Tumble...

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry I have been away for a while.

Rome is winding down...

Which means work is starting to pick up up up!!!

I'm going to try and be more vigilant with my updating...

In the meantime, I got a tumblr!

Which is basically like a picture blog... so feel free to check this from time to time too!

(Picture Tumblr!)

Ty-Jack...

So this is the final piece I submitted for the Drawing show we are having here at Temple Rome in conjunction with a group of Italian Art students.

I chose to do a portrait of my best friend Tyler based on a self portrait he took of himself a few weeks ago. I can't really explain it, but I was so drawn to the photo upon seeing it that I knew I wanted to draw it myself.

I have to say I learned a lot through this piece and while it's not completely proportional, I really am pretty pleased with how it came out; especially the shirt.

40in. x 40in. Vine and Compressed Charcoal.

A Cut Above...

This is the first state of a Linoleum Print I'm working on in Rome.

We have to have at least four colors in it; with black and white not counting as colors. The image is a photo booth picture of my friends and I at Knobels amusement park last summer.

A Hint of Tint...

Sneak peak of the aquatint I'm working on...

Here's the etching state of the plate.

Tomorrow I'll print it, then start the aquatint.

Back to School, Back to Work...

Gotta Love Those Late Nights in the Studio...

I have so much to do this week!

-2 or 3 24x24 drawings

-1 40x40 drawing

-Make two posters for Gianni

-Aquatint by Tuesday

-Propose my final project for Rome Sketchbook

--Figure Modeling

-Italian Quiz

-Send out Postcards and Letters

-Grad Talk

-Help Kristin with her project...

(Most of it takes place Monday-Wednesday too! Busy Busy Busy!!!)

White Walls...

Fresh Start...

Needed a change. Cleaned my studio and rearranged a few things. Hopefully now I can focus on this upcoming drawing show.

Gina's Studio.

Dan's Studio.

Coady's Studio.

Natalie's Studio.

Masks On, Mask Off...

My Printmaking class in Rome right before the aquatint demo.

I love this class.

Just Like A Prayer...

Today in drawing class one of my classmates asked if we could pose the model as if she were the Madonna so that she could use the studies for an upcoming piece she's working on. It was actually pretty comical seeing this Italian woman holding a bundled up blanket with shear cloth draped all over.

Trends According to DooDee...

I received this comment from my friend Dee the other week. Thank god I have such wonderful friends to keep me up-to-date on American trends while abroad...

hey all you abroad peeps!
ive decided to compile a list of all the things on trend this year so when you all come back you arn't total freaks hahahaha jk

3D movies.... stillll
Militaty jackets and Boots
Big Time Rush
Feathers
Girl Scout Cookies...only this month though
small crossbody handbags
nail polish
older men with accents
corrie
colored eyeliner
temple football
colored corduroys
jeggins

She's probably one of the coolest friends I have...

Porta Portese...

Currently listening to this wonderful gem above in my studio.

Woke up early and headed over to Porta Portese this morning with Dan to go to the flea market that's held there every Sunday. It is pretty much a magical place where you can hagle and barter and just get lost in a labyrinth of Italians and knick-knacks.

I spotted Dinah pretty much completely by accident, but she was on the very top of the cd pile and I knew it was fate... 3 Euros later it was official.

Italian comics might become my next obsession.

Each Dylan Dog book cost me a euro, but the graphics in it are sooo cool. Definitely giving me some new inspirational ideas as far as compositions go.

And I found this lovely little leather bound book of Italian poetry on top of this equally amazing old-school explorer's map of the world written in Italian. I love this market... I hope that when my friends come to visit from London we can take them there because I'm pretty sure they will pass out from excitement.

p.s.- thanks to Dan and her awesome hair cutting capabilities.

80 Years Young...

BUON COMPLEANNO MIM!!!!!

I hope you have a wonderful 80th Birthday!!!

Sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate with you all, but have a great time and I can't wait till I see you all! Miss you all!

Happy Birthday MIM!!!

p.s.- Some of the video is of the Temple Rome campus and the art studios.

Ja Picu!!!!

Last night I went to go get chinese food. That's right, chinese food... in Italy. Two of my friends in the program are both Chinese citizens so they found a place where we could go and get some Chinese-Italian food. And it was soooooo good! I had shrimp lo mein, spring rolls, vegetable fried rice, and chinese fried ice cream.

My main dish.

Gang and Dan both ordered for us in Mandarin, which is one way of compensating for our lack of knowledge in the Italian language.

Rae and her pineapple chicken and Dan's black bean chicken.

Brutta Figura...

This is how I feel about this week...

Mainly due to the overload of Midterms.

3 down. 3 to go. Then off to Tunisia!

Friday can't come soon enough.

Circolo Show Video and Flyer...

So we had a show in Rome yesterday! Which was pretty hectic, and time consuming, and a little draining. But in the end it all pulled together and was pretty amazing. Not to mention the fact that I can now say I've shown artwork internationally.

(Here's the flyer from the show!)

And here's a video from the morning before the opening yesterday!

Cicrolo Degli Artisti from James Dunn on Vimeo.

-To see the Link that I posted on the Temple Rome Art Blog, click HERE!

Electric Slide...

Late night in the studio!!!

Check out Natalie's amazing portrait of Rae that incorporates all kinds of intricate electrical elements that culminate into a huge hat-like contraption.

She's kinda a big deal.

The model with the piece.

These are the start to my paintings for the show this Sunday. I'm kinda freaking out!!! I'm super behind, and by no means a painter, but it kinda feels nice to try something new from printing and drawing all semester.

When In Venice...

Weekend Trip To Venice... from James Dunn on Vimeo.

This is a quick little movie of our weekend trip to Venice!

Which is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend to anyone considering taking a trip there. I still can't get over all the colors, the water, and the fact that even though it is ridiculously hard to navigate, you can't get mad because everything is so beautiful.

It also had some of the best food I've had in Italy so far. (Sorry Rome.)

p.s.-The video doesn't start till about 15 seconds in... my editing is a little rusty.

p.p.s.- The song is Masquerade from The Phantom of the Opera, which the orchestra is playing at the end of the video and for Alex, who requested it.

Aperto Studio...

Last night we had a gallery opening for two artist downstairs in the main gallery, a grad show in the upstairs gallery, and open studios. Needless to say it was pretty hectic, starting at 7 am and ending close to 10pm. But there was an awesome turnout so that was pretty sweet. Not to mention it was kind of cool having my classmates that aren't in studios, faculty members, and Italians walking throughout the studios and checking out my work.

Here are some photos from my studio as if you were here.

In Sync With Zinc...

Pulled my first etching in Italy today.

It's based off of the Italian principle of bella figora/brutta figora...

Which loosely translates to outward appearances and how people perceive you.

It's pretty interesting learning all the differences between American techniques and those used in Italy. For one, we etch in zinc plates rather than copper. And it goes by sooooo much faster. This is the first state, and it only took me about 45-50 minutes in the acid, which would have been closer to 3.5-4 hours with copper.

Etruscan Villa...

Here are some pictures of homework from Rome sketchbook...

Today for class we went to Villa Giulia, which is this amazing Etruscan museum and botanical garden. The best part is that it never gets too crowded so I basically got an entire room to draw in all to myself!

This is a picture of Venice I drew...

I'll have to tell you about my weekend there in another post!

Holy Moses...

Here are some photo's from my Rome sketchbook class yesterday morning.

We met in front of San Pietro in Vincoli which meant we had to take the metro from Cipro to Termini; get the free interchange, switch to the B Line, and ride it one stop to Cavour. I think I'm sort of starting to get a hang of the metro here. And the ride from the residence (Cipro) to school (Flamino) is pretty nice whenever it rains or I'm running late.

Anyways, once at San Pietro, we went in and drew from Michaelangelo's depiction of Moses, which is sculpted out of marble. It is this massive sculpture located to the right of the altar and roped off with the red velvet ropes you typically associate with movie theaters and movie premiers.

The statue is pretty breathtaking. And I think I'm getting more used to people coming up and randomly taking my photo while drawing (without asking)... or at least as used to it as I'm going to get.