Nucleus | Art Gallery and Store

The Captivating Work of Craig Elliott
Jul 03, 2010 posted by: Skyler

Craig Elliot’s carefully crafted and arresting images of nature and the human form have captivated audiences with their visual and intellectual celebration of the beauty in this world and beyond. In addition to his fine art work, he has had a hand in designing many of today’s most popular animated films from studios such as Disney and Dreamworks. A multi-faceted artist, he is also an accomplished landscape architect, sculptor and most recently, jewelry designer. Especially known for his exceptional ability with the human figure and creative composition, Craig’s work has evolved into a unique vision informing and influencing fine art, print, animation, and commercial worlds.

Drawing from the visual worlds of science and nature, the human figure, the grand tradition of American illustration, Japanese scroll paintings and woodblock prints, fantasy illustration, and great artists of Europe, Elliott’s work strikes the viewer at first with a powerful tableau and draws them in to experience the subtlety and beauty within. Beyond the pictorial impact of his work, themes personal to him such as body image, environmental preservation, and social and psychological repression weave themselves throughout his work.

After attending Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, he began illustrating for various clients and started working full time in the animation industry. He has worked primarily for Disney and Dreamworks, designing their animated films such as Hercules, Mulan, The Emperor's New Groove, Treasure Planet, Shark Tale, Flushed Away, Bee Movie, and Enchanted, Monsters vs. Aliens, and The Princess and the Frog as well as other upcoming features. Craig has also done fully painted comic book and cover artwork for Dark Horse Comics, World of Warcraft Trading cards, editorial illustration for Realms of Fantasy magazine, and more. His work can currently be seen in the books "Treasure Planet a Voyage of Discovery", "The Art of The Princess and the Frog", "Spectrum: the Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" #10, 11, 12, 13 & 15 and a gold medal in 16 and Silver Medal in 17, “The World’s Greatest Erotic Art of Today Vol. 2”, “Erotic Fantasy Art”, “Fantasy art Now 2”, Aphrodisia I and his 3 sketchbooks. Several monograph art books are also in the works.

We will be showcasing two originals by the artist in ICON: A Labor of Line opening Friday, July 16th. One of which is below.

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John Hendrix loves to draw...
Jul 02, 2010 posted by: Skyler

John Hendrix loves to draw. In fact, he is probably drawing right now. Born in St. Louis, Missouri John has been drawing since shortly after that moment. John attended The University of Kansas to study graphic design and illustration, graduating with a degree in Visual Communication in 1999. He received his first commissioned illustration in 2001, for the Village Voice. After working for a few years as a designer, Hendrix moved from Kansas to New York City. He attended The School of Visual Arts MFA “Illustration as Visual Essay” program and graduated in 2003 with honors. Soon after, he did his first illustration for the New York Times, probably the publication he's done the most work for over the years. During his time living and working in New York, the artist has taught at Parsons School of Design and worked his way up at The New York Times as Assistant Art Director of the Op-Ed page for several years.

Hendrix’s work has appeared in such publications as Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Esquire, The New York Times, and Time Magazine among many others. He has also drawn book jackets for the likes of Random House, Harper Collins, Greenwillow Books, Knopf, Penguin, Abrams Books and St. Martin’s Press. His images also appeared in advertising for ESPN/ABC, The NBA and Travelocity. His drawings have won numerous awards, including the Society of Illustrator’s Silver Medal in 2006 and 2008, the 3x3 Gold Medal in sequential illustration and the SILA Silver Best of Show Award.

The artist is a huge fan of typography. As an artist who is writing his own books, he has something to offer that a writer alone or illustrator alone cannot provide. So, the interaction with text inside the frame is a way he uses to create a hybrid language in his work. When asked what a few of his favorite things to draw might be, his answer ranged from old steel bridges, robots, vines, squids, under appreciated civil rights heroes from the 1850’s, watch gears, dimensional bar signage, people with beards, foxes and all kinds of hats. In addition to his editorial drawings and picture books, the artist is teaching Illustration and Communication Design at Washington University in St. Louis.

For the upcoming A Labor of Line, John Hendrix will be contributing two imaginative original works about famous villians who lost their heads (see on below).

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An ICONic Exhibit in 2 Weeks!
Jul 01, 2010 posted by: Wade

We are receiving quite a bit of fantastic work nowadays as we gear up to present ICON: A Labor of Line. The exhibit features more than 50 top illustrators from all over. It is a collection of some of their best work. If you are not familiar, The ICON Illustration Conference is a biennial event that gathers leading names in professional illustration converging to discuss the details of their field. Meeting in other metropolitan areas in the past such as New York and San Francisco, this year's event is the first stop in Los Angeles. Nucleus is honored to have been selected to present the official exhibit in conjunction with the conference. The exhibit is a diverse collection of published and personal work from a select group of innovative image makers.

We welcome you to join us on a special Friday opening reception on July 16th. We promise not to disappoint as we are featuring a variety of medium from oil, ink, collage, silkscreen, sculpture and assemblage. I assure you there will be something for everyone to feast eyes upon and gain inspiration. Below is a sampling of the work featured.

OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, July 16
7pm to 11pm
Free admission, raffle prizes, complimentary beverages by Kirin

Artwork credits: Ryan Berkley, Chris Buzelli, Gary Taxali, Jim Salvati,
Craig Elliot,Tim O'Brien, Daniel Lim, Ching Ching Cheng