man's best friend...

My brother will be playing in the rose parade this year so when he's not practicing with the marching band, he's at home, where on occasion, my dog and his trumpet harmonize.

a la mode-storytelling

The inspiration for this illustration actually came from my composition teacher. She sent us an e-mail about why she had not attended class and she ended the email with, "Had hot coco last night by candle light, wearing four layers of clothes, hats and gloves, cats gathered around while we read Winnie the Pooh. Fun!" 

The message was so very descriptive that once I heard it, I instantly started visualizing what that must have been like, so here is my vision.

quick update....

I made some more progress...

Some relatives came to visit and brought some tamales and champurrado...Good Times! :)

Seasons Greetings...

I think we'd all be lucky if we could find this type of tranquility, especially around this time of the year.

On a positive note....I can't wait for some apple pie and vanilla ice cream! :D

Happy Holidays!!

time to get back to the same routine...

I took a bit of a much-needed break these past two weeks. I officially finished my semester last saturday and after all the studying for finals, prepping portfolios, and doing extra credit work, I just need to rest my brain and especially, my eyes. Since then, however, I did manage to get my hands on a Kindle Fire and its totally sweet! Once I found out that it had sketchbook mobile, I knew I had to try it out and it works great. If you're looking for sketching on the go and an iPad is way too much, then the kindle fire is a good choice.
(Then again, an old fashioned pen and sketchpad is good too, I just wanted a change of pace! )

Here are my first attempts using the fire. (I hadn't drawn in a while, so I wanted to loosen up a bit.)

Here's the illustration that I mentioned in my last point.

I'll explain the idea behind this when I finish it.

warm v. cool

Here are the two other illustrations I completed...I'm working on another one to try to keep my productivity level up. I made so much work this semester that going back to slacking off just isn't an option anymore. I'm proud of what I got to complete and only hope that I get better and faster with time.

One of the things I always try to remember is to stay "creatively productive''....its something Charles Zembillas would always say.

a big catch..

Here's a watercolor piece that I had a lot of fun doing...I found working in watercolor more relaxing than most of the stuff I've been doing this semester.

"Loosey Goosey baby, Loosey Goosey...."

I recently got Weezer's Pinkerton (deluxe edition), which has a lot of awesome b-sides, and I discoverd this awesome song that I just can't stop listening to....The awesome part is that it has female lead vocals and it has rivers singing back-up...the voices mix very nicely...(catchy rhythm + sweet vocals = replay button) The lead singer is Rachel Haden...I've never heard of her before this, but I just can't get enough of her voice.

and another..

I had my crit today and everything went smoothly.We each posted up all the work we've done this whole semester....the walls were all filled with great artwork..there are so many good artist in my class...but, one of the coolest things that I noticed in everyone's work was the improvement. A lot of the students work dramatically improved, including mine. This has been one of the best semesters I've had at CSUN by far and the most rewarding. I still have a couple of finals left, but I'm almost done!!! :)

just a couple of misfits...

Here are the two main characters for another illustration I'm finishing up. I decided to take on some extra credit for my composition class, which is why I'm working on so many illustrations.

I also saw rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer the other day and when I head the elf and rudolph singing their "misfits" song, I burst out laughing...Rudolph and Hermey must be a couple of bada$$es.... they have their own theme song and all. :)

camping under the oak tree...

Here is the final version of the piece I posted a while back. I tried out a lot of different options and I think this version fits best. One of the awesome things about camping is waking up early mornings. You don't realize how cold mornings can be when you wake up in a tent and not in your cozy home. When I would wake up very early and sun wasn't completely shining yet, I would wait for the rays to hit me and I would instantly feel the heat. It kinda hard to describe but you instantly feel warm and energized at the same time...its great!

tall trees...revisited

Here is the finished piece. I redrew it, but I thought it would be cool to include my first attempt as the background. I feel pretty good about it, but would appreciate any critiques. I might be able to change a few things before I present it on Tuesday. 

crit me please! :)

"Captain. All ships ready for warp."

some development...I'll post a WIP of the actual illustration soon....I'm working on a lot of different illustrations for my class and I'll try to post them as I finish them.