| Cover That Mother |

New Prints: Starburst and Ponytail Girl

2012-02-16T07:48:00.002-06:00

Starburst is a digital illustration of a brightly colored star. The retro style print was created with digital drawing and a wood background.

Ponytail Girl is a digital illustration of a cheeky girl with a high ponytail. The minimalism gives a great retro look.

Both are available as prints

New Print: Oh Mod Gosh

2012-02-02T11:43:00.001-06:00

Oh Mod Gosh is a digital illustration inspired by vintage fashion and teen magazines. A pair of Mod girls pose for the cover of "Oh Mod Gosh". A slight texture was used as a background.

Available as a print

New Print: Blinds

2012-01-24T09:52:00.003-06:00

Blinds is a digital illustration of a bespectacled woman standing in a blinds covered window. The minimal colors and design gives a 1950s B-movie poster vibe. A rough canvas texture was used as a background.

Available as a print

New Post: Good-night

2012-01-24T09:50:00.000-06:00

Good Night is a digital illustration of a couple pulling down the shade to call it a day. The word "good-night" is angled on the shade. The pop colors give it a mod retro feeling. And, to add to the vintage look, a rough canvas texture was used as a background.

Available as a print

New Print: Blanket

2012-01-20T11:47:00.001-06:00

Blanket is a digital illustration of a lady tucked under a warm blue geometric print blanket. To give a vintage look, a rough canvas texture was used as a background.

Available as a print

New Print: Iceberg

2012-01-16T08:58:00.002-06:00

Iceberg is a digital illustration of an iceberg against of pink sky and teal ocean. The simplicity of the print is reminiscent of antique Japanese prints.To give a vintage look, a rough canvas texture was used as a background.

Available as a print

New Prints: Lady Liberty, Ms. Sleuth, The Actress

2012-01-11T09:21:00.000-06:00

Lady Liberty is a digital illustration of a queen/Statue of Liberty hybrid.

Ms. Sleuth is a digital illustration of a lady detective in her undercover hat.

The Actress is a digital illustration of a glamour girl actress.

To keep with the vintage style, there is a ghost like face beneath the top face in each illustration. Each lady was created digitally with digital hand-drawing and college-like layer of some of my previous work.

All three are available as prints in my shop.

New Print: Unplug

2012-01-09T14:14:00.001-06:00

Unplug is a digital illustration reminding us to unplug (in my case, my laptop) and enjoy the day. The image was created with digital hand-lettering.

Available as print

New Print: Man in the Moon

2011-12-28T09:07:00.002-06:00

Man in the Moon is a digital illustration of a smiling moon against a dark blue sky. This image was created with digital hand-drawing and scanned papers.

Available as a print

New Print: Remember Me

2011-12-21T11:50:00.002-06:00

Remember Me is a digital illustration of a pair of arms and hands. "Remember Me" is spelled out in string as a reminder. A wood background gives a vintage feel.

Available as print

New Print: Octopussycat

2011-12-20T11:55:00.000-06:00

Octopussycat is a digital illustration of a octopus-cat hybrid. This tangerine orange little creature is all inked up (hehe) with a anchor tattoo. A wood background was added to give a retro feel.This image was created with digital hand-drawing and scanned papers.

Available as print

New Print: Ham Radio Says Listen

2011-12-05T07:26:00.001-06:00

Ham Radio Says Listen is a digital illustration of a bright yellow-orange stereo/pig hybrid (hence the name "ham radio). It's cord advises you to listen. The illustration contains a wood background.

Now available as a print

New Print: Super Duper Star

2011-12-01T08:04:00.001-06:00

Super Duper Star is a digital illustration of a cute pup celebrating under the stars.
The illustration was created with a combination of digital hand-drawing, scanned paper, and vectors.

This pup is available as a print.

New Print: Bear in the Woods

2011-11-28T07:22:00.001-06:00

Bear in the Woods is a digital illustration of a blue bear with a bouquet of plants against a wood background. Each element was digitally hand-drawn.

Now available as a print.

New Print: Cups and Bowls

2011-11-10T10:55:00.001-06:00

Cups and Bowls is a digital illustration of blue wood retro-style tableware with various patterns. A thin white grid pattern covers the illustration.This illustration was made with a mix of vectors, digital hand-drawing, and scanned paper.

Now available as a print.

New Art: Cat Figurines

2011-11-07T08:17:00.006-06:00

Two new additions to the Plastic Zoo, Strutting Cat and Cat Sitting. These tiny figurines were painted in white and gold. They are protected with a glossy varnish.

Both animals are now available.

New Art: Plastic Zoo Tyrannosaurus Rex Figurine

2011-10-20T14:39:00.002-05:00

I love creating work with my laptop and Wacom drawing tablet. But, sometimes I need to get my hands dirty with paint...

Introducing Plastic Zoo!
Plastic toys are getting revamped into retro-mod figurines. The T-Rex is hand-painted in gold and whitewashed. He is protected under a slight glossy varnish.
More animals will be added to the zoo.

T-Rex is now available for your mantel.

New Print: Pixel

2011-10-07T13:17:00.002-05:00

Pixel is a digital illustration of a warm colored pixel diamond. The retro design is reminiscent of 8-bit video games. The illustration has a woodgrain background.

Available as a print

New Prints: Rock and Roll, Planet Rock

2011-10-05T07:53:00.003-05:00

Rock and Roll is a digital illustration of a rock + "and Roll" = "Rock and Roll". The rock was created with woodgrain and geometric shapes.

Planet Rock is a digital illustration of a colorful rock with the word "Planet". The rock was created with woodgrain and geometric shapes.

Both are available in the shop.

New Print: Fox Tea

2011-09-26T09:53:00.001-05:00

Fox Tea is a digital illustration of a bespectacled fox enjoying a hot cup of tea. Yum! This image was created with digital hand-drawing and scanned papers.

Available as a print

New Print: Custom Perfect Day

2011-09-20T09:50:00.001-05:00

Perfect Day is a custom illustration to commemorate a special day, such as an anniversary or a birthday. Written in pretty script underneath the heart is the phrase "was a perfect day."Your month and date of choice will be in white on a retro wood heart.

These are now available

New Print: Tall Tales Giraffe

2011-09-15T07:32:00.002-05:00

More animal prints to come. This first one is Tall Tales Giraffe. This quirky bookworm is reading a book titled, Tall Tales, of course.

Now available as a print.

New Prints: Jewel Tone I, II

2011-09-07T08:36:00.000-05:00

Two new geometric prints.
Jewel Tone I and Jewel Tone II are digital illustrations of very colorful gems.
Available as prints.

New Prints: Yearbook Toni and Colette

2011-09-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

New additions to Yearbook series.
Toni, the Salt 'n' Pepa fan, is wearing doorknockers, patterned hat, nameplate, and a letterman jacket.
Colette the shop student. She has on her goggles. And, her hair is pulled back, Rosie the Riveter style.
Both are available as prints.

New Print: Transition

2011-08-29T07:44:00.000-05:00

Transition is a digital illustration of polygon shaped rocks. The shapes transition from a triangle to a circle.
The piece is now available as a print.

New Prints: Birthday Girl Strawberry, Banana, Pumpkin, Lemon, and Raspberry

2011-08-25T08:07:00.000-05:00

I was without internet for three days. The amount of work that can be accomplished without celeb gossip distraction is quite something!

Five new prints, Birthday Girls.

Birthday Girl Strawberry with her adorable afro puffs.
Birthday Girl Banana in her glasses and cute curly red hair.
Birthday Girl Pumpkin keeps her hair in perky pigtails.
Birthday Girl Lemon with her fluffy bob.
Birthday Girl Raspberry with her bouncy braid.

All prints are available here.

New Prints: Yearbook Edith and Joan

2011-08-16T11:48:00.000-05:00

Two new students.
There is ambitious Joan. She plans on becoming the Student Council President.
And, there is Edith and her wonderful hair. People tend to think her hair is open to grab. She advises, "Pet yourself, not my hair."

Both students are available as prints.

New Prints: Destination Tag USA and International

2011-08-12T07:22:00.000-05:00

Destination Tag USA and Destination Tag International are digital illustrations of vintage baggage tags.
USA shows major American cities: Chicago, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Jacksonville.
International shows major cities from around the world: Tokyo, London, Melbourne, Paris, Rome, Cairo, and Sao Paulo.

Both prints are now available.

New Prints: Monster in Diguise

2011-08-09T06:00:00.010-05:00

I'm plumping up the Kids' (or as I like to call it, the Kid at Heart) section of the shop by adding MONSTERS. Like Sesame Street's furry monsters and Pokemon, these monsters are more on the cute side, not scary. But, they are a little inane.

This is the Monster in Disguise series. These four-eyed monsters think that donning a mustache or a pair of glasses will help them blend in with the human-folk. You can choose from four different monsters.

They are now available as prints.

New Prints: Yearbook Alice and Beverly

2011-08-08T07:31:00.000-05:00

The ongoing Yearbook series is moving along quite nicely. I just added two more portraits.

We have Alice, the Grace Jones fan.
And, we have hat-wearing English major Beverly.

Both prints are in the Yearbook section of the shop.

New Prints: Yearbook Randall, Jake, Gemma, and Vivian

2011-08-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

Four new pieces from the Yearbook series.

There is Randall the Hip Hopper.

Jake the Swimmer

Gemma the Purple Rain Fan.

And, Vivian the Art Student.

All are now available as prints.

New Print: Time for Recess

2011-07-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

Even adults need a recess. This digital illustration was created with wood shapes. Hang in your workspace as a reminder to take a break.

Time for recess is available as a print.

New Prints: Terrarium (warm) and Terrarium (cool)

2011-07-21T08:02:00.001-05:00

Terrarium (warm) and Terrarium (cool) are digital illustrations of little plants sprouting in a watering can (if you're a tea drinker, kettles to you). The illustrations were created with vivid colors and my signature wood background.

Both prints are available at the shop.

New Print: Yearbook Rosa

2011-07-15T10:21:00.004-05:00

Added another print to the Yearbook series. This is Yearbook Rosa. This illustration was made with a combo of digital drawing, ink drawings, and scanned paper.

Now available as a print.

Blog Features

2011-07-12T07:27:00.003-05:00

The Rock/Facet series and the Yearbook series were recently featured on several blogs. Thank you all for sharing my work.

Life in Style: The ModCloth Blog

New Prints: Geometry Warm and Geometry Cool

2011-07-12T07:10:00.002-05:00

Geometry is a slight variation on my rock series. Geometry (Warm) features a facet in warm yellows and reds. Geometry (Cool) features a facet in blues, grays, and shades of violet.

Both digital illustrations have a grid pattern and a soft concrete texture.

Available as prints.

New Print: Doodle Citrus and Doodle Neutral

2011-07-07T07:08:00.004-05:00

Doodle Citrus and Doodle Neutral are digital illustrations of cute bespectacled dogs. Doodle Citrus wears a sunny shirt. Doodle Neutral wears a rocky shirt.

Both are available as prints. They are part of the Bespectacled animal prints for kids (or kid a heart).

New Prints: Anda Green and Anda Blue

2011-07-04T07:43:00.004-05:00

Anda Green and Anda Blue are digital illustrations of cute Pandas wearing hip aviator glasses. Anda Green is a bit of an environmentalists, which is why she is wearing a "Go Green" shirt. Anda Blue is wearing a raindrop shirt.

This is the third pair from my Bespectacled animal series.

All of the animal illustrations are available as prints. I am currently housing them in the For Kids section of the shop.

New Prints: 3D Green and 3D Maroon

2011-07-01T07:10:00.004-05:00

3D Green and 3D Maroon are digital illustrations of cute 3D-glasses wearing bunnies. Green wears a mountain range tee. Maroon, more into being a rock star, wears a star printed tee.

Both are available as a print.

New Prints: Catherine Blue and Catherine Orange

2011-06-29T10:39:00.005-05:00

Catherine Blue and Catherine Orange are to hip, nerdy cats. Catherine B sports her glasses with a geometric tee. Catherine O pairs her glasses with a cute striped shirt.

I've been kicking around the idea of these characters for a year or 2(!). I finally made some prints of them. There is also a bunny on the way, so stay tuned.

Both illustrations were created digitally with a mix of digital hand-drawing and vectors.
Available as prints at my Etsy shop.

New Print: Head Over Heels in Love

2011-06-29T10:29:00.006-05:00

Head Over Heels in Love uses those old brain teasers to get the message across. The text is coupled with a stack of gumdrop shapes. If you look carefully at the gumdrops, you can read the word 'LOVE.'

This print is now available.

New Print: Latifah

2011-06-24T09:43:00.001-05:00

Latifah is a minimalist digital illustration of Hip Hop pioneer/actress, Queen Latifah. The illustration features Queen Latifah's iconic hat and big earrings.

Available as a print at my Etsy shop.

New Print: Yearbook Lily and Peggy

2011-06-08T09:19:00.003-05:00

New prints from the Yearbook series: Yearbook Lily and Yearbook Peggy.

I reorganized my shop sections. It is now easier to see the Yearbook series. Just click on the Yearbook Prints section.

New Print: Soft rock

2011-06-06T08:26:00.005-05:00

Soft Rock is a digital illustration. The use of light colors and white space makes the rocks appear weightless.

Available as print

New Print: Polygon

2011-06-02T10:08:00.002-05:00

Polygon is a new digital illustration. It was created with geometric shapes and a wood print.

Available as print

New Print: Yearbook Bette and Kim

2011-05-31T08:40:00.003-05:00

New prints from the Yearbook series: Yearbook Bette and Yearbook Kim.

Available as prints.

New Print: The New Girl

2011-05-24T08:21:00.002-05:00

The New Girl is a digital illustration created with woodgrain and colorful graphics.

Available as print.

New Print: Yearbook Nicholas, Eric, and Frieda

2011-05-18T11:54:00.002-05:00

Three additions to the Yearbook series, Yearbook Nicholas, Yearbook Eric and Yearbook Frieda.

All prints available at my Etsy shop.

New Print: Graphite

2011-05-17T10:41:00.001-05:00

Graphite is a digital illustration created with bold graphics and wood texture. It is part of the Rock and Stone series.

And, all are available as prints.

New Print: Aquamarine

2011-05-12T08:03:00.000-05:00

Aquamarine is a digital illustration created with bold graphics and wood texture. It is part of the Rock and Stone series. You can see Amethyst and Emerald here.

And, all are available as prints.

New Prints: Yearbook William and Ellie

2011-05-11T09:57:00.002-05:00

Two new pieces from Yearbook series: Yearbook Ellie and Yearbook William.

Now available here.

New Print: Yearbook Grace

2011-05-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

New digital illustration Yearbook Grace

Now at my Etsy shop

New Print: Yearbook Martha, Dylan, and Julie

2011-05-02T11:01:00.002-05:00

New digital illustrations, Yearbook Martha, Yearbook Dylan, and Yearbook Julie.

Available here.

New Print: Yearbook Pamela, Lois, and Helen

2011-04-27T10:17:00.002-05:00

New digital prints Yearbook Pamela, Yearbook Lois, and Yearbook Helen.

Available here

New Print: Yearbook Greta

2011-04-25T09:11:00.003-05:00

New digital illustration, Yearbook Greta.

Available here.

New Print: Yearbook Tina

2011-04-21T10:07:00.003-05:00

This is another illustration from the Yearbook series. This is Tina. The illustration was created with scanned papers, scanned ink drawings, and digital hand-drawing.

The print is available in my shop.

I would like to turn this series into a 365-day calendar. So far I have 3. And, I know myself very well. Reconsidering doing a monthly calendar (only a 9 more illustrations to go!).

New Prints: Yearbook Nancy and Lucy

2011-04-19T11:30:00.002-05:00

Yearbook Nancy and Yearbook Lucy were both created with ink drawings, digital hand-drawing, and scanned papers.

A woodgrain gives a retro look.

Now available at Shop.

New Prints: Amethyst and Emerald

2011-03-22T08:24:00.003-05:00

Emerald and Amethyst are digital illustrations created with bold graphics and woodgrain.

Available here.

New Print: Lookout Bird

2011-03-09T08:29:00.002-06:00

Lookout Birds is a digital illustration of two birds on the lookout. The birds were digitally hand-drawn. Prism shapes and wood give the image a retro feel.

Available at my Etsy shop.

New Print: Locket

2011-03-04T08:41:00.002-06:00

Locket is a digital illustration of a young woman and her ghostly past. She wears a locket around her neck.

At my Etsy shop.

New Print: Bop

2011-02-24T08:43:00.001-06:00

Bop is a digital illustration feature three hip ladies. The illustration was created digitally with bold shapes and wood grain.

Print is now available in my Etsy Shop.

New Print: Queen Cat

2011-02-21T08:10:00.001-06:00

Queen Cat is a digital illustration. All elements were illustrated/photographed by Tabitha Bianca Brown.

This print is currently available at my Etsy shop.

New Print: Janelle Monáe

2011-01-25T10:53:00.002-06:00

This digital illustration features pop singer Janelle Monáe with her signature hair and bowtie. The illustration was created digitally with bold shapes and wood grain.

This print is available in my Etsy Shop.

New Prints: Sun and Moon Captains

2010-12-16T07:47:00.003-06:00

Sun Captain and Moon Captain feature perfectly coifed women ready to start their mission. The images were created with digital hand-drawing, vector shapes, and woodgrain.

Sun Captain

Moon Captain

Both are now available at my Etsy Shop.
And, you can see them at my Flickr page.

New Print: Balancing Act

2010-12-03T08:57:00.003-06:00

Balancing Act is a digital illustration featuring a woman balancing daily life. The books and silhouette were created with found objects and digital hand drawing.

Available at my Etsy Shop.

New Prints: Morning, Mountain and Night, Mountain

2010-11-15T08:35:00.002-06:00

__________________________________________________________________

Morning, Mountain is a digital illustration created with bold graphics mountains, a warm geometric sun and woodgrain.

Night, Mountain is a digital illustration created with bold graphics mountains, a geometric moon and woodgrain.

Available here.
Or, here.

New Print: Mountain Girl

2010-11-12T08:02:00.002-06:00

Mountain Girl is a digital illustration created with bold graphics, patterns and woodgrain.

Available here.
And, here.

Mending Hearts

2010-11-01T10:12:00.002-05:00

Mending Hearts is a digital illustration of a heart held together with tape.

The image was printed professionally with Kodak Endura Professional Paper and archival inks.

Available as print here. Or, at my Etsy shop.

October 23, 2010: Plant Sketch

2010-10-25T07:54:00.002-05:00

Sketch in Moleskine

New Print: Cat Lady

2010-09-24T09:38:00.002-05:00

Cat Lady is a digital silhouette of a cat and a lady and a cat and a lady and etc. No stock images or clipart was used; completely digitally hand-drawn by me.

Available here.

Get the Look: Neutral Military

2010-09-08T11:57:00.000-05:00

Neutral Military

Get The Look: Stripes and Lucite

2010-09-07T08:24:00.006-05:00

Fall! My favorite season. The season has inspired me to compile some of my favorite fall items. Here's where you can find today's look.

Urban Legend | Pop Rocks Necklace | vintage lucite and metal
Hanes | White Ribbed Scoop-Neck T-Shirt | cotton
Madewell | Striped Cardigan | wool, acrylic, alpaca, nylon

Quick Jewelry: Woven Embroidery Floss Necklace

2010-09-03T10:01:00.005-05:00

Remember those friendship bracelets we made in 2nd grade?

I took that same bracelet and made it into a necklace.

Materials:

chain, embroidery floss, jump rings, tacky glue or fabric glue, clasp

Decide what type of embroidery design you would like. There are several Youtube tutorials floating around to show you various patterns. I did a simple design.
Tie your jump ring into your starter knot.
Make your woven design as long or as short as you like.
Once you've completed the design, knot the ends. Don't forget to tie in your jump ring.
Dab a little glue on the knots. Trim the extra string away
Connect length of chain to one of the jump rings.
Repeat on the other side.
Attach clasp on one end, jump ring on the other.

Done!

September 2, 2010: model sketch

2010-09-03T08:50:00.001-05:00

September 1, 2010: kids sketch

2010-09-02T09:49:00.002-05:00

August 31, 2010: women sketch

2010-09-02T09:41:00.001-05:00

New Prints: Prism Series -first 5

2010-08-10T08:56:00.005-05:00

I'm currently working on a new series titled Prism. The mixed media pieces all feature woman with a prism of various skin-tones.
The inspiration for this series came from a 1960s Noxema ad I found in an old issue of Ebony.

The ad featured the line, "If girls with the most beautiful skin in the world wash with Noxema, why shouldn't you?" The important part of this ad was that it featured women of various complexions, hair textures, and facial features. It is so good to see such a diverse group of women in an advertisement.

I wanted to convey a similar message. I wanted to show that a woman is lovely no matter what her coloring.

These are the first 5 images from the series Prism.

The first 5 images are available as prints at my Etsy shop.

July 25, 2010: sketch

2010-07-27T10:40:00.002-05:00

July 24, 2010: Sketches

2010-07-27T10:34:00.002-05:00

July 16, 2010 Sketch

2010-07-20T10:19:00.002-05:00

July 15, 2010 sketches

2010-07-16T11:15:00.001-05:00

July 13, 2010 sketch

2010-07-16T11:13:00.001-05:00

July 8, 2010: face sketch

2010-07-09T10:15:00.002-05:00

Sketchbook: July 6, 2010

2010-07-07T10:02:00.003-05:00

After a long sketchbook break....

New Print: Sunny

2010-07-02T10:44:00.003-05:00

Sunny is a digital illustration hand-drawn with a drawing tablet by Tabitha Bianca Brown. The bold graphic shows a modern girl with her crown of curls.

Available here.
And, here.

New Print: Great Grey Owl

2010-07-02T10:42:00.002-05:00

Great Grey Owl is a print of an original illustration. Splashy warm grays, yellows, and brown acrylic creates this majestic bird. Graphite was used to add details.

Available here.

June 1, 2010: Grey Owl

2010-06-01T10:32:00.001-05:00

morning sketch in Moleskine

Grey Owls look like something out of the Ghibli Studio.

New Prints: Two New Hair Designs

2010-05-26T09:04:00.002-05:00

Quick update.
Added two new Hair prints.

Ivy

Tulip

All four prints are available here.

Pause a Moment: Typewriter ads

2010-05-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

How many ways can you advertise a typewriter or a calculator? Olivetti and Royal used graphics and minimum color to sell these practical items.

All images found in Google Books Archive

New Prints: Iris and Rose

2010-05-05T11:40:00.005-05:00

Hair: Rose is a digital illustration of a woman and her beautiful hair, presented in rich pinks, yellows, reds, and lace.

Hair: Iris is a digital illustration of a woman and her beautiful hair, presented in violets, blues, and lace.

Both illustrations were completely hand-drawn digitally by me. The background was created with an acrylic wash on board. I scanned the board and drop it into the digital illustration.

There will be a few more illustrations from this series. Stay tuned.

Available at my Etsy shop.

April 29, 2010: Janelle Monàe sketch

2010-04-30T09:13:00.001-05:00

sketch in Moleskine

Pause for a Moment: Survival in the Office

2010-04-28T10:17:00.003-05:00

Survival in the Office: The Evolution of Japanese Working Women by Risu Akizuki is a comic about the lives of female Japanese office workers. It's a humorous look at office politics and social expectations. While most of the strips are silly fun, some succinctly cover a gender politics and feminism.

The series can be found at Amazon.

click on image to enlarge

from Volume 1

from Volume 4

from Volume 5

Pause a Moment: Illustrated Black Enterprise Magazine Covers

2010-04-26T08:41:00.004-05:00

It was not uncommon to find illustrations below Black Enterprise Magazine's masthead in the seventies. Typically, the illustration was contained in a box with a black border, a standard feature for the magazine during that decade. Some covers deviated from the black border. But, due to the recognizable masthead, there was no question that you were picking up a Black Enterprise mag.

October 1975| cover design by art director Ed Towles, graphic designer George Smith, and researcher Gail Smith

June 1978 | cover illustration by Romare Bearden

June 1973 | cover illustration by Robert Van Nutt

December 1974 | cover illustration by Reynold Ruffin

Source: Google Books

New Print : Jacket

2010-04-22T09:42:00.002-05:00

Jacket is a print of an original mixed media piece by Tabitha Brown. A fashionable young woman wears a green and yellow patterned jacket.

The image was printed professionally with Kodak Endura Professional Paper and archival inks. Small border around the image to allow for framing.

Available in my Etsy Shop.

April 14, 2010: That? Sketch

2010-04-15T08:02:00.003-05:00

sketch in Moleskine

Free as a Bird : New Print

2010-04-07T10:41:00.003-05:00

Initial Sketch

Free as a Bird is a digital silhouette print of a free-spirited bicyclist . The helmet was created with chalky linework to resemble the paint used on streets to designate bike lanes. No stock images or clipart was used; completely digitally hand-drawn by me.

Available here.

Sol: New Mixed Media

2010-03-30T10:33:00.003-05:00

Sol is a mixed media piece inspired by Japanese and African prints. Sol is a blend of soft color and graphic lines.

Both the original and print are available here.

The Making of March and Secret

2010-03-25T10:49:00.006-05:00

A short photo journey of the making of March and Secret.

The initial sketch was done in my Moleskine. This is where I do the clean line art. Anything in 2H (light pencil) may or may not be in the finished piece.

After transferring the linework to illustration board, I start the painting portion. I (very) rarely do color studies (sorry, former illustration instructors!). The general color palette of the piece is in my head. Yeah, this foregoing of color studies has bitten me in the ass a few times. But, it didn't this time!

Anyway, I use really loose acrylic washes. Skin tones, in my paintings, mainly consist of a yellow base, burnt umber, and shades of red.

The hardest part is waiting for the washes to dry completely. You do not want to draw on damp illustration board with a sharp pencil.

Once the paint dried, I did the linework with graphite (HB 0.7mm lead).

Results:

March Portrait

Secret

I now have this portraits available at my Etsy shop.

UPDATE
Now available as a print at my Etsy Shop.

New Print: James Brown is Super Bad

2010-03-24T12:10:00.004-05:00

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. His music has influenced more musicians than anyone else. I created this print using altered type and digital hand-drawn items. James Brown is featured in the middle of the shapes. He was completely drawn by hand with my digital drawing tablet. No stock images were used. A dark wood background was added to give a retro feel.

Get it Here.

Oh, and proof that The Godfather, Mr. Dynamite was one of the greatest performers....(and the tightest horn section).

March 19, 2010: Morning Sketch

2010-03-22T09:12:00.002-05:00

sketch in Moleskine