Subway Sketching Postponed until Sunday Jan 4th

Subway sketching has been postponed until Sunday Jan 4th. Everyone is away on vacation and I came down with the chickenpox!!

Digital Painting Video, Schoolism Online Class info and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

Schoolism.com updates:
Online classes open for Registration...
Jan 05 - Character Design by Silver
Jan 23 - The Art of Caricature with Jason Seiler
Feb 16 - Digital Painting Techniques with Bobby Chiu
Feb 20 - Building a Powerful Comic Book Portfolio with Alvin Lee

Jan 26 - Storyboarding with Kris Pearn - FULL

Also for those interested, our own Thierry Lafontaine will be conducting another digital painting class at Sheridan College
Location : Trafalgar Campus (Oakville)
Sessions : 09
Days : Tue : 07:00 PM to 10:00 PM
StartDate : Jan 13
Price: $323.02
Sign up HERE

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Now I'd like to post something that's been long over due... a new videocast

This one is about random thoughts and things I think help to make a successful artist.

Topics for this video is creating your own luck, recognizing the important moments in your life and other topics...



Here's the finished sketch. The painting took an hour and 40 minutes but was sped up to match the audio.


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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
I was sent this the other day. I thought it was interesting so I'd like to share it with all of you.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary..

My confession :

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees... I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.


My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,


Ben Stein

Andy Bernard Sketch!

This is Ed Helms as Andy Bernard from the show "The Office".

The other night I received and email from Ed, it was a really cool surprise! This is what he wrote.


"This is Ed Helms. I was alerted to your recent blog posting featuring a very fat-necked version of me. Part of me thinks I should be mad at you, but I'm too busy laughing. The fact is, I am completely enamored with your caricature of me!! It is absolutely hilarious and I'm flattered to be one of your subjects. As narcissistic as it may be, I'd love to get a version to frame in my office. Even just a copy. Is that possible?
Meanwhile have a great holiday!
A new fan -
Ed"

Merry Christmas Wolf!

Happy Holidays everybody! Just a little something I did for our cards this year :)



...and Little Red said to Wolf,
"Merry Christmas!"
and forgave him for eating her grandma.

7 x 10 1/2 inches, pencils on paper

<3 Kei

Midnight Swim

Hi everyone!
This is my first post since I joined Imaginism Studios. I'm happy to share with you a new piece I collaborated with Bobby Chiu. The little boy is in a mysterious swamp preparing for a midnight swim!

Hope you like it!

Peter

How to Talk to Girls... more news!

From NBC's Today Show - more about 'How to Talk to Girls' by Alec Greven. Illustrated by our own Kei Acedera.

Click on the image to see the video


Alec was also on the Ellen Degeneres show earlier this week.


From CNN..


and from The NYPost