Although I haven’t yet read very much of his work, Dickens definitely has a spot on my short-list of favorite writers. After reading The Pickwick Papers last year I couldn’t resist exploring three of the characters a little further, and although these fellows were featured in a blog post recently, I wanted to resurrect Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, and Mr. Winkle to help celebrate their creators’ birthday:

Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle

Dickens’ writing is sensitive and funny, helped to define the literary world in his time, and paved the road ahead for some of my other favorite authors of the 19th and 20th centuries. In celebration of his birthday, I plan on beginning Great Expectations tonight (and I shall refrain here from making any puns on what I expect of that novel based on the title).

Happy Birthday, Dickens! Thank you for creating such enjoyable books.

While I feel I did do a really great job soaking up information like a sponge and bringing it home to be implemented, I most definitely did not do a great job documenting my experience there. The one and only photo from my trip was a blurry walk-through shot in Grand Central while on my way to grab lunch, seen here. Go me! Words will just have to work instead of pictures here.

The weekend was so densely packed with goodness that it’s hard to narrow the event down to any concise high-point, but a few moments stood out:

To really sum it up, my feeling is this: I went to a fantastic art school where I learned a lot about the technique and conceptual craft of illustration, but I did not learn much about the specific business of children’s book illustration, primarily because classes in that subject were first offered the year after I graduated. This weekend filled in many of those knowledge gaps in one fell swoop. Worth it? Totally.

P.S: To further cap it off, I came home after the conference to find this on my door-step:

It’s a copy of the new 3×3 Illustration Directory! And they were incredibly generous to me:

Hello there, two-page spread! Thank you so much, 3×3, for including my work in your directory, and for giving my Moon Sisters a wonderfully mysterious environment.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get to work on a picture book!

In a few hours I am leaving for a trip down to New York for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators annual conference, but before heading out the door I wanted to squeeze in a quick blog entry to share some recent work. Here are two illustrations I created for the current (January 2012) issue of “The Little Lutheran” and “The Little Christian” magazines. The assignment was to illustrate an article about Dan West, the founder of Heifer International, which, in my opinion, is one of the best charity organizations that exists today. Learning more about Dan’s life was such a treat; he was an inspiring and compassionate man, and his life’s work has made a profound and lasting positive impact on many of the poorest parts of the world.

The next time you’re feeling charitable, head on over to the Heifer website and give someone the gift of a goat, or some bees, or a flock of geese! There’s a whole menagerie to choose from. Many thanks to my art director Amber for such a wonderful assignment.

This morning I received news that my former teacher, mentor, and great friend Dugald Stermer has passed away. I have known that he was unwell for quite a while now, but the email still felt like a punch in the gut.

In my time at CCA I had the extreme good fortune to kindle lasting friendships with two of the wonderful professors there, one of whom was Dugald. He was the first member of the illustration department that I met (on my very first visit when scouting out the school), and by the time thesis class and graduation rolled around, he had become an inspiring mentor. After graduation he scooped me up to become his teaching assistant and studio assistant, and thus began a friendship that has had profound impact on my life, my career, and the way I view my work.

The first years out of art school can be very hard, but Dugald was a steadying influence in that time, and an encouraging guide into the professional world of illustration. Once a week I got to retreat with Dugald into his studio – a room furnished in rustic wood and leather, with dim, moody lighting, walls lined with rows of antique left-handed guitars and the original artworks of his friends, lots and lots of books, and all manner of interesting and strange objects on display. It was not large, but he had turned the space into a palace of his craft. As his studio assistant my job was to help him prepare his work for clients, send out postcards and mailers, keep things tidy and organized, and catalogue his work in a giant flat file cabinet.

This last “task” was the best of all. Each drawer revealed a treasury of precise craftsmanship and jewel-like watercolors. Dugald’s depictions of animals and botanicals were exquisite, with an old-world quality and a great deal of sensitivity to them. Those drawers contained breathtaking pictures of bears, elephants, octopi, tigers, dogs, seahorses, flowers, fish, trees – it seemed like almost anything living under the sun or the sea was found within.  He never rushed me to organize it quickly, so I had the privilege to handle each piece with care, to inspect slowly and soak in his work while preparing his paper menagerie and botanical gardens to be stored away. Dugald could make anything look beautiful. He liked to joke that his strangest commission was one of his recent ones, where the client requested that he draw a pile of dirt. But opening up that large file drawer, there it was: a beautiful pile of dirt, rendered with loving care.

Up in the studio we would chat pleasantly as we worked, but every day he would insist on treating me to lunch, and down in the cafe we could dig in and have real conversations over our break. Getting to know Dugald’s mind was as much a privilege as getting to know his artwork. A man of strong convictions and principles, Dugald was a treat to talk with. Over lunch we would discuss books, history, the illustration community, and current events, all of which he had strong opinions on – I respected him for that. A philanthropist and a generous soul, he gave in a multitude of ways to the Delancy Street foundation, an organization that helps to rehabilitate men and women from prison, allowing them to re-join society gracefully and find strength in themselves. Dugald’s studio was housed in their San Francisco headquarters, and it was evident how much the people there loved and respected him. Out in the courtyard, everyone we crossed paths with would wave and smile and say “Hey, Dugald!” They very clearly loved him, and this was the kind of loyalty and friendship that Dugald inspired naturally.

To say that my time working with him was inspiring is just not saying enough. It was a true privilege to have him as a mentor, and I feel so lucky to have been able to come to his studio once a week and spend time with this great man.  The last time I saw Dugald was in June; we went out for lunch one last time before I moved out east. He was kind and encouraging as always, and excited about the new path that life was leading me down. He was always excited for the next generation of illustrators. At the end of that meeting I had the eerie feeling that that was the last time I would be seeing Dugald. It was a hard day then, but it’s an even harder one now.

This small coloring job actually prompted a lot of introspection about my feelings on digital vs. traditional painting; feelings that I will share with you later, when I don’t have to run off and cook up some dinner.

I made this little lady yesterday after deciding to pull out a painting material that I haven’t used for a long time: diluted ink washes! This is a medium that I love, but mysteriously haven’t employed since the early days of art school. I pulled out a little jar with completely dried up ink residue, re-constituted it with some water, then spent a pleasant afternoon experimenting. She is 2.5″ wide by 7″ tall, and I admit it, a bit of influence from the A Song of Ice and Fire series seems to be creeping in here. What can I say, she’s medieval.

P.S: bonus points to anyone who can tell from this post what series I’m reading right now.

]]> http://www.ashleybenham.com/blog/2011/07/21/gesture/feed/ 1 http://www.ashleybenham.com/blog/2011/07/14/new-place-new-space-many-changes/ http://www.ashleybenham.com/blog/2011/07/14/new-place-new-space-many-changes/#comments Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:43:56 +0000 Ashley http://www.ashleybenham.com/blog/?p=307 There’s certainly been a hush around here for the past few months, but for good reason. My blog may have been quiet, but I’ve been very busy!

First of all, last month I completed my second ever cross-country move.  Goodbye, San Francisco, hello Cambridge!  Goodbye delicious artisanal coffee, incredible fresh produce, and smelly Muni buses (oh, how I weep for those first two); hello dramatic summer thunderstorms, lovely fall leaves, and cold snowy days! Goodbye summer sweaters; hello again, airy summer dresses!  You get the picture.

This is a very welcome change, and it feels like a clean slate and a fresh start for both myself and my art. I’m so ready for it! One of the greatest changes is previewed below:

HELLO, STUDIO!!!

Sorry, I got a little excited there. For the first time post-college, I have my own room in which to work. I’m nesting in, transforming it into a warm and welcoming creative haven, but it’s still got a ways to go. Right now I’ll only let you peek at one corner of it above – my library and drawing table. It’s all quite a work in progress, but rest assured, it will be beautiful, and I can’t wait to share more in a future post.

And now for the second piece of news:

Dara and I are engaged!!! This happened in late May, but I’m still giddy at the thought. It’s a big step forward that both of us are so excited for (I mean, we’ve been together for almost seven years!). He’s busy attending the graduate acting program at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard, which is why we relocated; I’m so proud of him, and excited for our future together! Our wedding isn’t for a year, but my mind is already wrapped up in white silk, peachy flowers, and wedding garlands. ♥

Enjoy the summer, everyone! I’ll be back soon with some new art to share.

Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, Mr. Winkle

Lately I have been engrossed in my first ever Dickens novel, The Pickwick Papers, and what a treat it is!  Work and other interferences have made it a very long read for me, and most recently it has been set aside (at chapter 51 of 53 – almost there!) while I indulged in a little drawing of three of the characters.

It’s a very different novel than I had initially thought it would be, mostly because it is completely hilarious - Dara can attest to my frequent giggle fits while reading. At the time it was written Dickens intended this serial novel to be a satire of popular men’s clubs of the day, and it follows one such fictional group – The Pickwick Club – and the adventures of four of its (often bumbling) members.  Here are Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Tupman, and Mr. Winkle (who you should never take hunting with you! See above).  Mr. Pickwick himself may show up in a future drawing, and maybe the delightful Sam Weller too, but first things first: time to finish the book!