Painting for a friend

OK, one last post for the month of May (possibly fastest month on record). This painting was done for some friends of mine. They had been wanting a piece of art for this particular space on their wall and had asked me to do a piece. They provided relatively specific direction on what they wanted by giving me names of artists they liked and showing me some sample images of other pieces they admire. The piece is 3 feet by 6 feet, acrylic and oil on canvas, and hangs in the Morley/Maqsood residence in the Panhandle of San Francisco.

In restrospect, the painting could have been a bit looser and more spontaneous. I think this had to do with the fact that I hadn't painted in a while, especially any "fine art" paintings nor anything that large. I'm looking forward to doing another piece for them soon.

Smile everyone. Summer's almost here.

Computer Bug

This is just a practice illustration I did to experiment with various photoshop techniques. The original drawing was done in black and blue inks on computer paper and I was loosely interpreting the idea of how a computer bug manifests itself and how it is resolved. Along with practicing my photoshop skills, with every piece I do, I am slowly building my own visual language.

Things I learned from doing this piece were:

Do more rendering with traditional techniques first before you bring the image into the computer. I think that I'm pretty terrible when it comes to rendering things with my Wacom tablet and feel much more comfortable doing so using classic techniques. Not only that, but I would much rather be working with my hands using pencils, pens and paints to create rather than sit in front of a computer.

I think when I DO use the computer to color, I might try to limit it to flat color or simple gradients.

The composition of the piece is somewhat lacking, but that could have been better resolved were it not an immediate ink drawing. Not that that's an excuse. I suppose another thing learned, and this is an old problem of mine, is to better flesh out an idea before committing to it. No rendering, textures or computer flashiness is ever going to cover up poor composition, contrast, or any other fundamental element of design.

But i just get so EXCITED! :-/

Creative Hotlist

Please note that more samples of my work, along with a resume, can be found on my CreativeHotlist page. Thanks!

Pen and Ink Sketch

Just a drawing I did a few months ago playing around with different pens, pen nibs, brushes. Also there's a little white out and photoshop in there too.

Dreams and Ravens

This is a tattoo design I did for a friend of mine. She had a really specific idea in mind, which is the only way I would design anything like this for anyone. She directed me pretty well through the process, informing me of what she wanted and what to include based on what the elements of the design meant to her. I'll have to post the "final" piece when its done.

Cubicle Yoga Illustration

This piece was done for my friend Liz's up and coming business in SF. She wanted something to depict the gray, dull, and mundane mood that is most workspaces. In contrast, the person doing yoga should appear cheerful and vibrant. This was my solution to her proposal, with space at the top and right side of the illustration to allow for type.

Andromeda Madonna

Completed in February of this year.

Tuff Teefs

Starting in January 2005 and continuing through July of that same year, one of my teeth put me through hell, with several dentists of varying quality giving their opinions of what should be done to rectify the problem. Ultimately, after several months of debate, I went to bed one night and experienced pain so great that it ran up and down that entire side of my head and neck.

For a brief moment, I SERIOUSLY considered getting a pair of pliers and doing the job myself. But I knew it was time for a root canal. For a while after, I did a series of drawings and paintings about the trials and tribulations of my teeth, with this one being one of my favorites. Its acrylic on the side of a shoulder bag that I wasn't using anymore.

Super Heroine Sketches

Just some quick, half-hour doodles of Wonder Woman and Dazzler. Done with ballpoint pen.

Sketchbook Series

This piece was a spur of the moment gem about birds, brains (ahem), and a new gold metallic gel pen. I actually really liked the sketchbook that this one was done in. It had thick, off white paper and you couldnt see stuff through from the other side of the page. Mmmmm ....that sketchbook was gooooood....

Reaching Yin Bodywork Illustration

Here are the front and back of a business card illustration I did recently for some friends of mine. They were opening a massage business out of their apartment in San Francisco and asked me to do some work for them. After negotiating a fee (paid in massages, of course), I met with them to discuss what type of image that they wanted. They were kind enough to gather some reference and inspirational images for me and told me they were looking for something a little biological looking, molecular looking, something that felt like it was connecting and yet something that was calm as well. After a few rounds of sketches, I produced the pieces you see here.

Spiderman Samples

There is an artist signing in a comic book shop near my home this weekend, so I really pushed myself to get these samples done in time. I will be taking these samples along with the ones posted to this blog earlier in hopes of talking to the artists (Lee Weeks and Scott Hanna) and getting some criticism. Already (I just finished them today) I am looking at them and seeing things that I would have done differently and places where I could have utilized more reference because my imagination did not suffice. I may just get started on something new or I may go back and revise these. It depends on whether I feel its worth it to labor on these more or take what I learn and apply it to something fresh. Anyway, take a look and tell me what you think, please!

Sketchbook Series

Drunkbot lookin for some action.
The design of this robot character was heavily influenced by Japanese toys I bought once for reference. I was designing some packaging and the colors and layout of the cardboard backing behind the toy were really inspirational to me. After I completed the assignment, I took the toy out of the packaging. Its a wind up toy whose broken heart spins in its chest while it hits itself on the top of its head with one hand. Awesome.

Sketchbook Series

Here's another from a more recent sketchbook. Just trying to play around with composition and spacial relationships in these next few that I post.

Sketchbook Series

I think the next few images that I post will be some from my sketchbooks, both new and old. I'll only be posting old images that were initially intended to appear on my old blog but never made it into cyberspace.