India: October 3, 2010 – November 17, 2010 After completing my contract in Korea, I flew to India to teach English at a school in the slums of Mumbai. Although I worked for most of the time I spent there, I got a chance to explore the amazing, overwhelming, and Read more…
In October of 2010, I visited the Taj Mahal. It was delightful to get out of Mumbai, experience a smaller city, the Indian trains, and the majesty of this wondrous building. It is truly awe inspiring, and in this image, I tried to pay homage to its color scheme–white marble Read more…
Print available on Fine Art America. Part of a Calendar on Zazzle. “Run After Me” is a transition piece. I began this piece in Korea, and used Korean designs, Korean buildings, and a Korean subway. By the time I reached the bottom of the image, I had been thrown headlong Read more…
Korea: September 1, 2009 – October 2, 2010 South Korea is a country of many extremes. From K-Pop obsession to identical high rises, to hagwon-ridden suburbia and road-side shacks, the country continues to baffle and surprise anyone who hopes to look for its secrets. (And there are many of them, Read more…
When I left Korea, I drew a number of pictures for close friends. This image incorporates the word “Salda” in Korean, which is the verb for “to live.” It also incorporates Korean temple painting designs, a waterfall, and a butterfly.
A lot of things weighed heavily on my mind, and this was one of the products of that weight…
Print on Imagekind. One of the amazing things about having a salary (ie, a full time job) is that you have money to spend on art! In “Fly Away” I’m trying out some concepts with new pens. I bought a set of Straedler colored pens and some Shinhan artist markers Read more…
Based off of a character in a book I was deeply involved in (ie, writing), “Her City” was another exercise in intricacy. It’s primarily fluff, but I really like the center part of the image.
No cities, no trucks and trains–just the simplicity of the lines, the serenity of her face…
Purchase a print or card on Fine Art America. “Always a Part of Something Indescribable” This image, completed over my wild and travel-extensive birthday weekend. My artwork slowed down during the spring months because I was traveling so frequently, but when I picked up my pens and markers again, some Read more…
This image was the first one I finished in the new sketchbook that I ordered, and begins to incorporate Korean motifs–especially the subway and the Asian roofs. This one was mostly a fluff piece, because I was still hopelessly missing the old sketchbook!
Print Available on Imagekind. You Can Bury It was an exercise in several things: conflicting color schemes, telling a story, geometric styles… I took on a big project when I undertook this image. Still in my transitional sketchbook, I really wanted to draw how I experienced Korea, its culture, and Read more…
In early January, I made a terrible mistake and put an untrustworthy water bottle into the bag where I kept my sketchbook. In the dead of winter, at one of the hardest points in my Korean year, I doused all my art, and blank sketchbook pages in weak tea. Read more…
One of the main things I did in Korea to keep myself sane was draw. It was almost a meditative practice, but it became absolutely essential that I gave myself time to do two things: listen to English TV, and draw. This is another low quality scan, unfortunately, but someday Read more…
A more playful image this time, but I don’t particularly like the color choices I made. Wild hair and enormous headphones. For a while I believe that characterized me amidst the other foreigners in Korea.
Print and Card available on Fine Art America. “You can’t stop this” is yet another one of my favorites, a more courageous verison of “You go Forward”, as it were. This was a few months into my sojourn as a teacher in Korea, and all the intricacies of the image Read more…
This is the first time I really tried to build an image around text and only text. I remained in black and white, and focused on the simple things.
I was in the process of this image as I was moving to Korea. That describes the text and the forward motion of the image right away. I had nowhere to go but onward, regardless of whether or not I thought that was a good idea. This is a pretty Read more…
Corning, NY: December 2007, Summer 2008 and 2009
Minneapolis / Saint Paul Minneapolis and Saint Paul have been my home cities for over ten years now. Known as the Twin Cities, they have dueling personalities–just as I do. Minneapolis, a bright and boisterous cultural center–full of new immigrants with vibrant communities–sits just across the river from Saint Paul, Read more…