Posts

good housekeeping

Screen shot 2016-01-22 at 9.50.03 AM

 

I am in this month’sGood Housekeeping magazine. In the almost 6 years I’ve been working as a full-time artist I’ve never been in print. I have been rejected countless times by blogs, magazines, stores, etc. At first it would really hurt. After awhile I got used to the rejection and took it as par for the course, because it is. My work isn’t the right fit for every store, every blog or every magazine. In fact my work has the funniest (to me) accusations of being: too colorful, too whimsical, too kid-friendly. I’ve worked hard to develop my own style (and I’m still learning every day) and I won’t change who I am or my work to fit into someone else’s idea of art.
After years creating original art (not fan art), learning how to make a living creating art that represents the underrepresented, failing, late night marketingemails, doubting myself CONSTANTLY, attending workshops, reading books on artistic process, approaching shops in person to carry my prints, being rejected, working, working working… yesterdayI walked into a bookstore and picked up a NATIONAL magazine with my work inside. I cannot put into words how this makes me feel. If you’re around a newsstand, please check it out ^_^
I hope you have a lovely weekend ^_^

disney in february

three of us

I am thrilled to announce that I have beeninvited back for anartist showcase at WonderGround Galleryin theDowntown DisneyDistrict at theDisneylandResort,February 6-7andFebruary 27-28, from2 5 p.m.each day. Parking fees apply. The piece above “Three of us” will be one of the many prints I will have there. If you’re in Southern California, I hope to see you there! ^_^

I was also asked to create 3 new Disney pieces and I’m so excited to share them with you here! The Disney pieces will release on February 6 along with new work from Eunjung June Kim and Jerrod Maruyama. More informationhere.

hawaiianrollercoasterweb

“Hawaiian roller coaster”

 

 

newworldweb

“New world”

noworriesweb

 

“No worries”

heroes

heroes

A quick 20 minute sketch remembering Bowie today.

cinque terre

cinqueterre

this year we used points and savings to take a dream trip to italy. the hubbahubba’s family traces back there. the highlight of the trip was our week in cinque terre – enjoying limoncello and the beautiful views. we went to a small town in the region that was his great grandmother’s home and i watched him have the experience of belonging that i had when i went to india as an adult. since then life has been busy but i’ve wanted to draw this for months. i’m so happy that i could complete this before the year’s end!

happy, happy new year ^_^

what’s in a page?

pg1a I am working diligently on Pashmina. As I completethe final art, I feel challenged and discover new ways to communicate the story through art andwords. Even at this stage of final art I continue to learn and edit. The evolution of a graphic novel is excruciating but also wonderful. I cannot believe how far I’ve come in what seems like a short time – although I’ve been working on this book for 3 years now. The above page was in thepitch to publishers. Originally page 1 wasan establishing shot of Priyanka’s home. pg1b After a few manuscript revisions, page 1 was her school for a brief moment, until I settled on a driving scene. I trieda “soft opening” which includeda series of shots of Priyanka enjoying driving – hand out the car window, wind in her hair, listening to music. I wanted to contrast her feelings of freedomwith her worried mother and end it with her mom yelling, “PRIYANKA”. pg1c After one of many long conversations with my editor he made the comment that it’s better to start with action. I thought about that and shifted the panels. I began with her mom yelling and it felt right. Instead of an establishing shot, a soft flowing opening, we dive into STORY and their relationship. My editor suggested that I think about how my characters hands can look more natural, and to act out what my characters are doing. For months during the thumbnail process I would walk around our apartment saying lines and acting. Nick would giggle at me as I repeated some lines over and over trying to put myself mentally in the moment. While working on the story and revisionsI was thinking about Pashmina so much that it felt like Priyanka and her family wereliving with us. And in many ways, they still are. pg1d Finally I settled on the right hand placement and after thumbnailing the entire book for roughly a year (which included many revisions small and large) I started on final art earlier this year. As I looked back on the pitches, I thought, “Wow! So much goes into just one page!” I’ve always wanted to make a graphic novel but I never realized the amount of work it takes to visually communicate a long form story. From panelling, character design and acting to story development, line work and shading (and color!) it exercisesevery creative muscle – and I love it more and more every day!

pg1final

live drawing

bfam

i’m super excited (and a little nervous) to announce that i will be live drawing this saturday from 11-3p at urban bazaar for their annual vagabond craft fair! i will take custom requests on a first come, first serve basis that day only. i created the above drawing with brush pen and color pencil as a sample ^_^

also my zazzle shop has many great sales today including 50% off canvas printsandphone cases with the code ZAZWEEKSALES.

thanks!

fly with me + etsy craft show

flywithmeWe will be vending at the Etsy Indie Emporium this weekend at Pier 35 in San Francisco. If you’re around come by to shop over 150 local artists for your holiday season.

I hope you have a happy holiday week!

it takes love

whatittakes1

i rarelytalk about it but i had a traumatic childhood. my family was dysfunctional and i was buried beneath layers of abuse. i blamed them, i blamed myself and i blamed the world.i was angry. i carried my anger with me everywhere and fought my way through my young adult life.

and then i found love.

it wasn’t easy. i was accustomedto fighting, so i fought the love. my love then (who is my love now) kept strong for years and showed me that our love was better. better than anger, better than pain, and full of brightness. i forgave my family. i stopped carrying that darkness with me and ever since my life has been lighter, warmer and simpler.

i am overwhelmed by the violence, fear and hate raging through our world. it would be easy for us to continue down the path of anger. retaliation. ragefeeds rage. the problems we have are not simple and the path to love isn’t easy. change isn’t easy. i knowfrom my own experience that love can heal. it can be as little as a kind gesture during your morning commute or volunteering your time. if we took a moment everyday to add love into our world maybe we could chip away at the anger. it won’t be easy all the time and it may take years.

but i believe a world full of love is worth the work and the wait.

night duel + urban epicurean festival

dueldeux duel1 Very early in my career my hard drive crashed and I lost the full resolution files of my illustrations. Duel was one of them – and as my work has been featured on different websites I’ve been asked for it as a print. Sadly I cannot recreate it – but I did revisit it! It was so much fun – it gave me a chance to truly see where I’ve grown. I understand anatomy and character weight better, but also light and shadow. I still have a long way to go but I know from years of experience my best route to improvement is to keep drawing. ^_^

Meanwhile, this weekend I will be at the Urban Epicurean Fest in San Francisco selling prints, cards and calendars with the wonderful Lyla Warren ofLittle Brigade. She’s coming from Portland to share her lovelySeedlingswith you all! Littlebrigade_seeds_of_love If you’re around please come by and say hello!

birthday one day sale!

bdaysale

 

it’s my birthday and i want to extend the happiness to you! you can enjoy 20% off my shop until 10am November 3rd. i hope you have a happy day!