About the Artist

Tom Motley is a comic artist and cartoon illustrator.  A native of Denver, Colorado, Tom moved to Brooklyn about a year and a half ago and now resides happily in Kensington, along with his wife and daughters.  He teaches cartooning at the School of Visual Arts and the Abrons Arts Center, and his Tragic Strips appear monthly in The Brooklyn Rail.

Tom’s cartoons range from the funny to the grotesque, and include a healthy measure of surrealist play and formal experimentation.  The illustrations shown here are from a book of short stories, The One Marvelous Thing, by Rikki Ducornet, published by Dalkey Archive Press.

You can find Tom’s Aline the Alien comics for kids at Kidjutsu.com, visit his sketch blog, and check out his website for more cartoons and illustrations.

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Under The Brooklyn Bridge

Japanese Garden

Red Hook

Artist Statement

I moved to Brooklyn 22 years ago to study at Pratt Institute. I had a great teacher, David Passalacqua. I studied with him at Pratt and then for 14 years after that. The education I received was filled with wisdom that continues to slowly unfold each day.

Years back, I gave myself a project to create a poster that I would publish on my own. I chose Brooklyn as my theme since I had just spent a lot of time photographing and drawing Red Hook and Coney Island and I truly love the borough. I began thumbnailing and decided to create images with the feel of folk art and quilts. I decided that collages would best convey the pictures I wanted to make. Above are three of my favorite collages form the poster, Red Hook, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Japanese Garden at Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Today my goal is to create art, to be surrounded by art and continue to be inspired by art from all walks of life. I love art.

Contact
annsimkins@aol.com
http://snoballsandcandycorn.wordpress.com/

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“Hair Urchin”
Oil based ink on white rag paper (paper origin unknown)
16 x 16 in.
2008

“She never saw it coming either”
Oil based ink on white Arches paper
30 x 22 in.
2008

“Vanity Curls”
22 x 30 in.
Oil based ink on white Arches paper
2008

Artist Statement

My artistic vision takes traditionally unsavory subjects and playfully seeks to extract beauty from them, suggesting that the viewer always take a second look–that which repulses us has equal capacity to attract and fascinate.  Having previously used human hair to render line physical in paintings, I am now using drawing and printmaking to achieve the effect of hair (the whirl, the loop, the ringlet) without reverting to a material so burdened by its historical connotations. I find that the immediacy of drawing–either in the traditional sense or via monotypes–lends itself to my process of constructing dense forms out of line en masse.  In larger conceptual terms, I am greatly informed by the idea of the abject, the gendered, and the liminal in these recent explorations. Through ongoing experimentation with line quality and layering, I have come closer to the place I had been seeking with these new works: an oeuvre that flirts with the universal by emphasizing the curious and unexpected.

Website

http://meghankeanestudio.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/meghankeanestudio/57207652532

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All the details @ www.BrooklynBlogfest.com

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Untitled

Iris

Lexi No. 2

Artist Statement

I am a self-taught photographer who grew up in Dallas, TX and now live in New York City. When creating my work I look for interesting colors, patterns, and textures that will create a dynamic palette in the final photo. I am intrigued by the interaction of humans and nature to create “hidden” art. This hidden art presented as abstract photography with dramatic colors and textures has now become a very prominent feature in my work.

The body of work that I am working on currently is Water Colors. The Water Colors Collection combines my intrigue in the art of painting and my love of photography and colors. Water Colors initially appear, perhaps, as an artist’s painting but could be called “nature’s paintings” because nature and time provide the texture and patterns that transform the ordinary subjects into discovered art. This art is then captured through the lens of the camera.

Water Colors photos are taken with a digital camera and software is used to brighten the colors to their rich and vibrant levels. Every Water Colors print is unique and everyone’s “vision” individual.

Website

http://www.melissaannegallery.com

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I knew Bob casually through the Brooklyn blog network, which is to say that I would see him at events here and there. He was an incredibly devoted and passionate writer, ceaselessly covering local stories.  I remember riding at last year’s Tour de Brooklyn and seeing him on a street corner by the Brooklyn Navy Yard. You never knew where he would turn up. His energy and enthusiasm were matchless. He was dedicated to his craft and giving the community a voice for positive change. It was meeting people like Bob that gave me the inspiration to start this site. My deepest sympathy to his friends and family.

See Flatbush Gardener for more remembrances.

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