The Art of Chelsea Tull

More Ink

2009-10-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Just started throwing ink around and came up with this...ha.

Playing with Ink

2009-10-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to get to spend some time in the studio of Francis Vallejo. His awesome ink drawings inspired me to play around with some ink myself. Here's a sketch I did yesterday from a fashion magazine. I've been looking at Jason Shawn Alexander and David Downton. I am thinking about tweaking a few things in Photoshop but here is where it stands now. I had so much fun so I think I am going to keep at it :)

Cool!

2009-09-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

So I got to meet Joshua Bell and his concert was awesome. And I got to see my piece in print...yay!

Works in Progress...

2009-09-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post a few pieces that are hanging out in my studio. One is a portrait of my friend's son. He is two years old and absolutely precious (and apparently pretty precocious)! I still have a ways to go. The other piece is a self portrait, which is almost finished. I think I may make a few more changes. I'll post more as I wrap them up!

-Chelsea

Joshua Bell

2009-08-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

This is my finished illustration for the September opening gala concert program for the Louisville Orchestra, featuring Joshua Bell. Joshua Bell is one of the world's greatest violinists and if you haven't heard his music, you should look him up! I had the pleasure of hearing him a few years back so I was so excited to do this portrait! I wanted the image to be strong and elegant. I chose to make it fairly realistic since I was dealing with a conservative audience. I can't wait to see it printed! Overall, I was pleased with the image. I have little experience with oil painting but I really enjoyed working with it and I think I'm going to keep it up. By the way, the color is a little funky for some reason...it's not quite so dull and orange-y.

Self-Portrait

2009-08-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Senior Year Drawings

2009-08-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

I had very few teachers at UK that were supportive of illustration but I was fortunate enough to have Sal Villagran as a teacher my last semester of my senior year. Sal was not only passionate about teaching but he was actually a practicing illustrator. He is an amazing artist and I am so glad that I got to study with him! Here are a few figure drawings from his class I took last Spring.

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

2009-08-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

This is my finished piece for Robin Eley's assignment, "Snap, Crackle, Pop!" I have really enjoyed experimenting with pastels lately. I tried to apply the figure drawing approach to this piece and I was happy with the result.

Figure Drawings

2009-08-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a few figure drawings that I did this past summer. Figure drawing was one of my favorite parts of our long weeks at the Academy. It was my time to unwind and have a little fun. These were all 10-20 minute poses done in NuPastel.

Hello!

2009-08-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I have finally created my first blog! To begin, my name is Chelsea Tull. I graduated from the University of Kentucky in May and majored in Art Studio. I have spent the past two summers attending the Illustration Academy at Ringling College of Art and Design - an incredible experience, to say the least. College alone didn't come close to preparing me for what I learned in 14 weeks at the Academy. The faculty (and my peers) have provided me with the tools and foundation I need to begin my career. The Academy also gave me the opportunity to work with some of the most talented, intelligent and dedicated people I have ever met. The instructors and students have been my source of inspiration and I am so appreciative for their support and encouragement. To learn more about this wonderful program check it out at:

www.illustrationacademy.com

Since childhood, drawing has been my creative outlet. I had always been exposed to the art world (both of my parents are artists), but I hadn't put serious thought into pursuing it as a career. It wasn't until my junior year of college that I realized I could make a career out of something I love to do. In March of 2008, I took at trip to NYC with my parents. After a long day of visiting museums, my parents and I decided to stop for a drink at the St. Regis Hotel. It was there that I got to see the masterpiece Old King Cole by illustrator Maxfield Parrish. I was so enamored that they decided to squeeze in one last stop: The Society of Illustrators Gallery located at located at 128 E 63rd St. The second I walked in that little red door I fell in love with illustration. Being surrounded by masters like Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker, Dean Cornwell and others was incredible. I left the Society feeling excited for my future and when I returned to UK, I changed my major. I haven't looked back since.

The last couple of years have been a time of self discovery. It has been a road full of successes and failures, excitement and frustration. On those long nights when it is 2:00am and I am on the verge of tears because I can't get something right, I remind myself that with struggle comes growth. I have only just begun to get my feet wet, but I am now armed with the tools I need to dive head first into this highly competitive field. I'm so excited about what lies ahead and I've created this blog to document my journey. Thank you for visiting and please feel free to post any comments or suggestions!

-Chelsea Tull, 2009