JEN KELLER ART

We had our first trip to the Oakland Zoo this week... and it was a trip! Doing Plein-air in Italy this summer was difficult enough. But now I'm drawing moving targets. A whole different ball of wax! The zoo itself was great, and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. After days and days of rain, the sun finally decided to show it's face. This made the animals more active, which was great because we could see them, but a bit more difficult to draw. I visited many animals, and attempted to draw the camels, tigers, otters, monkeys, lions, elephants, and tortoises. Joe told us our first day would be difficult...and he was right! But it not only was hard, it was fun. I really wish I could go to the zoo and draw there every day. Instead the dog park will just have to do!

Yesterday was our first day on the field with my Animal Life Drawing class with Joe Weatherly. joeweatherly.net I'm so excited about this class I could burst! To be able to draw animals for 4-6 hours a day seems like a dream... Our first day we went to the new California Academy of Sciences. Here, there are few live animals (with the exception of the Penguins, Alligators, and a variety of sea life.) It was good because we didn't have to worry about the animals moving at all! My first animal was a green anaconda. He was a good model because he didn't move at all! I also attempted the stuffed giraffe that's on display in the hallway. He was actually challenging, not only because of his bizarre proportions, but also the perspective was tricky. I also worked on a zebra and lions... very challenging as well,. Next week we go to the zoo! I'm excited about this trip...

As I've been working on my book, I've been finding the importance of drawing from life. Luckily, I live with one of my main characters! Here are some sketchbook ditties to enjoy...

I have finally started my line drawing for the series of books I'm working on. Here is a sneak preview of two of them...

I had my first big gallery group show opening last night, and it turned out to be quite a success. The group of paintings look wonderful together... a great collection of work representing the beauty of Italy. There are a total of 14 students showing at the space, and 3 faculty members. I have seven of only 11 watercolors in the show, and I encourage everyone to stop by and take a look. The gallery is located at 79 New Montgomery, on the first floor of the Academy of Art University's main building. The show will be up until January 5th, and the hours are 9 AM - 6 PM, every of the week.

Hello! My first big group gallery show, ENCHANTED ITALY, is right around the corner. The entire group has works being shown from our time living in Umbria this summer. We have our artist's reception this Thursday, from 5:30-7:30. If you can't come to the opening, be sure to stop by during the holidays. The show will be up until January 5th. I've had a few pieces shown here and there, but mostly illustrations. This show will feature some of my fine art watercolors. I'm very excited! If you are curious about the journey I had this past summer, check out my other blog Avventure Italiane del Jenny! The link is on the sidebar... Want to see the paintings featured in the show? Scroll down to later blog entry (OCT. 16), or go onto my FLICKR page, link is also to the left under, "Favorite Links." Grazie Mili!

After much strife and battles with ftp's, godaddy, and iweb, I finally got a website up! It's nothing fancy... but it's nice and simple, an easier way to see my work. Now I can treat this site more like a blog! Check it out... there are still some kink's I need to fix... but it's pretty fun. jenkellerart.com