Latest Digital Painting

This is an illustration for my digital painting class, for a story about a writer/journalist that becomes infatuated with a modest and lovely young woman, but the feelings are not mutual. "She was like one of the characters in his novels..." He asks her to marry him and she declines.

I wanted to use some of the physical elements associated with writing, and play on their romantic qualities, old-fashioned handwritten notes, pen and ink etc. The girl in the story is quite a few years younger, still a teenager actually, so there is an underlying tone in there, so the masculine symbol of the pen I thought was fitting. I scanned in some crumpled paper to add texture and sketched out different poses for the girl until I felt she looked demure enough. The most fun was painting the ink-in-water :)

Another Editorial challenge

This is my attempt at a cover illustration for a University magazine that was featuring an article on the diversity of their students, and the tremendous ambition shown by all to take on the world and its social issues. (I attempted to represent all nationalities with their flag colors as the leaves)

Watercolor 18x24 (layout by Eson Chan)

This next article was about the enormous task we have to implement the necessary measures to reduce the global climate change. I decided to play with watercolors for this one... since I've been doing so much acrylic lately, it was a welcome change.

Here's the final... which I just found out (4/14/10) was chosen to be published in next month's Brandeis University Magazine!

Project Impossible

Woohoo! Just found out this piece for Sky and Telescope got chosen to be printed in their July Issue!! Thanks Pat and Casey!

The good thing about digital work is that its relatively easy to add and subtract things. They asked me to add reading glasses to show more of the age of the man. ..aand voila :) I think I like it better with the glasses. It was a good call.

Here's the finished piece.

This is another digital project I'm working on for an editorial piece in the Sky & Telescope Magazine.

Thesis Project 2009

Image 1 of 7, Acrylic 12x16

Image 2 of 7, Acrylic 9x12

Image 3 of 7, Acrylic 12x9

Image 4 of 7, Acrylic 9x12

First Flight, Acrylic on artboard, 12x16

(just found out 2/12/10 that this piece got into the Society of Illustrators Student Competition!!)

Image 6 of 7, Acrylic 12x14

Image 7 of 7, Acrylic 12x16

These 7 images I created as part of my thesis project at Massart. I adapted a story from Plato, the Allegory of the Cave, using birds instead of humans in a more modern setting. All these images I transferred into a hand bound book, where I also showed my sketches and process work. The book itself was bound in dark cloth, sewn together with japanese stab binding using copper-toned thread, the pages made of off-white printmaking paper, and the cover I embellished with twisted copper wires mimicking the bars of the birdcage.

Pet Gazette Project

Playing Dressup, Acrylic

the Sketch

I was delighted to find that our first project in Freelance class was for the Pet Gazette, a free newspaper that has about 50,000 readers on the South Shore, and always features great artwork on the front cover. The art is prominently featured without type or teasers over it. The inspiration for this piece came from thinking about what our pets are doing at home while we are away.

Some projects from 2009

Portrait of Julia Butterfly Hill, Acrylic

The Crop Circle Culprit, Acrylic on canvas

My Guitar, color pencil

Seeing Eye Dog, color Pencil

Love in the 21st Century, Acrylic

A Conceptual Portrait

Fancy-pants Andy Samberg, 12x16 Acrylic on board

I really admire artists like CF Payne, Dale Stephanos, Anita Kunz, Tom Richmond, Steve Brodner (& many more) that have the ability to capture the look and character of a person in their portraitures. I enjoy the slight exaggerations that are a bit more subtle and intriguing than the extreme caricatures in political cartoons. Although Steve Brodner's work is more along those lines, I saw his work at an exhibit at the Norman Rockwell museum and I was really impressed.

Some of the first memories I have of trying to be an "artist" as a teenager typically involved me attempting to draw the faces of my siblings or friends. Occasionally I will hear from an old friend and they'll tell me, "Oh I still have that drawing you did of me from way back when!" I seemed to always give my art away since I maybe have 3 or 4 drawings in my possession that I did before I started going to art school. I guess I'm learning to get more attached to my art, although I still go through phases where I can't stand to see my own work. (You'll never see a piece of mine hanging in my house, I would probably stare and obsess over it waaaay too much if I had it sitting in front of my nose all day.)

All that to say, I attempted to do my own caricature of comedian Andy Samberg last semester for a hypothetical conceptual celebrity portrait for a Rolling Stone article. I quite enjoyed the process and also the reaction I got from people. I think I will try it again soon.