2007
Studio|chris recently wrapped up a fabulous new web site for digital artist, Carrie Woeck. Carrie’s initial web site was a single page site created by Studio|chris to showcase her wonderful sports painting painting tutorial, but after some time, she decided she was ready for a full web site. Soon after her initial contact, we were on our way to the finished product.
Designing for an artist can sometimes be difficult, because in the end, the design has to match the personality and work of the artist while at the same time not overpowering the artist’s work. Carrie’s final design pulls from colors that are prominent in many of her paintings and reflects both her personality and the fun and modern medium she works in. The design also brings her work to the front with a header including some of her wonderful paintings. At the beginning of the process, she was a little worried the background pattern would be too busy [we even went through a couple of color scheme changes] but her concerns were laid to rest as soon as all the elements started coming together and the original color scheme was the winner! In the end, she has a wonderful new site to show off her work and is very happy with the final outcome.
Visit Carrie’s new site!
Coincidentally, Carrie’s new site also marks the beginning of an exciting new line of web design products for the Studio|chris Shop. These will debut in mid-September. I’ll be posting a teaser in the September issue of the Digital Ink Newsletter, be sure to subscribe to get yours as soon as it is sent out!
Painted for Corel Painter Magazine by Imagine Publishing.
Green turns to gold as a finale to the annual show.
Autumn is coming. The trees glow with the colors of fire.
A comfy room with a view and landscaping fit for a kingfisher.
Why “Fiery Red?” One look at artist, teacher and free-spirit and you’ll certainly see; her bright red hair and inch long red eyelashes give it away. This octogenarian [yeah – go look that one up!] artist is as lively as ever and still doing what she loves – passing along her knowledge of art and life.
Some of you may remember Ilona from her days in pioneering art instruction on TV. Ilona’s Palette aired on PBS in the early 70s, and still does in some locations. If you ever have a chance to see an episode or two, definitely have a watch. In some episodes of Ilona’s Palette, you’ll hardly see any painting as Ilona is as much a storyteller as she is an artist, but these episodes are still very worth it as she passes out valuable life lessons. In painting, her style lies mainly in impressionism in oil, and I’ve found that some of her painting lessons can even be extended into digital painting. You can catch a glimpse of her art in person at Wohlfarth Galleries in Provincetown, MA and online at Ilona’s Official Site.
One evening recently, I was channel surfing to see if I could catch Ilona. Unfortunately, I didn’t, but I started to wonder what she was up to these days and if she was still around. Two days later, channel surfing again, I hear a very distinctive voice… there she was! It wasn’t Ilona’s Palette, but something a little different. From her New York City apartment building, one of Ilona’s neighbors, filmmaker Melissa Hammel had created a wonderful documentary of Ilona. The documentary itself has won many awards and is still on tour at film festivals the world over. Head over to Becoming Pictures for a peek at the film through the trailer.
From the documentary, we get a peek into Ilona’s life and the lessons she has learned throughout her days. Her glowing personality really shows throughout the 24-minute film. She really is a lovely, strong woman and a true inspiration, to both artists and non-artists, for her positive outlook and by truly living life to the fullest. I mean, how many people over 80 do you know that can and will do a split!? [It’s in the trailer, if you don’t believe me!]
Coincidentally, the answer to my question of “what is Ilona up to these days,” was answered by a quick web search. It appears Ilona still teaches painting with annual workshops across the Eastern United States, including one workshop here in South Carolina, though most of her teaching is conducted in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts. If you have the opportunity to attend one of her workshops, or have in the past, please do and let us know how it goes!
In closing, I leave thanks to Ilona for the wonderful influence and to Melissa for sharing her film with the world. I think we can all learn a lesson from Ilona’s story and apply that bit of inspiration to our own lives.
UPDATE: (I know, that was quick!) – Melissa Hammel has contacted me privately regarding DVD sales. To quote her, “Folks can contact me directly at mel@becomingpictures.com. Cost is $25 including shipping and handling and I will be happy to fulfill all orders.”
Links:
Ilona’s Official Site
Ilona, Upstairs Documentary
Here’s another digital painting study, this time using Corel Painter X instead of Photoshop. Painter is amazing in the way that some of its prebuilt brushes are capable of producing the look of traditional paint (coined “natural media” by Corel). Going against this concept, I used one of the brushes that I thought wouldn’t be a good match for natural media. The “brush” itself is nothing more than a gradient. The sample above is a sampling of “strokes” painted with the Tubism brush. Notice it is nothing really spectacular, like I said, just a gradient. Who would think that this simple brush could be used to create a painting that is reminiscent of traditional oil paint? It certainly is possible, and just goes to prove: It isn’t the tool that makes great art, but how you use that tool.
UPDATE: Featured in the Official Corel Painter Magazine, Issue 8!