It’s been awhile since I was asked to do lettering as a main art request. I’m grateful to have collaborated with the Bay Area’s own Golden State Warriors and Adobe to make an experience for Fan Night 2023.
Big shout out to the Art Director Angela Fisher who opened the gate and put me on this project.
Click images to enlarge.
This book, authored by Patrick Kane, and illustrated by Sam Rodriguez is now available for Pre-Order.
Fun Facts:
This book of over 30 illustrations is the most images I’ve made within a year’s timespan.
The entire book was made on an Ipad Pro using the drawing app Procreate.
Imagine being able to hear for the first time, or see in full-colour, or take your first steps on Earth. This incredible book celebrates the remarkable achievements made in medical engineering, and offers a glimpse of what the future might hold for humanity.
Pioneering technological breakthroughs have truly changed lives. For some people, particularly those with disabilities, recent advances have crossed the realms of the purely imaginable, and reached a place of possibility. People with paraplegia can walk again, those who are hearing impaired can listen to even the faintest sounds, and some people with missing limbs can create beautiful works of art.
This phenomenal book is a celebration of all that has been achieved so far, and a look at what might be possible in the near future. Is it inevitable that technology will surpass biology?
From cochlear implants and pacemakers, to bionic arms and legs, this empowering book also features spotlights on pioneers including Paralympians Richard Whitehead and Blake Leeper, and the world's first 'cyborg' Neil Harbisson.
It was an honor to have collaborated with Save the Children International to celebrate their founder for International Womens Month.
Eglantyne Jebb – the woman who founded Save the Children over 100 years ago in 1919 – was one of the world’s most influential champions of children’s rights. It began when Jebb saw something she knew wasn’t right. She saw photos in a newspaper – exploitative, tragic photos showing children starving because Allied troops’ blockades wouldn’t let supplies through to Germany and Austria.
Visit their site to learn more: savethechildren.org
Here’s a cover illustration I did for Topo Revue (France). They gave me full creative direction as they don’t make cover images related to specific articles but rather the theme of the magazine issue. I included the number 38 as a graphical element. They also requested if I could integrate the title with the illustration and I did as you see squiggles, shapes an egg, etc. I really enjoyed it!
Size: 3’x3’
Medium: Digital Print on Canvas.
Year: 2022.
Description: Originally Illustrated Digitally, a portrait of Connor Rivera. commissioned by his Father, Erny Rivera.
Recently I was asked to make a portrait of my client’s son. I’m always grateful to portray people’s loved ones but this piece in particular was a personal milestone because I had the opportunity to make what I would normally hand paint as a digital artwork.
The goal for this piece was to eventually hang it at the collector’s home, and I was able to do so through large-scale digital printing. This isn’t anything new in the world, but I haven’t had examples of my own artwork to show using this process. Relative to the length of my career, I’m still sort of new to digital art. I came from the time when the medium was in its infancy so a lot of my practice and training were through traditional media.
I've done plenty of smaller digital prints and publishing assignments but this was more in the realm of Murals, Interior Design Space, and Galleries where the art is more of a public display piece. What I like about the final result is that my intentions and the soul of the work don’t feel lost. My preference is the end result over the medium. I am more concerned with my ideas and concepts rather than which tools I use, so making a project like this illustrates how we can still be the same artists across various mediums.
For years I hesitated to ‘go digital’ and when I finally embraced the process I actually began to prefer it. I’m grateful that I still get my fair share of assignments, but one area that dropped off for me was making art for interior and exterior spaces. I’ve offered the option to people but without an example, it’s hard to envision a digital piece as something that can be used effectively in a physical space. I can’t wait to explore this further.
+ Click Images To Enlarge +
View Drawing Process Videos for this piece Below.
Played around with some new colors and Marbelized textures within the environment. The figure reminds me of a Hapa Audrey Hepburn. I actually started this piece a couple years ago but wasn’t satisfied with how the portrait turned out and finally after two more attempts it’s resolved.
Cover Art I made of Bozoma Saint John for M&K Magazine (Switzerland).
Here’s my latest Drawing Process Video. It’s a Face Study of Artist David Choe. This is part 1, I'll do another version with color, shapes, and graphics about him.
Recently I decided to start a series of illustrations about famous people. My intent is not to explore the vanity of fame but rather to take on the challenge of documenting current events through the visual study of public figures. My art recipe is an amalgamation of two elements, a Portrait, and Story-Telling through Visual Cues with a pinch of abstraction. So I’ll be researching and implementing visual elements into the canvas of the person being portrayed.
What prompted me to share this is to make a clear distinction between what is Fan Art versus an Illustrated Study. There have been times when I made and posted depictions of famous people. Reactions vary from criticizing the celebrity that I was portraying and implying that I support them or assuming that I am making Fan Art. What’s funny is that some of these pieces are made for editorial publications that negatively criticize the person being featured.
In short, I do sometimes portray those who I’m inspired by, but I rarely make Fan Art. Instead my approach is similar to a Writer/Journalist in that I am observing, collecting and presenting feature materials but in my art style. I think the assumption is that artists only create pieces based on personal interests. It comes from the romantic notion of us being motivated by a muse, a person or personified force who is our source of inspiration.
This can be an approach for some, but we can also make art as observers or to highlight relevant topics and current events.
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Here’s an In Progress Drawing Video of one that I’m working on during the time of this blog post. This does not yet have narrative elements…it's the first half of the illustration where I get familiar with the face.
Some definitions to consider:
FAN ART:
Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are neither created nor (normally) commissioned or endorsed by the creators of the work from which the fan art derives.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_art
*I would also apply this definition to celebrities, since they represent a persona or character and do not commission or endorse artworks we make of them.
ILLUSTRATION:
- the action or fact of illustrating something, either pictorially or by exemplification.
"by way of illustration, I refer to the following case"
- an example serving to clarify or prove something.
"this accident is a graphic illustration of the disaster that's waiting to happen"
- a picture illustrating a book, newspaper, etc.
"an illustration of a yacht"
Source: Google
JOURNALISM:
Journalism, the collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such print and electronic media as newspapers, magazines, books, blogs, webcasts, podcasts, social networking and social media sites, and e-mail as well as through radio, motion pictures, and television. The word journalism was originally applied to the reportage of current events in printed form, specifically newspapers, but with the advent of radio, television, and the Internet in the 20th century the use of the term broadened to include all printed and electronic communication dealing with current affairs.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/journalism
Here are some process shots and details for the Cover of a Book I worked on with Big Picture Press and author Patrick Kane. It was my first time illustrating an entire book! The release date is this year and is in the process of being printed at the time of this post. It will be a celebration of all that technology has achieved in prosthetics and implants. We were very intent on showing that humanity comes first in regards to these advancements. Can’t wait to share the cover and entire book with you!
