i crave sushi

The idea for this piece came about during the summer of 2005 when I was craving sushi. The original plan was for it to be a triptych, but it turned into a self-portrait. Some familiar symbols lurk around the room, and each object is representative of some part of my life. Several of the objects are based on things that I actually have, like the plush frog on the back of the couch that is representative of my childhood.
The piece became a large-scale study for the painting “Ocelot in Paradise.”



Pen and Pastel, Matted and framed 30x40" (76cmx101cm).
$300 (plus shipping when applicable)
Note: because of difficulties in framing and unique qualities of the materials in this piece, it has incurred a certain amount of damage including some unnoticable smudging and "bruising" of the paper surface.

DOGFACE (The Adventures of,): EFFULGENCE

This piece was created for the 2006 Scholarship art scholarship competition. The theme was the word “effulgence.”
This is the original essay that was submitted with the piece.

“EFFULGENCE!” (Obviously something a villain would demand).
“What does that mean?!” (Of course, our hero can’t be expected to know what it means).
“Give her to me!” (The villain persists).
“What are you talking about? What is this?” (The hero begs for clarity).
“It’s symbolism – I’m sure of it.” (The pony can talk, and he’s very smart).
“*Foiled again.” (All villains must say this at some point).
“Sounded like mouthwash to me.” (The hero lightens an otherwise dark scene).
It ran through my mind for a while, and in the end I had to edit out the punch line and streamline it a bit. The characters developed slowly, first the villain, then the hero who, at the last minute, got the face of a dog. As a normal man, he just never made an effective hero. The third-party/ sidekick eventually became an ordinary talking pony. He was a unicorn only for a few minutes, and a horse for even fewer. The villain needed a purpose, but not an evil one like most villains. So as it turns out, his little sister is waiting for him to bring back Effulgence to save her life. Only his methods are villainous as he disregards the hero’s needs in favor of his own. The hero must have met some greater villain and been put under a curse… why else would he have the face of a dog? And the pony, I don’t think I’ll ever figure out. As for Effulgence, it must have something to do with that watch. From there, a thousand stories developed that I fear I’ll never have the time to write down. I eventually abandoned the lines between the frames and the voice bubbles. I also gave up the idea of putting a three-headed beagle puppy sleeping in the background. That just wouldn’t have made any sense. As for actually expressing effulgence, I played on the side of the appealing mysterious and magical sound of the word itself, without its definition. And just to embellish it, decided to illustrate the thing with the title of Effulgence as being effulgent. The story however, is to be continued…



Pen and Ink, matted and framed: 16x20" (40.5cmx51cm) (that's probably the size anyway).
$215 (plus shipping when applicable).

The Everett Series

1. The Problem with Everett



I needed an solution for a problem. The problem was 2-D design class and a series of assignments involving the elements of Design. I can't remember if it was line or perspective, but the solution was Everett, a character I got stuck in my head after watching The Nightmare Before Christmas (yes, i know he looks like Jack Skellington - so what?). Everett is stuck in a world that's all about conformity and monotony. Unfortunately, he can't keep up with that.

2. Everett's Boss



And so, because he's different, (the next assignment was on value, and I was enjoying developing a story), Everett gets in trouble with his Boss on a regular basis. Upon looking at his boss, most viewers come to understand that he'd probably be less cranky if he weren't being choked by his suit. But whatever sympathy we might have for him, he's still making everyone's life miserable by making them all be the same and scaring the b'jeebers out of them.
The story goes that this day at work is the last straw for Everett. With nothing else to lose, he decides to break all the laws and run away.

3. Everett's Joy



Leaving the city, Everett makes some new friends and finds out that there's color (answering my newest assignment) and a new kind of life in the world outside. He's determined to bring this life back to the city.

Unfortunatly, I hit a block after this. I couldn't push the story much further without serious plot complications and not a whole lot of sense. I took a break from the story from which it would never recover... except in one final project...


Finale: Everett's (and everyone's) Happily Ever After



When the portents of the second and third acts become too complicated, skip to the end.

I couldn't let Everett's struggles go unresolved. I just conveniently left out the resolution and took the audience straight to the end result. In truth, only about half of the characters portrayed in the final piece were actually thought of for the sake of Everett's story. The rest of them are random thoughts I decided would fill space well and make people wonder what could have possibly happened. But, as you can see, it turned out all right in the end.



Stats and pricing for the Everett Series:

The original 3-piece series ("The Problem With Everett," "Everett's Boss," and "Everett's Joy") are all Pen and Ink (with some colored pencil in "Everett's Joy").
They are each framed and matted at the same size: 16x20" (40.5cmx51cm).
They are $100, $110, and $110 respectively, or the entire 3-piece series can be purchased for $300. (plus shipping when applicable)


The final piece ("Everett's (and Everyone's) Happily Ever After" is done in Pen and Colored Pencil.
Framed and Matted, it is 24x30" (61cmx76cm)
And is for sale at $175. (plus shipping when applicable)