Short & Sweet . . .

Thoughts

2012-01-29T03:59:00.000-05:00

A Good Week

2012-01-22T16:05:00.000-05:00

Moments

2012-01-16T01:56:00.000-05:00

Weekend

2012-01-10T00:30:00.000-05:00

It's hip to be a Square

2012-01-07T13:11:00.000-05:00

Obsession for Perfection

2012-01-05T04:02:00.001-05:00

Oliver got me a Fabriano sketchbook! It is from Restoration Hardware, which is one of my favorite stores. I'm super excited to use it. This year instead of writing everything in my journal, I'm going to try draw, whatever I would have wrote about. I can still use words, just not as much. Here is the title page. I hope to learn a lot about myself while doing this. Plus this will be good practice.

Shall we Dance?

2011-12-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

This is the latest painting. It's "the boy with the 4 legs from the previous post's" room. He wishes to be a dancer one day. He looks up to Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. I based this character off of my brother who does ballroom dancing competitively. I usually spend my homework time on the train, sketching to and from work.

Meet the Family

2011-11-14T02:27:00.001-05:00

Working, school, boyfriend, and two puppies are kicking my butt these days. As tired as I am, I'm happy I am busy with these things. I'm learning so much in my Saturday class. It's taught by an alum, Ruben Perez, and it's always amazing watching him paint. The following images is from our current project. It was a Halloween assignment where we had to develop relatives to the Addam's family. My goal, was to have all these characters look like they are related. I wanted them to be odd, but still have normal qualities.

Aside from all this, there a few personal projects that I'm slowly working on. I'll be creating some journals/sketchbooks for friends, developing a comic strip "A Tail of Two Puppies", and working on a Christmas card to send to friend and family. Eventually I'll be starting on my Master's thesis, but for now it's still in the brainstorming stage.

Clean, colorful, house castle?

2011-11-05T01:39:00.003-05:00

Fly-Fishing

2011-09-24T02:08:00.001-05:00

Life is hectic as always! Work, other work, then some life, two puppies, and now finally school. Here is some ideas/sketches for the first project.

. . . Summer Days

2011-05-31T02:43:00.002-05:00

Art of China

2011-05-20T03:09:00.010-05:00

It's been a busy semester and I can't believe that it's over. It went by really fast. My Art of China teacher is retiring and our class is basically his last class. He is an accomplished painter in his own right, and has taught in the art history and visual culture for 22 years. Kao has also published 11 books and more than 160 articles on various aspects of Asian art. He is a very nice man and has been very patient with our class. He deserves a great retirement. Below is a Chinese jade and knot decoration that I made him as a gift. The knot on the top is a symbol of "good luck", the jade is called a "bi" which was used to worship Heaven, and the knot under that is a "coin knot". I had a lot of fun crafting this project in between studying. I hope he likes it!

Getting Close

2011-04-29T00:10:00.002-05:00

Challenges

2011-04-15T02:07:00.014-05:00

I chose to design a female wolf in sheep's clothing for a side project.

My story is about a family who is under witness protection and had to pretend they were sheep and have to adapt to coexist with them. Candice Puff is the main character and she becomes great friends with the outsider of the flock, Shelly Black. Together they share Candice's secret, while struggling through daily life as the minorities of the herd.

The Enchanted Garden: Serenella

2011-03-09T03:33:00.016-05:00

So here, is a new attempt/style for my new project. All the students had to read Italo Calvino's, Difficult Loves and choose a short story. It was hard to pick just one because his stories are really fun. My pick was The Enchanted Garden. A story about two kids discovering a magical garden where everything was too good to be true and that "it is possible to have too much of a good thing". There is a surreal quality to the story that I hope to achieve. For now I'll be focusing on Characters. My inspiration for this project are Glen Keane and Hayao Miyazaki. Both always have characters with graceful and natural personalities that I just adore.

ZEITOUN

2011-02-15T01:48:00.021-05:00

Here is what I'm trying to achieve with my new project. Currently, I was one of the students chosen to be interviewed by Nickelodeon. The interviewers were very nice, helpful, and inspiring. They recommended I try to work in a different style to show versatility. With that in mind, these houses were based on a style by one of my heroes, Armand Serrano.

Handmade Goodies

2011-01-26T14:24:00.007-05:00

I always carry a journal around. It's comforting to have a place to just write/draw about anything. Usually, I go to my favorite stores to buy a journal, but lately it's been hard for me to find the right one. This semester I'm going to use ones that I've made. I also hope to keep making them just for fun/gifts. I'm excited to experiment with different types of materials and explore binding variations. Journals are a sacred space. Everyone should have a place where they can just BE and think freely.

2010-12-29T02:49:00.005-05:00

My dear Oliver, bought me great art books for Christmas and each time I flip through them I am amazed at the paintings. Here is a small, quick, practice landscape piece inspired by the images from the books.

2nd BFA project

2010-12-27T01:16:00.001-05:00

1st BFA Project

2010-11-17T06:29:00.005-05:00

I'm starting to feel/see improvements in my work and it's exciting, but I've still got a long way to go. This weekend I'll be at CTN Expo where I'll get to meet my heros and hopefully get some feedback on my work! It's going to be lots of fun. We also get to watch the Illusionist, the same people that made Triplets of Belleville and hopefully catch a midnight showing of Harry Potter. Can't wait!

Snow-WIP

2010-08-06T03:57:00.000-05:00

If this piece looks familiar it's because I'm painting over a VisDev project I did a while back. Compared to the old painting, it's way better! I've learned so much!!! It's no where near done. There are a ton more stuff I want to add to this. More Snow, a character, city items, and probably other stuff I can't think of right now.

Business card for my friend- WIP

2010-07-25T23:29:00.001-05:00

I love eating!!!

2010-07-06T03:07:00.001-05:00

I always thought it was amusing how different Oliver and I ate our food. OM NOM NOMS!!! Noodles for life!

Oh it's Summer Time!

2010-06-30T00:50:00.002-05:00

Here is stationary 2. The idea came from a quote, "Smile, It's going to be a good day!" Can't wait to get them printed!

Potential Hobby?

2010-06-27T21:17:00.001-05:00

I've always liked stationary... Maybe this will be a hobby of mine. This is my first stationary piece... It's really simple but it's a start^^ I'll be printing these this out tomorrow. I already have the next one sketched up! Hopefully I'll get to work on it tomorrow.

2010-06-09T00:57:00.001-05:00

A group of us went to San Francisco to check out some art. We did, but we also ended up having a grand adventure. One of the last stops was Palace of Fine Arts Theatre and it was beautiful!!! So we all sat and sketched the scenery. Twas Grand

New Shoes!!!

2010-05-24T02:50:00.001-05:00

Oliver and I had an excellent Sunday! We slept in, went to the mall, bought awesome stuff (shoes...), and ate a yummy dinner. Can't wait for tomorrow! I really need to learn the buttons on my Intuos4...

Soap bubbles carry my dreams up

2010-05-23T03:46:00.001-05:00

Woo! The semester is over. I gotsta say, it was a great semester. I learned a lot and accomplished more than I thought I could. So how did I celebrate? A nice bath with candle of course. It's going to be a lovely summer.

So much stuffs!!!

2010-05-08T13:28:00.004-05:00

Not sure about the colors, eh, finished for now!!!

Semester is almost over

2010-05-02T15:28:00.001-05:00

This is my character and his Mom... more to come!!!

Kobuta-Piglet

2010-05-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

Oliver's Home!

2010-04-08T17:16:00.001-05:00

Today is my day off. I'm taking a break from everything and just doing whatever I want. So I decided to paint something for fun. I'm a huge fan of Pascal Campions work. It's so inspiring, fun, and happy to look at. I was trying to do something similar and study how he uses color and lighting.

Still working on it...

2010-04-05T20:28:00.004-05:00

Oh yeah... Website is coming soon... Not sure when... Just soon, probably sometimes this summer ^^

Finished example

2010-03-28T04:53:00.002-05:00

This was challenging, but I had fun. It's been a while since I rendered a still life. I realize a lot of things when I spend so much time observing something. I spent a total of 3 days, hopefully my students can use this as an example to help them with their Time Capsules... Hmm, I think the hardest part of this image were the pearls. Each pearl was different and it was mind blowing once I realized it.

Finished for NOW

2010-03-15T06:07:00.006-05:00

WIP logo- AW

2010-03-05T02:38:00.001-05:00

WIP- Edwin

2010-02-17T11:57:00.000-05:00

WIP- Darrell Sweetwyne

2010-02-16T17:18:00.001-05:00

WIP- Lily Sweetwyne

2010-02-16T14:29:00.002-05:00

WIP- Trixy Dixy

2010-02-16T07:02:00.008-05:00

Yay Fireflies!!!

2010-01-29T06:11:00.003-05:00

Finally, a nicely scanned image of this painting. Acrylic on Illustration board. I love fireflies!

Polar Bear Hugs?

2010-01-16T02:16:00.005-05:00

Here's another quick doodle of Oliver and me. I'm not sure why he's a polar bear... Maybe I was thinking of the cold/bear hugs ::shrugs:: Anyway, I like making these moments, perhaps I'll do a series. We'll see. Merci!!!

... love birds!?

2009-12-27T00:31:00.004-05:00

The BFG project

2009-11-30T18:31:00.013-05:00

Amazing things

2009-11-10T23:46:00.002-05:00

Our group is doing amazing things! Here is a revised Sophie. How different from the last one! This week will be environments, but wait till you see the finished Sophie. It's going to be sweet.

Meh

2009-10-26T14:30:00.004-05:00

A struggle to the death! Hopefully the critic will help me.

Super WIP but done for fun

2009-10-13T22:59:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to me... Has it been 24 years already? Crazy beans!

Anyway, with this image I was trying to experiment with the pen tool over the summer and came up with this. Not done yet, but whenever I get the chance it'll be the best darn cupcake ever!

Tears, fears, & oh dears!!!

2009-10-12T00:13:00.005-05:00

These are not so great thumbnails for the next step of this project. We are suppose to illustrate a scene and I wanted to show how much the two main character loves each others company. I'm hoping these will be okay for tomorrows critic. Eeks!

Here is my semi-finished living room... It's getting close to the finish. I'm going to try to revise it during break and I hope to take out the line drawing and make it a crisp and clear color rendering. Things that I should work on is take out tangents, make the moon light brighter, and change the cliche white light.

Happy birthday Mommy!!!

2009-10-06T22:41:00.003-05:00

After designing the room we now have to paint it. First pass... WIP

Below are just different color and lighting situations.

Stay tuned for the final!

SwatBunnies & Headaches

2009-09-30T19:45:00.002-05:00

Keeping at it!

2009-09-29T19:41:00.003-05:00

We are still working on the Kurt Vonnegut story, Harrison Bergeron. We are getting close to our illustration, but before we get there we had to do set designs with the choice of living room, prison cell, and TV station. I ended up choosing living room and here is my design.

Trees from LIFE!!!

2009-09-24T03:55:00.001-05:00

Trees from life is hard, I think these are the most successful. Pen.

School is Kicking my Butt!!!

2009-09-18T21:02:00.004-05:00

Yay, painty painty!!! So here is a branch and a branch with leaves! Acrylic and Gesso. Let me know what you think, feedback is always welcome.

Painty painty... acorn

2009-09-04T01:30:00.001-05:00

Acrylic on Coldpress Illustration board

A New Semester!!!

2009-08-27T23:28:00.008-05:00

I think I'm going to like this semester. It will be tough, as always, but It's going to be great!!! Here are some ideation doodles for Visual Development. We had to read Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut and then do some character designs. I am going to learn SOOO MUCH!!!

Surreal Night

2009-07-17T12:07:00.003-05:00

Last night at the San Jose Museum of Art, there was a discussion panel with Todd Schorr as well as two other artists. This is a quick sketch of him, after the event he signed my book as well as my sketch. How cool.

Todd Schorr Inspired

2009-07-16T14:57:00.007-05:00

This was a project given to me by my boss at SJMA. She wanted me to make a thank you card for the woman in charge of the marketing department. She is a big fan of Ernie and her gift to us was Todd Schorr related so I thought this was an appropriate subject.

Practice 1 2 3

2009-06-18T18:41:00.002-05:00

I'm working hard this summer to brush up on some skills! I have already learned a lot from just playing around in photoshop! Oh Strawberries, you are so delicious and so cute. I have gone into a food craze. Reading up on nutritious goodies as well as yummy desserts. I am inspired by food and excited to see my cooking and art skills progress ^^. Oh yeah... I heart cupcakes to the extreme!!!

Fireflies are pretty

2009-05-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

Cover Idea for Barron's Class

2009-04-28T06:42:00.009-05:00

Mew

2009-04-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

Rough Layout

2009-04-20T13:34:00.002-05:00

Our current project in Barron's class is to create a Zine together. That was my current spread. I have changed it since to a horizontal format. Our collaborative project is called "Sweeet" (there is no typo... it has three E's). My idea was to great a sweet moment. Each spread needs to have some sort of text placed into it. Mine will be a short story.

Guitar

2009-03-27T14:41:00.006-05:00

Blast from the past

2009-03-24T20:25:00.003-05:00

Hey I finally found this painting that I did in Hartford. I'm proud of this one so I think it deserve to be on the blog. Watercolor used to be my worst medium ever! Now I enjoy it. There is this great beauty with it's transparent nature. It's also versatile. I thank you Dennis Nolan... Bunny with a Pearl Earring

I painted it! Woo bubbles!!!

2009-03-24T17:22:00.005-05:00

This is done with acrylics and color pencils. The girl, Anita, is holding a fish-eye pendent that creates bubbles. The bubbles create life. They sound like giggles if you are close to them. The figure behind the girl is her grandfather who has recently faded. The bubbles have the magic to bring him back to his normal state. This scene is based off of the set I built for Barron's class

Set for Barron's Class

2009-03-05T22:46:00.002-05:00

Whoa big painting

2008-12-16T18:56:00.005-05:00

Not the best painting in the world, but for me it's definitely a challenge I am proud of. It is very rare that I paint on anything that is larger than myself. This is done in Oils 5'x3'

Widow Ching?

2008-12-04T04:04:00.002-05:00

Photoshop

2008-11-25T09:50:00.002-05:00

TIDE POOL 113B

2008-05-22T19:48:00.006-05:00

Phthalo blue (green shade)

2008-04-01T17:53:00.004-05:00

FOR YOU FIONA !!!

2008-03-11T14:57:00.002-05:00

Alla Prima Style

2008-03-09T23:59:00.008-05:00

Maya

2007-10-27T14:35:00.003-05:00

Reel Illustration: A Red Carpet Premiere

2007-05-06T23:21:00.002-05:00