Nine-tailed fox (con cáo chín đuôi)

For Julie: a depiction of Lạc Long Quân (in his human form) battling against a demon known as the nine-tailed fox (con cáo chín đuôi) amidst a grotto near Tây Hồ, a Vietnamese district near the city of Hà Nội.  The cave is later flooded out by the oceans and rain that Lạc Long Quân summons to his aid.  Lạc Long Quân basically represents the first king of Vietnam and lord of the oceans. To see his dragon form, please click here.  For some reason, I always consider fox demons in eastern cultures to be associated to fire elementals.  Either that, or Mozilla's "Firefox" has subtly ingrained itself in my subconscious.  Sadly, the latter is more likely the case.  This scene is based upon the legend of "Con Rồng Cháu Tiên" aka "Children of Dragons, Descendents of Fairies." 

NINE-TAILED FOX

Micron pen on bristol paper 9" x 12" (2010)

Summer Fever!

It's only winter and unsettingly pangs of nostalgia for summer are already setting in... Looks like we'll have to wait three more months in order to escape from March's icy grip.  Thanks to some quality one-on-one time with my good friend, Kevin and his father, Jerry, I received a wonderful overview of SLR manual photography (complete with tips 'n tricks) during June, 26, 2009.  You can check out their amazing work by clicking on their names (indicated in orange text above).

We chose Greenlake Park, Seattle as our photographic destination.  I still haven't grown accustomed to manually adjusting the camera's aperperture and shutter speed which is variable depending on the degree of light exposure you want to allow through the lens.  Nevertheless, posted below are experimental shots from the outting. 

Willows gently swaying to some June breezes

The pure beauty of green illumination...

Magnificent, isn't she? I wish I knew what type of dragonfly this was... Either way, holding one's breath never proved more worthwhile!

Turtles sun-bathing takes the phrase "soaking in the sun" to a whole new level. 

Panoramic view of the lake and residential area.

Swiming solo...

Anonymous jogger stretching before her jogging session.

Portrait of Jerry.

Clover Trifolium

A shot of Kevin in action. 

Lạc Long Quân

For my dear friend, Julie (who is a ardently writing a fantastical version of Vietnam's origin story, "Con Rồng Cháu Tiên" aka "Children of Dragons, Descendents of Fairies").  Her intent is to shed more light on Vietnamese mythology from a unique, Vietnamese-American perspective.  The following drawing represents my personal vision of Lạc Long Quân in his dragon form.  This concept will be the first among a series of supplementary visual interpretations based loosely upon the development of her story. 

DRAGON LORD LAC

Micron pen on bristol paper 9" x 12" (2010)

The background was inspired by Vietnam's Halong Bay, which literally means, "descending dragons" (photo courtesy of come-join-me since the ones that I took back in 2007 happened to precede a storm).  

A Pleasant Surprise!

I unexpectedly received a special request via e-mail from a friendly stranger who showed interest in one of the moon & stars tattoo concepts originally designed for Ann. Considering I've only told 4 friends about the existence of this blog, this took me by utter surprise.  Happy New Year!