I was very happy about the positive response to our beginning-of-the-year portfolio presentation. As I mentioned, I got the idea from Kazu Sano, my awesome teacher from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. Sadly he died of cancer this summer at the young age of 59 years old.
He was an amazing illustrator and teacher- familiarize yourself with his work: http://www.kazusano.com/
The work you shared this Tuesday gave us all the chance to see your unique personal vision and your well-developed artistic direction. In this class we have already begun to use the principles and techniques that were developed and perfected by the masters. BUT REMEMBER THIS: the purpose of these principles and techniques is to aid and improve your mind, eye, and hand. These “rules” are not here to put restrictions on your unique artistic vision. Some people even go as far as to say that the rules are made to be broken. But that is incorrect. The rules are made to be mastered- and then transcended. So while we engage in the often rigorous exercises that will make us better representational arts, never loose sight of your own personal aesthetic and the artistic interests that you have been developing all of your life. In the end, the only real measure of your mastery can be judged by you, according to how well you know yourself, and how true to yourself that you have been.
Kazu Sano kept it real until the end. Do the same. Starting now.
T H A T ' S S O M E S E R I O U S S O U L
Wow i must say that after seeing his artwork, I am quite jealous that you were able to study under Kazu Sano in your time in san francisco. His work is absolutely incredible! Not sure if Ive ever seen someone who so thoughtfully blends together form and color. I am usually not a fan of realist artwork, but he takes it to a whole new level. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOn a different but somewhat similar note, I met a guy a couple of years ago who was an illustration major at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and his work has been one of the biggest sources of inspiration in defining who I am as an illustrator. He has an incredibly graphic style, with a great deal of his illustrations being created for tattoo art or death metal album covers and things of that nature. However, if you pay close attention to his work, you will notice that he also has a very strong background in figure drawing. Every single one of his characters is thoughtfully planned out and in my opinion for this particular style, masterfully executed. Seeing his work has helped me to discover the possibilities of illustration, (figure drawing in particular) so hopefully it can be of help to the rest of you as well!
Heres the link to his website: http://discordantart.com/