Happy Holidays

Mexicali Rose

I'm currently working on some new drawings for a 7 person group show in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico at Mexicali Rose Media/Arts Center. They are a great grass roots organization in Mexicali that is "dedicated to providing free access to artistic media for the lower income community youth of Mexicali, Baja California." I am greatly looking forward to it.

Not necessarily going for a particular theme with my work this time around (who knows if a theme will pop up on its own)— but mostly just focused on creating and creating.

VW Vanagon

Perhaps one of the cutest things I've witnessed while sitting at a stoplight near my house. This VW van crossed Silver Lake Boulevard at Marathon, and just as it reached the center of the street, a beagle popped up in front of one of the back curtains to look out the window.

Grizzly Bear

Just finished this illustration of the band Grizzly Bear last night before bed. In addition to wanting to take full advantage of their lovely band name (who wouldn't?), I also wanted to illustrate the success they've had this year with their album "Veckatimest."




This piece will go on to become part of a new promo package I'm working on. Below is the final version, and a couple of small sketches to show where it all came from.



Sketches:

Figuring out the type. In the end, hand drawn Caslon just felt right.


Last sketch before working on the final. Thought about adding the scientific name in but it really served no purpose.

Coney Island, off-season pt. 2

A smaller piece I just completed to accompany the one I posted yesterday.
Roughly 3.5" x 4.75", ink and colored pencil on Rives BFK.

Coney Island, off-season

This is a piece based on my experience at Coney Island in the off-season. I mostly remember brightly colored signage, but it was completely deserted and everything was closed. After wandering around, my friend and I were walking out towards the Atlantic when it started to pour. With no umbrella to fight off the rain, we turned around and headed back to the subway station.



8" x 5.5" Ink and colored pencil on Rives BFK.

New York series cont.

New York series

I started work on a new series based on my trip to New York this year. This is the first piece, with many more to come. This particular series will be on display at Bamboo Lounge in San Diego next month.

Empire State of Mind

So Jay-Z is calling himself the new Sinatra... should I just take his word for it? Guess so!



This is a preliminary drawing of sorts... I plan to translate it into a much more graphic style and add some background soon. It'll also be part of a new promo package I'm working on for this winter.

In other news, I've been invited to a group show for the month of December in San Diego at Bamboo Lounge. No decision yet on a date for the opening but I will be showing alongside Minerva Torres-Guzman and Elizabeth Lopez, both great artists who have earned their BFAs in Painting at Otis College of Art and Design here in L.A. Many thanks go out to Ramona Ramirez, the show's curator.

searchingforelliottsmith.com

I finally finished up the Searching For Elliott Smith website and launched it today. Such a fun project to work on— it's been a while since I created a website, but I think overall it turned out okay.