Pygmalion and Galatea

TOM - Wow, so it's been a super long time since I've posted here! Although I might not always get around to posting on this blog, I am always making new work and posting almost daily on my Facebook Page, my Twitter page, and you can also check me out on Instagram now too at: thomaspitilli

Before the year closes out, I would like to add a new personal piece I made. It's an illustration I made based on the tale of  Pygmalion and Galatea. As the tale goes, Pygmalion falls deeply in love with the sculpture he created, wishing that he could find a wife as beautiful as she. The goddess Venus then grants him this wish by bringing the sculpture to life. The first time I became familiar with this tale was when I saw a painting inspired by it at the Metropolitan Museum of Art years ago (see below). Ever since, it has been my favorite painting in the museum. Many artists have tackled this particular story over the years, Jean-Leon Gerome's is by far my favorite. This is my inspired interpretation of the tale, hope you enjoy. Also, look out for prints of this piece in the near future! Thanks so much for checking in and Happy Holiday's! 

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Eat your fruits and veggies!

TOM- Been a LONG time! Sorry I've neglected the blog. I've been busy and been making a ton of new work! I tend to post more frequently to my Facebook and Twitter pages, so be sure to follow me there for all the most up to date work. In the meantime, here's a brand new piece inspired by summer, nature, and my love for fruits and vegetables, oh and pretty girls! Hope you're enjoying your summer!

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COVERS!

 TOM - Been a while since my last post! Sorry 'bout that, but it has been busy and eventful, and here is a look at some of the things I have worked on since. Three different covers I illustrated, one for Fort Worth Weekly and two for The Washington Post Express. These were all super fun to work on, hope you dig 'em. Thanks for checking in!

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Black Star

TOM - Here’s a recent illustration I did of the legendary hip hop group, Black Star. The group consists of  Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey (formally known as Mos Def). I’ve been a fan of both of their individual careers for a while and now that the group is back together, it’s exciting to hear the new music that is coming out.  I tired my best to capture their style, which really sets itself apart from the majority of the current  hip hop aesthetic, and was fun to interpret in an illustration.

Here’s a look at the idea in it’s early sketch phase. I wanted something simple that captured their movement and energy on stage as well  as showcasing their bad ass vintage mics which are super cool! I knew I wanted to do some kind of abstract, colorful background, so that is very roughly indicated here.

After I decided on that sketch, I lightboxed some pencils over it, and inked it up.  Here is the final black and white image.

I had a lot of fun working on this, it’s always enjoyable creating images of people that you are interested in, I feel that connection always makes the image stronger in the end.

Thanks for reading!

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Sexy Fruit Prints

TOM- These are some recent linoleum cut prints that I made for an upcoming Slap Dash event, with the theme, Sex Ed. I wanted to make something that was not figurative, but still suggestive enough to work within the theme of the show. I had a lot of fun making these. Above is is the version in which I added a layer of color in Photoshop, below are the straight forward cuts, sans color, and how they will appear in the show.

If you're in Brooklyn on Saturday night, come out and hang! Here's the info:

Slap Dash Sex Ed (Readings, Video, Film, and Art Show)

@LaunchPad  721 Franklin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238

8pm-11pm

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Cut It Out!

TOM - I’ve been having fun experimenting with some collage elements in my work recently. I always find it refreshing to introduce a new technique that I don’t know much about in order to breathe new life into the work. Here are a couple examples of some of the work I’ve been cooking up with that approach.  Hope you dig it!

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Drawing People In NYC

TOM - As an exercise in artistic discipline and just plain ol' havin' fun, I've been carrying around a sketch book very regularly. On trains, at cafe's, in waiting rooms, bookstores, wherever. Over the years I have fallen in and out of this habit, currently I'm in it and having a good time. This time around, to avoid freezing up, I purposely buy really cheap, flimsy sketchbooks for no more than $3 each. The point is not to set out to make a good drawing or to have some sort of pretty object that I can carry around with me, the point is to make different types of marks, strengthen my eye-hand coordination and keep the juices flowing. I'm in love with these little sketchbooks you can get at the MUJI store in Soho. They're small, have smooth paper and super cheap, perfect. My current sketchbook is filled with some pretty bad drawings, but these are the few where I felt most confident in my approach, mainly because I wasn't thinking about the drawing when I was drawing it.

Thanks for reading and happy 2012!

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