thinking spandex

hola,

so apparently its June now. thats some pretty crazy news.

i mean sure we all saw it coming, but so soon? madness i tell you! i have a theory that seconds are getting shorter - and as such minutes - hours - days and yea you get the idea. at this rate it will be 2012 in a blink and a half and then the world will end... or Cthulhu comes down and eats us or... something.

but until then, i have a new show on the way!!

Beyond Our Roots

June 23 - July 3

Reception: June 23, 6-9pm

Gallery 1313 - 1313 Queen St. West

Brought to you by the Latin Canadian Culture Association

www.LCCATORONTO.com

it will feature a bunch of great LatinAmerican artists and myself... exploring our hybridization of our native Latin American cultures with the Canadian. some pretty heavy stuff.

personally i am pretty excited about this exhibit as it is very different from the other shows i have taken part in. a whole new world so to speak.

if you are in the city i really hope you can make it. it should be a goooood one. :D

alright. serious business aside here is some random stuff i have been up to for kicks. which in my case usually means super-hero based scribbles. also lots of teeth. gotta love them teeth!

i keep drawing these characters in this way but haven't really DONE anything with them.. i am thinking maybe i should. short comic? short story? huge drawing what with colour and all? hrmmm something. need more productive outlets for my obsession with capes and spandex'd heroes. somethings gotta give!

been watching much Avengers EMH. pretty great. check

it out yo.

hope everyone is doing good. hugs and happy birthdays wherever they apply!

hopefully it does not rain on Monday

hey,

so, today i woke at my usual bright and early 11am, rolled out of bed and stumbled over to the old computer to see what had transpired the night before. to my surprise a date had been set for the RAPTURE without me knowing. not that i feel im so special that i should have been notified about JUDGMENT DAY or anything of the sort but i did feel that it was something i too should have clued in on... as i was one of the few people on facebook with this knowledge.

if you are reading this the whole RAPTURE thing fell through and plans were changed and we are still kicking around on this dirt planet, or perhaps you were left behind or something, i am not sure how it works.

all jokes aside, this, in combination with the fact that my girlfriend's sister is leaving for an undisclosed amount of time to another Province got me thinking about goodbyes.

we close doors, we turn our backs and walk away, we hang up phones... there are so many moments in a day when we bid farewell to another, and allow them to exit stage left till the next scene. we have all come to understand the world in such a way that we know the other person exists even though we are not in contact with them. we know this as a fact. although it is not something we question so much anymore in this day and time perhaps we should. this is where the RAPTURE comes in to my thoughts.

what if? ( very powerful words )

what if that which has been foretold did happen? by no means is this leading to a religious debate, but i mean what if that something which you never expected to actually happen happened? it doesn't have to be something insanely huge as the end of days... everyday we walk away from loved ones knowing we will see them again, taking for granted their companionship, their very existence. but the truth is we don't know when the next time will be. as mundane as the world may seem there are always an insane number of choices made with a practically infinite number of possible outcomes! if everything can happen how can we live life so calmly being so sure of things? now, lets not be morbid; i am not saying that we should be cautious because people die left and right and you never know. death is only one of the doors in the long hallway that is life. we change our minds everyday, and as such change our futures. life is change. tomorrow is completely unknown! and thats not a scary thing... i mean it is but.... its exciting too!

we should stop treating each other so shitty. somehow that is the conclusion to my rant.

anyways since most peeps don't wander onto my blog to read my crazy rants, here are some pictures.

first off here are some drawings in lil book. fun times.

here we have full images of new work i had been teasing about earlier. unfortunately i took a super long time to upload them. few of them have already sold. check out Galerie D'Este to see what they still have available if you is interested ;)

let's see... what else can i ramble on about?

overall things are swell. trying not to gain too much weight from the lovely girlfriend's lovely baking. watching some Avenger's Earth Mightiest Heroes. good cartoon action.

saw Thor the other day it was good.

peace out. xo

lumbar support

hello there,

hows you been?

i have been ok. slaving away at this and that, trying to find a little me time here and there.

have been having some crazy dreams man, which always seems to be the case! in one dream i as losing my mind a la A Beautiful Mind... in another dream i was having an odd dream involving Ice Cube... we were discussing his shitty movies and the bad choices he has made leading up to them. t'was weird.

i will now go into a rant reading from a terribly scratchy scribbled dream written out in the middle of the night. nonsense begin!:

i think it begins with you. we're just lying in bed. however you are someone else. you are telling me this... a connection between a lake drying up and a thought about the end of the world. more people.... word i cant read... dancers. explain truths? -change- im being tested by my aunt. taking multiplechoice questions... simple but nothing makes sense.. i start to make connections between number and things. people. dancing. random thingd in room leading them all to think i am crazy though i know i am not. -change- there are children. idiot savants. again numbers. connections. writing on glass, remembering the dreams. head in the dreams. trying to explain the dream where people all think im crazy - all the while i start to make connections and begin to write numbers. at one point im writing a series of numbers and as i do i see the larger.. matrix of the numbers in my head. as i weite they change and you and i get goosebumps and begin to laugh... crazy. again you. not you... i am explaining everything to you and you are concerned. you are being played by Katie Holmes.. Dustin Hoffman plays my doctor. he says sometimes i get angry and have moments of delusion and nonsense... -change-.. waiting in elevator. kid drops bus transfer no.69. numbers are missing from elevators.. it starts over again. your hair is black. blonde. wig? you are tired of hearing about my dream, of my memories. its all a mess... and it goes on like this for 2 more pages.

fun right? yea i know.

here are some scribbles scribbled out while not busy at work.

also. Superman All Star was released as an animated movie based on the graphic novel. it was pretty awesome. awesome in that it was actually very nicely tied to the book. as such it was not so much enjoyed by the peeps i watched it with as they don't fall Superman at all and could not really follow what was going on and why.... well, i liked it.

lately i have been watching Batman the Brave and the Bold while i paint and such. its pretty cool. the style is different from the usual Bruce Timm. still very enjoyable. storylines are "cuter" than usual.. eh well... for da kids!

also!! a blog i follow entitled Action Figure Blues which reviews and discusses action figure... action picked me as their super random lucky monthly comment winner and i won a Robin figure! hurray for me! this is awesome because i didn't have one. and yes i needed one. now you know. again thanks to Andy of AFB and Mike's Comics n' Stuff for the lovely prize

here is another random doodle. i dunno.

but yea. my back hurts. boo-urns.

march breaking

hey. how's it going?

much has gone on these past weeks. been doing my thing. working hard on the upcoming solo show, while simultaneously tinkering with redoing the website. as such it has not been updated in like... forever.

last week was the Broken Arts Fair in Oshawa. it was good times. the zine came out nice and i made a whole bunch this time. its loaded with a b&w drawings. initially had many poems but i decided to scrap them... overall i am pleased with the outcome. i think vol.2 will be very different though. the more i read the "zines" of others the more i want to add/change about mines. so.... want one? $5. in case you were wondering... the tablecloth under the zines in photo is just some tablecloth i was doodling on during the fair.


i also had over 60 small drawings for sale. here is a large image of the smaller 36. makes a super wallpaper! these were and will continue to go for $10. want one? how small exactly you ask?... approximately 3"x4.25" original good stuff.


i won't bore you with too many personal stories of things going right and things going nuts. haha maybe next time. lately i have spent my art time watching 2 seasons of Gargoyles, one season of The Maxx, MTV's Downtown, and currently on the second season of The Tick. fun all around.

black and white and hurting wrists.

i have been drawing. which in my case is another way of saying that i have been thinking.

and oh how the wheels in my head have been turning! ( a dangerous pastime) i know! now i have gone and derailed my train of thoughts... so i will grow a new one.... i have been sleeping on the floor lately as i have turned my bed into another table to allow for producing more and larger work in regards and preparation for the upcoming (eventual) solo show. the solo show which initially was to showcase my series of ink/mylar pieces may become something else now... i have been thinking much about it and about my work in general and have decided that it would be wrong for me to have my other "side" sitting on the bench while the inks score amazing slam dunks for the team. as such the idea of having a..... dual show of sorts springs to mind. a show featuring me and myself. larger inks exploding with colour and abstract elements alongside smaller, tighter pen drawings of skulls with birds and madnesses.... know what i mean guvernah?

solo show aside... i have been reading more, which is another way of saying that i have been absorbing more. which has led to the reigniting of my desire to be publish in every way possible. i have been writing stories... well... novels... well... really they are chapters.. single chapters from books that i will never write. just a random chunk of something more. no ending or end. just a part of a story arch that will never see the light of day. i wish to publish a book of these. but then... why not add art to this book? poetry too! oh man!!!

i have begun a comic... again. the difference is that this one isn't being overthought. it doesn't have to be because it will be including much of other comic ideas that never left the foodcourt. it will be funny, random, superhero action, ironic, silly, amazing... really everything i want to do just mushed into one long story that currently has no real ending. it should be good. really.

i am losing focus as i type as i am unravelling everything i am mentioning in my thin-skulled head. i will leave you with some drawings. such are the drawings i wish to include in solo show. such is the style of art the amazing fantastic mystical comic will be in... because this is how i draw now. and it makes me happy.

on another note... my lil brother's birthday is coming up. no clue what to get him! what do you get someone that has money you dont... who is terribly impulsive and unpredictable at times... what do you get someone who in your mind deserves the best of everything this world has to offer?.... stupid kid.... i'll just get him a gift certificate haha... or something.

evil is a 6 letter word

dearest internet,

i have nothing exciting to say. as i always say... i have been busy drawing squids for a client. which is pretty awesome because i like drawing squids. i have been sketching and researching way too many SUPERVILLAINS for the upcoming SUPERVILLAIN show... in october i believe. i had started with a watercolour + pen approach and have decided to scrap that plan and go with simple black and white fancyness with flashes of solid deep red. everything should... hopefully... work out super. if i can come to decide on WHO to draw. i've decided to pull from MARVEL and DC comic characters. what can i say? i love comic books.

here is the VENOM i started with. i like it ok but not enough to continue in this direction. thought i'd share.

here is my dog. Chesterfield. he is the best dog ever. and by best i mean horibly annoying and people-like. and i wouldn't change a thing!.... haha oh i say that now...

part of a complete breakfast

lately i have been drawing, photoshop-ing and painting almost daily. my breakfast meals (my food when i get up, regardless of actual time) has been composed of honeynut cheerios with strawberries and blackberries, followed by a healthy dose of sketchbook and coffee.

which is awesome. but it also means i have to get out more. which i have been doing! to walk the dog... which means cold, freezing, leash holding hands of death. damn unexpected ice wind!!

anywho... i have nothing exciting to say. have an art show starting... in a few hours i suppose. that is good.... hopefully that goes super-fantastic. we are getting it catered! which apparently means springrolls! oh delish. who needs wine and cheese when you have greasy stuffs!!?
now if only i had words of wisdom to impart on you dear readers... but i dont.
this is what i have been up to:

drew this some time ago. got to colouring it. not sure about the purple.

this thing was drawn same day as one above. coloured it the other day... tried some collage aspects. some elements work. enough of them to leave it be.

the birds with belly teeth are relatively new. somewhat the same design of a penguin i drew maybe 4yrs ago now... wow so long... and i still love shoving mouths into belly regions! mostly on birds... i make myself wonder sometimes... other times not so much. i'm not sure what is going on in this picture. it will probably be a long night for the penguin looking guy.
the tree/bird/henchman character is new. i love him. so much i will paint him!!

i did say i wanted to paint him. no clue how this will turn out. this is how it goes. this thing is pretty big... well for me anyways. 3x4 feet.

this came out this "morning" and was coloured shortly after. fresh!!
does anybody want to make this a tshirt for me?
ps. don't steal images!! -- bad karma!

i will close with this. drawn seconds before the hydra monster. debating whether to colour at all. debating whether to make it a series... a bible study of sorts.

pieces of string

so i have been kind of busy lately. not too busy mind you, but just busy enough to get away with saying that i have been busy without feeling bad for lying. yea i don't like to lie.
i have been busy with art show, art making, drawing, hanging out with amigos, family, and Jessica the girlfriend. im sure at some point i had this blog all played out in my head with amazing deep phrases and metaphors alike.... but i am currently drawing a blank, and will instead post pictures! which is really the main reason i started this blog to begin with.

couple weeks ago i drew this thing. some days after i got around to colouring it. after many variations i went with this one. yep.

couple o' days ago i went to my nephew's 2nd birthday party. i wanted to bring a small sketchbook in case i feel the need to doodle, but couldn't find any. so i made this one out of an old invite i printed way too many of. its fantastic! i need to make more.

i've been sick for like two days now. got to some drawing. this is a drawing that i will eventually colour of me walking my dog Chester.

i drew this right after i drew the one above. it reminds me of the other day that i was at my friend Shivani's place and we got to doing quizes about what kind of animals we would be if we were animals. i think i ended up with horse, porcupine, snake, and mountain goat. crazy.


i have been very lucky to have my girlfriend at my side these past days. shes been doing a lot of running around back and forth with me. she's pretty... okay. i guess. haha. i don't really know whats going on here. the circles on her head are a halo... kinda. i dont know why i drew it in. maybe its because shes an angel!! haha... she will most likely not like the halo bit.
man, i miss having school lectures.
oh the drawings the boredome would inspire!

smiles and snares

its amazing how i have gone from fighting the urge to blog blog blog to worrying that my blogger account thing will be shutdown due to inactivity. i suppose i have been busy. as of late much of my time has been taken up by art-making, art-showing, and being a full-time boyfriend. which has lead me to discover that without my art and without my loved ones.... i am nothing.

good or bad? only time will tell.

anywho. i was participating in a big art festival shindig. gaggles of art lovers and peeps alike. monies aside, its the reactions that i will always hold dear.
i was treated to people that would stop and take in the work, taking the time to come as close to the work as i would hope, smiling at me and walking away. some would stop to chat, ask questions, deliver kudos and words of approval. then there were the individuals that would glance over as one would their side mirror while driving. some would walk up to my wall and walk out without pausing. and of course, there were the ones that would make faces that i could only read as disapproval, often accompanied by words out of my reach amongst themselves. fortunately i have evolved to the point of being able to find satisfaction in such dissatisfying moments. more importantly there was a small blonde child that exclaimed to his mother "these are amazing!" after that, i was untouchable.

i have given much thought lately as to what kind of artist i am. who do i cater to? who's approval do i seek? who's opinion really matters? though i don't actually have answers to those questions i have come to realize that i can't be an artist who demands a particular environment for their work. i understand that serious work requires serious presentation... but after thinking about it i have concluded that in my heart art is for everyone. although not everyone can afford to own a piece (i do need to eat) the pictures need be accessible to everyone. and lets face it, not everyone is going to stroll into a pristine white-walled gallery.

art is for the people. i should do murals or something. yes that would be awesome.

here is a random drawing i coloured today. i am not much for backgrounds.

rewinding lines

how does one begin a blog post without anything of consequence to report?
i am still sick. it sucks. though i am still able to hover over a desk and spill lines, so really it could be much worse. a day under a week ago i had some work on display at Mitzi's sister, a bar of sorts. although fun was had by all the event didn't quite turn out as planned... but that is not important. what is important is that it was the driving force behind 15 small drawings, some on mylar some on paper.
its funny, when i was much younger, in elementary school... i was so sure i was going to grow up to be a comic book artist. i wasn't much of a comic book buyer at the time, but as everyone knows its not about the material things. i had a handful of comics and cards that i would read over countless times. my dad had many years of education regarding medicine and human anatomy, as such he was my teacher when i was having a hard time drawing from books and action figures alone. he would start rambling off the proper terminology and names for the different muscles, when all i really wanted to know was how to draw a really powerful Hulk without making him look like he had just been stung by a swarm of bees.
i remember in grade6 i had a large sheet of paper where i had drawn over 20 characters of varying size and "powers"... they were all bug-people of some kind aka muscle-bound humans with bug heads and buggy feet. i had such ambition then. spending hours mapping out the panels for a page before i had any concrete idea of what the story was about.

somewhere along the way i became more of an observer than a player. books piling up on my bookshelf, but hardly any drawings to go alongside them. somewhere along the line a line was drawn between "real" art and comicbook art. i guess i convinced myself that i would never be as good as the pro guys and decided to do my own thing. my "own" thing is going pretty good, i can still draw a half-decent spiderman... but the energy is gone... or misplaced.
although the small stack of capes are very cartoony and playful, not at all what i had sought out to do many years pass... maybe i can still get back in the game. draw a few bug heroes or something.