PaulSketch

Firefly Hymn

2012-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

Painted illustration for the short story Firefly Hymn by David Barrett Graver.

Soho Art Exhibit

2011-12-11T14:23:00.001-08:00

I'm excited to be exhibiting with this group of talented artists again! This time in Soho. So join us for a Heineken / buy some art / and help out an animal sanctuary. It's probably the best way to get on Santa's good list while buying a gift.

Oil Warm Up

2011-12-09T21:23:00.001-08:00

Warmed up before a session of painting with a quick Leyendecker girl.

Shakespeare in the Park

2011-11-13T20:10:00.001-08:00

Gouache.

2011-11-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

oil and paper on canvas, 18x24"

On exhibit Nov 7 - 30 at the Monkey Lounge on 23 and 3rd Avenue, Manhattan

Red Pandas of Central Park Zoo

2011-09-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

painter, digital.

It had to be 90 degrees yesterday and the red pandas didn't seem too enthused by it. It was my first time in the Central Park Zoo

A recent article in the New Yorker highlighted the landscape scene paintings at the Natural History Museum by James Perry Wilson so I was paying extra attention to the faux paintings in the bird exhibits. Central Park Zoo's are not up to par with the Natural History Museum's scene paintings but they were still effective.

Sketchcrawl 32: SF

2011-07-24T19:15:00.000-07:00

It was great being back in SF for sketchcrawl! A summer session starting on Beach St ending at Pier 39.

Cocktail reception tomorrow! @ One MIle Gallery

2011-07-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Have a drink // buy some art (preferably mine) // save some farm animals.

a little preview of the installation. I wish I could make it but I'm in California for the month

Custom Harry Potter Icons

2011-07-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

A Potter icon pack I watercolored to spruce up your mac!

Follow this to download the zip file: http://ge.tt/9dVPHC6?c

Red Headed Beauty

2011-07-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

oil sketch. 16"x20"

Hey Sailor

2011-06-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

oil x (original size) 18 x 24"

This model is great, all of his poses at the Art Students League are in provocative or gender bending costumes. I complimented him for single-handedly queering the traditional Art Students Leaque (which was founded in 1875 mind you.) An older student then told me that in the 1910s and 1920s the students of the League would throw wildly provocative costume parties with music, nudity, dacing, and cocktails galore in the studios. He said the parties were so out of control the newspapers penned an article about how out of control they got. The League even had to discontinue the parties! (Word has it they just moved them to a private venue outside of the school...) I think it's time to bring this type of thing back for Halloween.
Please send purchase inquires to paul.tuller [at] gmail.com

Featured in Exhibition & Silent Auction

2011-06-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

I've been selected to participate in One Mile Gallery's exhibition and silent auction presented by FOOLSGOLD Arts! The proceeds benefit Catskill Animal Sanctuary (CAS) in Kingston NY. The gallery itself is stunning - its in a red brick building from the 1790s overlooking a creek.

Meet Amelia:

oil, 12x16 in
Meet Jesse:

oil, 12x16 in

These cuties are both rescue animals on the CAS farm and I can't wait to visit them this summer! Little do they know I've been swooning over their photos. (These are 2 out of 3 of my paintings)

The exhibit opens July 2 and closes on July 23rd with a silent auction and cocktail reception.

Back at the League

2011-05-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Same pose from two angles. 18 x 20 on remarkably bad canvas paper.

Summer in NYC has arrived which means I've returned to the Art Students League for Mary Beth McKenzie's morning class!

A Monstah's Suprise

2011-05-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Oil 8x10 Inches
What active illustrator doesn't enjoy doodling some good monsters? And what proper monster doesn't enjoy a good glass of wine every now and then?
I wanted to push this one further by throwing in some oil paint. I think I was distantly inspired by Pixar's Monsters, Inc. - the best film ever!

Labs Landing

2011-04-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

oil 18x24.
Painted at 6 AM to catch that damn golden light. That trunk is all that remains of the giant tree I spend part of my summers under. "Labs Landing" in Mountain Ranch California. If I had the money I would have payed the lumberjack to keep the tree standing just as Monet had to bribe a gardener not to cut down the trees his Poplar series were based on. (Apparently after the Gardener collected Monet's money he cut the trees down anyway...)

Pratt Draw-a-Thon 2011

2011-04-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

Graphite on moleskin.
I can't believe a FULL year has gone by since the last Draw a Thon! Pulling an all nighter with friends to make art is a good time to reflect. Especially during the post - pancake breakfast session. Some people have New Years, my friends and I have Pratt Draw-a-Thon. (Although I suppose I do get New Years too...that just tends to be more partying and less reflecting.)

Plein Air Speed Painting Season!

2011-04-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally hit NY which means my plein air speed painting season has begun ! This is the view across from my apartment in Brooklyn

Union Sq Pillow Fight!

2011-04-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

Quick location sketches of the madness. Dr. Sketchys brought along a model for a mini session too (sadly I didn't find them until after the fight was over)

Joey Les Visages

2011-03-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

gouache

Meet Mr. Joey - my favorite

Master Copy: My rendition of Sargent

2011-03-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

My replica of Sargent's study!"Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast." Oil, 18x24

The process of replicas is really calming. Maybe I've found a new type of meditation?

Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast was a preliminary study to Sargent's acclaimed "Madame X" painting which currently resides at the Metropolitan Museum (which I've visited multiple times.) I chose to replicate the study rather than the final painting because his exploration of colour and loose strokes are more interesting to me. The fleshtones are warmer in the study and he emphasizes them with a velvety darkness. The finer details of the face are painted tightly but he lets loose with lyrical flowers on the left (are they roses?)
Sargent cares for this painting as it was not commissioned by Gautreau - He requested to paint her. Gautreau was a French socialite and well known. Sargent informed his friend via letter why he was so inclined to paint her, "I have a great desire to paint her portrait and have reason to think that she would allow it and is waiting for someone to propose this homage to her beauty." How romantic! Sargent's description of her skin is noteworthy, "Do you object to people who are fardees to the extent of being uniform lavender or blotting paper colour all over? If so you would not care for my sitter. But she has the most beautiful lines and if the lavender or chlorate-of-potash-lozenge colour be pretty in itself I shall be more than pleased." It's somewhat funny her color was his main concern because when he unveiled "Madame X" to the public critics said he made her look undead. It was received so poorly Sargent was practically driven out of Paris. In the original painting Gautreau's dress strap had fallen down her arm which nearly ruined her reputation and drove her to tears. Despite the terrible reception of his new masterpiece he still hung the portrait up in every painting studio he had until the Metropolitan requested to purchase it.
As you can see I got carried away with the story behind the final painting.

Society of Illustrators // Drink N Draw

2011-02-25T10:07:00.000-08:00

And this is from my first sketch night at the Society of Illustrators! Tuesdays are super busy for me, but I'm going to try and make it out there with Yao more often.

They also have a beautiful exhibit of Greg Manchess, who is one of my favorite living illustrators! Check it out

Look & Execute (Happy Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse)

2010-12-20T22:07:00.000-08:00

I have an alarm set for 3AM so I can catch tonight's winter solstice lunar eclipse!

"A quick trip to the Moon provides the answer: Imagine yourself standing on a dusty lunar plain looking up at the sky. Overhead hangs Earth, nightside down, completely hiding the sun behind it. The eclipse is underway. You might expect Earth seen in this way to be utterly dark, but it's not. The rim of the planet is on fire! As you scan your eye around Earth's circumference, you're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb."
- NASA

Faun on the Upper West Side

2010-11-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

I have some grim news regarding this featured faun: Early Friday afternoon he fell victim to a casting kit catastrophe. I sculpted him with the intention of making a slip-mold out of him so I could eventually cast the faun in some type of plastic. Unfortunately I didn't mix the smooth on casting kit thoroughly enough so the chances of it setting are slim... I won't know for sure until Friday though. At least I have photo documentation of him

And here is a random from Drink N' Draw

Little Ms. Paige

2010-11-11T13:05:00.001-08:00

Charcoal & Digital
The poses were from Dr. Sketchy's session at King Con last weekend in Brooklyn. The lovely Paige Pumphrey came dressed in this circus inspired costume for us. I took second place in the drawing competition and won some awesome posters from her! (I'll post that piece when I get around to scanning it.) The indie comic convention had great energy and the work was beautiful.

I got to chat with the legendary Chris Claremont at King Con, the man who created the Phoenix saga and made the call to kill off Jean Grey. He certainly shook up the Marvel universe and it sounds like he has every intention of keeping us readers on our toes. He told us not to take our super heroes for granted... the comment was a bit foreboding but it certainly got me excited.

Figure Paintings!

2010-08-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

I was beyond thrilled to have TWO models sit for us this week.

A proud stance.

Plein Air in the French Countryside

2010-07-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

The sheep were BAA'ing at me as I painted them from the fence.

Our neighbor's farmhouse

The view from the barn house I slept in :)

There was a door one story up that opened up to nothing but the drop below, so I happily sat in the doorway with my feet dangling.

The shed that houses a 300 year old wood oven. We baked INCREDIBLE pizzas in that thing!

I really do miss that lifestyle. Working in the fields during the day, followed by a painting

HEY FRANCE, thanks for the inspiration.

Rozier-En-Donzy Part Deux & Paris

2010-07-20T14:22:00.001-07:00

Our home on the farm - To draw this I put a lawn chair in the middle of the country road and set the sketchbook on my lap. The whole time I was out there I only had to move my chair once for a car.

A quick sketch session by the lake behind the raspberry bushes. A great way to end the work day.

The Vizezy Canal next to the farmer's market
Amazing organic apples! I drew his stand while squatting next to a cafe bar. The hostess came out and insisted on bringing out a table and chair for me sit on. When I attempted to decline her offer she struggled to say "artist good for business! Sit, sit."
Our stand was positioned to the left of this Fleur shop at the market
The view from Ronzier-En-Donzy's bar. Joey and I ordered two demi Kronemburgs and broke out our baguette and cheese picnic. It was a nice place to relax after a beautiful hike through the nearby forest.
We ran into a few curious cows during our hike. I think it knew I was vegetarian :)

In Paris we found an apartment in Montmartre just a bit below Sacre Coeur. That neighborhood is by far my favorite in Paris! Its brimming with young people haning out on the streets and in outdoor bars. The people are very friendly and we even got invited to a party. The building above used to be Pablo Picasso's studio and Van Gogh's at another point in time. I can certainly see why it was an artists community. The hills set Montmartre apart from the rest of Paris and delivers some stunning views. I still haven't had time to upload any photos but maybe in the next post. I've been keeping busy with a bunch of freelance gigs.

Rozier-en-Donzy

2010-06-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Bonjour from Rozier-en-Donzy! I'm working on an organic farm in France in exchange for room and board -- a program called WOOFing! (above is a plein air of our neighbors ranch. The horses were moving too much to paint.)

In the photos above Joey and I are collecting Lotier cornicule -- a yellow flower -- that will be dried and shipped off to Switzerland. The French countryside is a beauty.

Oiseaux (birdies) by the nearby lake

Tomorrow at 5am we meet the Boulanger / patissier to help make these beautiful loaves.

Bloggers, meet my former pet Albert. Gathering insects for it didn't fit my fancy so I released it...

I've been sketching and painting at the end of our work day so there will be many more pieces to come!

Summertime is Here

2010-05-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

A fresh round from Drink N Draw!

I also wanted to post a few preview pics of my upcoming Monster Erotica project -- I will replicate provocative European nude paintings with classic American Monsters. It's absurd how conservative our Monster pop culture was. Naturally the first painting I referenced was by John Singer Sargent. And even more predictably the first monster I featured was Frankenstein. (if you couldn't guess that you don't know many of my quarks...)A preliminary watercolor color study to get a sense of the palette.

Here is the base painting! I have a long ways to go before it's finished, but I'm happy with the progress.

I'm in San Francisco for the week to attend my sister's wedding! It feels great to be home and even better to be in the company of my family on such a happy occasion. Then on June 3rd I'll have a few days in NYC before I'm off to Europe for over a month! I'll be farming in France -- which I'll tell you more about in a later post. Good things are ahead!!

Sketchcrawl # 26 -- New York

2010-04-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

Five brave sketchcrawlers made it through the snow to meet up at the Winter Garden in the Financial Center! I wasn't very inspired by the location but its always great to get together with other artists. Sorry this post is over a month late! I don't have easy access to a scanner nowadays.

I also want to wish Joey a happy 21st birthday!

Lets Kick Off Spring

2010-03-31T14:17:00.000-07:00

with a new blog header! Out with the old:
In with the new:

Studies from a Row Boat.

2010-03-21T17:23:00.000-07:00

Paddle, paint, paddle, paint, paddle, paint, paddle, paint. A soothing repetition on a lake.

They're fast and sloppy color studies executed in oil paint. Its difficult when the current is changing your location but that was half the fun. However, one of my paintings did flutter overboard into the lake. Luckily oil isn't water soluble! Hope everyone had a jolly St Pattys day!

Doodle-me-silly !

2010-01-31T10:52:00.001-08:00

I believe my avatar would look something like this if Egon Schiele were to draw it.

I was so rusty with the figure

20 sec poses? I can't recall.

Fan art! I'm finally reading Fables & I'm loving it so far.

This large haired woman has popped up in a few random doodles of mine recently - her & Frankenstein seem to be my sub conscience doodle subjects.

If So there we have it, I've been in a silly doodle mood and I've been trying to get back into some ballet / jazz classes.

European Escapade Part 1

2009-12-23T00:19:00.000-08:00

On December Second, I left my Brooklyn pad for my first solo adventure outside of the country. I stayed with friends -- the lovely Charlotte in the Marais in Paris, and my incredible Emily in Notting Hill London. It was a trip that will continue to fuel my life and inspire my art!

Gaga meets Paris. That's one show I wouldn't want to miss! Inspired by Franc Fernandez.

The Louvre!

Outside of Musée d'Orsay

There is something about Notre Dame that makes my heart sing. I think it's because back in the day I used to imagine it in so many different scenarios when I played with the Disney Hunchback dolls.

Bringing the main window of Notre Dame into action with an intentional zoom! (I recall once imagining the window was a portal into the south of France. I bet it looked like this to my Quasimoto doll when he passed through it.)

Parisian friends I made in a music bar in the Marais. The woman in red was as sassy as she looks too. They all bought me some drinks and took me to their favorite bar a few blocks away after

My heart momentarily stopped when I saw these death eaters on London's Millennium Bridge.

Emily and I convinced the guards at Westminster Abbey Church we were there to warship so we could hear the choir & get inside. I felt completely transported.

There's much more to come from my trip within the next few days! I made the move from NY back to Cali in preparation for moving to LA for Art Center College of Design! Never underestimate how time consuming / energy sapping moving actually is. Happy Holidays everyone!!!!