Yo peeps!
I apologize for the sparse updating that has been going on as of late. There has been a lot for me to do over the past few weeks and that has severely cut down on my ability to do much on the web. In between attempting to finish up artwork, kind of pushing myself through something of a slight painters burn out, trying to figure out what to do for the next few portfolio pieces, and going on a mini vacation over the Labor Day weekend I've been swamped. The mini vacation was incredibly epic and has given me a lot of ideas and inspiration for some new pieces. That break came almost at a perfect time.
Just a brief synopsis of my trip, I ended up visiting Portland Oregon for three days on something of a mini mecca. I arrived Thursday afternoon but before I was able to head to my hotel I was intercepted by
Lee Moyer, a highly incredible, sweet man and stunning illustrator, and was invited to camp out over at his place rather than stay in a hotel by myself. I didn't realize it at the time but it became quickly apparent how incredibly wise it was to make that decision.
For the most part I had pretty much carved my own path in terms of what I wanted to see in Oregon. I ended driving downtown on Thursday and sightseeing for a little while just to get a feel of the inner-city. The second day I went to the nearby Forest Park and ended up walking and hiking around for hours on end before heading on and sightseeing other areas of the park including the Japanese garden. Pretty much I was on my feet all day long and didn't get back home until around nine o'clock. The second day fell on a Saturday and so I was able to witness the amazing marketplace down by the Burnside Bridge as well as the food market that was just a little bit further away. Lee was kind enough to show me the market and then he and I met up with three other illustrators (
Adam Gillespie,
Traci Cook, and
Craig Spearing) at a local coffee shop and chit chatted for about an hour and I got to pick their brains about a couple things regarding when they began to freelance full-time. We all had a great time!
After that get together, I drove out to Tillamook, stopped at the cheese factory, then headed north along the coast and got to witness the splendor that is the Northern Pacific Rocky Beaches. My second to the last stop was on Cannon Beach where I was able to walk around and absorbed the sights. I've only seen the tropic ocean beaches so witnessing the far more wild and rugged beaches was a very different experience. I had always been told that the waters were very cold but I didn't realize just how cold they really were. It was akin to filling a bathtub full of ice and then pouring cold water over it then plunging your feet right in the middle. Yeah it was that cold. After sufficiently drenching the bottoms of my jeans, and my shoes, I headed back home. The third day Lee took me out on a giant sightseeing trip. We ended up going up the old highway however along the Columbia River, stopping at quite a few beautiful locations where they were gorgeous waterfalls, and visiting some very unique places like the Bonneville dam and the fish hatchery there, as well as traveling up into the Mt Hood National Forest, up to Timberline Lodge, then back down and out Portland. Needless to say it was a long trip but it was very awe-inspiring.
While I must say that the sights were wonderful to view and I really enjoyed the incredible diversity of landscape that Oregon had to offer, I think the biggest impact for me was being able to sit down with Lee and talk about art in a serious manner. Often until the wee hours of the morning until we both were dead tired. There were a lot of things we discussed: My influences, vices, current portfolio, website, my future as an illustrator, and, most importantly, laying out direction that I just didn't have. He was incredibly blunt about a lot of things that plagued both my artwork and process method, repeatedly driving home three crucial points I lack that are currently holding me back as an artist. The whole experience, while coating on another layer of shock to my already overwhelmed system, left me doing a lot of reevaluating in such a short period of time.
There is a lot more that I could speak of however I promised myself to keep this as brief as possible and already it's pretty lengthy. Suffice to say, taking this trip was the best decision I ever made. A giant portion of me was left behind in that beautiful and surreal state. Someday I'll go back and reclaim it, only then it will be a permanent stay.
Merchandise
Dragon Stickers:thumb92986294:
These colorful stickers you can put on virtually every surface! Measuring 2" x 2" the details read just as clear as the artwork above, and the sticker quality is very durable! If you want 1 or even all 3, please note me or email me with your order. I take primarily Paypal, but we can work out another payment if Paypal isn't available to you.
1 sticker = $1.85
3 stickers = $5.00
Cherry Blossom Dragon T-Shirt
They are 50% cotton 50% polyester blend. I would allow for some shrinkage but the shirts themselves fit a bit larger than your typical size.
Sizes: S, M, L, XL