Some time=lapse videos showing behind-the-scenes art-making:

Anubis-Bot: Ink Drawing on Papyrus Paper

sWine: Oil Painting on Ampersand Gessobord Panel

Elly: Inking outlines on a Watercolor on Paper, using a Pentel Brush Pen

The Imp-Master's Disciple: Acrylic Painting on Canvas

Dino-Riders: Inking on a Watercolor on Paper

This summer I will be part of the City of Kent (WA) Annual Summer Exhibit. The Kent Arts Commission was kind enough to feature me in this little video that will run on Kent's TV network over the next few months. Enjoy!

These are the two paintings I have in this show:

For the month of Feb 2016, I have a solo show on display at the City of Auburn Gallery. This show features 15 new works in Watercolor, the first time I have used Watercolor for a formal show. 

I was initially going to show framed prints of my Robot drawings. However, since the Auburn Gallery features less than 10 hand-picked artists every year, I felt I needed to reciprocate the honor by creating new original works for this show. Having always been interested in Watercolors, I thought I would try combining Watercolors with Pen & Ink to create artwork that was both new, and yet faithful to my original ink drawings.

The first step was conduct a few tests, and I ran into problems right away. Pen & Ink requires paper to be really smooth, whereas Watercolor paper comes in all kinds of textures. Since the watercolors would have to be framed, and framing is expensive, I also discovered I would have to work backwards by finding good+economical frames first, and then creating the artwork to size. After days scouring art and frame shops, I found it was practically impossible to find an intersection point between frame, paper, paper smoothness, and paper thickness for my needs. I finally ended up buying larger sheets of paper that had to be cut to size, which was a laborious process in itself.. 

The photo below shows my first few test pieces, as well as my first test of framing a finished piece. Thankfully the end result looked good and made the effort seem worthwhile!

For the actual pieces, I decided to work assembly-line fashion in the hope of achieving a consistent look across the pieces and also be more efficient about their execution. The following photos show this work in progress.

Creating these pieces is a three step process: 1. The underlying pencil sketch; 2. Adding Watercolor coloring; 3. Inking the outlines. This is what the pieces look like before inking:

Here's a side-by-side showing how much difference inking makes to the work:

Here's a timelapse video of Inking in action:

And one more closeup:

Once the works are dry, it's time to frame them. Framing 15 pieces is no laughing matter! You have to take the frame apart carefully, clean it together, attach the piece to the mat, put the whole thing back, add hanging hardware and wires, and do that over and over again.

And finally it's time to hang the show:

Click through the gallery below to see all the pieces in the show:

The show is up till Feb 26th, 2016. All the works are for sale. If you want to catch the show, it's at the Auburn City Hall, 25 W. Main Street, Auburn. Open M-F 8-5

Many thanks to the City of Auburn, the Auburn Arts Commission, and Auburn Parks & Rec for making this show happen!

And finally, it's in the news:

Here is a step-by-step transformation from sketch to painting:

I am now accepting commissions for 2016. If you have a favorite piece from my Robot-Sketch series (or any other idea you would like to explore), I will be happy to paint that up into a painting. The current commission rate (as of Dec 2015) for a 12" x 16" Acrylic-on-Canvas painting is USD $400 + tax, with discounts for multiples. (Prices expected to steadily increase over time). 

I am delighted to announce my first full-color art book: Happiness Is... A Cup Of Coffee

Read More Here.

My art show at Blakely Hall in the Issaquah Highlands will run through July 8th and is open M-F 8-5. Admission is free so everyone should feel invited and please drop in to see it, especially if you are in the vicinity.

The show continues to be highly popular with the local community, with one resident describing it as "Wall-to-Wall Smiles!". Here is a pic of an after school kids club enjoying the show: 

Some pics of the show:

Directions:

Opening Night:

The time-honored tradition of artist self-portraits probably exists because, as an artist, you are your own best (and cheapest) model, and self-portraits allow the artist to experiment with new materials and techniques. As part of my artistic journey, I have done at least one self-portrait every year. Here is a recap:

2012: My first attempt ever at a self-portrait painting using acrylic on canvas board. I distinctly remember feeling extremely proud with the outcome. Your mileage might vary :)

2014: In a tribute to Norman Rockwell, I riffed off his famous painting 'Triple Self-Portrait' to create my own tongue-in-cheek version "Triple Selfie-Portrait". The first self-portrait is in the mirror, as I see myself. The second self-portrait is of my back (a rarity for a self-portrait) and is as how the world sees me. The third self-portrait would show up in the computer monitor, but the joke here is that when most people attempt to take a selfie in the mirror, the only thing they capture is the flash: 

2015: And finally, my self-portrait from 2015, the first one I've done in full color using oil paints. This painting borrows heavily from the techniques of the old masters and is, quite literally, a self-portrait.