Thursday, November 20, 2008

DESIGN

Logos, packaging, brochures, catalogs, web sites . . .
CLICK IMAGE to view next • View "Notes" below image for details.

Friday, November 14, 2008

TECHNICAL Illustration

Technical drawings & diagrams, cutaways, medical, 3D modeling.
CLICK IMAGE to view next • View "Notes" below image for details.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

More Fungus Pix


Made with Slideshow Embed Tool
Fungus, mushrooms, lichens and other odd and interesting mushroomy stuff. The collection will continue to grow. Newer photos will appear at the top of the pile.

11/01/08
I've added a lot of new pictures to my library of mushrooms and fungus. Some of them are identified, some not. All interesting (to me, at least!)
-> Go here for the BIG library of fungus and mushroom pictures.

-> View the original slide show

Monday, June 16, 2008

Fungus Pix

View "NOTES" in pop-up below slide show for image details.



Fungus, mushrooms, lichens and other odd and interesting mushroomy stuff. View the slide show for pictures of lots of different varieties. The collection will continue to grow. Newer photos will appear at the top of the pile.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

A painting a day

Today, painter Scott Bennett introduced me to the work of Duane Keiser.
Duane started the "movement" called A Painting a Day, which I've had my eye on from the periphery for over a year. Scott, Duane and others involved in the movement inspire me to finally get off my duff and do something about producing paintings on a more regular basis, instead of my standard approach, which is . . . whenever I need to fill in space in a show.
Thank you, Scott and Duane.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Earth Art Follow-up

Well, the Earth Art show was a big success, in my estimation. Not necessarily from a sales standpoint—although I did sell one painting—but from a networking, brainstorming standpoint, it was a very good day indeed. I made a few connections and re-connections with fellow artists and art appreciators, and took my first step back into the fine art/gallery world since, like, forever. Already planning my next several moves to display and sell originals and prints of my paintings and photography.

Monday, May 5, 2008

There’s no such thing as Computer Generated art

It’s an entirely misleading term. Digital Art, or even just Art would be more accurate in most cases.

“Computer Generated” invokes an image of someone sitting back with their arms folded watching while the computer works out calculations and auto-generates an image. This couldn’t be further from the truth for most artists working digitally. It’s certainly not true for my digital paintings and illustrations. It’s like saying that my oil on Canvas paintings are “Canvas Generated”.

Admittedly, there are self-proclaimed “artists” who use their computers to scan photos and then apply canned filters in Photoshop to add a watercolor effect, or something similar. I would agree that for the most part, I wouldn’t call that art. The fact that I can drive a nail with a hammer doesn’t make me a carpenter. However, there are artists who use their own photography and manipulate it in Photoshop, or a similar image-editing program—using tools that mimic traditional darkroom tools—to create something completely original.

Two examples of digital artwork I have done using my Mac are Melting Stones and Cosi fan tutte. Both can be found here.

Neither of these pieces is “computer generated”. Both pieces started as a series of conceptual pencil sketches on paper. The final sketches were refined, scanned and placed on a white background in Photoshop. This is akin to transferring a rough sketch to a blank canvas. Same process, different tools. The Melting Stones painting (done for Full Cast Audio) was completed entirely on my Mac using the scanned pencil sketch as a starting point. Color was blocked in using Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter, a graphics tablet (Wacom) and stylus. In about 30 hours, using brushes of various sizes and types that mimic traditional tools, I refined the image until I was satisfied with the painting.

Cosi fan tutte also started out as a lot of conceptual pencil sketches to work out the idea and composition. The final sketch was the basis for the final art. For this piece, I used Photoshop to create the patterns and textures which were used on the cups, tablecloth, napkin, pecans, etc. I used 3D modeling software (Infini- D) to build a scene containing the props (cups and saucers, bowl, glass, etc.) a camera and several primary and fill lights. This is precisely the same method that a photographer would use to set up a still life in a photo studio—except that the photographer doesn’t have to build all of the pieces of the still life from scratch— and then create all of the colors, patterns and textures that go on those elements—and then work out the physical and surface properties of all of the elements, such as gloss, reflectivity, texture, transparency, translucency, iridescence, gravity... Some might glance at this image and pass it off as “computer generated”. If they sat with me during the 40 or so hours that it took to create the image, they’d have a much better appreciation for it.

My computer is just another tool. Period. If anything, it makes me more creative because it allows me to explore more possibilities in less time, because I don’t have to wait for paint to dry, or substitute another color because I’ve run out of cadmium red, or spend 3 hours repainting a sky from cerulean blue to cobalt.

There was a time when watercolors were dismissed as a medium for children or amateurs. Dürer, Eakins and Wyeth might disagree. –J. Russell

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Earth Art Exhibit




There are 17 painters, photographers, sculptors, ceramists, jewelers . . . that will be displaying and selling their work at this one day invitational show and sale that centers around an environmental theme.

The show will be held in the St, James Parish Hall EarthWorks gallery, on the shore of Skaneateles Lake.

A few of my new paintings [and a couple older], plus several photographs will be on exhibit.

EXHIBITING ARTISTS: Carol Ackles, Cindy Bell, Scott Bennett, Cathy Crowther, Charlie Crowther, Steven Fland, John Francis McCarthy, Rudy Hellmann, Holly Knott, Liz Micho, Lisa Noviasky, Bob Ripley, Jerry Russell, Dee vonHunke, Diana Whiting

Friday, April 11, 2008

FAQs

Q What is STUDIO 309?
A 309 was my studio number when I was in the Illustration program at Syracuse University. When I started my business in 1991, I chose STUDIO 309 as my business name (DBA) because I had fond memories of my time at S.U., and because I like the sound of it.

Q Jerry or Gerald -- which is it?
A It's both. Gerald is my given name. Jerry is the common derivative of Gerald. That's Jerry with a "J". (Gerry with a "G" is another common spelling).

Q So... are you STUDIO 309 or Jerry Russell Illustration?
A STUDIO 309 is the name of my business (dba), which started out as mostly design and desktop publishing, with a little illustration thrown in the mix. Since around the end of 2001, I have been promoting myself as Jerry Russell, Illustrator because I've been concentrating my efforts more on marketing my illustration and trying to establish more name recognition in the industry.

Q So, what happened to STUDIO 309?
A Studio 309 is still the official, registered name of my business. I still get a lot of design work from existing clients, but for marketing the Illustration end of the business, I use my name.

Q Mac or PC?
A I use Macs (a MacPro and a G5 tower) to do all of my digital illustration and design. I still have the first one I ever bought, back in 1991 (for $2,300) It's a Mac II Si. My laptop is a MacBook Pro.

Q How do you paint on a computer?
A I use a Wacom 4 digital tablet and Photoshop. Sometimes I use Corel Painter, but Photoshop does most of what I need to do with digital paint, and it's far more stable than Painter. I keep a Wacom 3 in my laptop bag for painting while I'm traveling.

Q Where is Liverpool?
A Liverpool is a suburb of Syracuse, NY, right in the middle of the state. Four hours from Manhattan, 2 hours from the Adirondacks. Home of Heid's - world famous hotdog stand!


Tuesday, April 8, 2008

America on Wheels

View "Notes" below image for details.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

INSTITUTIONAL Illustration

Artwork for packaging, point of purchase, marketing and in-house publications.
CLICK IMAGE to view next • View "Notes" below image for details.


Tuesday, April 1, 2008

WATERCOLOR

CLICK IMAGE to view next • View "Notes" below image for details.


OIL & ACRYLIC

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Monday, March 31, 2008

EDITORIAL Illustration

Artwork for magazines, newspapers, periodicals—artwork that compliments an article or story.
CLICK IMAGE to view next • View "Notes" below image for details.