About this item

The humble pencil is the world's most flexible and forgiving drawing material. And in Pencil Art Workshop artist and educator Matt Rota (author of The Art of Ballpoint) explores the pencil's phenomenal range. Turn to any chapter--drawing with line, drawing with tone, drawing quickly, photorealism, adding color--and you'll discover, through step-by-step instructions and illustrations, how to choose the right pencil and use it to its fullest in every drawing style. Each chapter also includes a gallery of edgy and inspiring works by contemporary pencil artists to enjoy, and to give inspiration



About the Author

Matt Rota

MATT ROTA
Illustrator/Educator/Author

EDUCATION
BFA, Maryland Institute College of Art
MFA,The School of Visual Arts

CLIENTS
The New York Times, The New Yorker, The LA Times, Fast Company, McSweeny's, Foreign Policy Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Chronicle Books, Medium, Pro Publica, The Center For Investigative Research, Columbia Journalism Review, GQ Italy, Vice, etc etc...

Growing up in Upstate New York in a modest town overlooking Lake Ontario, he developed an interest in drawing from his mother at a young age. When he was seven she took him to figure drawing classes at a local college where she was studying to become a teacher. This was his first exposure seeing the process of drawing. By his early teens he was studying his mothers anatomy and art history books. His interest grew through his high school years, inspired by comic book artists like Jon J. Muth, Kent Williams, and Dave Mckean, he became focused on figurative narrative drawing. After high school he was excepted into the Maryland Institute College of Art, and studied in the Fine Arts department focusing primarily on drawing and painting. After graduating with a BFA he worked as an assistant comic book colorist for a number of years where he developed an interest in digital arts, which would lead to his developing a personal style that blends both traditional drawing with digital techniques. During this time he began to pursue a career in freelance illustration. While sending his work to art directors he also applied to the School of Visual Arts MFA in Visual Essay program. He was simultaneously excepted to the program while having his first work published in New York Times. He continued to freelance while completing his MFA. Soon after graduating he began teaching at The Maryland Institute College of Art in the illustration program, and soon after at the School of Visual arts. Aside from freelancing and teaching Matt was creating a body of paintings that would go on be included in numerous group shows and later solo exhibitions at galleries in Los Angeles, New York, and Paris. Matt currently lives in Brooklyn, continues to freelance as an illustrator, is an instructor and the School of Visual Arts in both the continuing education, and MFA Visual Narrative programs, as well as exhibiting his drawings in galleries internationally. He's received awards and recognition for his work from the Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, 3x3 Magazine, Spectrum, American Illustration, and Luerzer's Archive.

FOLLOW HIS WORK AT
mattrotasart.com
mattrotasartnews.tumblr.com
@matt_rota



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