a love letter to you from stephen powers.

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artist steve powers, along with the philadelphia mural arts project, has been working on text-based murals along the elevated train line to and from the city of philadelphia, as well as along some of its more run-down areas. the project is called a love letter to you, and it was a collaboration between powers and the community in which the murals are painted - including ideas and stories from the residents themselves.

i am impressed by the sentiment of the murals, along with the great effect that such bright bold colors have against the worn down textures of the buildings.

check out more examples of the murals here

thanks to amy bonner for the heads up on this great project.

jake adams interview.

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the following interview is from the newsletter and website of the alliance for young artists & writers.
jake adams is an 08 grad of WTHS, and was a member of the AP class his senior year. he now attends MICA for painting. check it out!

How did a once aspiring farmer become an aspiring artist?
And what goes on inside the mind of a young surrealist painter?
Just ask Scholastic Art Award alumnus Jake Adams, currently a student at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Adams was recently featured as a Celeste Prize candidate (an international prize for contemporary arts recognizing works in painting, photography and digital graphics, video and animation, installation and sculpture, and live media) for a new multimedia piece entitled Friends, about the impact of digital social media networks on friendships (seen below). Recently, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers caught up with Adams, who spent his summer break in Montecastello, Italy. He tells us how his work has changed since winning a Scholastic Award and what, as a young artist, he sees as some of his biggest challenges.


AYAW: Athletes usually have a stretch, prep, or warm up routine before going out onto the "field." Do you do anything special before going to work in the studio?
JA: I analyze many things and a lot of writing usually occurs. Thumbnails and mini-sketches are also very important to me. I need something to work from because everything from my mind accumulates and I cannot control it. It's like a broken bag of pebbles spilling into a moving stream. It is very hard to catch every thought.

AYAW: How did you end up in Montecastello, Italy, and what are you working on over there?
JA: I had a desire to do different things. [In Montecastello,] I have been painting landscapes and I go out every morning at very early hours and climb up and down mountains to find compositions. It has been a fantastic experience, and I have a new perspective on painting. You could say I have learned how to see better.

AYAW: Does location (such as a foreign place) or physical environment (such as weather) have a major influence on your work?
JA: Here it does. Montecastello is another universe. It's pretty much been the same here for hundreds of years, which I think is what makes this place beautiful. I think I am-- or any artist is-- forced to just see and think about seeing. The art work I make here is completely spiritually based because of this. It is unavoidable.

AYAW: How do you feel your work has changed in the last few years? Is there anything you're especially proud of?
JA: As a student, I am still learning. I don't know if I am proud of any one piece but I always feel good when I try new things. When I do that, I usually discover something within that process which I can then use in a series or concentration of work in progress. I also believe that as an artist I shall never be completely satisfied. Making a piece of art is like trying to catch a butterfly that is too high above you. You may try and try, but you will never catch it. That's how you make the most beautiful work. If everything was "finished," then no one would have anything to talk about.

AYAW: What's the most important piece of advice you would give to people who are applying for a Scholastic Art & Writing Award, or who are thinking about applying?
JA: Make sure your work is somewhat unified. You can have different media, but keep it all together process-wise. Let it say something as a whole.
She Is Land, He Is Sky (2008)

AYAW: What do you see as one of the biggest challenges facing young artists today?
JA: It's going to be very hard to be inventive. Many things have already been done. But if you still wake up in the morning with a desire to create, then that means you should probably just keep producing. Chances are you will make something that nobody has ever seen before if you keep working.

fall playlist.

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i finally remembered to change the 'playlist' widget on the right side of this page. its only taken me, oh, 6 months.
some great fall albums in heavy rotation right now... some new, some old... but all great music to follow the changing leaves.

  • the avett brothers - i and love and you (the format + folk music)
  • pearl jam - backspacer (classic pj sound... + piano)
  • tom petty - wildflowers (a forgotten classic. make it to the end... "crawling back to you" is awesome)
  • david gray - draw the line (perfect autumn music. full of textured acoustic instrumentation)
  • wilco - summerteeth (not my favorite wilco album, but perfect for right now)

artist of the week :: erik otto

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erik otto is another artist i stumbled upon while reading JUXTAPOZ... usually i find the best artists in the ads for shows, rather than in their feature articles... and he is another example of this.

i was immediately drawn in because of the wild textural surfaces mixed with the really smooth forground objects. its the perfect combination of pop art and street art - the clean and crisp right next to the grit.
if you want to see more, check out his website

art show!

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first off - its been too long since i have posted. busy summer, to say the least.

one reason its been so busy is that i have a solo art show at the little theater cafe and gallery.

it will be paintings, drawings, digital, and mixed-media works all based on jazz music and musicians. its a culmination of a few years worth of work...

opening reception on august 23rd, from 5-7pm.
the show will be up until sept. 19.

i hope you can join us for the opening!

studio in art stop motion videos

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my studio in art classes made stop-motion animation videos this year for the first time. i am so proud of what they did. these short films represent 7 class periods worth of work. the students (mostly 9th grade) worked in teams of 3 to come up with ideas based around the theme of 'a day in the life of..." they had to make one aspect of their character's daily routine.

you can see the results below... some of the music has copyright issues, so the music may be different in the youtube versions, but links to view (and/or save) them on your computer are below each one.


jessie leah & johanna


aaron & taylor


alex maryana & joe


alison nick & sofiya


allison val & kendall


brian travis & robel


brienna haley & hannah


casey & amy


danica rose & bree


danielle casey & mary


greg stefan & steve


jess alyssa & siobhan


zoe loren & ceylan


micky john & bryan


tiffany joey & jazmin

may & june :: great new music

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i have spent much too much money on music in the past month... and june should be no different.
looking for something new to liven up your spring? try these:

wilco - wilco (the album)
manchester orchestra - mean everything to nothing
iron & wine - around the well
green day - 21st century breakdown
sparklehorse - dark night of the soul
eels - hombre lobo
grizzly bear - veckatimest
phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
bob dylan - together through life
doves - kingdom of rust
conor oberst and the mystic mountain band - outer south
metric - fantasies

and new to me... grateful dead - blues for allah

stop-motion video :: "sweet dreams"

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today, my studio in art students started their final project, a stop-motion animation film. each group of 3 students will be responsible for 30-60 seconds of film, at 4 frames/second. their first day of brainstorming was awesome - i cant wait to see what they come up with. i'll post the final results on june 11th.

heres a video that we watched in class today - creative, funny, and touching. enjoy!

brittany arnold :: senior exhibition images

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i am so proud to have my first group of ap students graduating from art school this year.
brittany arnold has her work featured in the MICA senior BFA show. the pictures above are from BmoreArt Blog.
note the fine detail of brittany's pen work spread over huge expanses - creating a atmospheric haze of forms... i feel like im looking out the window of a plane flying above the clouds. its a wonderful panoramic escape.

for more information, or to purchase work, you can contact brittany at: BrittanyAmodeoArnold@gmail.com