New projects & new work

Happy Autumn, everyone! My favorite season is here and there are a lot of new, exciting things going on! Two new paintings have recently been uploaded to the gallery section of my website, www.andreakowchillustration.com, so be sure to visit. I will post and discuss them here on the blog soon, too, so stay tuned and check them out on my site in the meantime.

I'm also officially scheduled to have another solo exhibition next summer at RJD Fine Arts Gallery, which I am super-excited about, and I'm currently beginning work on a major painting for two really great clients, which I will reveal at a later date. More large-scale work to come!

I also recently collaborated on a promotional shoot (see image) with emerging photographer, Lindee Robinson, currently a third-year student at my alma mater CCS, who's work totally rocks. Check her out on ModelMayhem and Facebook. I thought I'd share the teaser preview above of my model, Jennifer, and I in character and on location. It was one cold, blustery day for a shoot, and by the end of it, I was literally numb. A great time was had by all, though; more photos to come!

Photo selected to appear in Schmap Boston Guide

I was delighted to find that my photo was discovered and chosen to appear in the newly released Sixth Edition of the Schmap Boston Guide. I love photography, and sometimes do it as a hobby, so I found it pretty cool to see it published. This photo was taken this past summer on my excursion to Salem, MA.

Sneak Peek. . . Coming Soon!

Sneak Peek! Tons of new things from me are coming your way in the coming weeks and months. You probably already noticed the new imagery that graces the header above, as well as the image you see here. If you're wondering, "Hey! Are those the girls from the paintings?" you are correct! Stay tuned for an anthology I'll have coming out later in 2009 filled with past and present work, my personal writings about it, and recent photoshoots of me and my team in action. This is the first time I decided to go all out, leaving the quick reference shots that take place in my studio behind, and actually having my models get into character and go out with me on location. A sure treat for the eyes it will be, folks. In the meantime, think of this as a teaser.

Alongside this personal project, I'm illustrating a full-length children's picture book for the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Motherhouse in Monroe, MI, to be published this summer and due out Christmas 2009. Work has already commenced on it, and I'm excited to now be delving into the long-term project.

Along with that, pages are being filled with new sketches for paintings, canvases are being prepped, a group show is in the works, and new juried competitions will be entered. Lots to stay on top of, and I'll be keeping you all posted!

Time spent in a rural paradise. . .

Last week, friend and fellow painter Kaylen Conley and I spent a whole day catching up, painting en plein air and driving back roads seeking inspiration in Mother Nature. By now it's probably common sense that I frequent the countryside. But not until spending a day on and around Kaylen's farm was I able to thoroughly experience the beauty and solitude of life out in the country. Soft, rolling fields, the call of crows in the distance mingled with the quiet hush of insects in the tall, sweet-smelling grass, the warm sun on my back . . . everything that surrounded me was real, pure, and unmoved . . . and, as expected, it moved me, and confirmed all the thoughts and feelings I associate with it. The most touching moment for me was captured in the shot I took above, where we had to stop the car for the swarms of blackbirds engulfing every direction. It was as if I had stepped into Blackbirds Are Gathering. The weather on that warm autumn day was unmatched, and I was able to capture lots of new reference that will find its way into a couple of new paintings that I currently have in the works.

The above photo was where I sat and painted this quick pen and watercolor study:

And the scene also found its way into my latest sample of children's book work: