daruma screen print

wow! art market was crazy. I discovered that I have a profound love for selling people kitchy stuff, and hell, I even sold some of my prints! doope! anyway this is a photo emulsion screen print I did a couple summers ago. It may be old, but it still has charm. Continuing with the theme of anything and everything japanese, here's my daruma.

Jizo, Patron Saint of Being Totally Boss

They say every man should have a symbol. They say it's the first step towards self actualization and conscious identity awareness. everybody's symbol is unique to them and it stands for who they are, or for that matter, want to be.

My symbol is most definitely the Buddhist deity known as Jizo. He is the protector of travelers, expectant mothers, and most notably the souls of children who have died, be them stillborn, miscarriages, or kids who have died before their time. His statuary is seen in many places throughout the land of the rising sun, including but not limited to the house, Buddhist temples, roadsides, and most commonly, Japanese graveyards.

I could write a dissertation revolving around this figure, as well as my connection to him, but needless to say, O-Jizo-san is BOSS! Here's one of many pieces i've done revolving around Jizo, part of the series of Bosatsu including Monju, Kannon, and others.

That time of the year

WhEW! What a week. Thanks giving is always the greatest, most refreshing pain in the ass holiday of the year. High volume traveling, family reunions, Black Friday, and good old fashioned gluttony at its best. I managed to make it home to Philly for a few days, and what's more, I even managed to get a decent amount of work done! I'm terrified to think that I may actually be starting to grow up...

Nah! On second thought I'm just havin' a ball with this stuff. This is the finished Kannon WITHOUT the glaze and symbols. The turkey without the stuffing and gravy, if you will. Enjoy!

Monju Bosatsu

Meet Monju Bosatsu and his companion animal shi shi lion, or as many refer to as "fu dog". just another in the series but brought to a more complete stage. still a bit of work to do playing with hues and integrating a couple graphics, but he's almost there. hopes ya'll dig it!

The Hollow Man

hey kids! another day, another blog entry. During my freshman year at MICA i had a bit of an obsession with the human heart. this was part of a concentration loosely based on the poem by T.S. Elliot called "The Hollow Men". I never did quite understand it but i knew it was cool. Just a quick wash with watercolors. It's old, and a bit bleedy, but I like it, and thought you might too, with a whimper.

Yami No Amaterasu (I think)

this is a digital painting i did on photoshop for a character development class taught by Sean A Murray. it is the hypothetical environment that a character named Amaterasu might inhabit. this character is the sun goddess of the shinto tradition. the project is part of a semester-long theme i was given based (not so ironically) on an animated movie about Japanese mythology. i thought it would be cool to use mainly warmer yellow colors in a mountainous region above the clouds where this goddess may reign supreme. pretty quick painting, but thats just the way i like 'em: fast and full of energy!

Onjuku Mural Sketch

This is a quick piece I did for Concepts of Illustration with Allan Comport. It's more of a sketch than anything. Just a quick design of a hypothetical mural for a gridded mountain side of the coast of Onjuku, Chiba, Japan. I went surfing there. It was tight.

Hozo Bosatsu

Before the Great Amida Buddha was the Great Amida Buddha he was this guy Hozo who had a Jew-fro

Kannon Bosatsu

This is Kannon Bosatsu, one of the Bodhisattva, or "saints" of Japanese esoteric Buddhism. She is a very widely recognized figure throughout the tradition, but especially in Japan. She has tons of forms. This is my take. Check out the hands!

THE COOLEST PREFACE YOU EVER READ

Hey you viewer! You are so cool. I know you're cool because you are going to take the time to read my very first OFFICIAL BLOG ENTRY! I know it sounds crazy, I mean after all, the preface of a book is always the biggest pain in the ass to get through, RIGHT??? I always just want to jump right in to the meat of the story, myself. but time and time again i find myself drudging through the first couple sentences of any cool novel and then before I know it... BANG!

I'm hooked. And glad: glad that I took the time to read what the hell this person wanted to say at the beginning because it gives me a damn good idea of how the rest is going to play out.

So enough talk. I'll skip the intro cause I know you'll read my bio if you're interested. And you probably are, because you're so cool, and I am too, and cool interesting people are always interested in other cool and interesting people.

So there that is, and here this is, and it's all ready "before you know it", and... BANG!!!!!!!!!!! You're hooked.

So here's the meat of the story