An Asian Motif

A lot of my work is influenced by Asian culture.  I studied Traditional Chinese Medicine when I was young, I have an acupuncture license, and I have a master's degree in acupuncture.  I know a lot about karate, judo, taoist philosophy, nutrition, longevity, and massage.

Even the way I do art is influenced by japanese comics, also known as manga.  I sketch first in pencil and paper, then I ink the drawing by hand with a black pen, I then scan the image into the computer, and color it with Photoshop.  This is traditional for manga.  Photoshop has been around a long time.

Lately, I've been exploring themes in my art.  Themes like zen, kung fu, work, women, and other things that deal with real life, not fantasy.  Reality trumps fantasy any day, even though it doesn't look as good. 

Here are a few recent works. 

Building Blocks

Man and Donkey

NYC Subway

Sparring at the Shaolin Temple

These are artworks done in a comic book/children's book/cartoon way, but deal with adult subjects and adult themes.  This is what I'm striving for.  To tell a story visually.  I like east Asian culture, but I am not obsessed with it.  It is merely an advanced culture, and because of my acupuncture education early on in life, it has left a lasting imprint on my mind.

Back in the Saddle, Again.

So far, May and June 2019 have been productive months for my art career and body of work.  My technique keeps improving, and a style is developing.  Part of my progress is because of practice.  But part of it is because of continuing education.  I use courses on udemy, I experiment with different techniques and keyboard shortcuts in Photoshop, and I read books about all types of art, using some pics as references.

Now that I am really an illustrator and cartoonist, I can draw from imagination.  So lately I've been using references less.  This is a good thing.  References are like training wheels on a bike, you only need them in the beginning.  And I'm not a beginner in any aspect of life at this point. 

I want to include here some of my best recent works, which might be uploaded to different parts of the web by now. 

Beach Scene 1

David vs Goliath

Sleeping

All three of these works are on my instagram account.  Beach Scene is an ideal bikini girl walking by the seashore on the hot sand.  David vs Goliath is a biblical scene, done in my minimalistic cartoonish style.  And sleeping is a monochrome composition that depicts a man in his apartment peacefully slumbering.  

This art is deceptively simple.  At first glance it is a cartoon, but when you look deeper you see details and depth that is what makes it special and unique.  I hope I can revive traffic to this blog and create a name for myself as an artist and designer.