The strong life of Donald A Strong

Donald Strong in the 80's

My dearest friend, Don Strong, whom I have known since he graduated from Columbia in the 80's has finally found release from the taxing illnesses that compromised the vital life he sought to lead. The battle  did not stifle the tremendous amount of energy he had in his life. Being an indomitable spirit he forged ahead with the dreams of his life, with a great impact as a GW faculty member on friends, colleagues, students at GWU and beyond. To those of us who loved him, as both friend and brother, he made you stand in your glory if you couldn't see it yourself. Never an understated person, in mind or in volume, he would push you to reaches within that may not had been obvious or even comfortable to recognize before. 

The bouts Don had with his body, and sometimes with us, were balanced by the loving support he generously shared with the world at large. For me, the sadness was the way he left us. Quietly without a word, in the course of a dark night, when in the past, he would normally had rallied us for assistance.  Not hearing from him was in every way, not normal. The suddenness and  deafening silence of it all had to be by choice. In my mind, he decided the moment had come to move to the next stage, whatever that may look like, saying goodbye without a word.

I will miss my brilliant friend, brother and loved one that sometimes gave too much and other times accepted too little. I will make my way forward with the knowledge and spirit of his emphatic ways, still resonating with me and egging me onward to be all I can be. I miss you already, Don Strong.

My Time in the World of Fashion

See the CBS Feature Here

Under a canopy of bright lights wrapped in a furl of sound equipment and cameras, I sat knee to knee with Anthony Mason, the CBS This Morning Saturday anchor to conduct an interview about my role in the world of fashion illustration, some years ago and today. His own intimate knowledge of that world, having grown up in the midst of it, had our light conversation remain just that...a light conversation. The nervousness I felt being interviewed on camera vanished as we spoke heart to heart about the world of fashion illustration.  We spoke of how it had once shined so brightly, then dimmed, and is now re-discovered as a lost art. He asked how I found myself doing fashion art, and I told him of the fateful day I walked through the doors of Edith Obel's fashion drawing class at Cass Tech H.S. in Detroit into a world I didn't realize existed. There, I found the art skill that really resonated with me in the beauty of women and the fashion world that was devised for it.

Today, for evidence of people's desire to see these illustrations, one only had to witness the throng of people that flocked to the opening of The Visionaries exhibit curated by fashion artist, Bil Donovan, at the Society of Illustrators on East 63rd street. The exhibit was filled with over sixty fashion illustrations by the top names in the industry, compiled for FIT's Francis Neady's Museum archive, in which I proudly have works.

One could also find aesthetes clamoring for entry to openings spearheaded by the great global connoisseurs of fashion art, Connie and Ashley Gray, at their Gray MCA Gallery in London. As Anthony had seen in  TUNSTULL, From Fashion to Fine Art, co-written by Jelani Bandele, I had an extensive role in the fashion art world with clients such as, WWD, Vogue, Playbill, Bloomingdales, Ralph Lauren, L'Oreal, before launching into my current fine art and teaching careers.

To my pleasure, part of the interview featured me creating a quick sketch of photographer and dear friend Romney Mueller-Westernhagen. Besides lending her natural beauty and energy to this moment, she played a pivotal role in my career as an illustrator.

For many of us, whether in the fashion business or not, illustrations were a part of our lives, as we fingered through newspapers, magazines, billboards, posters, books and the like. They added aesthetics in our lives and contributed to a more artfully inspired community. The new fashion illustrators of today bring dynamic new version of the art, with new materials and more inclusive attitudes about beauty. Names like CarlosAponte, George Gozum, Leonard Cadiente, to name a few, are bringing new excitement to the storied discipline.

Be sure to watch Tunstull, Bil Donovan and Sara Singh on CBS this Saturday, February 29th during the 8:00am EDT hour.

For more of my fashion art: www.tunstullstudio.com
Photos by Romney Mueller-Westernhagen

Sketch of Romney for the interview

Tunstull and Anthony Mason

L'Oreal sketch (l.) and Autumn Stroll (r.)

Meeting old friends for the very first time

When was the last time you met someone for the first time and felt like you were already old friends? Not just the sensation that you liked and understood one another upon first meeting, which is rare enough, but that you had a shared history of life experiences that were so similar, that you must have passed one another at events or in the hallways of your lives. Was this a perception from the past or a precognition of the future? This thought rambled through my mind from the moment I first met Monina Von Opel, and her husband Edward, at my studio this past weekend. Both having lived in Paris, and she as a fashion editor, had me convinced we had more in common than baguettes and brie.

They had arrived for a studio visit to select an oil painting for the permanent collection at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. The recently built modern facility contains many works from some of the top artists known on the island and elsewhere. I was thrilled to be sought out for the honor and had cleaned up the studio for the visit.

Works bubble wrapped for their long term protection were freed from the encasements and sparkled  like new again. As we poured over the works, my artistic past in oils and watercolors flowed before our eyes, with many attendant stories of how and where they came about. Though the works have been with me all along, they felt like children returning home and showing me how much they had grown. For artists, the distance of time is the only way one's works can be truly appreciated by its creator. In time all the unmet desires for the work falls away and the art stands on its own in the artist's eyes.

Monina and Edward selected "Rose Dawn" to grace the walls of the gallery, as a memory of our new found friendship. https://www.mvhospital.com/art/collection

Artful Levity with Audrey Smaltz

Nigel Freeman and Audrey Smaltz

In the highly coveted setting of the Swann Gallery on East 25th St, some of the most beautiful examples of African American Artists works of the 20th century are on view from the private collection of the Johnson Publishing Company, of Ebony Magazine fame. Filled to overflowing with friends and collectors, those storied art filled walls roared with laughter and delight as the ever vivacious, Audrey Smaltz, dazzled the audience with stories of her global exploits as seekers of high fashion and art along with Eunice Johnson, creator of the Ebony Fashion Fair.

In her inimitable way, Audrey described the arc of her life as a model/commentator turned entrepreneur, and wove in stories of the rarefied lifestyle she enjoyed as a collaborator of one of the greatest collection of haute couture and fine art ever assembled. The talk was as enlightening as it was gratifying, as we vicariously stepped into the world view of two of the greatest purveyors of alternative perspectives of African American life. Audrey maximized those years as a fashionista and later created her own milestone enterprise, The Ground Crew, employing many young people, new to the fashion world, during Fashion Week.

The gallery walls meant for artistic contemplation, reverberated with laughter as we learned of the many experiences Audrey enjoyed with her larger than life personality. Honored to be questioned by the Head of the African American Collections, Nigel Freeman, a fun banter started from the beginning. Smiling from the surrounding walls, the masterful works of Richard Mayhew, Ann Tanksley, Jacob Lawrence, Francis Sprout, Kenneth V. Young, Barbara Johnson Zuber, and Henry O'Tanner (coined HOT's by Audrey) among many others. As Audrey said, "one must have art and music in your home" for it to feel alive. I believe the many works came to life that night. Many friends were there to get an early look at the art and share the moment with Audrey. Incidentally she shared how she and Gail were collectors of my work, while on the podium, which was an honor for me.

The official auction for the Johnson Publishing Company artworks is Thursday, 2:00pm, January 30th, at 104 East 25th St, NYC.

Audrey Smaltz, Barbara Harris and Lu Sierra

Coco Mitchell and Lu Sierra

Glenn and Audrey Smaltz

Glenn and John Treadwell

Last Night on the Vineyard

Last night was like no other night of this past year, celebrating my 18th year of showing my art on the Vineyard. The confluence of positive energy, abounding love and mutual support pervaded the opening at Cousen Rose Gallery.  The initial trickle of friends gave way to a swarm of guests, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Almost instantaneously the gallery filled with smiling faces and warm embraces for one another and for Joe and myself.

Zita Cousens had mounted such a beautiful exhibit that each work was appreciated by all. People liked the more animated approach to the oil landscapes and were equally taken with the watercolors of locals enjoying summer life on Martha's Vineyard. Conversations were brisk and lively among new and old acquaintances, some seeing one another for the first time this season.

I managed to see friends only seen here this time of year.  Just walking in the door I was met with a robust greeting from Roger and Myrna, sitting alongside of Nadia. Two people in our hearts are Preston and Connie, who we have missed seeing for several seasons, brought much joy. Many friends had the pleasure of seeing Lailah Hathaway perform the same evening and made their way to the gallery afterward. Among the supporters were Charles and Reesa, in lovely summer attire, Dennis and Nancy, our gracious hosts from Sarasota, Willie and Lateria, Karl and Kirk,  Jean and her sister Agnes, my WWD colleagues from years ago, Ed and Claudia, Wesley and Judy, our friend Regina was there with great art promoter Valerie, the vivacious Audrey and astounding Gail, alongside Pamela and her sister Charlayne, in from Amsterdam. It was a pleasure to see Hassan, Linda and Christine, being among the earliest supporters of my work on MV.

I could go on highlighting the many supporters that brought well wishes and love last night, however suffice it to say, that everyone had a great time, the work was admired and many took something home to add to their lives.

Photos by: Romney Mueller-Westenhagen

Questions creating Solutions

After feverish brushstrokes hurriedly applied to the canvas begin to accumulate into the promise of a great painting, the inevitable moment of apprehension about the outcome falls over the canvas like mud on a windshield. The mass of brilliant strokes that looked so promising moments or days earlier suddenly reveal new directions that hadn't been considered when the inspiration burned hotly.  Resolving newly created design situations take over from the fun of fluid responses to sparkling inspiration. 

Part of the fun of doing any artwork is the challenges that occur along the way.  The balancing of going left or right, deeper or lighter, warmer or cooler plays itself out in each original stroke, dictating what should come next or what should not have happened at all. As always those decisions will find their solutions in the maelstrom of choices each of us as artists deal with.

A year has passed since my new book, TUNSTULL From Fashion To Fine Art was published, and the elation of having my art career brought into focus has only begun. I am delighted by the recognition of my career by many personally unknown people and the opportunity to display my work in different places. One of those events is coming up in a few weeks beginning on Saturday, October 21st at 7pm for the Detroit Diaspora Exhibition at the Carr Center, 1505 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48226. This group show event will highlight my abstract paintings, which were recently on view on Martha's Vineyard. I would love to see you if you are in the area that evening. I will be there with a few copies of my book if you would like a signed copy.

The Detroit Diaspora Exhibition

Tunstull---From-Fashion-to-Fine-Art