One of my greatest honors as an illustrator has been helping my good friend Bear promote his career as a musician. This illustration is from a flyer for a show he did in 2008, called the “Grab Bag”.

Be sure to click the image to see the full painting!

Started in 2008, I began this painting with the hope that it would revitalize my interest in continuing the “Little People” series I created at ASU. Two years later I am immensely proud of what I’ve finished (although rather embarrassed it took as long as it did). Known originally just as the “kite painting”, I choose the title “Abandonment” after searching around for something that would hopefully capture all the painting is meant to represent.

aban·don (ə ban′dən)
transitive verb
1. to give up (something) completely or forever to abandon all hope
2. to leave, as in danger or out of necessity; forsake; desert
3. to yield (oneself) completely, as to a feeling, desire, etc.
Etymology: ME abandonen < OFr abandoner < mettre a bandon, to put under (someone else’s) ban, relinquish: see ban
noun
unrestrained freedom of action or emotion; surrender to one’s impulses to shout in wild abandon

“abandonment.” Webster’s New World College Dictionary. LoveToKnow, n.d. Web. 1 February 2010. http://www.yourdictionary.com/abandonment.

As with all my personal projects, there are several metaphorical images presented within that relate to my personal experiences and history. The person on the kite, for example, is myself – but I’ll leave the rest a mystery for now!

This painting was created by preparing a full sized drawing which was glued to the surface of a masonite board with matte acrylic medium. The color study was completed on top of this with acrylic paint, and the final image is oil paint on top of that. After waiting a few months for the painting to fully dry, I’ve sprayed on a matte removable varnish.

2009 Holiday Card illustration for my personal greeting card.

For 2009 OnePoint asked me to create an illustration with a Norman Rockwell feel.  After a couple of setbacks, this is what I ended up with! The result is something I’m very proud of, and I’m looking forward to taking on more challenging projects like this in the future!

Every year I make a Christmas Card for all my friends, family and that year’s clients.  It’s always a lot of fun to do, especially since Santa Claus is an easy character to come up with ideas for!

OnePoint Patient Care in Tempe commissioned a series of drawings for their company hallway.  They permitted me to come in during working hours and photograph them all at work, and the company president and I looked through the best photos and chose the ones they wanted to me to work from.  A total of six drawing were completed.

When OnePoint Patient Care commissioned me to design a holiday card in 2006, I came up with this idea of children creating snowmen that were sorted out into prescription bottles.  I continue to hear compliments on the design every year from OnePoint’s clients who received the card.

Word of the Month Illustration – Dream Magazine