Christmas Is Almost Here!

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Place orders by December 18th for delivery by December 24th!
OFFER ONLY VALID 12/8-12/18, 2013.

"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor"

I'M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor by Jim French has finally been released! It is a collection of never before seen Polaroids by Mr. French to be used as reference for his illustrations.

While his resulting drawings were beautiful, it's no wonder he switched to photography later in his career. The book contains 116 color and black and white photos. As an artist that has recently begun to explore the male nude, it is an inspiration and guide. It's amazing to see the time he put into making each setup and the all the poses, props, and settings he explored. I'll definitely be taking the time to examine each image.

"Push and Pull" at the Leslie Lohman Museum

UPCOMING SHOW! I've been selected to exhibit as part of the Push and Pull show, later this month. The Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art hold a drawing studio every week. I've been attending the group off and on for the last two years. Here's what they have to say about the show:

Push and Pull is a sampling of works on paper created over several years by 40 artists from the weekly Leslie-Lohman Drawing Studio, in such contrasting media as wax, charcoal, collage, pencil, inks, acrylic, and other watercolors. As the battle for same-sex marriage continues and the institution is redefined in many places in the US, artists from the Drawing Studio interpret the fundamental issues of male couples and how they relate to one another. This is the first in a new series of pop-up shows exhibiting and selling work from The Drawing Studio. Works on display will be for sale.

PUSH AND PULL

Curator: Frank Sheehan

Opening Reception: Friday, December 13, 2013, 6:00-8:00PM

Exhibition Dates: December 14-15, 2013, 12:00-6:00PM

Facebook Event

Check Out The New JohnMacConnell.com!

YOU BIG JOHN MACCONNELL FANS (MOM), may have noticed a few things have changed around here. I'm very excited to announce the launch of the new JohnMacConnell.com! The site still showcases my professional illustration and graphic design work but has some new sections I'm very excited to tell you about.

Follow Me on Instagram! @JohnMacConnell

I JOINED THE INSTAGRAM BANDWAGON a few months ago, and so should you! I love it! Get a glimpse into my process and inspiration! Follow me @JohnMacConnell!

Boys of Summer: Recap

I HOPE YOU ALL WERE ABLE TO STOP BY this past weekend for the Boys of Summer: Artwork from the Pines Nude Drawing Group show at the Leslie Lohman Museum. Opening night we saw around 300 visitors, alone! Saturday night was another big night as we hosted a special cocktail hour for one of our sponsors of the event, Front Runners New York. Throughout the weekend, I was in and out of the gallery and was excited to always find a few people checking out the art. All-in-all, it was a huge success!

Opening Night

Personally, this was an exciting weekend for me. This was my first gallery show in New York, outside of school exhibitions, years ago. I had about a dozen drawings in the show. I was overwhelmed by the support I received from friends and museum faculty. Thank you to everyone who showed up! I even managed to sell a few pieces! 

Special thanks to Carlos Pisco and Shungaboy, for leading a beautiful show!

Boys of Summer: Artwork from the the Pines Nude Drawing Group

THE LESLIE LOHMAN MUSEUM presents 

Boys of Summer: Artwork from the Pines Nude Drawing Group

Opening: April 5th, 6-9 PM

April 6th & 7th, 12-7 PM

Prince Street Project Space

127-B Prince Street, New York, NY 10012

(Between West Broadway and Wooster Streets)

FEATURING WORKS BY: Anthony Gonzales, Carlos Pisco, Dan Evans, Duane Neil, George Towne, Grant Aronld Anderson, Ian Sklarsky, John MacConnell (THAT'S ME!), Kenneth Nadel, Richard Des Jardins, Rob Clarke, Robert de Michiell, Shungaboy, Todd Yeager, William Bil Donovan, W. Douglas Topper, and archival images from the Fire Island Pines Historical Preservation Society.

If you're in New York, please stop by the first weekend in April for this show at the Leslie Lohman Musuem. It is my first since finishing grad school. It is a collection of drawings and sketches that I created over the last two summers on the beaches of Fire Island with the Pines Nude Drawing group. Mine and other work will be for sale. Postcard designed by me!

Drawing William - 02/07/13

AS I MENTIONED LAST WEEK, Mark Beard gets really great models. Exhibit A, above, B, C, D, E, and F, below. William could have been sculpted out of stone. I can't believe the abs on this guy. Even better, he really has fun on the podium with complicated poses. He posed for an entire three minutes BALANCING ON ONE LEG! I'm not kidding. Check the image below, in blue ink. He was still as stone. Unbelievable!

I really took the time to slow down to get shape and volume this week. I really wanted to capture his physique. I think I achieved my goal, but the end result looks a little stiff. I guess that's what you get for drawing a sculpture...

IN OTHER NEWS, it sounds like some of my figure drawings are going to in an upcoming show at the Leslie Lohman Museum in Soho. In talks with them, I know a few pieces will be shown, but I don't know which yet. The show, Boys of Summer, will be in early April. No further details at the moment; stay tuned to find out more!

Pools: Reflections by Kelly Klein

BIG NEWS!!!!! 

Pools: Reflections by Kelly Klein is now on sale. Pools: Reflections (published by Rizzoli, designed by Sam Shahid) is Kelly Klein's follow up to Pools, published in 1992. The original was a history book of the medium, filled with classic beauties and many vintage images. The follow-up, 20 years later, takes a contemporary look at the pool. The images show works of art and new architectural feats, as well as, pools that have been abandoned and taken on a second life. It is also the first hardcover book that has MY NAME IN IT!!!! Such an exciting moment for me!

At the end of last year, Pools: Reflections' designer, Sam Shahid, recommended me to Kelly Klein to assist her with image research as well as some minor production tasks. I jumped at the opportunity to work with Kelly. She began as a designer for Calvin Klein and later moved into editorial and fashion photography, with an impressive laundry list of clients. Later she began authoring books, curating simply beautiful stories of pictures. Some of her titles include Pools, Underworld, Horse, and now Pools: Reflections.

I learned so much from the experience and from Kelly. She has such a keen eye for beauty and amazing scope, that enabled her to collect this vivid story. Additionally, it was an education of the world of photography. I have become acquainted with so many new artists I can hardly handle it and I'm so excited to continue to learn.

The icing on the cake is that the whole experience was tons of fun. Kelly was a joy to work for and it didn't hurt that I got to work out of her swanky office, first in the Meatpacking and later in Chelsea. This last week I was a little star-stuck at the book launch party. The event was held at Barney's (who is selling the special edition, that comes with a hard-case and t-shirt) and the room was filled with celebrities from the fashion and photography world. I was able to identify the likes of Bruce Weber, Calvin Klein, and Simon Doonan; but unfortunately, I'm sure I missed some other folks since I rarely get to peek into that world.

Last, but not least, all profits from the sale of Pools: Reflections will go to ACRIA an HIV/AIDS charity that works to develop new medication and is searching for a cure.

I'm so happy I got the opportunity to work on Pools: Reflections and with Kelly Klein, and it's is so exciting to see my name printed in a hardcover. Be sure to buy your copy today!! If you're nice to me, I'll even autography it for you. ;)