news
August 15, 2017
Well... I see it's been about 18 months since my last post here, and boy-oh-boy, what a crazy 18 months it has been! I'll spare you any political rantings, as there are more than plenty to be found on these interwebs. Suffice to say that I continue to pray for sanity, civility, and blessings for these United States of America, land that I love!
In spite of all the crazy, it's been fairly busy here at daybreak studios, so I'll try to catch you up:
First off, I was awarded participation in another National Park Service visitor center project with Color-Ad, Inc. of Manassas, Virginia. This one is at Chaco Culture National Historic Park in Nageezi, New Mexico. My part consisted of seven illustrations, 14 tactile reproductions, and two tactile models, and took most of the last year to complete. I've added images of the job to the Exhibits section, so click on the preceding "hot" text or HERE to see them. Thank You, Heather, again (and always), for your superb project management, and the onsite pics!
Another project that was quite challenging (and rewarding) came through Karen Jabo and the fine folks at HealyKohler Design in Washington, DC. I was tasked with making a model of the Old Post Office building. It's quite an elaborate stone building and so the plan evolved from A to B to C until finally we arrived at a plan to build the model in a CAD program, have the various parts digitally printed, and then assemble and epoxy it all together.
I worked from historical survey documents and official blueprints and designed and built all the parts in TurboCAD for Mac on my MacBook Pro and sent the files to Artcorp in Fredericksburg, Virginia for digital printing. They worked their magic (Thanks George and Bruce!) and got all the ABS parts printed and back to me exactly as I built them, in record time. From there I fitted it all together and bonded it all with epoxy to a 3/4 plywood substructure. Click on the preceding "hot" text or HERE to see the pics. Or... If you ever make it up to the tower of the Old Post Office building (yes, it's the same building that hosts, and the tower sits above, Trump International Hotel) on Pennsylvania Avenue you can see it for yourself.
Some other fun projects came from my part-time, intermittent position with M-NCPPC. For one, I worked with a paleontologist to design and "paint" a mural for the Dinosaur Park in Laurel, Maryland. I also designed and fabricated a tactile model of an Astrodon hatchling for use their outreach events.
The Dinosaur Park mural was "painted" entirely digitally in Adobe Photoshop using a Wacom tablet through my MacBook and then digitally printed with a large format printer. The final size is approximately 48" high x 100" wide. I've include some pics in the Murals section and you can click on the preceding "hot" text or HERE to see them.
The tactile Astrodon hatchling model was a first for me in that I tried to document the entire process of fabricating the model from scratch. I've included pics in the Sculpture section and you can see them by clicking on the preceding "hot" text or right HERE.
I think that's about all I can share at the moment. I have a couple of other projects in various states of completion, but I won't post anything about them until they are finished and out in the public.
So in the meantime, here are the current Birchmere calendars for August and September:
Go see some live music!
... Or make your own!
PEACE!
April 3, 2016
It's another beautiful day in paradise here in Bay country, even with all the wind. But at least it ain't snow, which I hope to not see again for quite a few months. I think I can rely on that simple hope for truth inspite all the craziness in the world today... and crazy it is! I know I don't need to tell you!
A little late as usual, but I'm sharing with you today the news of a very talented and beautiful young Artist/ Musician named Janel Leppin who found my artwork on the web recently, and wanted to use it for her new record label: Wedderburn Records. After listening to some of her and her husband/ musical partner Anthony Pirog's work, and seeing some of their videos of performances, I am more than honored to lend my work to their cause.
I honestly never knew of these folks before Janel contacted me, but I've since discovered that they've been quite a phenomenon in the DC avant-garde music scene for years, and I understand why. The music they create is really beyond any categorization. She's an internationally classically trained cellist, who seems at home on any instrument (or pedal), and has the voice of an absolute angel. He's an incredible jazz-fusionesque guitarist who also plays other instruments (and delays and loopers and other electronics) that they layer together with purely magical results. It's truly incredible and I love what they do! Please visit their sites and support them if/ when/ however you can!
That was the main news item, I hope better late than never. Here's the Birchmere calendar for next month, May 2016.
That's all for now, except this thought: Let's all pray for Peace and Reason this political season, 'cause we gets what we deserves. Shall we?
March 17, 2016
Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's a beautiful Spring day today here in Chesapeake country, so get your green on! Even though the Vernal Equinox is still a few days away, Spring has definitely finally sprung. Daffodils and crocuses (croci?) are blooming and the first of the Osprey came back last week, so it's all official! A welcome change from the blizzards!
It's been busy around here since last year's last post. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of pics to share with you, but here goes:
First off, The Birchmere turned 50 this year (1966-2016)!! Think of all the music icons that graced this place in that timespan. The list is utterly staggering, truly the best of the best of the best!! I humbly designed this logo for them to help with the celebration:
While we're on the topic of the Birchmere, here are the calendars for the rest of this month and next month. There are always so many talented artists playing at this venue, so I'm sure there is someone you'd like to see. Why not pay them a visit and join in the celebration!
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From the present and near future to the quite distant past, I experienced one of the most challenging and rewarding painting projects I believe I've ever been involved with last fall. Some very good friends of mine (you know who you are) commissioned me to produce a painting for them, illustrating an episode from their family's 18th century history.
From his capture at the battle of Culloden and deportation to the colony of Maryland in servitude, to his purchased freedom and prompt return to Edinburgh, Scotland during the Jacobite rebellion, this remarkable adventure was documented by Alexander Stewart in his journal in the mid 1700's.
My job was to pore through this historical material and illustrate the scene of him being purchased by my friends fore-fathers near their plantaion on the Wicomico River in present day Charles county.
The fore-fathers were two successful brothers who owned a registered vessel built in 1730 somewhere on the Potomac. She was a precursor to the Chesapeake top-sail schooner design, which led to the famous clipper ships that plied these waters for well over a century.
This was my first real attempt at a historical maritime scene and it was a lot of work just trying to get the facts straight. Thank You Jackie & Lanny for your patience and encouragement. I hope you enjoy the painting for many years to come! So here's my painting of the "Catherine". Oil on canvas, 30" x 24":
So there you have it. I'll check back with more pics and info when I can. In the meantime, get outside and enjoy the day - I know I'll try! - PEACE!
March 12, 2016
So the big news is that I've rebuilt this site from scratch to be "responsive," meaning supposedly it will automatically resize itself to properly display on any device: smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, etc... I hope it worked and that it all works and displays properly on whatever device on which you are reading this. If not, please contact me and let me know, so that I can try to fix it.
Otherwise it's pretty much the same site, with all the same pages, except for the links and the prints pages. I am no longer offering prints for sale via this website, but if you are interested in a print of any of my paintings, please contact me and I'll let you know of the availability and help you out with any / all of the details.
So anyway, I hope everything on this site works and displays properly on your device, and if it doesn't, that you will go to the trouble to let me know. Either way - Thanks for your interest in my work and Thanks for all your help!
More to come... Peace Be With You!
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Well, it's Summertime, and the living is easy here in Chesapeake Country. Some heat waves have already come and gone, preparing us for the real heat & humidity due to show up in the coming months. Weather which is all welcome and helps us to forget about the brutal winter that we've so finally shed. Somewhere along the way, Spring came and went, too.
So here's an attempt at an update of what's been happening around here for the last few months. Let's start with Nature's Artcade, which comes down tomorrow. (How's that for advertising.) Yes, I participated in this wonderful show again this year. It was curated by Carmen Gambrill of carmen's gallery in Solomons, MD, and was judged by Colleen Sabo and Denise Breitburg. They had a tough job, but ultimately presented us with a beautiful show displaying a wide and varied selection of artworks including drawings, paintings, photographs, pottery, sculpture, mixed media and digital. Thank you!
The show exhibited works from over 40 local adult artists, and downstairs, younger school-age artists, all sharing works representing or inspired by the natural beauty of Southern Maryland. I didn't win any prizes (like last year), but I did get to show an Osprey sculpture that I've been working for awhile. Click on the thumbnails below to see the larger images:
Thanks for the pics Tim!
Earlier this year I was involved with another visitor center project with Color-Ad, Inc. This one was for the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. My very small contribution to the project was to fabricate a scale tactile model of a Navajo Hogan. Click on the thumbnails below to see the larger images:
Thank you Heather for the pics!
Also earlier this year, beginning around November of last year, I was commissioned by the Town of Chesapeake Beach (where I live) to design five 24" x 36" signs and a brochure initiating the Chesapeake Beach Historic Heritage Trail, a self-guided tour through some historic parts of this small town, which endeavors to preserve the 100+ years of incorporated history here.
I was a part of a committee that met a couple times a month to sort through stacks of photographs and postcards in order to come up with a cohesive set of informational wayside signs with a map to guide the way. The unveiling was on May 18 and Andrea Frazier from the Calvert Recorder showed up to write us into a story for the paper. Despite the rain, we made it through the entire tour just in time, and everyone was a good sport about it. Thanks to everyone who participated on the committee and Thanks to Andrea for the pics and the story! Click on the thumbnails below to see some lo-res images and a link to the story.
I think that's about it for now. There are few other irons in a few other fires, and as soon as they are hot enough, I'll post the info about them here. Thanks for your patience and for reading this far. Until next time, try to Keep Cool and Carry On.
And here are your Birchmere calendars. Peace on You!
March 5, 2015
Today is another snowy day, supposedly the last one of the season. Who knows really, but I don't need to tell you how tough this Winter has been, especially for the folks in the Northeastern part of North America. I know I for one am more than ready for Spring to arrive, whenever it is that she decides to show her beautifully shining face.
As far as my update, I'm way behind and my apologies for not acknowledging some happenings until now. Let's start with Thanking all the kind folks that voted my "Gray Day" painting as the Peoples Choice Award at Nature's ARTcade show last June. Thank You! I am honored and humbled by your choosing my piece.
Thanks also to Heather at Color-Ad, Inc. for providing me some pics of the Washington Monument exhibit after the final installation of all the parts. I know I already posted some WAMO pics here, but these new ones show the "stones" and the smaller monument model in their final resting places, at the top of the Washington Monument.
I was also honored and humbled to be given public credit for the pyramidion as part of the exhibit. It is truly rare, as a sub-contactor on these visitor center projects, that I am given direct credit for my fabrications. Apparently the folks there at WAMO really appreciated my work, and I really appreciate them giving me credit! I have a pic of a close-up of the plaque, but it is still hard to read the fine print. If you squint you can read: Model by Clarence Schumaker. Very Cool!
Below are the thumbnails of the newer pics, again, Thank You Heather! Click to see the enlargements:
Another project I've been working on is a set of digital illustrations for the Maryland Archeology Month poster. Apparently April is Archeology Month in Maryland and one of my duties as a part-time employee at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission was to produce these illustrations. The rendering of the buildings over the dig site is also going to be used on the cover of the Archeology Month booklet. Below are the thumbnails, Click to see the enlargements:
I've got a few other irons in some fires, but I'll wait until they are completed before I post anything here. So here's the Birchmere calendars for March & April. Click to download the pdfs:
That about does it for me for now, so until next time: Peace on You!
