1980's
The Early Years (Art during the summer before Middle School)
The Early Years (Art during the summer before Middle School)
INSPIRED BY TRIPS TO NEW YORK CITY
My grandparents were always taking my brother and I to exciting and interesting places
in and around New York City during our summer vacations.
After a trip with my grandparents to the Aircraft Carrier USS Intrepid I made this
cardboard model while sitting at their kitchen table in Astoria, New York.
It was the summer of 1980 and I was 10 years old.
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FASCINATION WITH SAILING SHIPS
After the visit to the USS Intrepid, I became very interested in sailing ships.
I wasted no time after my summer vacation with my grandparents before I started drawing ships.
Back home in Connecticut, my mother took me to the Mystic Seaport in Mystic Connecticut.
What I remember most about the museum was their model ship exhibits.
Those models were incredible and the detail on them was so fine they almost looked real.
They reminded me of the model ships my Uncle Joe used to build. I decided I wanted to build model ships
like that.
I made blueprints and building plans that I intended to use to make my own models. Here are some
of those drawings and models.
Pen & Ink 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
Colored Markers 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
Pencil 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
Pen & Ink 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
Pen & Ink 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
Pen & Ink - Colored Marker 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
Pen & Ink - Colored Marker 1981-82 (10-11 Years Old) |
I did not have access to real modeling supplies so I used materials that I found around the
house. One awesome building material I found were toothpicks. I used them to build my first ship
models. I had no idea how to construct a hull using toothpicks so I started by building only
the decks of the ships. Here is my first toothpick model of a small ship deck. I was about 11 when I built
this model.
Toothpick Model 1982 (11 Years Old) |
This is a more complex model, also created using toothpicks. The model is
somewhat damaged which you can see in the railings, I'm surprised it has not been completely demolished in all
this time. I must thank my mother for keeping these early art projects tucked away and safe.
I was about 11 when I built this model.
Toothpick Model 1982 (11 Years Old) |
My mother eventually took me to a hobby shop to purchase some balsa wood for my ship models.
I used the balsa wood to create this next model when I was about 11. I jumped from one model to the next
without completing them when I realized that the materials I was using did not produce the
results that I was after. I talked with my parents and convinced my father to buy me a wooden model
ship kit.
Balsa Wood Model 1982 (11 Years Old) |
Here is the wooden model ship kit that my father bought me. I am still working on it today.
I pull it out every couple of years and work on it, and it will get finished one day.
I'm not going to buy another wooden ship model ...this one is it.
Wooden Model Ship Kit Started in 1982 (11 Years Old) |