Fine Art

New Art Show + Book Signing on 7/5

I will be having a super exciting combined art show and book signing event at Riverside Studios in Truckee, CA on Friday, July 5th from 4 to 8 pm.

I am presenting my newest fine art works titled “Tahoe Macro and Micro” on July 5th. These “Tahoe Macro and Micro” works emphasize the idea of what energy looks like here in Tahoe, showcasing how energy at all levels exhibits similar behaviors. I have about 12+ new works (I am still finishing some up) that will be on display there in downtown Truckee.

For those of you who do not know, I recently released my first book of comics from my webcomic, Unearthed Comics. I will be signing copies of my new comic book Unearthed Comics: Un-earthing the Universe, One Comic at a Time at the show. And if that is not enough of a draw, I will also be giving away copies of my book, some art prints, and other prizes. The opening and book signing also coincides with Truckee's Fist Friday events so it is going to be a fun time.

If you are in Lake Tahoe for the weekend of the Fourth of July, come by on Friday July 5th from 4 to 8pm to get your copy of Unearthed Comics: Un-earthing the Universe, One Comic at a Time and to say hi.

Riverside Studios:

10060 Donner Pass Rd
Truckee, CA 96161
(530) 587-3789

Creative Heart Pillow inspired by art

Sharon Oakley creates rugs and other beautiful fiber arts for herself. She contacted me when she came across my Creative Heart art piece, asking if she could use it as inspiration for a pillow she wanted to make.

Sharon took the Creative Heart, and "hooked" the design, making it into a 12" pillow with recycled contents. The background is made from raw fleece, recycled wool clothing, silk fabric (torn into strips), and yarn reclaimed from sweaters found at her local used clothing store. This beautiful pillow also includes various hand spun yarns and kid mohair. Nice work, Sharon!

Below (left) is the Creative Heart piece; below (right is the final piece).

 

If you are inspired by a piece of my work and want to create something for personal use, please contact me.

A New Twist to Jack o' Lanterns: Painted Pumpkins

Here in the Sierras, carved jack o' lanterns begin to mold within days of being exposed to freezing temperatures outside and the varying humidity by the wood stove inside. As an alternative, my 4 year-old daughter and I decided to paint our pumpkin this year, hoping this would add to the longevity of our squash friend.

We started by drawing a skull outline on the skin of the pumpkin using a charcoal pencil. Second, we painted two layers of white primer onto the pumpkin within the outline. Once dry, I painted black eyes, teeth and a nose. We each then started painting our own skull on the pumpkin. I went for a more traditional Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) design, where my daughter had a blast adding in gobs of paint among little dots. I added a purple outline afterwards for a bolder effect. Below is the fun result.

 

Teeny Scribbles: New Line Illustration

This is a fun line illustration of weird squiggles, twists and turns done on a pocket-sized notepad. Once complete, I scanned it and brought the image into Photoshop where I could clean up the smudges, reverse the line color to white, and add a teal background. See more of my hand-drawn illustrations here.

Funky Squaw Valley Illustration

Just because you can paint or draw realism, doesn't mean you should. Here is a funky illustration of Squaw Valley, with a little more silliness, zest, and life than a traditional, realistic image of this great ski resort:

Holiday Cards on sale now; preorder discount available

Holiday Cards are now on sale, with FREE SHIPPING! And, if you order by October 18th, then you will receive 10% off of your entire order (Just use coupon code: HOLIDAY10OFF in the checkout).

There are two style available: Squaw Sunset and Donner Lake. Last year, these were a sell-out, so get online and order your Holiday Cards now. Discounts available for multi-pack orders and pre-orders.

Inside reads: “Sending holiday wishes to you and your loved ones.”

Details:

• Folded cards size is 4.25” x 5.5”
• Eco Friendly (Case is entirely compostable)
• Made in USA (made in USA)
• Free shipping to US addresses
• Unique, Truckee Art by Truckee artist
• Did I mention these are made in the USA?

Pricing:

• $18 for 10 cards with 10 white envelopes ($1.80 per card)
• $70 for 50 cards with 10 white envelopes (save $20; comes to $1.40 per card)
• $130 for 100 cards with 10 white envelopes (save $50; comes to $1.30 per card)

Shipping:

Shipping will start after November 2nd. They take 1 to 2 weeks to ship (sorry, no international orders).

Order now by clicking here

Featured in CA Flyfisher Magazine

My art was recently featured in California Fly Fisher Magazine's "Art of Angling" article. Along with great articles about the flyfishing experience in California, CA Flyfishing also regularly features artists inspired by fishing. The article featured two of my fishing-inspired works, "Opening Day" and "Truckee River in Fall." Take a peek below or visit CA Fly Fisher Magazine.

Pen and Ink Sample Sheet - Explorations in Illustration

When I was in college taking science illustration courses, I was introduced to pen and ink. [And when I say "pen and ink," I do not mean normal, run-of-the-mill pens; I am talking about pens with nibs that you dip into an inkwell (really old school!)]. My initial reaction upon introduction to the pen nib and ink well made me think about the Declaration of Independence. Once I started clogging up the ends of my nibs and dripping large blots of ink everywhere, I realized what a feat creating an error-free document truly was.

The goal of using this new medium was to test multiple pen nibs to create different sized lines and alternating stroke widths in each line. This is useful when you would like an illustration that has an interesting line, with a hand-drawn feel, yet is concise and interesting.

After I tired from my explorations of ink blobs and the new curse-words I invented during this process, my professor recommended I create a sample sheet of lines. How boring, I thought to myself. A sheet of lines? Ugh! But after I started, I realized that this indeed was a great exercise that was far from dull. It inspired me to see how many different strokes or lines I could create.

I created hatchmarks from different nibs, with different pressures, different strokes, different directions, etc. The result is this sheet that I can use as a reference point for future inking projects.

Featured in Lotus Video

Music composer, Becky Tripp, recently featured my "Spirituality" artwork in her "Waltz of the Lotus" video. See her video here:

Design Inspiration - Hand-painted poster

Hand-drawn and hand-painted elements really make designs pop and stand out from the rest.

Here is a painting I created for the primary use of being a main element in this fundraising poster (left, below):

First I painted the painting. Then scanned it in and cleaned up the image. Next I started the design of the poster. I isolated the main image using a layer mask, and continued to build up the rest of the poster design (above, right). The result is this fun, colorful poster that will hopefully stand out and attract support for this great cause.