MY ARTWORK

I displayed a drawing talent at a pretty young age and was fortunate enough to possess an obsession with improving my technique. Sheer determination nutured my abilities and confidence, and as the years went by I grew tremendously as an artist. I evolved from drawing superheroes and monsters (like all boys did), to becoming more interested in story-telling and presentation. Eventually I moved on to more mature and complex themes.

Sadly, around my junior/senior year of high school, I became increasingly frustrated with my artwork. My expectations were too high and I felt like my talents were plateauing. I then began to question my abilities and became disgusted with anything I created. Nothing seemed worth it anymore. In addition, I was feeling a lot of pressure from my high school art teachers to create more art, and pressure from my dad to quit. Mostly because of burnout, and partly because of the formulaic artificiality of my recent work, I decided that I needed to take a break from art. I didn't have any plans to go to art school, so what was the need for a complete porfolio, anyway? I had intended on just taking a year off from art (at the extreme disapproval of my art teachers), however for whatever reason I never felt the urge to return to it again.

It's now been about 4 years since I've created any "real" art, and I doubt I'll ever return to it again.. I am pretty sure that my skills have regressed, as well. But anyway, here is a gallery of my art work in chronological order.....

 
On the left is one of the earliest drawings I could find that I still have. It's a self-portrait of myself, drawn at age 5.

On the right is a drawing of my house, at age 6.
I find this drawing pretty interesting because I display my knowledge of the concept of perspective (at age 6!!) in drawing these buildings. Okay, so I got it wrong in some of the buildings, but at least I had some idea of what I was doing.
left, superman, age 8.

middle, werewolf, age 9.

right, ninja turtle, age 9.
During the ages 10-12 I really began to become influenced by comic book art, namely Todd McFarlane art. I learned a lot about the properties of ink and how to convey texture. Left, "Evil Fatso", age 12. Middle, "Circuit Man", age 12. Right, "Serial Killer", age 13. "Circuit Man" was created during my phase where I trying to emulate the comic book artist Stephen Platt.

 

 

 

 



At age 13 I began to learn about charcoal. As you can see, I had no experience at all in this medium. On the left, "Afro" is my first-ever attempt at using charcoal, and although it is very sloppy work, the hair's texture looks cool. On the right, "Rainman" (age 14) is an improvement somewhat in setting a mood. It's darker and communicates a lot more than "Afro".
Age 14, "Spider-man". The peak of my Todd McFarlane emulation period. Still kind of sloppy in presentation, however stylistically this looks exactly like something the great Todd McFarlane would have drawn. Compared to my work at age 12, I have improved lightyears ahead in anatomy/figure-drawing. I'll even dare say that at age 14, I was already better than 75% of the artists in the industry. The problem I had with charcoal at first was for some reason I always rushed through it. However, I am getting the hang of it more in this cartoony, refreshing piece: "Hammock" (age 15).
During Drawing I in high school I FINALLY began to classically learn how to draw real life. I learned about using different kinds of pencils, and my observation skills improved as well. Age 15, "Self-portrait of Hand".

Middle, "Tools", age 15, charcoal.

On the right, "Village" (age 15, charcoal). Very amateur looking but hey, I'm still learning.
Age 16, "Batman". I used charcoal, chalk, and pencil to create this energetic piece. It's got a lot of movement and character and the Dark Knight actually looks larger than life. He looks both proud, mysterious, and threatening. Messy and scratchy indeed, but I wouldn't call it sloppy. This is actually one of my favorite superhero drawings I've made. Age 17, "Menstruation Blue", blue permanent marker. I made many versions of my extremely popular "Menstruation" during high school. A more effective version, in black ink, is either lost of thrown away. People usually look at this piece with repulsion at first, but after awhile I think they appreciate the story it tells.
Age 17, "Coffee Woman". I become a little more mature here with my experimentation of charcoal and coffee. What I like about this piece is the balance that I maintain throughout, and also the clarity of the woman's features. Age 17, "Einstein", graphite pencils. Not quite photo-realistic yet, but my overall technique continues to develop here. Some people ooh and ahh over the detail and realism of this drawing, but I've never felt too satisfied with it. I did a nice job with the texture though.