SF - Wondercon & Bizarro Totoro

Bizarro Totoro
11x14in watercolor
For every "thing" there is another version that exists in bizarro world.
I did this shortly after the Totoro Forest Project Auction. What an amazing event that was. For my friends Lorne & Sherry.


We'll be visiting one of our favorite cities this weekend: San Francisco!
If you're in the area, come on down to the Wondercon and say 'Hello!'

Table: Artist Alley AA93-95

Happy Birthday Sketches!

On the NCN forum Jan Op De Beeck started a "Sketch a Day" thread or "threads" I should say. Every Day is of course some one's birthday, so Jan has been posting birthday's of "famous" people and then that person is sketched by whoever feels like joining in. I'm in the middle of a large and somewhat complicated painting for GOLF magazine as well as a few other projects, so my personal sketching time is dwindling a bit. I still try to find time here and there to squeeze in a sketch or two a day if I can manage it. So last night I peaked in on the NCN forum and saw that it is Fats Domino's birthday on Feb 26th! So last night while watching a strange movie with my wife, I did this quick sketch. Happy birthday Fats!





This sketch was for Joe Lieberman's birthday! Happy birthday Joe. P.S. Did you eat Tweety Bird?

Hellboy take two..

For Jason (in San Fran)! Hope you like it!
-Kei

T-Pain for KING Magazine

This was the fourth painting that I did for KING magazine, and just like Kanye and Jim Jones, I didn't know who T-Pain was or anything about him for that matter. For this illustration, the a.d. wanted something futuristic and space-like. Being that this is a full page illustration, I would have liked to have had more time to develop this idea and explore T-Pain's character a little more. But again, for the time given, I'm happy with it. After finishing the Jim Jones, Kanye, and Wire paintings, I had four days left to complete this T-Pain painting.



One of the sketches done in prep for the final painting.

The Wire for KING Magazine

This is another painting I did for the same issue of KING Magazine. I really enjoyed working on this piece. It was a little challenging because in order to finish the four paintings within the time frame given, I had to work on all four of them at the same time. I worked on the Kanye and Jim Jones at once and then gave myself three days to finish The Wire painting, all while working on the last and final painting of T-Pain. This Wire painting will print on the bottom half of a page and will print a bit small in comparison to the size I painted it. Another challenge with the time given was painting three people together in a car at night . . . and to make them feel as if they're all in the same place at the same time. It was also important to capture the feel of an urban night scene while not seeing any of the city in the background. It was a fun challenge to tackle in only three days. I would have liked a little more time for detail, especially on the car, but for the time given, I'm happy with the end result.





Some of the sketches done in prep for the painting.

Jim Jones for KING Magazine

Here's another silhouette spot illustration for KING magazine. Like the Kanye West, this Jim Jones painting was done as a 1/4 page spot. I painted the Kanye and Jim Jones in four to five days, that's including sketching and all the goings on of working a job. I really enjoyed the look of Jim's mouth, looked a bit greasy, sort of slimy, so I tried to capture that feeling a bit.

Jim Jones is a very successful business man, but in the "business world" people are confused how he became so successful . . . . . I don't know anything about him, or Kanye for that matter, but I was told that he's pretty much horrible at everything he does. So the a.d. wanted me to portray him as a bum of sorts wearing a business suit.


These are some of the sketches that I did in prep for the painting.

Kanye West for KING Magazine

In December I did four paintings for KING Magazine. The issue is finally published and in book stores now, so I can finally share what I did for them. For now, here is Kanye West.

Tree Spirit (WIP)

Here's a (work in progress) painting I've been working on (on & off).
It's about a tree spirit that talks with the crows.

I imagine he wants to be a comedian. He tells jokes to the creepy crows in the forest but I don't know if they like his humor.

No real reason for this painting... just doodling the weird and funny ideas in my head.
Sometimes it's fun to paint things that only amuse yourself. You know what I mean? :)

HELLBOY Drawing

So you might have noticed we've been posting more of our sketches (as well as our finished works) so that we'd be able to update more often.

This one was fun to do.

Done with ballpoint pen.

Gordy, waiting for the Bus!

This is a preview of what's to come with my work in the future. I'm slowly working and developing my work in a "fine art" sort of way, painting large with oils and acrylics. Some will be exaggerated to an extent and others just stylized, but painted traditionally. I hope to have a show here in Chicago, one in New York and another in L.A., I'll be sure to share the info here once the shows are set in stone.

This is a practice painting, or "sketch painting", from this I will do a large oil. I'll be sure to share the process here.

Oooh magic.

an oldie..

<3Kei

Fish.

Sketchy, sketchy...

The Kid's Last Heist

Here's an illustration I did recently.
It's of Billy the Kid's last heist a la 'steampunk.' I worked on it in between breaks from my 'real' work over the span of 6 days.

I'll post 'work in progress' pics below