Flier (without text)

5.5”x4.25”, Gouache and digital image

Poster (without text)

11”x17”, Gouache and digital image

Event to take place May 25.

by Christopher Eitel, Furniture Designer, paraphrased below:

This little LED is named named Fil. Fil’s father, Ed, is an Edison bulb; Fil’s mother, Flo, is a fluorescent bulb.

One day, Fil walks home from school and realizes that he doesn’t really look like his mom, or his dad. He asks his mother about this, and she explains that Fil came from an idea that she and Ed had for a new lightbulb. 

But Fil has always looked up to his dad, and admires his father’s beautiful filaments.

Now, looking at his own circuits in the bathroom mirror, it dawns on Fil that he really is different than the handsome Edison bulb.

So, the next day, determined to grow up to be like his dad, he sets off on a journey.

…This story was written as a product background for a lamp design which uses an LED light but is inspired by the look of Edison bulbs. I did the sketches in a work-swap with Chris, who saved me a good deal of time and stress building frames in the woodshop.

Christopher Eitel is an up-and-coming furniture designer and recent winner of the Pure Michigan Woods Design Challenge. Click the link to read about the contest and see some designs.

Christopher Eitel (tan swaeter, jeans) with Pure Michigan Woods Design Challenge judges. Photo credit: http://www.kcad.edu/news/pure-michigan-woods/

I have spent this last month diligently studying Algebra. Algebra? In an attempt to fulfill my graduation requirements inexpensively, I decided to attempt to pass a CLEP College Algebra exam, to receive my missing math credits without taking a class.

I am writing about this for two main reasons: to possibly assist other students who may be interested in taking this exam and for the purpose of showing how an illustration helped me to succeed.

The CLEP exams expect test-takers to have good previous knowledge of their subjects. I had taken Algebra in high school (twice), but did not have comprehensive understanding of several types of problems and mathematical concepts. If you are like me, you will need to actually learn a few things in order to pass the test. I recommend acquiring a copy of the CLEP College Algebra study guide (from their website or from Amazon, etc.). The book gives a detailed breakdown of what may be on the test and three online practice exams– but no practice problems, and is very dry and written in mathematical language (non-intuitive). To study, I used free online worksheets (hotmath.com and other sources), and ordered hardcopies of basic Algebra workbooks with examples. My primary, most valuable, most helpful resource was Khan Academy. I learned almost everything I needed to know for the test from video tutorials on that website, for free, from a wonderful, humorous and insightful teacher. The website also provides some practice exercises. I made and reviewed many notecards, and the week before the exam, reviewed the CLEP text book that I finally understood. I recommend acquiring graphing paper to practice and take organized notes. Expenses apart from learning resources: $25 to utilize the testing center, $80 to take the test. A score of 50 or higher yields the equivalent of three math credits (check with your university or college to see if they accept CLEP scores).

In grade school math courses, I would doodle on my worksheets frightening monsters made of equations, symbols, and numbers, roaring and clawing, ready for destruction. Now, I can place the relevance of Algebra in history and human development, and respect its importance. Many of the revered and beloved great artists of history were also great mathematicians, and the relationship between art and math is ancient (there is even a nice Wikipedia page on the topic). Don’t fear math; anyone can learn it, with the right teacher; learning comes with an open mind and a positive attitude. Beginning any kind of task with an “I-can’t-do-this” disposition will not get you far; switch that frown upside-down and visualize, I am capable! You can do it, you are capable. Just like cutting through butter.

Which brings me to the illustration. This is my picture: me conquering a math planet, with my dog at my side and my hand on my banner: A++. I set it out at the beginning of every study session to encourage a positive outlook and to indicate a period of focused study.

Planet Study

Thank you to Morgan for loaning me the pink graphing calculator, and to Khan Academy, for being so giving. New artwork coming soon.

“Buenas noches,” says the fisherman to the pelican high above.

“Buenas noches,” call the friggots to the momma seals and pups.

“Buenas noches,” rattle crabs clinging tightly to their posts, and
“Buenas noches” think little abalone snuggling closely to their hosts.

The ocean says, “Buenas noches a todos”.

“Buenas noches, bebé.”

6.4”x7”; Mixed media on board with unusual under-painting color.

This painting was done from life. Click here for a photo of the found infant sea turtle body used as my reference here; it’s really one of the more amazing things I’ve ever seen.

Baja CA

]]> http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/12/buenas-noches/feed/ 0 hnwright buenas noches bebé_01 buenas noches bebé_02 buenas noches bebé_03 buenas noches bebé_04 buenas noches_final Cabo San Lucas http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/11/the-astro-bat/ http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/11/the-astro-bat/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:12:02 +0000 hnwright http://hnwright-blog.com/?p=2197 ]]> The Astro Bat: Painting process of an illustration for a poster.

Detail of final

Line drawing on gessoed board

Spray-fix line drawing; gouache subtractive under painting

Add white gouache for highest value

Add purple ink for darkest value; begin to add color

Color

Finished image; 11”x17”, Mixed media on board; @2013

Click here to visit Astro Bat’s bandcamp page.

]]> http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/11/the-astro-bat/feed/ 2 hnwright detail of final Astro bats_line drawing Astro bats_under painting Astro bats_add white Astro bats_add darkest values Astro bats_add color Astro bats_final image2 http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/05/phineas-and-bird-man/ http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/05/phineas-and-bird-man/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2013 20:15:16 +0000 hnwright http://hnwright-blog.com/?p=2185 ]]> Phineas and Bird Man

During a trip to Seattle last summer, I spent an afternoon with my family perusing the big marketplace down by the oceanfront; crowds of people meander the streets there, looking at artist and craft booths, fresh produce and seafood stalls. There is plenty to see. At one booth, tourists oo and ahh as men toss large, shining dead fish to each other and deftly catch them. Buskers (street performers) stand at intervals along the marketplace area, playing guitars and clarinets and other instruments singing loudly, offering whatever skills they have for the enjoyment of the visitors.

One unique busker I came across was a man with a large African Grey parrot. Children and adults alike gathered around delightedly as the parrot, named Phineas, mewed like a cat and entertained the audiences with a variety of well-mastered tricks. I had never seen a bird like that (and I love birds) and was genuinely enchanted.

Me meeting Phineas .01

I wanted to watch Phineas perform longer and, curious,  had many questions for the Bird Man, but my family was in a hurry and needed to move on. But before trotting after my parents, I handed the Bird Man a card with the address of this website and told him I had an idea.

Me meeting Phineas .02

As an adult, I was touched by the intelligence and beauty of Phineas, and if I had been a child, the scene would have captured my imagination thoroughly, and would have loved to have been able to keep an illustration of Phineas to look and and wonder over. Fantastically, the Bird Man contacted me, and we are planning to work together to create Phineas materials for children to have as keepsakes and educational tools.

H.N.WRIGHT. Digital Painting; postcard; @2012

Click here to see my Seattle sketchbook, here to see photos from my trip, or here to view my painting of the infamous Space Needle.

And definitely click here to visit Phineas and the Bird Man at their website! If you happen to be in that market in Seattle someday, keep an eye out for this very special pair.

]]> http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/05/phineas-and-bird-man/feed/ 1 hnwright phin2 phin1 H.N.WRIGHT. Digital Painting; @2012 http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/04/april-11-mulligans/ http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/04/04/april-11-mulligans/#comments Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:10:19 +0000 hnwright http://hnwright-blog.com/?p=2176 ]]> Poster: April 11 @ Mulligan’s

17”x11”, Mixed media and digital painting; @2013

Detail of final

Thanks, once again, to Soundmeetsound for working with me. Click here to visit their website for show dates, photos and videos, contact information and more.

I woke this morning to find the water in my house in a state of  not-runningness. The kitchen faucet gurgled, the bathroom pipes choked, and between the two sinks, came only a few dank, discolored drops of water.

By 3pm, a maintenance person had fixed the problem. It was a small and routine inconvenience (the house is quite old), but a very good reminder of the importance of fresh water, and the many ways people use and need it, every day. I usually start with a glass of water or cup of tea, or coffee; I change the dog’s water and use water to brush my teeth, clean myself, and for cooking purposes, followed by cleaning purposes. Every time I turn on the faucet and see water running cleanly into my glass, I am blessed.

The community in my area is anticipating a large group cleanup of our river. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to make an image for promotion of the event (partial line drawing below. Photos coming after the event takes place on April 20).

Third Annual GreenUp illustration_partial line drawing

Project: Create 1 image to represent the music of a newly recorded EP called Get Even. Square format for online use and possible future vinyl cover. Develop concept and experiment with mixing media.

Preparation: Sat down for band practice to make a few music line drawings (below); brainstorm; prepared board (sand down wood, gesso both front and back to prevent warping; sand gesso to an even surface on front)

Initial drawing

Process:

+ Translated music line to new surface with marker and colored pencil– Brush, water and powdered charcoal to quickly darken bright surface and begin to create form– spray-fixed–

+ Gesso for texture and lighter values– spray-fixed–

+ Gouache subtractive painting (cover surface entirely in gouache and subtract areas with rags, brushes and water) to increase darkness and richness of background (useful technique for illustrations with a dark tone, see Pelicana Americana and/or Thin Frog’s Dreary Dream)

+ Put down flat areas of paint and charcoal to create composition and form, and create areas of rest by deleting areas of complex information (to reflect characteristics of the music; how chaotic is the music? How choatic should it appear visually?)

+ Defined image with colored pencil and marker, etc., and colored inks, until finished. Used brush and water to soften edges of water-based markers and bleed colors together in some areas.

Challenges:

Wax particles from colored pencils showed up dramatically in the original scan of the piece, requiring digital attention after scanning, which flattened out some areas.

Final Image

“Get Even” by Odd Dates

Click here to listen to the music of the album (or download it) and to see the final image with the album title text.

Big thanks to Odd Dates (Jeremy and Sam) for sharing your project, it’s been a pleasure collaborating.

The following images are little artworks created from images pulled from my sketchbooks, for the purpose of offering them for sale at an upcoming art exhibit. The show, “Imaginary Friends”, opens on March 1 and features myself and three other fantastic illustrators (Janet Pawlak, Barara R. Counsil, and Kasey Ann; click to view their wonderful works).

]]> http://hnwright-blog.com/2013/02/26/5x7/feed/ 2 hnwright 5x7_01 5x7_04 5x7_02 5x7_06 5x7_03 5x7_05