Beauty and the Beast

As a child, my mother would tell me stories by drawing them – in the same manner I draw/tell stories on this forum. The time she told the story of “Beauty and the Beast,” she did not draw on that day (I think it was because she could not find a piece of paper around the house). Without any visual aid, I thought she said, “Beauty and the BEACH,” so I went on a totally different tangent. In my imagination, the ‘beast’ was a handsome, tall man made out of ocean waves and sea foam. When he was in a good mood, the water was warm and full of light. But when his mood darkened, the water would churn, fill with sea monsters, and the winds would howl.

(Now, I think this could have made a new, interesting story...).

Paper Art

While working on this project for a client last week, I decided to photo-document the steps to show my work process. (1) My original concept of the boy in a ship, surrounded by waves/clouds. (2) I establish the background environment first, making sure every layer is in their place before gluing anything down. (3) In my original sketch, I noticed the boy's head was too close to the banner where his name will be. Uh oh. Not good. So I changed his position/pose in my second sketch. (4) Checking again, to make sure nothing is out of place before I add the boy's name. (5) The finished product. Voila...
If you are interested in having something like this done for your child, please private message me.

Victoria's Secret

Some quick watercolor sketches I did of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Their costumes are so outlandish, impractical, yet so fun to draw. Years ago I met Adriana Lima (second chick from the left) and she was even more gorgeous in person – not to mention extremely friendly and nice, too. Everything about her looked perfect, and I, as a mere mortal standing next to her, was shaking my head at how beautiful she looked.
I swear, she must not be human.

Women's Championship Tournament - Polo

The latest promo I did for the Women's Championship Tournament! (I want to jokingly say: Wanna watch the biggest, baddest women battle for championship? Come to this event! MEOOWWRRRR!).

California Polo Club

I was commissioned by the California Polo Club to design this promotional poster. Women now represent the fastest growing sector of this sport. Viva ladies! smile emoticon www.californiapoloclub.com

Dancing to Matlock theme song

While in college, I loved coming home on the weekends to visit my grandma. Not only she made me pancakes and shared her life stories with me, but she also would patiently watch me -- my clumsy self -- practice ballet in the family living room. At one point, she hummed a little ditty. She even waved her hands in the air, as if conducting an imaginary orchestra. I was thrilled! I danced along to her tune and when she was done, I asked her if that was from Swan Lake.
“No. It’s (the theme song from) Matlock,” she responded, her eyes twinkling.
Oh, grandma.

Coppelia

 Coppélia has always been one of my favorite ballet operas. It tells the story of a mysterious citizen named Dr. Coppelius and his strange, beautiful daughter, Coppélia, who sits at the balcony all day long, reading a book, and never greeting the onlookers. Swanhilda is a village maiden who gets jealous of Coppélia when she catches her lover, Franz, blowing kisses to the girl on the balcony. Deciding to confront Coppélia herself, Swanhilda breaks into Dr. Coppelius’ cottage when the old man is out. Swanhilda is stunned to find Coppélia as a lifeless, lifelike doll behind the curtains. She learns that Dr. Coppelius is a diabolical inventor who dreams of bringing Coppélia to life. Trapped inside the house when Dr. Coppelius returns for the evening, Swanhilda trades places with the doll and pretends to be Coppélia come to life. Fooled into thinking his magic worked, Dr. Coppelius dances and celebrates along with her.
Franz breaks into the house on the same evening, wanting to meet Coppélia. Dr. Coppelius decides to drug Franz and suck the life out of him, to make his beloved Coppélia alive eternally. Swanhilda saves Franz’ life and they make for a daring escape. At the end, Swanhilda forgives Franz for his folly, and they both marry. The entire town celebrates by dancing – and TRALALA -- it's a rather typical ballet ending.