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

GETTING ANGRY AGAIN-- IN A GOOD WAY.

Today most of my creative energies have been spent on a private commission I've been working on this week, but for some reason I got into this trance and wouldn't stop making stuff.

While I was waiting for my soup to cool down, I did a quick sketch of my uncle watching TV.  His arm is off....oh well, I blame not being able to erase ink and feeling famished.

Then I started catching up on some reading and my Art and China's Revolution by the Asia Society seemed to appeal the most today.  I loved that exhibition so much, I wish it were part of the permanent collection so I could visit it a couple of times a year.  I know this kind of art is not China's proudest of moments but what appeals to me is the youth during this time.  Regardless of how Mao is viewed, the younger generation saw hope in him and had this interest in making serious change in their country through art.  There were lots of restrictions, but for those who really believed in this movement, it was deep...and more importantly it was for the masses.  And it all shows in the art: gestural drawings, bold and saturated colors.  People saw themselves in those posters, not some lame upper class people drinking champagne.

I love the idea of art being a necessity for survival.  Not only for artists but for everyone: literate and illiterate alike because it's as important as language, a way of communicating with each other.  For me, I constantly have this frustration with this society.  I don't want to hear about who's Britney's new baby daddy or exactly how many women "he" cheated on his wife with-- C'mon.  I want to know why the Bronx is still the poorest area in the country...why these kids have the highest rate of asthma...know what I mean?  This is the part where I get angry and for me, it's a good thing, because just like those kids in China, I'm also fed up.  Why can't I also express this anger through art...to inspire, to motivate...or share information, educate?

Of course, every once in a while, I have to sell out...we all do.  I mean, we gotta eat, you know?  But this is my motivator, what drives me --enough to have some extra will left to make those pieces I don't want to do but will hopefully pay this month's rent.  In the meantime, I'm going to keep getting angry and riled up and produce work that speaks to me...and hopefully others, because I'd like to think I'm not the only one out there.

Promise I'm done with my rambling.  I've been wanting to keep working with linoleum and move farther away from digital for now.  I love the little accidents made in linoleum, where the paint didn't pick up.  Anyway, here are some prints I made today-- I might redo some and re-post.

PATTERN FRENZY

This past month has been quite revealing for me in many ways-- personally and artistically.  Aside from having to deal with external influences...I've found this battle with myself and my own expectations.  Sometimes, after a while, you kind of forget why your expectations are what they are.  I think when that happens it's time to stop a moment and re-evaluate why you chose those expectations.  Are they really because that's what you want to do?  Or is it because all of a sudden you find yourself having to fit that role and succeed?  Maybe the intent was there but it just went in a direction you didn't want it to go?  Tons of possibilities and situations.  In the end... this is the position I'm finding myself in.  In a way it feels like going a step back but I know that it'll be a huge step forward--in the right direction.

That said, in my sketchbook lately, I've been having this urge to make patterns....drawing things over and over again.  It sounds boring, but I found myself having fun with it and really getting interested in this other way of making art.  I think I like it because it can make a message so clear...because it's so redundant.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll snap out of this slumber of pattern frenzy soon...so don't worry about me TOO much.

QUIMBAYA MAN IS BACK...

And you're gonna get in trouble-- HEY-YA HEY-YAAA QUIMBAYA'S-BACK! ...

As promised, Quimbaya man is back!  Once a drawing of an Indigenous character, it is my latest linoleum print avec Chine- Collé method applied.  It's the colored pieces of japanese paper glued to it.  There are different ways of doing this but I just glued one side of the colored paper and placed glue-side up on my already inked block...put it through the press and VOILA! 

I've been into traditional media...stuff that was basically technology back in the day.  Don't get me wrong, I love digital art and what it can do, I use it myself.  But it's nice to understand the past and try to incorporate it into today's technology.  It's my philosophy for everything, really-- and it applies to my view on art as well.  It's nice to know that I could've taken this print and make a green and orange shape and fill it in on photoshop...but it was 10 times more fun to get my hands dirty and get something more "handmade."

Anyway, this is a oil-based ink linoleum print, using Chine-Collé on Colombian Bark paper.

MORE DOCUMENTARY SKETCHES

 Grand Central Terminal

I enjoy drawing from life.  Not really the whole art school thing where you have a nude trying to mimic roman sculptures or the Art Renaissance... Honestly, I'm quite sick of it.  I like going out there and drawing regular everyday people, with clothes on...you know, because that's what people do.  They wear clothes and walk around...they eat, drink, sneeze, laugh.  They move!  The hard part is trying to capture a moment as quickly as you can-- because we're not machines--we see, process, choose a color and then, while still trying to remember what you just saw, draw it.  It sounds like a lot to do within less than a couple of seconds and well...it's because it is.  It's a challenge but it keeps you on your toes and things like "mistakes" don't matter.  It's a pure art form, I think.

Chelsea Market

Astor Place/ St. Mark's

BIRD WINE

Started as images for a critter wine label, I took inspiration from some of the world's ugliest birds and made them aesthetically pleasing in some way. I changed colors around, simplified or highlighted some of their grotesque textures and overall had fun with it. Wasn't too crazy about the wine label idea or the typography for this, I'll include it if you're interested. I like the way they are without the lettering. Mixed Media.

THE BEES ARE DISAPPEARING MI GENTE!

Yes, yes-- you read correctly. The honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate. They are responsible for 85% of pollination and one third of fruit supply. It is unclear why they are disappearing. Some have pointed fingers at invasive species, other animals killing them, global warming, parasites, pesticides and habitat destruction (basically us). Some ways in which people are trying to help solve the problem is by improving nutritional resources and commercial beekeeping as well as planting plants that attract honeybees.

Imagine a world without honey in your tea...honey glazed anything...!

Anyway, this was for our "Illustrator's Workshop" class. I'm still working it out because the "missing piece" to this image is a puzzle outline to be layed on top (the idea is that this whole thing is a puzzle and we are starting to miss pieces). It's a work in progress but I'm pretty happy with what I've got so far.

DOCUMENTARY ART

I'm taking a Documentary Art class this semester which so far has been fun. Our professor takes us to a new location every week and we well... document the scene. We were told that we should focus on people and make an interpretation on the surroundings or living conditions they are in. In a sense its making a statement about that particular environment. I thought that was pretty interesting and hopefully every week I continue to keep that in mind. This sketch was done at 23rd street and 5th avenue. I think the hot dog vendors with the colorful umbrellas are fun to draw and add to the already earthy and sometimes dull color palette of NYC.

LATEST FINISHED PROJECT: A GIFT

Still trying to save some bucks and make things extra special I once again have made my own gift. This was for my 4th year anniversary with my bf (+ homemade chocolate, chocolate chip cupcakes with ganache frosting). I could sit here and explain to you the meaning of this thing but then it wouldn't be as special anymore. So I'll just let you have the fun of trying to figure it out and enjoy looking at it.

It's acrylic paint on wood, it was a relatively smooth sailing project for me. I sketched out the faces and played around with shapes and what would go in the middle. Worked on a couple of color comps. Then scanned my final drawing on tracing paper, printed and mounted it onto the board. I bought some good smaller brushes, which made all the difference for smaller projects like these, when I want to use thick and thin lines.