Natural History Drawing

These are from a class I am taking this semester called Natural History Drawing. Basically, it's drawing from plants and such. It's a lot fun. I mostly work in inks and watercolor for that class. The first pieces were from a class where we drew from assorted fruits and mushrooms. Very fun. The last image is from a class where we worked in a grid of nine squares, took our best four pieces, and re-worked them to a finish.

Sketchbook Volume 3

Here is some stuff from my last sketchbook I had. They are just some watercolor portraits that I was experimenting with. Basically I threw some color on the page, let it dry for a bit and did the line work. I had a lot of fun with these pieces so I hope to continue with this series.

The Never-ending Shepard Fairey Extravaganza

I'm sorry but I just had to get this off of my chest because I am just SO sick and tired of all of the coverage around this issue. Well folks, it turns out that Shepard Fairey was indeed full of shit and did steal that image of Obama but lied about it to cover his ass(http://www.theworldsbestever.com/2009/10/20/shepard-fairey-tuesday-somebodys-a-big-liar/). Maybe it's just me but, no surprise there. I mean let's be real, if you were facing a million-dollar lawsuit from the Associated Press about copyright infringement would you honestly tell the truth and say yes I did or try everything in your power to avoid it? I'm not saying what he did was right but the fact that people are so surprised by his actions and angered baffles me. Artists have been getting away with copyright issues for YEARS. THIS IS NOTHING NEW and better yet, they make a whole successful career off of it and manage to make a hell of a lot of money. I won't name names but certain people have been making comments about how he used his corporate/capital schemes to make a name for himself. While this is indeed true again I say, THIS IS NOTHING NEW. I hate to break it to ya'll but if you think that being an artist automatically you avoid capitalism and corporate crap then you are in for a rude awakening. The whole gallery network in the end is a, you guessed it, BUSINESS! Not knocking galleries by all means but they are running a business in the end and money is power, especially nowadays. Corporate America is one of the main foundations of the country, hence why the economy is in the toilet. Like I said, what he did was wrong and it's crap but on the other hand this kind of stuff happens all of the time. Seriously people, let's all move on with our lives. Okay, now I feel so much better now that I have gotten that off of my chest.

Academia is killing me.

Hello!
I have had so much to do for my courses over at Lesley which has not been fun, AT ALL. I don't exactly get off on Essentials of Health and Cultural Anthropology. Due to those two classes I have been drawn away from making work for myself or for studio. It's so weird how just having two academic courses distracts me from making work, even when it's two of the easiest courses. Academia is a bitch at times and I cannot wait to be done. Mixed Media is the route I have been going as of late. New favorite tool for paint, the brayer. Seriously anyone into mixed media should take 10 dollars and by one. Also, buy a crap load of cheap acrylic or tempura and go nuts. Throw in magazine scraps, newspaper, candy wrappers, cardboard, whatever. It is the most fun I have had with my work in a long time. Pretty much I have been using a brayer for my backgrounds and doodling over then in my sketchbook. It's been a lot of fun to just let loose. Anyhoo, here are 2 recent doodles from my sketchbook. Enjoy!
EDIT: Added another doodle for ya'll. Just a plain simple one I did in Art Since 1945 last week:)

Old School Part 1

This is work from the past last year from my illustration courses. I still tend to work in this bold line style with brushes, inks, watercolor, acrylic, etc. These are from the classes character design and Obsessions & Phobias. To be honest, I still have mixed feelings on both of those courses but they did help me grow as an artist and come to terms with my style. These are some good pieces that came out of those courses.

Sketchbook Volume 2

Here is some more stuff from my sketchbook. I will be scanning in some more work for next week.

Obama Wins The Nobel Peace Prize

Whoa didn't see that coming in a heartbeat:http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html

Sketchbook Volume 1

Here are some stuff from my sketchbook. Mostly watercolor, inks, and acrylics. Mostly doodles I added color to:

HI HI HI!

My name's Ashley Henry. This blog is a long time coming after getting told almost everyday "YOU NEED TO START A BLOG". Anyway, I'm an Illustrator currently at The Art Institute of Boston and I'm a senior. A little bit about me:
1. I'm a lover of classic rock. It just doesn't get any better than bands like Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Clash, The Beatles, The Ramones, AC/DC, etc.
2. I'm a total goofball and it drives the people in my life crazy sometimes.
3. I'm a huge sci-fi/fantasy/action junkie. It's seriously all I watch and read. Very rarely do I get into chick flicks.
4. I love wandering around aimlessly for hours on end with nothing but my ipod on me.
5. I'm a huge keeper of sketchbooks. I go through one every month and a half or so.
Ok that's it. Now on to the posting of cool images. I'll try to update with work and random tidbits at least once a week or hopefully a lot more frequently. Depends on my workload.

~Ashley