Alum Holds Demo at B.J. Spoke Gallery
Huntington High School 2010 alum Brian Richardson went from student to teacher when he gave a demonstration of digital illustration techniques at the B.J. Spoke Gallery on Main Street in Huntington village.
Mr. Richardson earned an art department Visual Arts Award as a Huntington High School senior. "I came to Huntington at the end of my junior year, the last of three high schools I attended; the first being Lake Orion in Michigan and the second, King's in Mainville, Ohio," he said. "It wasn't until I had a class with Mr. [Robert] Potter at Huntington that the idea of going into art as a career began to take shape for me. Mr. Potter encouraged me to pursue art in college. It was the right choice and I will always be grateful to Mr. Potter for having had that insight and giving me the encouragement that helped form that decision."
The Huntington grad takes his craft seriously and is proud of his achievements, of which he has had several. "Since high school I have had artwork [displayed] in different galleries including the Petite Gallery in Huntington, where I won honorable mention for a still-life and then was also included in a master's show, where I made my first sale of a pen and ink drawing," Mr. Richardson said. "The Van Loen Gallery at the South Huntington Library displayed my large metal sculpture Probe 8 during a summer exhibit and I had a piece in the Brooklyn Artist's Gym intimate small works show and artwork in multiple exhibits throughout SUNY Farmingdale, as well as the winning sculpture in the Town of Babylon's Art Festival, with an award of $500, which went right back into funding my work."
Currently a junior at Farmingdale State University where he is enrolled in the visual communications program, Mr. Richardson began working on a graphic novel about a year ago. "I use a Wacom Cintiq 21UX drawing tablet and programs that include Photoshop CS6 and Paint Tool Sai to create the artwork," he said. The Huntington grad demonstrated use of those tools during last Saturday's session.
"The demonstration went well," Mr. Richardson said. He broke down his elaborate home set-up to just a few necessary portable pieces and set up shop near the front of the B.J. Spoke Gallery.
"People that attended were seated in front of the table I was working at and asked many questions about both the software (Paint Tool Sai / Photoshop CS6) and hardware I use, particularly my tablet," Mr. Richardson said. "They also had questions about my creative process and where my ideas come from."
Mr. Richardson enjoyed interacting while he worked with those attending the demonstration, which he admits is far different from his usual practice of working alone. "Some were artists, but everyone seemed to enjoy seeing the artwork take shape as they watched and as I am fairly adept at the techniques, the work progressed very quickly," Mr. Richardson said. "I enlarged the work as I drew so they were able to see the fine detail that goes into all of my pieces. For me, it was encouraging that everyone appreciated that what I do involves a level of skill and knowledge similar to using more classic mediums such as oils or watercolor."
Mr. Richardson said he approached the B.J. Spoke Gallery about the demonstration "in an effort to bring to light some of the new techniques artists are using in illustration and to clear up the misconception that digital illustration is somehow less of a skill than illustrating with more conventional mediums."
The Huntington alum is anxious to clear up some popular misconceptions. "When people hear Photoshop, they often think a photograph is being manipulated and in some cases this is how artists use the software, but in my work I begin with a sketch and then layer on the ink just as a painter would do with paint or ink."
The current exhibit at B.J. Spoke Gallery is titled, "Emerging Artists," which includes a display of student work, "so my demonstration fit in nicely with that theme," Mr. Richardson said. "It was generous of them to let me try this out and I enjoyed working with Marilyn Lavi at the gallery, who was very supportive of my efforts. I look forward to doing more of these types of demonstrations, possibly for school art classes."