The Art Show

Yesterday was my first art show. I did not know what to expect.

I showed up with three pieces. Conan, Don Draper, and Elvis. They were framed really nicely. Thank you so much Frankie for all your advice.

A fellow artist named Jun, said I was "so green". Since I did not even have any business cards with me. I had a sign up sheet so I could email people that were interested in my work.

Fellow artists gave me tips on how to set up my work. It was a great vibe being there.

Then all my friends and family started showing up and it was amazing. The night went by so quick. I got four contacts and got to see people's reaction to my drawings. Everyone was so nice, but you really can't go to an art show and tell someone they suck, can you?

People gave me great advice: Send Conan your drawing. Maybe he would wear it as a tshirt.

Thank you all for making me feel like an artist.

Kinko's @ 11 p.m.

Met a nice guy at Kinko's. He was there to pick up something and I was getting my stuff for the art show.

He asked about my drawings and then he asked where he could buy one of my prints! It was such a great feeling. I directed him to this blog. (Hello kind sir).

Anyone can access my Etsy shop on the right hand side now.

He also suggested I send my Don Draper drawing to Matthew Weiner. I think I will follow his advice.

If I Can Dream

Here is an updated version with background.


Here is an old drawing I made of Elvis. He is singing "If I Can Dream" wearing his leather jacket during his '68 Comeback Special.

I am thinking of printing out T-shirts and selling those.

The Process:

This is the original picture that inspired it.


This is an earlier version I did.

Coco Is Done, Mini Marshmallows Anyone?

I really like how this came out. I love the color in the background and the tie & suit area.

Coco Part IV

"Why the beard?", you may ask. Conan's beard is a sign of defiance and I wanted to include it in this drawing.



Almost there just need to add a background and decide if it he is going to have a neck/body. As you can see it is completely different from the original.

Coco Part III

Here is the progress so far:


This matches the previous sketch.


Playing around with the squash and stretch.


Playing around with the shape of the head and the placing of the face.


More trial and errors. Chuck Jones said his art teacher's would begin class by saying: "All of you here have one hundred thousand bad drawings in you. The sooner you get rid of them, the better it will be for everyone."

It may seem like the drawing is devolving but I feel I get so much out of these exercises. I sometimes end up throwing away the whole drawing and starting over. Although I really like the hair in these drawings.

Coco gets you Wired

Here is a great article on Conan's fall and comeback via Wired Magazine:

Then, instead of leveraging all this webby goodwill into another traditional late-night berth on a rival network, Conan made a deal with the modest basic-cable network TBS. What just a few years ago might’ve been spun as an ignominious exile to the media hinterlands was hailed as a stoop-to-conquer masterstroke: O’Brien essentially traded a gas-guzzling 3-ton network Cadillac for a light and maneuverable hybrid that runs on viral clips, not raw, brutal Nielsens.

More importantly here is the great accompanying artwork.

Coco Part II

"What is Coco?", you may ask. Here is the explanation.



Here is the rough sketch I will retrace on my computer in Illustrator. I usually draw sketches in 1/2 hour blocks until I find something I like. This time it only took my one half page of sketches.

The final drawing usually ends up completely different from the sketch. One thing I need to change is I know I need to make him smile.

Carnival Wedding

Check out these pictures of this awesome themed wedding.

This best part for me as an artist is my friend's poster for the wedding:



I love the bride as the tightrope walker and the groom as the ringmaster.

It was drawn by Frankie Franco III, a great artist, my friend and coworker. If you need a wedding poster done make sure to visit his website.

Calvin and Han?

This shirt design is AWESOME!



I love this homage to Bill Watterson. You can sense the passion by the artist in this drawing. He replicated the inking in those newspaper cartoons expertly.

According to Chris Wahl, the artist, it combines his "two favourite things growing up- Star Wars and Calvin and Hobbes."

Buy his Chewie and Han shirt.

Are you with Coco?

Conan O'Brien is the person I have chosen for my next drawing. I love his comedy, his old Late Night Show shenanigans, and his writing for The Simpsons.

His speech/interview/skit at Google was very entertaining. Watch it here.

Thanks to Susan O'Brien for the suggestion.