Traditional Art

Over the last few years I have had the chance to experiment with some different traditional media. Looking back, the two that stick out in my artistic development are watercolor painting and silkscreen printing. I followed very different routes for each, one going towards abstract art, the other a more cutesy, Takashi Murakami-esque party of monsters.

Please note that my pen & ink drawings are over on my Drawings portfolio page.

Watercolor Paintings

Originally for a painting class at the Paris 1 Sorbonne-Pantheon University, I kept going with my abstract watercolor paintings for their meditative qualities. I also began incorporating the pattern elements in more figurative works.

My watercolor supplies include paint, a few round brushes (sizes 2 to 10), watercolor markers (from Artist's Loft and Akashiya), and watercolor color pencils (of the Bruynzeel Holland and Faber-Castell/Albert Durer lines).

An abstract watercolor painting of mostly blue squiggles

Big Red. 2017.

An abstract watercolor painting of squiggles and gaps colored in with marker

Cool Marker. 2017.

An abstract watercolor painting of thin blue, purple, and red squiggles

Thin Cool. 2016.

Fungi and mushrooms with faces crowd a colorful watercolor painting sheet.

Mushroom Party. 14" by 10". 2017.

Yellow and orange tinted squigles in an abstract watercolor painting.

Yellow. 10" by 7". 2017.

Screen Printing

I cannot quite remember what brought on all these creatures, from the tree stump blob to the garlic head with wings. I have always loved Pokémon, and at the time, I had just read Evan Dahm's Rice Boy, which also influenced my designs. The printing process was rather difficult- I lacked the arm strength to really print well.

I made two repeating patterns featuring the monsters, which were presented as if they were wallpaper, for the final project of the class. Looking back, even though those days were very harried, I am still pleased with the final result.

Three-eyed frogs relax in a hot springs while two large monsters walk away and little monsters follow.

Hot Springs. 5" by 7". 2013.

A screen print of many different monsters with weird bodies and purple and pink coloring.

Meet the Monsters. 18" by 24". 2013.

A selection from a screen print of many different monsters with weird bodies and purple and pink coloring.

Meet the Monsters, detail. 2013.

A wallpaper made of different monsters, ranging from pink to blue in coloring.

Wallpaper 1: happy. 7" by 12", 21 panels. 2013.

Blue and green monsters overlpa shapes indicating a city, the ocean, a forest, and mountains.

Wallpaper 2: habitat. 18" by 22", 22 panels in total. 2013.