CUSTOM CARD

For Paolo, who happens to have an innate ability to communicate with cats like no other.  If anyone is going to set the trend of owning 50+ cats", he will...  Wish I had more time to spend on this quick, rough painting...

KITTEN EYES

Acrylics on cold pressed paper 4.5" x 8.5" (2010)

Happy Earth Day!

Every so often, we are reminded of how fragile life is... A single-celled organism abruptly develops into a ravenous contagion; spreading like wildfire and garnering death along its path.  A species can dominantly escalate to the top of the pyramid of life; ignorantly desecrating the soil with insurmountable waste and raping the magnificent mountains of trees.  Pure air transforms into concoctions of pollutants. Pervasive oceans carry potent toxins.  Resources become scarce--triggering wars beyond the hapless, illusory boundaries that humans selfishly declare as "their" own... Whatever possessed us to claim these lands and its diverse inhabitants for our own benefits? They were never solely ours to own, but to share. 

Soon enough, nations begin declaring war to monopolize the very gifts Mother Earth harnessed.   Acts of desperation and survivorship displace remnants of generosity.   Compassion, empathy and diplomacy become fabled virtues of the past.  Like a disrupted pond stabilizing into a fixed reflection of reality, it slowly becomes clear how detrimentally futile our corrupt concepts of politics, monetary value, greed, social reputation, pride and segregation pale in comparison to the true values of life.   It is surprising how quickly unexpected events can leave our concept of existence hanging on a thread.

SPROUTING SEEDLETS

Outside "La Casa Luna" aka Alison's house (Seattle, WA).

However; within the volcanic ashes of a ravaged forest lies a delicate seed with the ability to rekindle a nourished dream of new life, hope and regeneration; a life untainted by environmental degradation, depleted wildlife habitat, and human injustice; a life devoid of insufferable acts and cruelty; a life filled with understanding, inter-connectivity and respect.  Whether we like it or not, we are intricately woven into an ornate tapestry; each string recognizable as a separate thread but tied together to form a single, elaborate piece.

Cherish the Earth as if it were your soul and very existence.  The rivers are your veins.  The water is your blood; propelled by every breath of life and a beating heart .  Cherish the Earth not because it yields the resources you need but because it is a part of all of us.  Revel in the majestic canyons and ancient forests.  Celebrate the beauty of pristine lakes and lush meadows.  Dance amongst the symphonic melodies of unruly sea breezes and ocean waves.  There is such a wealth of pure joy and beauty around us and the vision of sustaining it together is invaluable and indispensable. 

Celebrate Earth Day everyday!

EARTH CAKE

Baked with love for my colleagues at work. ♥ Wind energy!

Strawberry Yogurt Cake recipe inspired by "Happy Homebaker" with the liberty of making a personal couple of adjustments. I actually cut the cake in half to add in a layer of home-whipped chantilly crème and freshly cut strawberries.  The crème was also used to decorate the cake surface with silhouettes of what was initially supposed to represent the seven continents but due to rushed efforts, I did a rather rushed, sloppy job of depicting the Earth.  This whole cake was an experiment.  Turns out people would only be able to devour 4.5 continents instead. 

Mug Design

For Hugh: company beer mug design.  Det Norske Veritas literally translates to "The Norwegian Truth."  Does that not sound like a cult?  Too bad it actually isn't... That defintely would've called for an interesting job description... 

DNV MUG LOGO
Micron pen on paper 8.5" x 11" (2010)
Text added in Photoshop

Soccer Crest

For Hugh: Due to the final stages of Global Energy Concept's (GEC) acquisition by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), we have now fully adopted the latter name as our company identity. Unfortunately, that meant that all apparel bearing the former name could no longer be worn.   Moving forward, our new soccer jerseys were redesigned to reflect these changes.  Per request, the team leader was interested in placing a soccer crest on the front.  The back of the jersey would bear the official DNV logo.  Funny enough, our company colors are coincidentally similar to the Seattle Sounders.  What are the odds of that?

To view last year's soccer jersey designs, please click here.

DNV SOCCER CREST

Drawn digitally in Photoshop (2010)

Plant Concepts

For Corinne, Yow, Aditya and Will: rough, rough sketches of the requested plants for their game concept of "Heroes in Green."  The only criteria consisted of simple, clean lines. Decided that a dosage of cuteness wouldn't hurt.

INITIAL PLANT DOODLES
Pencil on paper 7" x 10" (2010)

  

PLANT COMPREHENSIVE LAYOUT
Pencil on paper 7" x 10" (2010)

Early Spring Awakenings...

CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN EARLY BLOOM

Marymoor Park

FLIGHT IN MOTION

Sparrow taking off from the apple tree in my family's backyard

LICHEN

on the plum tree (also in our backyard)

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!

Step (through) the Looking Glass...

...and you shall find two deranged, eccentric creepers having a grand time messing around... Two hours of art was just the right amount of time before her departure to Washington D.C. and NYC the following day for the holidays.  Sophia is one of the most compassionate, free-spirited individuals I've ever encountered in my life.  Just her presence alone will summon the most profound sense of elation.  Her artistic inclinations are equally as beautiful:

Sophia felting acorns as small Christmas trinkets and pins for friends.

The finished product:

...and different painting watercolor cards for all of the wonderful people in her life. 

For Sophia: I didn't come equipped with any drawing/painting utensils...so I asked for her sketchbook and started doodling with a normal writing pen.  The first few lines formed a stop watch... For a couple of seconds, I felt uncertain what to draw afterward, but then it dawned on me that Sophia absolutely loves "Alice and Wonderland." 

As you've probably noticed, I was ultra-lame and somehow forgot to write "through" in the following phrase: "Step the looking glass." It's moments like these where I really question where my brain went.

STEP THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Pen on paper 5" x 8" (2009)

Season's Greetings...

Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope you all enjoy a phenomenal Christmas with close friends and family.  May 2010 bring you many unexpected but pleasant surprises.

Here are the card designs for this year:

Keep your eyes posted on the mail... My apologies for sending these out a little late.  I underestimated how much time it would take to write separate, personalized messages to each individual. 

A special thanks goes to my talented friend, Andrea for this fantastic photoshoot--featuring none other than Snowball!

A perfect day...

I cannot even begin to express how grateful and fortunate I am to have such wonderful friends in my life!

Our idea of a perfect weekend indoors involved keeping things low-key.  We kick-started the afternoon by gathering together to spend some quality time conversing and cooking exquisite food!  Le menu du jour (all made from scratch):

PUMPKIN SOUP

Verene made the most divine pumpkin soup.  One sip from the bowl will send you craving for more.  It was absolutely heavenly.  What made her soup even more special was the conscious effort she placed towards natural food co-ops that support local farmers, community development and quality organic products.  Furthermore, she's a fellow vegetarian.  It doesn't get any better than that!

SESAME NOODLES

Here's my recipe for some tasty sesame noodles (inspired by Heidi Swanson's Otsu concoction.  She is my ultimate muse when it comes to cooking.  She's also quite the photographer). The convenient factor is that it's a quick and simple dish to make; almost effortless.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces of soba noodles, cooked and drained
  
• 10 ounces of extra-firm tofu (for those who live in Seattle, I'd recommend buying them from Northwest Tofu Inc).
• 4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup of toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• Soy sauce

1. Cook the soba in boiling, salted water until tender.  Then, drain the noodles.
2. Cut the tofu into thin slices or small, bite-size cubes.  The extra-firm tofu I usually purchase from Northwest Tofu Inc. is already seasoned, grilled and coated with soy sauce.  To achieve this same effect, place half a teaspoon or less of olive oil into non-stick skillet set at medium heat. Place the tofu slices in the skillet and stir-fry until the pieces are brown on both side. You may even go the extra mile and add a little soy sauce.
   
3. Combine all of the ingredients except for the sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl and toss until everything is evenly distributed .
4.  Taste and adjust ingredients based upon your preferences.
   
5. Garnish the dish by sprinkling the sesame seed on top.  You may even add chili sauce if you're a fan of spice.

Dessert: Verene's home-made chocolate chip mint cookies and fresh fruit tarts purchased from a Chinese pastry shop in the International District of Seattle!

Disclaimer: The images above do not precisely depict the actual dishes...but they're VERY similar.  I had forgotten to take photos of our meal.  Special thanks to Sunshine Coast and The Pioneer Woman Cooks for the pictures shown above.

We ended the day with a sketching session and a movie (with video games as the alternative option).

Verene's sketch of an anonymous figure referenced online.  It's interesting to see how an individual's personality influences their artwork.  Verene happens to be a physics/math extraordinaire and her precise, sharp lines and attention to detail intrigues me.  I wish I could share a stunning portrait that she drew of an adorable Korean child...

Verene's Sketch:

Sometimes, images speak better than words, so I'll let Kelsey's incredible artistic skills do the talking. 

Kelsey's sketch:

Check out Kelsey's amazing concept art for Griptonite Games: kelsm.com 

You may also follow his blog at: kelseymart.blogspot.com 

  

  That's all for now, folks!

Soccer

Soccer jersey concepts for DNV-GEC's soccer team. The team name is the #40's (it's an anemometer model manufactured by NRG Systems). Again, the main goal was to keep the designs simple. Limitations included using only one color (in which I somewhat failed by using blue and going monochrome).

Flip through the catalog:

FINAL SELECTION: "Caution Concept" - drawn digitally in Photoshop (October 2009).  The following design ended up as the final selection since it was later decided that the sports jerseys were going to orange. Thanks to the janitorial "Caution: Wet Floor" signs I encountered, this concept idea and slogan came into existence.  I found it pretty neat that these nylon-mesh tops were reversible (with white as the underlayer). This came in handy whenever the opposing team also sported orange jerseys...or unless you wanted to divide your team into two opposing groups for practicing purposes.

THE RUNNER UP: "Global Soccer Design" - drawn digitally in Photoshop (October 2009).  I was trying to incorporate symbolic structural monuments and natural landscapes that represent Washington while simultaneously keeping soccer and wind energy as the primary components.  The globe was a plus since GEC stands for Global Energy Concepts.  Unfortunately, because it follows a monochromatic scheme, this design was too expensive to screen-print.

Soccer team in action during a match in November 2009: