"Trash to Treasure"

...another show from the guys from ISM. We were to pick something from the trash, garage sale, thrift store, etc. and breathe life into it again.

I found an old ukulele at a swap meet and thought it'll be fun to paint. it was pretty beaten up with parts missing. I sanded it down and just started drawing in one corner, letting it take me where ever it would go. I soon ended up with this image. It was so much fun, I'd do it again.

Joust v. 1.0-1.2

Here are my two pieces for the 8-Bit show. It's acrylic on untreated wood panel. I love painting on wood. It gives everything this warm earthy feel. I have notice that many people are also taken to this surface. It's becoming a trend of sorts (unfortunately for me).

The game I chose to re-mix was Joust. Loved this game as a kid but I absolutely sucked at it. I sucked at mos video games. My version is a bit of a mix between Medieval knights and WW1 flying ace samuria warrior dudes.

Another show at Gallery 1988 San Francisco

Well, I'm in another group show this weekend at Gallery 1988 SanFrancisco. It is the grand opening, so please come by check it out. These are the same guys who put on the "I am 8 Bit" show in L.A., which was an incredible event. I believe that there were about 1,400 that lined the streets to get in. They had media coverage from MTV, G4, Fuel, and others. I couldn't believe all this for an art show. I feel so grateful to have a couple of pieces in there. Thanks to Jon, Jensen, and Katie!

Anyways, I will also be at the APE con (Alternative Press Expo) to try to hock my latest stupid ideas. The rest of the Porcupines will be there representing as well. I think we have a table in the back corner by the bathrooms where they stick mutants.

I am 8 Bit

So i will be in the "I am 8 Bit" show in Gallery 1988 this Tuesday, April 17. It's a show remixing 1980's video games. I'll have two pieces in there...both of them are of the game "Joust". Got a sneak peek while I was dropping off the paintings and I promise it will be a really good show. So many good pieces.

Eric Tan and Jeff McMillan will also have their art there...That should be enough reasons to go, but I should mention that there's beer...beer! Anyways, I hope you all will stop by and say "Hi".

So finally my friend and co-worker, Eric Tan decided to put down the beer and put up a blog. Super talented guy who's work is not only illustrative but always so well designed. This is a silkscreen piece he did for our two man show last year.

Below is a rare sketch of him when he is actually awake at work. I had a one minute window of opportunity.

sf

Recently I attended the Illustration Academy in San Francisco. It was an intensive week long workshop with lectures, demos and assignments. My main draw for attending was to meet some of the heavy hitters of illustration like Gary Kelly and C.F. Payne and just to spend an entire week up in the bay area. It is definitely one of my favorite cities.

Unfortunately the workshop lasted 12 hours a day with only a break for lunch and dinner. I would return to my room by 10p.m. and would then start my homework. It was a real dissappointment not to be able to see more of the city, especially without the heavy tourist weekend crowd. I did manage to sneak off one afternoon to do some of my own sketches and ofcourse sketch during the demos.

All in all, the experience was great...I love the demos but wanted more personal interaction with the illustrators....for me just to be around the rest of the team from here and the U.K. office was the highlight of the trip. Here are some of my sketches from the trip.




The instructors: John English, Gary Kelly, Anita Kunz, Chris Payne, Sterling Hundley, Brent watkinson...
Mark English and Andrea Wicklund were also there but not in the drawing.



During the Gary Kelly demo. uber talented guy but works intuitively. Hard to get a full understanding of the decisions that he made.



Sneaked out to sketch for myself during a lecture. It was a beautiful afternoon. I could not resist.
Walking down a steep hill and found an interesting alley. I envision all the old noir movies when stumble acrossed this.



Academy of Art Building. The Acdemy of Art has several buildings spread through out the city. This is one where the Illustration Academy was held.








An ode to Stefan Kardos, a fantastic artist and a great guy. I absolutely love his drawings and his sense of design. Lately, he's been drawing old cars. This is my homage to him.



A painting done from a sketch. This is looking down California St. where China town borders the towering buildings of the Financial district.




early in the morning from my hotel window. I was working on my color comps from the night before so I still had my paints out.


I added on one more day in the city after the workshop so I can get a chance to spend some time outside the classroom. This is my view from the new hotel room. It had floor to ceiling windows. Unfortunately, the rest of my time there was overcast, cold, and wet. Everytime I busted out the sketchbook, it would start sprinkling on me.




The Redroom at the Clift Hotel. Modern and swanky...$9 for a beer...but it was a belgium ale.