Memorial

Charles John Andres 1913 - 2008
Student of Harvey Dunn, (himself student of Howard Pyle), artist, illustrator, teacher, and not least to those who loved him most, husband and father.




The converted side barn at the Oakes House, Berwick Academy, where Charles Andres taught his classes.

I had the privilege to attend the memorial service of Charles Andres, my high school art teacher, yesterday afternoon. (See this previous.)

I don't feel that I have been sufficiently close to him to elaborate further, except to say that the impact he had on his family and friends was obvious from the service, and that their love and respect for him was even more so.

His youngest son Mark read the following poem by Rudyard Kipling, and I can do no better than to reprint it here.

When Earth's last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it -- lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workmen shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy; they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comets' hair.
They shall find real saints to draw from -- Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!

And only The Master shall praise us, and only The Master shall blame;
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!



May those who loved and knew him find solace and encouragement in his memory. An era in the world of illustration has passed now from us.

Heh!




More at Day by Day

The Media Lies, Your Ability to Make Informed Voting Decisions Dies

Being in the tank for a candidate is bad, actively spreading false propaganda is another thing entirely.


The Main Stream Media has completely lost sight its professional standards, and has possibly lost its soul.

The Beast in the Oregano







This gorgeous wasp, almost two inches long, was in the oregano late this afternoon. If it had amber wings, instead of blue, it would have almost looked like a Tarantula Hawk.

The bumblebees were sipping nectar right beside it, blissfully unaware that this thing could rip their heads off and eat them with impunity, had it wanted.

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Wuthering Heights, classic very early Kate.

Warning, the big eyes and mascara may take a bit of getting used too.

The Humanities

The Summer 2008 issue of The Wilson Quarterly has an excellent article by Wilfred M. McClay, "the Burden of the Humanities"

Mr. McClay brings some excellent and piercing perspective on the Humanities as they are currently being taught in our universities, and how they are perceived by the general public, and why.

Strange, that an era so pleased with its superficially freewheeling and antinomian qualities is actually so distrustful of the literary imagination, so intent upon making its productions conform to predetermined criteria. Meanwhile, the genuine, unfeigned love of literature is most faithfully represented not in the universities but among the intelligent readers and devoted secondary-school teachers scattered across the land.

Mr. McClay points out how identity politics has eviscerated the meaning of the Arts and Humanities and he goes on to show why we should care about this at all. He shows that the Humanities can and should remind us "that the ancients knew things about humankind that modernity has failed to repeal," a reminder more important today, as some aim to move us into a post-human world.

Go have a good read.


(image "Landscape" 1994, by Mark Tansey, used as the title illustration in the original article)

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Kate covering Rocketman

OK, I need this guy



Saint Expeditus, AKA Saint Elpidius, patron saint against procrastination...

... OK, OK! I'm off to the studio now. Time to work.

H/T Neat-O-Rama

Happy Fourth of July!




Day By Day

UPDATE: Maggie's Farm has posted a large quote from The Declaration of Independence with links to the full text and the other charters of our country.

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Them Heavy People from a 1979 Christmas Special

Tease



A detail of the project on my paint frame...

oh, and yes, I went away... but now I'm back

The Right Brush

Painting in acrylic is murder on brushes. An average brush lasts me maybe one year, sometimes two. As a result of this, I had been loath to try more expensive brushes, like Kolinsky Sables, even though I wanted the level of control that such a good brush brings.

Never the less, I broke down and bought a set of Performen Kolinsky brushes by Creative Mark from Jerry's Artarama when they were on sale...

... last summer.

Even though these are not very expensive (especially for Kolinsky Sable, which can retail for between $400.00 and $700.00 per brush for the larger sizes), I was still uptight on using such a brush and automatically condemning it to an early death.


Well, I bit the bullet yesterday, and started using them.

It was amazing! They hold more paint, so that I can do longer strokes and cover more in less time. They have excellent control, allowing me to pull long lines and to accurately pull an edge. And they rinse and wash out better and easier than any brush I've ever owned.


Just goes to show that there is no substitute for quality.