hibernation

some days you wake up on your own, at a frighteningly early hour, go about your morning routine, have breakfast, so on and so forth. you then leave your home, venture out, maybe you will get in your car or take public transit to wherever it is you have to be at this Godless time between day and night... and somewhere along the way you realize that a generous amount of minutes have passed since you have rubbed the sleep from your eyes, and in that time you have yet to say a single word. you have yet to form any audible thoughts from your lips, you have not overtly communicated an idea or a thought other than the yawns or groans of morning labour... and in that moment you can't help but fear your voice. you find you are afraid to break the silence, to seek an echo in the seemingly empty world you find yourself in. things had gone alright up to this point, without your voice chiming in... maybe its better this way. but no, its not.

you have a voice. it must be heard.

this is kind of how i feel. i feel as i have been hibernating, as if i am in a tightly wrapped cocoon waiting for the right time to free myself and become one with the sky. but then i cannot help but wonder... do all crawling creatures that surround themselves in darkness while waiting for the arrival of wings survive the journey? surely there are a few that do not. surely there are a few that lay stillborn, enclosed in sheets of their own creation; dreams, goals, and hopes not met.

the year is coming to an end, and i have been silent. there has been so much change, so much to share, so much to shout about and i have remained mute.

i am growing uncomfortable in my stale cave, uneasy in this unwavering stillness. i think its time for something to happen, something to change, something to be said.

i wish you all the best this holiday season, and great things for the new year. i highly doubt 2012 will mark the end of the world. but there is no doubt that it will mark the end of something, and the beginning of something else, because what is time if not change.

see you all on the other side,

hugo

still breathing

i am still alive.

if you have heard otherwise... than thats just crazy talk.

as per usual i have been caught it up with life, or in a way, lives; and have lost touch with a few things along the way. in this case i am referring to this blog. so much has happened in my time away. i have been busy working the day-job, have been scheming and dreaming countless projects, hopefully some of them will see the light of day. the "Beyond our Roots" show came and went, here is a video that sums it up pretty well.

what else? i had a birthday. i am now 26. i have been slowly working on new stuff, while piling away numerous sketches and small drawings. all the while i have been dreaming, planning, hoping for more to come and willing magic to happen... one project at a time.

i attended the Abstract/ Expressionists art exhibit at the AGO on

loan from the MOMA. some exciting stuff from favorites such as Rothko and Pollack, Gorsky and the like. i would have to say that although it was a real treat to view the work in person opposed to heavy text books in the end it is the concept and heart behind the work... gets a guy thinking. asking myself questions about identity and legacy; there is so much i would like to accomplish yet somedays its difficult just to drag my ass out of bed at a "normal" hour.

i finally got a smartphone. crazy stuff. don't think it has actually made me more productive or anything of the sort but at least i can.. buy more stuff on eBay? google random facts? oh yea... what a smart phone it is.

at this point allow me to scan and post a bunch of sketches. wow i think i went through a whole sketchbook while i have been gone. one of the upsides to the 9-5... good sketching time!

the sketches are on these little imitation moleskin books i picked up at the dollar store for $2. i love them. i love the idea of a pile of old sketchbooks... obviously in this scenario i have passed on and its either a loved one that knew me or a descendant that had come to inherit the dusty old pages. its sad in that i would be dead. an idea that actually terrifies me. but its exciting in that these sheets pen-scribbled papers will outlive me and become so much more after i have left this world. as much as i enjoy the digital world.... it can never hold the same value or create the same connection as torn pages with fingerprints and smudges.

its getting late so i will get myself to bed. slowly i am becoming less the night owl i once was. ah the dreary day job... it pays the bills but is it really worth it? only time will tell i suppose. i envision myself dividing my person into 3 different beings. hugo1 would be driven by responsibilities and common sense, he would go to bed early, wake early, pursue his fitness goals, go to work and pay his bills. hugo2 will burn the midnight oil painting and drawing, writing and reading, slowly building a creative empire and name for himself. while hugo3 will enjoy overpriced coffees and long evening with his beloved, movie nights with family, chill out with his friends and spend money on his nerdy hobbies. unfortunately the only way i can be everything at once is... well, maybe if i was able to rid myself of the need to sleep... but that probably won't be happening any time soon. but who knows, things change.

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

april showers

greetings all,

i have been very busy as of late, apparently too busy to sit with a drink and share a few words with the good people of the internet. a steady combination of art work, freelance work, work work, and working out has kept me crazy occupied- which unfortunately does not translate to productivity in this case.

the papier11 fair in Montreal went well, kind words and a few bucks in my pocket. can't complain. once i get some images of the event i wills share.

so often this month i have found myself lost in thought, weighing new experiences and stories; turning simple actions and brief conversations into arm long essays and finger snapping prose... words and sentences which are nowhere to be found at this moment. right now i am tired and should be sleeping. maybe next time i will have some rants for ya.

but for now i will share a few images of stuffs i have been up to.

here are some little drawings on coloured paper. i still have way too much of this paper. helps the hours pass at work.

so here is another teaser! i know i haven't put up the finished pieces of past previews i have posted on here... but i totally will! and soon too! so this one i am just about finished. i am very happy with it. its a little bit different than past pieces but you can't really tell from this bit. in this piece there are many many little people. i haven't counted them all but theres maybe like 30 of them. maybe i will do one next with 100s.

brought some pencil crayons to work the other day. didn't go so hot. maybe another time and place... and more direction. here is Superman me hanging out with GreenLantern me. i don't know why there are so many skulls. guess i just like drawing skulls. who knew?

here is some random guy. i... got nothing.

the other day i was watching some Batman Brave and the Bold. good stuff. this one episode was pretty crazy though. Batman had a rainbow suit and was fighting a rainbow bear. you just had to be there!

last but not least here is a scan of one of my favorite pages from Superman Emperor Joker. art by Ed McGuiness. i just love this guy. i like this scene because it captures a bit of how crazy Jeph Loeb writes Bizarro talk. its so crazy!

also! if you haven't already you should LIKE me on facebook. why? its a nice thing to do.

anyways... til next time peeps. hope everyone had a good easter and such. xo

vitamin water

hola,

i been pretty busy, but this entry is important and so here we go.

ok maybe not important important...

alright so tomorrow my beloved and i are venturing off to Montreal to Galerie D'este to drop off a huge (by my standards) piece! this is pretty exciting as i have never taken such a long trip, especially as driver. this is very cool because i will get to visit the gallery that has been carrying and selling some of my works for about a year now... and of course i get to quickly take in the sights of Montreal.

who knows how this trip will play out. i mean, awesome of course but a new experience.

finally a mini-roadtrip after all my let down roadtrip plans. so yea, i'm psyched.

work has been ok. but i have been siiiick. sick like most people i know. its just going around here. weather was getting nice, spring was looking good and then it went to shit and its cold again.

i am now getting over all the sniffles and sneezing, the coughing and croaking, the shivers and shakes... ready to do stuff and not stop to blow my nose.

good good.

alright so here are a few teaser shots of the larger piece. 3 x 4 feet to be exact.

i will post the image in its entirety when i can, as well as the smaller ones i have thrown clips of on last posts.

also here is a mash of some scribbles from work. not very exciting mashup as the grid paper makes it a bit more difficult.

well i suppose i go off to bed now. well... off to organize whatever junk i need to take with me. maybe i will take the ol' video cam and make a little video blog of our 6hr drive. or not... as its really not that much of a trip. but with the right gangster-rap on the playlist.. who knows.

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.