Thanksgiving

I've always enjoyed Thanksgiving. When I was young, it was because I liked watching the floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, then going up to my grandparents for dinner. As I got older, I started enjoying it for what it is: a time to give thanks.

I used this illustration for a birthday card for my mom. It was around Thanksgiving, and the message was gratitude related, so it seemed appropriate. The drawing was done with a calligraphy pen, one of my favorite ways of drawing. I colored it in Photoshop, then used a photograph as the background. I've been mixing my illustrations with photos ever since I started doing websites. It's a really nice technique.

Film Noir

I love the style of film noir, even if I'm not crazy about some of the movies. For those who don't know, Film Noir is a style of black and white movies that use extreme whites and extreme darks. In contrast, the characters themselves are very grey morally. There are no clear heroes or villains; everyone is flawed. Some of my favorite Film Noir movies include Metropolis by Fritz Lang, Othello by Orson Welles, The Third Man with Orson Wells, and Double Indemnity with Edward G. Robinson and Fred MacMurray.

This comic book page is inspired by that tradition. I really like the style and plan to do more with it someday.

Japanese Prints and Chinese Paintings

I love Chinese and Japanese Art, especially Chinese Paintings and Japanese Prints. They are the ultimate in minimalism and "less is more". With just a few simple, yet skilled, brush strokes, one can create an entire composition.

I've tried to study and emulate the technique, but I have a long way to go. This was done in college with a Crayola Paint Brush Marker. It's the World Tree from Norse Mythology. The sky is at the top, then the mountains, then the "lost world" underground, and finally the turtle. With only black shapes (actually green in the original), I created an entire world. I was psyched when I did it. Then I showed it to others, and they asked, what is it?

Oh well.