NYC mural video - "Chelsea Jewel"

Here's a video of a mural I painted in Manhattan recently when I was in town for my show at Joshua Liner Gallery. It was on the side of an auto garage in Chelsea. They guy complaining in the video was upset because he had painted something on the wall before and it wasn't there anymore.

This video was made by the lovely and enchanting Kim Hagey.

Thanks to Josh & Tim from the gallery for hooking up the wall, and thanks to David from the garage for the support. More on the way...

"Manuel Lee Chang" - Mural in Campeche

Here's another mural I just painted in Campeche, Mexico for the Seres Queridos project. It's right next to the main public market. This is a portrait of Manuel Lee Chang, known locally as "el Chino"(despite the fact that he's of Korean descent) with his Guacamaya (Macaw). He's been selling handmade wooden toys, knick-knacks and tropical birds for decades. I thought this would be an interesting and important image to paint because it shows a blending of cultures. Anybody familiar with me or my work may have realized that this is an important theme for me. The Asian community in Mexico is not really that visible, and I thought it would be interesting to show Manuel with his Guacamaya, as these birds are very representative of that region. The photo at the end is from when Manuel, his bird, and his family came to see me goodbye at the airport, which I really appreciated.

Gracias a Anna, Victor, Julio, Champi, Mena, y al resto del equipo SQ para hacerlo posible!

Seres Queridos - Campeche pt. II

So I already posted a few images from this wall, here are some more of the rest of the mural. These are some of the biggest figures I've painted so far. This was part of the Seres Queridos project. The lady represents el Dia de Muertos in Pomuch, and the man is a fisherman from Ciudad del Carmen. The other figures on the wall were painted by Akut (of Herakut), el Niño de las Pinturas, and Mr. Kern. All portraits were based on photos by Jorge Borroto. One more mural from Campeche on the way...

Steel & paper

Here's a photo of a train. The guy painted on the train looks just like my friend Jaba. Next are a couple recent sketches- one of the extremely talented Rene Almanza who I met when I was in Monterrey earlier this year, and one of some guy sleeping on the subway in NYC. I think drawing from life is very important, like exercising. Neither of which I do enough of these days. The last photo is of a really cute little girl I exchanged sketches with at a Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal.

two more pieces from NYC show

These are two new acrylic & brush on wood panel works that were in my NYC show at Joshua Liner Gallery. The one of the man is called "Cousin of Death" and is based on a photo I took in Singapore. The painting of the girl is titled the same as the show, "Humble and Sublime", and is based on a photo I took of a beautiful girl named Abby in Hawaii a few months earlier.

"Humble and Sublime" works

Here are full shots of the larger pieces from the show. These are all spraypaint on stretched burlap. The titles, in order, are:

Thien-Phuong, The Merchant, Anais, The Motorist, The Student

"Humble & Sublime" solo show recap

I'm a little late putting these up, but here are shots from my solo show at Joshua Liner Gallery in Chelsea, NYC. Most of the pieces from the show were inspired by photos I took earlier this year in Singapore and VietNam. This was an important show for me. Thanks go to Josh, Tim & Lynzy for helping make it happen, David & Ari for ground support, the good folks of NYC who showed up despite the rain, the collectors who came through, and Kim for putting up with me.

NYC mural - Chelsea Jewel

Here's a wall I painted in NYC when I was out there for my show in October. Thanks to Joshua Liner Gallery for hooking it up & Ashley Vera for modeling.