The Winter's Tale: Violet

For this piece, I decided to showcase the moment when Leontes, old and guilt ravaged, sees a statue of his long dead wife, Hermione, come alive again.  Also take note some Sicilian symbolism, the bear and the shepherd who found baby Perdita.

Othello: Red

This representation of the Moor of Venice was largely inspired by my trip to the Alhambra several years ago.  I love the complexity of Moorish architecture and patterns—the relationship with Desdemona and the scheming eyes of Iago are featured among them.

Adventure Animals (ink + wash paintings for my son)

For these paintings, I decided to combine the animal motif of my son's room with images that could be found in classic, adventure movies.  I used the gouache paint + a nib pen for detail.

Frog Pilots

Elephant Cowboy

Lion Swashbuckler

The Tempest: Blue-Violet

Notice the Biscione on the sail and Caliban in the bottom/right corner.

Julius Caesar: Yellow-Orange

Et tu, Brute?

Romeo & Juliet: Blue

Starting off the new year with a Shakespearean tragedy.

Macbeth: Red-Violet

This Thane of Cawdor has been dispersing bad luck to thespians for over 400 years.

A Midsummer Night's Dream: Blue-Green

Here is the first installment of my Shakespeare Color Wheel illustrations.  I plan on doing 12 pieces -- each one will represent a color on the color wheel (using a variety of shades/tints/hue changes under that particular color).  I started with "Midsummer" because it is the only Shakespeare play that I have acted in (I played Nick Bottom aka Donkey man in high school).  Next up "Macbeth".

Decision at the Crossroads

There is something about Blues imagery that I can't seem to escape.  To me, the attraction is in the realization that such extreme creativity can emerge from poverty, isolation, oppression and boredom in a place like the Mississippi Delta (arguably the Fertile Crescent of modern American music).  Unfortunately, "Blues Art" has grown into a great cliche in Mississippi galleries, BUT it is deeply ingrained within the culture there.  I personally think every Mississippian should own 'blues art'...that is our mythology and history.

In this illustration, "Decision at the Crossroads", bluesman Robert Johnson is shown prancing away from the devil after exchanging his soul for instant guitar mastery.  The legend came as an explanation for Johnson's quick transition from guitar novice to blues master in under 2 years.

I feel like there is a bigger issue here that has universal application...giving up something eternal for something ephemeral.  Don't we do this?

Cowabunga!

I had the priviledge of meeting Kevin Eastman, creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, at the Staple Expo today. This was a huge moment for me, because I grew up drawing Ninja Turtles more than anything else. It made me excited about drawing, which developed into what I love doing today. ALSO, he drew a picture of Raphael, my favorite turtle.