Wine Labels for Astor Wines & Spirits

 

I am happy to announce that the wines I had been working on are finished and on sale at Astor Wines & Spirits in New York City!  You can also order them online at www.astorwines.com.

Since I spent so much time working on these I thought I'd take you through my process.  The art director had already chosen the names, inspired by her love of music.  My task was to illustrate and design labels that speak to the native region and tell a little bit about its origin to its buyers.

Sometimes I'll start by jotting down words and ideas then see what visuals I come up with.  That was the case for Zampoñas.  For Sios, I pretty much thought of the concept right from the beginning and went straight to drawing for that one.  Here are some sketches I sent out.  All of these have a connection between indigenous people from the area and Zampoñas, which are instruments traditionally played by two people (as one alone does not contain the full scale).

 

They went for the mask with the Zampoñas headdress (top, far right).  Next is the finalized drawing, inking, digitizing, adding fonts, etc.:

The dimensions of the labels changed and they wanted to tone down the saturation of colors so it was adjusted accordingly.  As I mentioned earlier, Sios was pretty straight forward.  The traditional headdress is so beautiful on its own that we just went with that and added a border around it.  And that sums it up!  I hope this gives you an excuse to go out and get a bottle!

Ivy Queen: La Diva, La Caballota, La Potra

Ivy Queen is one of the leading ladies of the Reggaeton scene.  I admire her for her strength and resilience in a genre dominated by men.  Her style changes frequently, constantly redefining herself but never changing her love for the youth and the Hood.  It is for all these reasons that I thought it was only appropriate for her to be my next portrait.

For this particular piece I wanted to establish a heavier presence of urban and street art as well as a Caribbean cultural vibe-- giving a nod to the music she puts out.

Here are some videos and music that influenced me for this project and represents Ivy Queen's musical career:

Old School Reggaeton, Live - Ivy Queen
In The Zone- Ivy Queen ft. Wyclef Jean
La Vida Es Asi - Ivy Queen


More portraits coming your way soon!

Prez Obama Portrait

 I'm working on a couple of portraits and decided to work on a portrait of President Obama first since he's been a "hot topic" this year with the elections and all.  This was one that I started one night not knowing where it was going to go and at some point, after trying several things, I ended up really liking these stripes that cut across the page. 

I also included pictures of some of the process.  Looking forward to posting more!

We're Not All Alike: Update

My colleague and friend, Christian Castro, showed me an article written by Luis J. Rodriguez titled, We're Not All Alike.  In his article, Rodriguez explains how it is impossible to categorize Latino voters into one category since there are so many different backgrounds and beliefs.  Anyway, Christian challenged me to create an illustration for the article without having seen the original placed within the article.  Of course I agreed and came up with two solutions.  I am currently in the final stages of the first.

Here is a peak at my progress--more updates soon!

PRATT DRAW-A-THON 2012

This was my first time going to a Draw-A-Thon.  It's been a while since I pulled an all-nighter and I was once again reminded why I avoid it.  During the hours that I WAS productive, this is what I got done.  For those who don't know, the Draw-A-Thon is an event where you draw from live models from 7pm to 7am.  Some rooms included poses from 1 minute to 7 hours!  

It was fun seeing some of my former classmates from school and catch up with friends.  The best feeling was getting out there at 7am, with fresh drawings in my bag, some awesome sleepy friends and a mission to find some tasty breakfast... ok, and maybe one more cup of caffeine to get myself home.  Looking forward to going again next year!

Madame Butterfly

I reworked a poster-like illustration inspired by the early 1900's opera, Madame Butterfly.  This one may not follow the storyline as closely as a previous version I had done but I wanted to focus more on both the mysterious and tragic aspects of the opera.  I constantly find myself wrestling with what is traditional and new so this was yet another piece where I was able to not only combine different media but also work with an old story that had been retold in so many ways.  Love it when it comes full circle like that.  Anyway,  I'll be jumping right into my next piece so be on the look out for more!

Luchadora

Luchador masks have intrigued me for a long time.  They're shiny, colorful, bold yet hide identity to create a new one-- one that represents strength.  I think that's cool.  Here is my version of my "Luchadora" mask.  It's feminine and powerful; using some inspiration from Wonder Woman's costume without being too patriotic-- if I did, that would defeat the purpose of being feminine, right??  I'll save that for another discussion...

Summeration y Quiero un Mondongo

This is a sketch I did over the summer of my dad at a BBQ.  I later went back in, cut out some of the background and added in a stylized version of fire escapes from worm eye's view.  Obviously I was missing my hometown (slash homehood), the Bronx.  Summers just aren't the same anywhere else.  Sometimes I have a little soundtrack going in my sketchbooks and this particular sketch's song is El Mondongo by Los Corraleros De Majagual.  Listen to it here.  I know it doesn't make much sense to think of mondongo in the summer, since its hot-- but when you think of home, memories don't have to make sequential or seasonal sense.  Time is irrelevant.  To me its all about the people, smells, music and of course, color.  Now I want me some mondongo!  "Mondongo!  Yo Quiero el mondongo!"  Yep, sounds like I'm totally ready for winter!

...And We're Back!

Well obviously I've been away from the blog world for some time now-- but that doesn't mean I have been taking any breaks!  Working full time and doing my own art thing can be tough but I've been working on 2 big projects for several months now.  They are still in the works but will soon be revealed.  In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak.  How crazy is the weather lately, by the way?  Sheez!  Oh and how is it almost December already? ...Anyway, check back soon!

HOMIES EMPOWERMENT: RACE, MANHOOD AND SCHOOLING

I recently made a poster for a special event in Oakland, California: "FROM THE BRONX TO THE BAY: Race, Manhood and Schooling"-- hosted by Homies Empowerment at Eastlake, YMCA.  The talk will be by UC Berkeley, PhD student, Angel Gonzalez and topics such as homophobia, sexism, violence towards women, colonialism and the meaning of masculinity will be discussed.  I wish I could make it but I STRONGLY encourage anyone in the Bay area to attend.

I am, however, super happy to have been able to take some part in the event by creating the poster for it.  The occasion called for something, simple, quick, thought-provoking and somewhat "cool" for young people from the streets to relate to.  "Old english" letters as well as Graffiti served as inspiration for this piece.

For more information and context, Telemundo filmed a short special on the area, people and issues dealt with daily, as well as the man behind Homies Dinner, César Cruz.  It's also filmed in Spanish, so my apologies for not having an alternative for non-Spanish speakers.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK

FRESH WORK -- "Cope with Lost Hope"

So now that the craziness in my life has somewhat subsided, I've built up enough inspiration and creative energy to make new work.  Which means, expect regular updates on the blog, again.

I have so many ideas, I didn't know where to start.  So today I went with what I already had started on, not only to get things moving quicker, but also pick something that is relevant and useful now.  This is about Obama's time at the White House so far and how some that once saw him as an inspirational figure, don't hype him up as much as they used to.  I won't go too in depth with this, but I mean, give the guy some credit, its a tough time to be president of the United States, you know?  Nonetheless, its been a rough year for the country and sometimes even Obama is not enough to give the people "Hope."  Anyway, everyone has their own opinions and this just illustrates one side of the coin.

 
Mixed media, mostly digital for this one

MY SECRET POLITICAL RESISITANCE: ART POLITICS & SOCIAL PRACTICE

An interesting conference/ conversation is taking place at Cooper Union today about incorporating politics and social practice into art.  Guest speakers include Diamela Eltit, Dalida María Benfield and Carla Herrera-Prats.  It's at the Great Hall at 6pm, FREE.  I'll definitely be checking out!  For more on the event, click HERE.

 

"My Secret Political Resistance is a conference that features a diverse group of cultural producers that work in Latin America. The discussion seeks to layer the contemporary understanding of dialogical and socially-engaged artistic practices. Beginning with a discussion on CADA, a Chilean collective that staged public interventions during the Pinochet dictatorship, My Secret Political Resistance presents multiple considerations on the role of art in imagining a poetics of activism." 

--From Cooper.edu

WORK AT ILLUSTRATION FUTURO SHOW

image from http://illustrationfuturo.blogspot.com/

Hey all--  My "Plegaria del Pueblo" piece will be hung at the Illustration House from April 20th- 30th.  Only 65 illustrations were chosen from 200 submissions, so expect quality work.  The opening reception will be Thursday, April 22nd from 6-9pm.  I'll be there so I hope you can make it!  The Illustration House is located on 25th Street between 6th and 7th (closer to 6th).  Thanks to the Underground League of Illustrators at F.I.T. for organizing all this and making it happen.

You could find out more about the show, Illustraton Futuro, here.

For over thirty years, Illustration House has been America's foremost gallery devoted to the art and history of illustration. The gallery offers a fascinating look at the intersection of American popular culture and art history of the past. Thousands of oil paintings, drawing and watercolors cover a broad range of styles, genres and subjects — science fiction, romance, history, suspense, fairy tales, pin-ups, humor and fashion, to name a few...

In addition to select exhibitions each year, the gallery holds twice annual auctions of fine illustrative paintings and drawings. These have set the market benchmark for original illustration artwork. Prices brought at our auctions have set the records for a wide variety of artists, from Norman Rockwell, J.C. Leyendecker and N. C. Wyeth to Ludwig Bemelmans, James Thurber and Dr. Seuss. In addition, our gallery space hosts major exhibitions of illustrators. We produce illustrated catalogs for our auctions, and occasional exhibition catalogues.  -- http://www.illustration-house.com/

WORK PUBLISHED- LEFT TURN MAGAZINE

I received my copy of the April/May issue of LEFT TURN magazine in the mail today, which is where you can now find one of my pieces published.  It's really exciting for me because not only is my work getting published, but it's getting published in a magazine written by activists, for activists.  It really couldn't get better than that right now.  Anyway, the article is about obstacles activists and organizers face with the current economy and how to find ways to overcome them.  You can purchase the magazine in bookshops all over the country.  In New York, you could find it at Bluestockings, Vox Pop and St. Mark's Bookshop.  Special thanks to Vasudha Desikan for allowing me to have this opportunity, I hope to work more with Left Turn in the future.

WORK SCREENPRINTED

I've been learning how to screenprint for a few months now.  The process is somewhat tedious but the end result can sometimes make up for it.  Right now I'm testing some of my stuff with 2 color screens on t-shirts.  For this one, I decided to hand draw a digital piece and use that as my template.  I'll post up more updates with different color combinations next week and even more stuff after that...  maybe pillowcases with my own patterns?  Not sure yet, guess you'll have to wait and see what else I come up with.  Don't worry, I'm not looking to be Martha Stewart...not in the near future, anyway.

SERIES OF PIGS PT. 1

I'm working on a series I am naming, "Real Pigs of America."  It's a social commentary (of course) about our "system."  Think of it as "the man," the government, capitalism, the upperclass....maybe even the country as a whole, as we are seen as this selfish, "want-it-all" society.  Heck, it doesn't even have to be American.  I'll let you figure out what it means to you.  This is one piece of 3.  Stay tuned for more.  Linocut, Mixed media.

PLEGARIA DEL PUEBLO

This is my latest finished piece.  I won't bore you with an essay about the message behind this, but long story short, the idea is a group of people coming together in prayer during a desperate time in their lives.  Relate it to whatever comes to mind--- that's the point.  I enjoyed making this piece with hardly any help from the digital world (i mean, i DID have to scan it to show you...).   :)

Sketch...

 

To Finish...

ILLUSTRATION FRENZY

Just when I was about to yank my head off from all the stress this week, FIT canceled classes due to the snow storm...if that's what we call it.  So I took advantage of "time", which is a rarity, and caught up on some work that had to get done.  Right now I'm working on 2 projects which I will tell you all about once I finish---but as I was working, I realized I hadn't updated my blog and that there are pieces that I worked on recently that haven't seen the light.  More to come next week!

Madama Butterfly Opera

Angela Davis

 

Cesar Chavez