Heartbeat

I am very proud to be a part of the new Dalvero Academy exhibition Journey of Transformation that just opened at Mystic Seaport this past weekend. This exhibit is a follow up to our previous show at the Seaport a few years ago, and is focused around the 38th Voyage of the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaleship in the world, and it's new message of education and conservation. There is incredible and inspiring work by 29 artists, and I am honored to be one of them!

Part of my contribution to the show is an animation called "Heartbeat". This animated short follows the life of a baby whale whose mother is killed during the heyday of American whaling in the 19th century. It continues through our destructive relationship with whales over the decades, using the bodies of whales for everything from illuminants, to industrial lubricant, to food. As our perceptions of whales, and our relationship with them changes, a new song of empathy and compassion is formed to sail forward into a more hopeful future.

You can view the animation below:


I hope you will go and check out the show if you are in the area!

I was fortunate enough to be on the Morgan's 38th Voyage last summer (you can read about my experience here). The wonderful composer for this animation was a fellow 38th Voyager, Gary Wikfors. He composed and performed all the music for this piece using an octaveharpa, nyckelharpa, tenor mandola, octave mandola, mandocello, and mandolin. What an experience it was working with a real composer! I couldn't be more grateful for his dedication and beautiful work.

Summer!


It's been a while since my last post, but there have been many wonderful exciting things happening! First, at the end of June, I got married! It was amazing and surreal, and feels like a beautiful dream already. In between the relaxing on our honeymoon in Provincetown, I did a few thumbnails of a sunset that was too amazing not to draw.




In less romantic but still exciting news, my reportage of Jerusalem was a part of an international exhibition of reportage illustration for the Reportager Award at the University of the West of England. So wonderful to be included and to see reportage work being appreciated!


I am also very honored to be representing Dalvero Academy and Canson on one of a new plein air drawing pads, all featuring Dalvero Artists! So exciting! My drawing is on the Illustration pad, with the beautiful work of Margaret Hurst on Canva Paper, Julia Sverchuk on Mixed Media, and Veronica Lawlor on watercolor. So exciting! Go check them out!


 There's also a blurb about Dalvero Academy on the inside cover!


And finally, in a sneak preview, I just received the first round of printed proofs from my upcoming book The Storyteller!


Can't wait to share the whole book with everyone! Many exciting things to come!

Life Drawing



I just finished an amazing workshop with Dalvero Academy, drawing from the model for four days straight. It doesn't get any better than great teachers, great friends, great models, and tons of drawing! It's always a great place to explore and try new things. Here are a few of the drawings from last weekend.






The Charles W. Morgan: The Main Topmast: Part 2


For the second part of my day at Mystic Seaport, we were able to see the crew pull the Charles W. Morgan out into the river and turn her 180 degrees towards the shipyard. Quentin Snediker, director of the restoration, offered us the chance to ride in one of the small boats in the river for the operation, so my friend and fellow Dalvero Academy member, Jennifer Kiamzon, and I jumped at the chance and hopped in. Other Academy members were onboard the Morgan itself or perched on top of some nearby scaffolding.


Seeing the enormous ship from the water was such an exhilarating experience! The tiny boats like the one we were in rotated around the Morgan like a school of little fish around a giant whale. The little one in the drawing above had a powerful motor, and hooked itself onto her bow and began pulling the Morgan into the river.


We drifted peacefully away from the whaleship as the other boats pushed and pulled her massive heft into the river. Suddenly we heard Quentin shout the name of our boat over the walkie-talkie and the driver gunned the engine and headed for the Morgan's hull.


Before we knew it Jen and I were flailing back as Paul, aboard our boat, leapt over us and braced himself against the hull of the Morgan as our boat rammed into her side.


We peered up at the towering masts as Quentin surveyed the boats over the side of the Morgan and shouted orders to push and rotate her into place.


We moved away, and then rushed in several times for Paul to leap forward and press against the boat.


As the Morgan finished her rotation, the boats dispersed and we headed back to dock.



She now faces in towards the shipyard with her monumental prow jutting out over the dock.



For a couple of landlubbers it was an amazing experience! Peering up at her towering masts from the water made me imagine what it must have been like for the sailors in the whaleboats on the hunt, seeing much this same view as they prepared for a grueling, cruel chase in the open ocean. One behemoth looming above them, and another diving beneath.

Disney's Electric Light Parade



I just returned from another wonderful drawing workshop in DisneyWorld, Florida, with Dalvero Academy. 9 days of drawing and study in the hottest place on Earth! I decided to post a series of cut paper sample posters I did of the Electric Light Parade in Magic Kingdom from my trip last year that never got posted. It's always a lot of fun to hear the beeping and whirring come down the street, with all the main lights off and just the twinkling of the parade and the outlines of Main Street USA. Plus, the retro video game music kind of puts you in a trance after a long day of drawing.



 

 


(I am not affiliated with Disney in any way, nor are the posters. They are just for fun.)

The Launch of the Charles W. Morgan


“Human beings have always celebrated resurrection, restoration, renewal and return.
The only thing greater than the miracle of life itself can sometimes seem to be
the miracle of something brought back to life…"
 Ric Burns, Mystic Seaport, July 21, 2013


This July 21st, the 172nd anniversary of the Charles W. Morgan’s first voyage, the last wooden whaleship in the world was lowered back into the Mystic River after 5 years of painstaking restoration.

I have been documenting the restoration of the Morgan with Dalvero Academy since 2009, so it was a very exciting day for us to be able to witness and document her return to the water. Our show, Restoring a Past, Charting a Future, will still be on view at Mystic Seaport through this September.


We arrived the day before to see her out on dry land one last time, this time perched at the edge of the pier on her stilts.


The Morgan boasted a fresh new paint job since our last visit, with numbers on her bow that we knew would soon be submerged in the river. 


Most of the ship we had drawn and explored for 4 years would soon be gone, and I couldn’t help feeling a bit of melancholy along with the excitement.



The next morning, we arrived early to see the set-up, only to be greeted by giant storm clouds and intermittent downpours. We huddled inside sheds, under overhangs, and under the tents watching as the ship’s crew prepared for the day ahead.


The crew toasted her rebirth with a swig of rum, and then passed the bottle to us, like part of the team.


Finally the clouds parted, and crowds began to fill every corner of the shipyard. 


Quentin Snediker, the head of the shipyard and our guide through the restoration process, attended to the preparations with stoic calm.


More and more spectators filtered in, buzzing with anticipation.


State troopers surrounded the center platform as curious kayakers began to flock around the river to watch the ceremony.


The speeches began with the president of Mystic Seaport, Stephen C. White, as he proclaimed the magnitude and the significance of the Morgan’s next journey.


Camera crews swirled as the dignitaries gave their speeches, with the keynote from documentary filmmaker, Ric Burns.


The honor of the christening of the ship was given to Sarah Bullard, the great-great-great granddaughter of Charles W. Morgan himself.


Bullard’s granddaughter, little Polly Morgan and her family waved to her from the crowd. She will be the next generation to inherit the Morgan and her legacy.


The snowy haired duo, Quentin Snediker and Sarah Bullard, stood beneath crowning bow of the ship, like proud parents sending their daughter off into the world.


The ship would be christened with water from each of the seas the Morgan sailed, and a drop of rum for luck.


With a crash, Bullard inaugurated the Morgan's descent into the water, and a cheer erupted from the shipyard and the river.


We all watched as she began to disappear into the river, and I noticed Quentin looking on. Only he and the shipwrights could know the thousands of hours and hands that went into carefully shaping each timber and plank of wood that now disappeared beneath the water, gently cradling the ship and keeping her afloat. At the end of her slow descent, the numbers on her bow vanished, one by one into the water. As the '9' broke the surface, the call went out "She is afloat!" and again the crowd burst into raucous applause.


As she went beneath the water, I imagined all the hands and souls that left their mark and went down with her. I watched her there, half submerged, hoping that the generations to come will know how far her depths reach below that water.


"Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" at Mystic Seaport, Part 2


This is a drawing I made at last summer's Sea Shanty Festival in Mystic Seaport. Check out posts and drawings from other artists from the upcoming show "Restoring a Past, Charting a Future" by Dalvero Academy.

Alex Charner
Audrey Hawkins
Julia Sverchuk
Bill Martin
Si-Yeon Lee
Christine Foltzer
Danielle McManus
Rosa Lee
Veronica Lawlor