Jim Higgins: Getting Into Comics Workshop ~ Oct. 21, 2018 1pm-6pm $75

[click here to register]

Preston Craig

Painting and drawing allows me freedom to address some of the social ills that plague our modern society and to paint what I feel, not necessarily what I see. Having grown up in a rural setting and having had opportunities to travel and live overseas, I decided to paint what I saw in my mind’s eye while referencing what I experienced around me.
The nature of my work is that through the use of varied imagery, classical and digital painting techniques and humor, I sometimes utilize teddy bear images to address contemporary, social issues that are relevant and that affect the human race on a physical and spiritual level. Some paintings are a result of investigating my Native American roots (Choctaw), while others are a result of my spiritual quest and studies in Jungian symbology, Shamanic practices and Aboriginal Dreamtime myth. Through my Twisted Teddys” series and other imagery, I hope the viewer is inspired to be more aware of their global connections to each other and to take personal responsibility for effecting positive change in society.
I’ve worked with drug addicts, the homeless, victims of sexual abuse, young people who have been incarcerated, and have friends in the porn industry so I have definitely seen some of the seedier side of life. I’ve seen how people can make a bad decision and get trapped in that decision. They are unable to figure out how to get out of the situation in which they find themselves. With that in mind, my artistic goal is that I aspire to achieve positive social change with my art.

Title: AlasFairTeddy
Caption: Alas Fare Teddy
Description: The image was inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, and targets suicide prevention.
Title: BodybuilderTeddy1
Caption: Bodybuilder Teddy
Description: This image addresses the prevalence of sports enhancing drugs in our society.
Title: GangstaTeddy1
Caption: Gangsta Teddy
Description: This image addresses not only the loss of innocence but how that innocence can be twisted.
Title: HomelessTeddy
Caption: Homeless Teddy
Description: This image addresses the plight of the homeless and how they are viewed by society.
Title: RedneckTeddy
Caption: Redneck Teddy
Description: This image addresses racism and bigotry in our society and how that is passed on to our children.
Title: CruciTeddy
Caption: Cruci Teddy
Description: This image addresses the theme of physical, sexual or emotional abuse of children. The teddy bear is an iconic image of childhood innocence. Christ on the cross is a premiere image of innocence sacrificed. When a child is abused, their innocence is sacrificed.
Title: WonderlandA
Caption: Wonderland - the Fairy Princess
Description: Commissioned piece for a friend.
Title: VirginPostcard
Caption: Virgin Galactic
Description: A spec promo piece created for Virgin Airways.
Title: BookCover
Caption: The Goggle-Eyed Green Hairy Monster and Me
Description: Book cover I designed for a children's book
Title: HairyMonsterPage5
Caption: The Goggle-Eyed Green Hairy Monster and Me.
Description: (Interior illustration) of The Goggle-Eyed Green Hairy Monster and Me.
Title: S Stotzer
Caption: Okay, You Have My Attention
Description: Commissioned piece for a promoter of AA.
Title: MurderbyGaslamp
Caption: Murder by Gas Lamp
Description: Jack-the-Ripper prowls the dark streets of London.
Title: ShadowsintheDarkness9x12
Caption: Shadows in the Darkness
Description: A Queen under the sea, surveys her empire and ponders the threat of impending evil. Illustration for a Sci-Fy magazine
Title: WineCountry
Caption: Wine Country
Description: An image from the wine country of Napa Valley for the tourist industry.

Adriana Raby

Adriana Raby was born in Philadelphia, PA the youngest of three, in an Italian family (Go Eagles!) Some sort of writing device was always in her hand. She moved to Sarasota FL, (an hour below Tampa on the Gulf side) in elementary school. Adriana went to a visual and performing arts magnet high school where she was fortunate in having art during half her day. She has a BFA from Ringling College of Art and Design.

In 2010 she and her boyfriend went cross-country for three weeks. The experience was amazing and she scrap booked and sketched the whole time!

She is not your average Visual Artist.
“I am a people person. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy putting my head phones on and getting lost in my work, however; I get my energy from being around others. I try to learn as much as I can from mini trips and meeting new people. I live in Los Angeles, I’m going to go on game shows and immerse myself in this fun culture! “

She is a person who is always in a good mood, enjoys solving problems, anything pop culture, and LOVES being busy.

Title: “Banff” (2018)
Caption: Sketched with graphite and colored in Photoshop.
Description: I made a sketch of a photo I took in Banff, Canada. I scanned the sketch into my computer and colored the illustration with a dry brush on Photoshop.
Title: “Peru” (2017)
Caption: Sketched with graphite, colored with watercolor, and modified in Photoshop.
Description: I made a sketch of a photo I took in Peru. I scanned the sketch into my computer before I added watercolor. After adding watercolor to the original image I scanned the new one in. I played around with the two layers and finished the finial image.
Title: Overpopulation” (2008)
Caption: Executed with oil pastel and “cleaned up” on Photoshop.
Description: My senior thesis at Ringling College of Art and Design was about overpopulation. I took a photo of the Sarasota High School parking lot. Because it was a very busy image I would cover large sections and look at the small portion visible. When I was drawing I concentrated on the shapes and colors more than the subject matter. When I was finished I scanned it into my computer and colored in the spots of white still showing the illustration board underneath.
Title: “Venice” (2013)
Caption: Sketched with graphite and colored in Photoshop.
Description: I made a sketch of a photo I took in Venice, Italy. I scanned the sketch into my computer and colored the illustration with a basic brush on Photoshop.
Title: “Messy Bessy” (2015)
Caption: Sketched with graphite and colored/enhanced with Photoshop.
Description: Messy Bessy is a character I made up for a children’s book I would like to publish on Amazon. I made some preliminary sketches experimenting with her outfit and hairstyle. I use pop culture (old and new) to inspire my ideas.
Title: “Cruiser” (2016)
Caption: Sketched with graphite and colored/enhanced with Photoshop.
Description: I love my bike and I had to draw it. This was drawn from life. I scanned my sketchbook illustration into my computer and cleaned up the lines with a few filters. One layer is the coloring and the second layer is the illustration.
Title: “Paper Back Writer” (2016)
Caption: Sketched with graphite and colored/enhanced with Photoshop.
Description: I love typewriter and I had to draw it. This was drawn from life. I scanned my sketchbook illustration into my computer and cleaned up the lines with a few filters. One layer is the coloring and the second layer is the illustration.
Title: “Still Life” (2007)
Caption: Executed with oil paint.
Description: I painted this at Ringling College of Art and Design. This was paining from life. I first painted this with only bright colors with color temperature. I painted on top of the colors with white shades. The colors showed through the painting when I was finished.
Title: “Man” (2007)
Caption: Executed with graphite.
Description: I drew this at Ringling College of Art and Design. This is an image I drew in my sketchbook for a figure drawing class.
Title: “Woman” (2007)
Caption: Executed with oil paint.
Description: “Woman” (2007): Executed with oil paint. I painted this at Ringling College of Art and Design. This is an image I painted from life in my figure drawing class.
Title: “Westie” (2017)
Caption: Sketched with graphite/marker, and colored/modified in Photoshop.
Description: I made a sketch of a photo I took of my dog. I scanned the sketch into my computer and colored the illustration with a dry brush on Photoshop.
Title: “Zoo” (2017)
Caption: Sketched with graphite.
Description: I saw someone make sketches of animals on Instagram at a Zoo. So, I went to the LA Zoo and sketched some animals. OMG, so much fun! I drew a meerkat and a black bear in this image.

Rick Sealock

I love illustration. Although illustration possesses few secure signposts pointing the way to success, it offers enormous freedom – of medium, style, and content. And on a societal level, illustrators are expected to be the seers of contemporary culture. They pick at the many threads making up our various cultures – political, social, economic, artistic, etc., – and weave them into challenging images that are both read and responded to. Illustrators have the freedom to simultaneously consume and create, and their work does exactly the same. It is a profession that draws from and adds to our cultures, with the potential to effect immense change.

Title: John Entwistle
Caption: An Illustrated History: John Entwistle Hotel Room.
Description: A image illustrating the demise of Who bassist John Entwistle at the hard Rock Hotel, during a long night with a stripper and a bunch of cocaine for Desert Companion Magazine, NPR
Title: PQ Pauline Marois
Caption: Parti Pooper
Description: Nineteen months after Pauline Marois led the Parti Québécois to victory, she dragged it to defeat. How will history remember the province’s Iron Lady?
Title: Hawksley Workman
Caption: Our Country: Hawksley Workman
Description: Workman had won critical acclaim for his blend of glam rock with cabaret pop while being inspired by the panorama of the Canadian Shield
Title: DC Area 51
Caption: The Truth is Out Where?
Description: A image created for Desert Companion Magazine NPR article:I needed to know: Are aliens real? So I took a ride around the perimeter of Area 51. On my bike!