Raul Colon received a nice note from the marketing manager at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art this week – there was a wonderful article written about the upcoming Latino storybook exhibition in “PreView Massachusetts”, and Raul’s artwork was featured on the cover! We hope that the program is a huge success.
Fans of contemporary art are flocking to New York City, as the Armory Show and VOLTA have just kicked off. It’s an exciting time!
Last night, the Ladies of MGI were thrilled to attend the opening of VOLTA as guests of one of the participants, our very own Steven Tabbutt. Steven also has a very successful fine art career, thanks to his delightful Parisian gallerist, Yukiko Kawase. It was wonderful to spend some time with this phenomenal talent, and we were thrilled to see his latest pieces. You wouldn’t believe how finessed his originals are when viewed in person – we were truly blown away.
If you are in New York, be sure to take in this amazing show.
“Spectrum” is heralded as the leader in Fantasy and Science Fiction work, and the competition for this competition is fierce. For the 2013 Fantastic Art Awards, 5 jurors looked at and evaluated over 6000 entries, only a handful of which will be chosen for the Spectrum Annual, due out next fall.
Today we learned fantastic news, as Victo Ngai is a finalist for yet another gold or silver medal. This girl is on fire!! Victo’s piece, “Best of the Best,” has been nominated in the editorial category, and winners will be announced at Spectrum Live, a weekend-long celebration of fantastic art, in Kansas City, May 17-19th.
You can take a glimpse at the other nominees, along with the judging process, here. And congratulations, Victo – you are in amazing company!
Image Copyright Victo Ngai:
Check out these names! Dave Calver is thrilled to be in such lovely company for the upcoming “Goodwork – the Illustration Art Invitational” event taking place in Rochester, New York. For those in the area, be sure to check out the opening at the Arts Center Gallery at Nazareth College on January 18th. There is sure to be some really phenomenal work!
Learn more here.
We all have big aspirations for the New Year, but it is clear that Steven Tabbutt is already off to a really strong start – and we couldn’t be happier for him!
Steven recently received word that he is one of 30 nominees for Illustrative Berlin’s Young Illustrators Award, and he has been invited to attend the exhibition this May. Perhaps the competition’s timing was a bit auspicious, as Steven submitted a portfolio with 12 images and learned of his acceptance on his birthday. Fingers crossed that he also learns he’s one of the competition’s 3 winners! You can learn more about the event here.
Additionally, Steven learned that the fine art side of his career has been receiving some exciting attention, as well. His gallery, Yukiko Kawase, has been invited by Volta NY to exhibit a solo show of his work here in Manhattan. Volta NY is an invitational show of artists’ projects and is the American incarnation of the successful young art fair founded in Basel in 2005.
You can keep up with all of these exciting developments on Steven’s site – just click here.
Patti Mollica has been enjoying a fun gig touring the country as an official ambassador for Golden Artist Colors. And recently, principles Vicki and Gail decided on an impromptu visit with the artist to see what these engaging demonstrations and lectures are really all about.
Showcasing both her marvelous talent as a painter and the quality of Golden’s products, Patti provided an intensive seminar jam packed with information. Moving seamlessly between traditional techniques and manipulating the featured products, the event surely provided patrons at the Woodstock School of Art plenty of information that they could take home and put to use in their own work.
Those interested in the possibility of attending one of these workshops might enjoy following Patti’s beautiful and illustrative blog, which will provide future event information, along with glimpses at her fabulous work.
Here’s the lady of the hour, Patti Mollica:
And here we see Patti (middle) with principles Gail (left), and Vicki (right):
A regular contributor to the American cult classic “Mad Magazine” for the last 24 years, Rick Tulka has been very proud to be called one of the “Usual Gang of Idiots.”
In celebration of its 60 years of hijinks, Mad Magazine linked up with Time Home Entertainment to produce the archival book “Totally Mad,” which debuted at #1Â on the New York Times’ Hardcover Graphic Novel list. Understandably, Rick was incredibly excited to participate, and he has several pages included in the tome. You can learn more about this awesome compilation on Mad’s Blog.
3×3 Magazine recently announced the winners for their Children’s Illustration Annual 9, and we are elated to learn that a few MGIers have been included once again.
“Entries were up this year with over 1,700 entries from 35 countries. Forty-percent of our entries were from outside America, making us a truly international competition. As always there were many fine pieces entered that just missed getting the nod from our judges.”
(Click here to read the official 3×3 Magazine Blog post about the judging process)
So let’s get to the artwork, shall we?
First off, we were so happy to learn that Judith Drews’ illustrations for her adorable book “Lily Loves” received a merit award:
Susan Gal’s darling book “Into the Outdoors” had a few pieces selected for the ‘merit’ category, as well:
And last but certainly not least, we learned that Valeria Petrone had 5 of her works accepted into the merit category:
Did we say “merit?” Additionally, Valeria also took home the Bronze medal in the editorial category. How exciting!
Congratulations to all, and thank you for making us look so good!
It can be a nerve wracking experience waiting for those first reviews to roll in, but what could possibly be more encouraging than a starred review from Kirkus?
Susan Gal’s “Day by Day,” which she both wrote and illustrated, is a heartwarming tale that follows an adorable pig family in their quest to build a home and become a part of the fabric of their Society. Here is what the reviewer had to say:
“Day by day, brick by brick, a community is built in this winning tribute to fellowship and family.
Across a golden prairie, a family of pigs heads west. Their small actions grow in significance as bricks become a house, beloved paraphernalia create a home, neighbors are welcomed and friendships begin. With each handsome spread, the author rephrases the proverb she was inspired by: “little by little, the bird builds its nest.†Words flow on a curvature that matches the lyrical nature of both text and artwork. Sophisticated, digital illustrations done in a pastel color palette dazzle the senses, allowing readers to feel the vastness of sky, the heat of summer; to smell the scent of flowers and fields; and to hear the slow dance-floor melody as they safely drift to sleep. Gal skillfully employs the computer to create a handmade, collage aesthetic. Through her application of textures, she creates a world that’s rich in pattern, color and, most of all, love. As pigs gather around a table, under a festive tree at twilight to enjoy the bounty they have grown, they give thanks.
A luminous celebration of family, food and home. (Picture book. 4-9)“
The lovely news was shared with us by Random House’s Nancy Siscoe, with whom Susan collaborated. She sent us an enthusiastic, “I love this book!”
We sure do, too.
Congratulations, Susan!
You can click here to see a brief presentation of this wonderful tale. Why not see what all the fuss is about!
We have some lovely goodies to share with you this week!
We were so happy to learn that Victo Ngai was asked to illustrate a full page piece for the New Yorker – possibly one of the most coveted assignments in our industry. The illustration was to accompany a wonderful piece of fiction by Peter Stamm entitled “Sweet Dreams,” and Victo was asked to create an image about the two young protagonists, a couple in Switzerland. Take a peak on her blog to see sketches and to learn more about her interesting process.
We also received these awesome images from Carlo Stanga, who recently completed a fabulous campaign in his native Italy for the cheese manufacturer “Galbani.” Here is a closeup of the work, which is classically Carlo:
And here we see the image in context, used in a huge advertisement next to a glorious gothic cathedral in Milan:
Finally, we wanted to take a moment to honor the life and work of Maurice Sendak, who sadly passed away this week. Sendak, who most famously penned the children’s classic “Where the Wild Things Are,” had an incredible influence on children’s literature, and he will be greatly missed. You can read more here.
image by Maurice Sendak:
