I was very happy to have the opportunity to design the upcoming Go West! Craft Fest flyer.
The birds are all birds that migrate through Philly in the fall: The Philadelphia vireo, an eastern bluebird, and a blackburnian warbler, plus a nuthatch because they're naturally acrobatic. I read about trees in The Woodlands to decide what kind of leaves to draw, and I learned that the first ginkgo tree was brought to the US and planted in the Woodlands. They're such a pretty yellow color in the fall too (even though they smell!) Here's a look at my preliminary drawing:
If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen some of the progress shots too:
The Donkeys Around Town program is a civic initiative of the Philadelphia 2016 Host Committee for the Democratic National Convention. In celebration of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, fifty-seven fiberglass donkeys will be painted by local artists to represent the fifty states, Washington, D.C. and the six U.S. territories. The donkeys, the symbol of the Democratic Party, will be displayed from July 1 – 31, 2016 at popular sites and attractions throughout Philadelphia.
The Donkeys Around Town program will include a social media campaign as well as a scavenger hunt - facilitated through an app that will be created specifically for this program - in order to engage residents, delegates and visitors in the excitement around the Convention and make everyone feel like they are part of the action in Philadelphia during Convention week.
I applied for the project through ArtJawn, and was one of the artists chosen to paint two donkeys. I was assigned Alaska and North Carolina. Each artist was given 6 ideas from their states' delegation, and had to use at least three to represent the state or territory.
Here are the originals sketches I submitted for the donkey plans:
Alaska asked for Mt Denali, salmon, northern lights, a moose, forget me nots (the state flower), and their flag (the big dipper). The black rectangle is where the state name goes.
North Carolina wanted mountains, a lighthouse, BBQ, cardinals (their state bird), and dogwood (their state flower). The BBQ design was changed because they decided they would like long leaf pines to represent the middle of their state.
If you would like to see pictures of the donkeys in progress, please take a look on my Instagram.
Here's the finished Alaska donkey:
This is before the letterer painted the state name.
All of the artists worked together in a warehouse. You can see Vermont's donkey behind mine. We had under a week to finish the donkeys; it was a very tight timeline, but a lot of fun!
Here are some Alaska details:
Here's the finished North Carolina donkey:
I added a woodpecker and fox squirrel to represent a longleaf pine forest. I also thought a rainbow was appropriate for North Carolina democrats.
Here's a detailed look:
You can see the texture of the donkey here. They are made out of fiberglass; it was a challenging surface to paint on, but donkeys do have fur.
Here's a close up of the cardinals from instagram:
The donkeys have been delivered to their location all around the city. I'll get more pictures of the donkeys when they are out "in the wild". Here's the official map with the donkey locations for all of the states: http://www.phldnc.com/donkeys/
The North Carolina donkey is at the Jim's Steaks on South St (yum!), and Alaska is hanging out at the Sofitel Hotel near Rittenhouse (fancy!).
I'm going to try to get a photo of Alaska this Sunday, so check my Instagram.
This project has gotten a lot of press coverage! I tried not to make eye contact with any cameras, but you can see me at the very end of this clip: 57 Painted Donkeys to Decorate for DNC
I want to end with photos of some of the other artist's donkeys; I'm linking from Instagram, but you can find a listing of all artists on ArtJawn.com Also, keep checking out the #donkeysaroundtown tag on Twitter and Instagram to see all the donkeys.
There will be a scavenger hunt with PRIZES in Philadelphia starting July 21. A listing of the prizes is here: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2016/07/dnc-donkeys-around-town-scavanger-hunt-scavify.html
In the picture above you can see a little of my process. I start with a preliminary drawing in pencil and transfer the image to good paper. I always start with adding the colors first, and then I place the pencil linework over top.
If you're in Philly you should definitely stop by on April 30th. It's always a good time!
I loved drawing these birds. All of them are birds that you could see at West Philly feeders in the winter. I also included the setting for the event, The Rotunda.
A photo posted by Melissa Mccullough (@poppedstitches) on
I'll have work at the Main Line Art Center until this Saturday, November 22. There are loads of great handmade goods there for early holiday shopping.
My last event for November will be A Bit of the Arts in Lansdowne on Black Friday and Small business Saturday. I hope to see a lot of Delco people there :)
I have not stayed on top of my blog this fall, but that's a good thing! It means I was super busy.
Here's what I've been up to:
New Work:
I created some new Philadelphia inspired work.
I used West Philly row houses for my references for the two pieces below. I think West Philly has the most beautiful houses in the whole city.
Penn's Woods I, watercolor & graphite on Rives BFK, 26x11”, 2015.
“Penn’s Woods II, watercolor & graphite on Rives BFK, 26x11”, 2015".
Here are some closer looks:
Another new piece was inspired by one of my very favorite buildings in Philadelphia, The Divine Lorraine Hotel. The hotel has been empty and unkept for years, but many people in Philly are really fond of this building. Read more about it here.
Philadelphia has some of the best food! One of my favorite snacks are Philly soft pretzels. This raccoon stole one! (He's way better than New York's pizza rat)
“Pretzel Bandit, watercolor & graphite on Rives BFK, 8x10”, 2015."
Thank you so much to anyone who stopped by my table to say hi!
Stockists:
I am in two additional stores since August.
I have cards available at the baby goods store, Minnow Lane in Fishtown. I'm also in Nice Things Handmade on East Passyunk; you can pick up cards, prints, and brooches there.
