

  Just 9 more days and I will be back to the Hartford Art School for two weeks of classes, our Thesis Show, and Graduation. Yikes!!!!!!!

Before then I still have a lot of work to do on my last two paintings. In this post I have included the painting that I created in response to my climbing adventures in Tonsai Bay , Thailand. There are quite a few things that I hope to add to it,  and a few other things I would like to adjust before I head back to Hartford.  My initial drawing for this piece , and also the painting in its earlier stages can both be seen in earlier posts. The posts are titled Thesis Panels, and New Compositions , in which I posted a month or so ago.