Impressionism

I am fascinated by the Impressionism art movement. I was listening to a story on NPR radio a few days ago on Impressionism and I just wanted to write a blog post on this movement.

The Impressionism movement originated from Paris based artists. I came to prominence in the 1870s through the 1880's. The artists were a part of a group called the Cooperative and Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptures and Engravers and they had an exhibit at the studio of photographer/journalist Felix Nadar. The artists in this group included Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas and others. They were joined by other artists later, such as Paul Cezanne, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and several others. Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), common, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles"
  (Wikipedia contributors. "Impressionism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 31 Dec. 2012.) 

The name of the movement originated from a Claude Monet painting titled "Impression, soleil levant") or Impression, Sunrise.

Below is an example of an Impressionist painting. It is entitled "Woman with a Parasol" and it is by Claude Monet. It was completed in 1875.

 Claude Monet, Woman with a Parasol, (Camille and Jean Monet),

1875, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Pastel Drawing for my dad

I drew a pastel drawing for my dad this past Christmas. It is a drawing of a pic that my dad took with his camera.

The pic of a fish my dad took.

My pastel drawing.

Chalk pastels are one of my favorite mediums. After taking a class in college on chalk pastels, I immediately fell in love with using them. I like using lots of vibrant colors no only in my pastel drawings, but in most of my art no matter what medium I use. Chalk pastels are portable which make them useful painting on site. A draw back is that they are messy. Pastel drawings need to be framed soon after completion in order protect them from smearing.

The Raisin' Cain Band Logo

I wrote in an earlier post that I have recently been contacted by a local Charlotte band called the Raisin' Cain Band. They are a southern rock band and they were looking for someone to create a logo for them. They contacted me and sent me a draft of what they were looking for. Here is a pic of the sketch that they sent me.

After much work, this is the design I have come up with so far.

They still have a few changes they would like to be made. I will keep you posted on my progress. I think the band is interested in me designing an album cover for them and for this logo I am creating to be printed on T-shirts. I am very excited. I have always wanted to to design a band logo and album cover and now this is my chance!

Art Wall

We had our Martin Luther King Jr. service day this past Monday and it was a huge success. The AmeriCorps at Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte led 150 volunteers in building an outdoor classroom, cleaning the campus and renovating facilities for Turning Point Academy. This is a local school in Charlotte for children with behavioral problems. This included painting bleachers in the old gymnasium in the school and picking up debris and leaves around the campus. As a part of the outdoor classroom, we built a plant trellis, a compost bin, several garden planters and an art wall. I had the pleasure of leading the design and construction of the art wall.

When we were in the planning stages of this outdoor classroom, I immediately thought about building an art wall. I envisioned a wall where students could paint murals and express their creativity. I felt that the kids would enjoy it. We met with several faculty members at the school who expressed positive interest as well. They stated that they had many tal

ented artistic students who would love to paint on the wall. I agreed to lead in

the construction of it along with my friend and fellow AmeriCorps member Dylan.

Dylan and I came up with a few sketches of the wall, and with input

from my Habitat supervisor Nick and my partner Cliff, we came up with a solid plan. Stephen and Mary, also fellow AmeriCorps members who were the heads of this project, put in input as well. We came up with a finalized plan. The wall was to be 16 feet long, 6 ft high, and have 2 panels on both sides. The panels facing the rest of the outdoor classroom was to be painted with chalkboard paint. That way, teachers could utilize it as a way to teach students outside and students could also use it to draw on. The back side was to be painted with ex

terior paint so that the kids could paint murals on it. It could be painted over as time went by to start new murals.

On MLK Day, Dylan and I led between 7 and 10 volunteers all day long. We ran into a few hiccups along the way, such as cutting some of the beams meant to support the wall too short, but we kept going and finally finished at the end of the day. It was a huge success!

I feel very blessed to have worked on this project. Now, I hope the students will enjoy painting and drawing on the wall and I can wait to see what artwork is displayed on it in the future. Here are some pics below of the stages of the walls construction.

The side of the art wall that faces the rest of the outdoor classroom.

This side was painted with chalkboard paint.

Other side of the art wall. On this side, the students can paint murals.

Dylan nailing in the panels.

Laying out the frame work for the wall.

Recent Graphic Design Work

After posting a link on Craigslist about my graphic design and art services, a local to Charlotte southern rock and blues band named The Raisin' Cain Band contacted me. They are interested in me designing a logo, and I am very excited. I have always wanted to design band logos. One of the members of the band has sent me a sketch of an idea that he had in mind. I will keep you all posted on how the logo turns out and the completed product.

I have also recently designed a T-shirt for the Martin Luther King Service Day that my fellow AmeriCorps and I are putting on here in Charlotte on January 17th. We will be creating an outdoor classroom at an area school here in Charlotte, as well as renovating areas within the school. We will be helping the school better utilize storage areas, painting murals, constructing storage bins and much more. I will be personally responsible for creating the art wall for the students to design murals on. Pics of the front of the T-shirts are shown below.

To view more of my work, please visit www.caseycaison.com

Art Wall for MLK Day

On January 17, 2011, my fellow AmeriCorps at Habitat for Humanity in Charlotte and I will be doing a community day. This will take place at Turning Point Academy in Charlotte and is a joint effort between AmeriCorps, 5 area churches and temples, and Hands On Charlotte. There will be 150 volunteers at this event. We will be helping to create murals inside of the school, organizing storage rooms, painting furniture in the rooms and creating an outdoor classroom.

I am helping to head up an art wall that will be a part of the outdoor classroom. This wall will be 16 feet long and two sided. One side will be painted with chalk paint so that students can draw or write things in chalk, and the other will be made so that students can paint murals with oil based paints.

I have designed the wall already and sent in a list of materials to construct it. I will keep you all posted with details and photos on the progress.