Illustration Master Class 2011 - Day 7

Day 7! And suddenly it was all over... well, maybe not just yet. There was still a flurry of activity in the morning as people did last minute work on their paintings or printed out their digital work. Still much to be done and there were some lectures scheduled for the morning that were not to be missed. After lunch everyone had to break down their work stations and have the studios cleared out in preparation for an open house event in the afternoon where people from the community were encouraged to visit and see the work. This was also a chance for everyone to get a good view of their classmate's work and to get sketchbooks signed and to socialize. A really enjoyable conclusion to a truly amazing experience. In the evening everyone met up at the local pool bar and there was much celebration and the playing of pool. Since I had to be up early the next morning to begin my drive back to Florida I had to call it an early night, but a truly fun on none the less. I can't wait to return next year to the 2012 Illustration Master Class!

The view from one of the digital studio windows. That is a really cool tree! Love the branch arrangement, will need to keep that in my reference collection.

A view of the back wall of work in the upstairs painting studio.

Another shot of RC Torres' painting. I am really digging it!

A shot of the far wall of the upstairs painting studio where work is still being done the morning of Day 7.

More displayed work from Greg Manchess. Rebecca Guay's piece is in there too. Beautiful work all around to feast the eyes on.

Though he didn't want me to take the picture here is another photo of Aaron Miller's painting as he takes a break from working on it.

Irene Gallo gave a really great lecture first up in the morning. This was followed by a faculty Q&A where we could ask anything that we forgot to during the week or we wanted the faculty as a group to answer. Not many places on Earth you can get this level of art skill and experience together in one place and pick their minds.

Rebecca told us she really was not going to cry as she gave her closing address.

Tara Larsen Chang oversaw a lot of the details and work in orchestrating the gifts from the student body to the faculty. She had a lot of help from other students but unfortunately I am at a loss for the names of everyone involved. The faculty received leather bound sketchbooks with their names on the covers. They were really sharp looking. Some of the students personalized the sketchbooks with drawings as well. Thanks Tara and everyone involved for making it possible to give something back to the faculty to show our appreciation. Needless to say the faculty got a standing ovation for all their help and time this week and for being so darn awesome.

It is a rather round about story, but sticking to the barest of details I as everyone broke into groups and going off to dinner I ended up in the studios helping clean up and getting everything back in order. This lead to me getting a chance to get a full page drawing in my sketchbook from Iain McCaig as well as being present to when Iain tore up his kneaded eraser and handed everyone a piece so that we could steal his power. We were all contemplating how many drawings this eraser had whipped clean. Iain told us that he goes through two pencils a day everyday and that he goes through a kneaded eraser every six days. Now that is dedication and hard work! All in all, it made it okay that I missed dinner to be there for all that.

That is all for today, Day 8 coverage will be up on the blog tomorrow! Wait... what? Day 8? Yup, just a little more to go over and then on Friday I will take you step by step through the painting I did while at the 2011 Illustration Master Class! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com