Drawing Works

Isaac McCaslin exhibited 5 drawings in a Juried Group Exhibition "Drawing Works"  where Nova Benway, from the Drawing Center in New York, juried the show and gave a lecture in Alexander Hall Auditorium.  Isaac McCaslin received the Best in Show award for the Expression category.

The exhibit highlights the strength of drawing at SCAD and includes work by students in animation, fashion, printmaking, fibers, illustration, metals and jewelry, painting, photography, writing, film, advertising, accessory design, motion media, production design, sequential art, and visual effects.

The Drawing Works exhibit was March 2 - 22 in Alexander Hall Gallery. 

Metamorphosis Series, Charcoal and conte on paper, 12 x 9 in, 2011

Exploring New Media

With the rise of technology and the internet, I have been researching artists and articles on new age media for creating artworks.  below are links to  an online webspace for digital art and short and interesting articles about new media, written by Michael Masucci.  Masucci is a founding member of the video art group and alternative theater/gallery space EZTV, and along with computer art historian Patric Prince, created CyberSpace Gallery, one of the world’s first art galleries dedicated to digital art:

Go to "Global Eyes" an Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques

Go to Masucci's Essay titled "Is the Age of Expertise Over?"  

Go to Masucci's blog with thoughts about Digital Art and Practice 

Go to three films on the rise of communications and networks

In the Spring I will be taking a design III class which incorporates the elements of time. I am borrowing a camera corder and I will explore the possibilities of animation and film.  I will also be learning about new age media in a Digital Culture Art History class.

Revisiting the Picturesque

I've worked on a group of murals commuting back and forth from Savannah to Hilton Head in the months from August to November of 2011.  I was inspired by the Hudson River Landscape Painters and used my own photo references as well as photo reproductions from the masterful paintings of artists like Asher B. Durand and Thomas Cole.  The process was an experience in learning framing devices, lighting, and coloring effects. I've come to a new appreciation for the sublime, the picturesque, and the  complex emotions that 19^th century landscape painters dealt with in reaction to their sprouting industrial era.

 These Murals where commissioned by Brett Guimarine, an entrepreneur who is starting up a restaurant bar and game room next to his 5 star Italian restaurant in Hilton Head.  He told me he wanted murals which will allow his customers to escape their worry’s.  It was a perfect opportunity for me to learn from the Romantic Era landscape painters whose artworks provided the over worked industrial world with an escape into the picturesque.  
 

detail:             Durand's Old Oak, Acrylic on sheet-rock, 16 X 50ft, 2011

Durand's Old Oak,  acrylic on sheet-rock, approx. 16x50,  2011

detail:               Ruins, acrylic on sheet-rock,16 x 80 ft,  2011

Ruins, acrylic on sheet-rock, 16 x 80ft,  2011

Palm, Acrylic on sheetrock, 16  x 30 ft,  2011

cyprus palm oak, acrylic on sheetrock, 16 x 25 ft, 2011

Palm Pine Oak, acrylic on sheetrock, approx. 18 x 70 ft.  2011


Process Images:

 on every wall I first worked out an under painting in either charcoal or multiple watered down layers of burnt sienna acrylic paint. My work area was usually an absolute mess because the place was still being renovated.

 This is the under painting in burnt sienna with some ultramarine blue for the sky and water.

 

 Here I have refined the under painting and made significant compositional changes.  I have applied watered down layers of ivory black to bring more dimension into the mural.

 This is a detail of another under painting.  you can see that I use the white of the wall by painting with washes of burnt sienna.  I refrain from mixing in white unless the washes dry before I can manipulate them to my intention.

for the sake of experimentation, I have sketched out the outer framing elements of the composition with thick charcoal sticks. my fingers were blistered and sometimes bleeding by the end of a long day due to rubbing in the charcoal to the wall. 

 

After completion of these murals, I had the privilege to see the traveling exhibition of the Hudson River Landscape painters in the Columbia Museum of Art.  I stood in front of a painting by Asher B Durand, The Solitary Oak Tree for an hour in absolute admiration.  I couldn't believe my eyes as I went from painting to painting seeing the precise marks just inches in front of my nose. I saw works by Thomas Cole, Fredrick Edwin Church, Albert Bierstadt, and more.  Rest assured, I have a new series of paintings coming up in reaction to Nature and the Grand American Vision, an astounding traveling exhibition. 

Success

The 17th Annual Telfair Art Fair was a great success for me.  I met some interesting people, sold some of my most beloved paintings, acquired some commissions, and had a great time. Here is some of the work which was displayed in my Tent.

Mark Masked Series, Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 in , 2011

Masks, Charcoal, Conte, and Pastel Pencil on paper, 20 x 16 in , 2011

 

Reluctant Triumph, Charcoal on paper, 46 x 28 in, 2011

Painting Self 1, Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 34 x 24 in, 2010

Painting Self 2, Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 34 x 24 in, 2011

Painting Self 3, Acrylic and pastel on canvas, 34 x 24 in, 2011

Painting painting, oil on canvas, 50 x 58 in, 2011

figure sketches, charcoal, conte, watercolor, ink and marker on paper, 9 x 12 in., 2011

Skitzomask, oil-on-canvas and charcoal-on-paper on canvas, 20 x 16 in,  2011

Talented Artist of the Year

Isaac McCaslin is the London International Creative Competition's Talented Artist of the year

http://licc.us/

I will be posting something on my Facebook page on Tuesday which should not be missed by those interested in seeing it. 

Accepted into the Artfair

I have officially been accepted into the 17th annual Telfair Art Fair in Savannah, Ga. The event is hosted by the Telfair Museum in Savannah and will take place Nov. 12-13, 2011. I hope to see you there.
http://telfair.org/museum-events/specialevents/art-fair/

Portrait Drawing Series