A New Hope

Acrylic on canvas

May 2nd 2013

For this year's May the Fourth festivities I made a 2 by 4 foot tall painting of one of my favorite movies of all time. An homage to posters, book and comic book covers, A New Hope is one of those "kitchen sink" pieces where you cram in as much as possible to tell a story.  

Star Trek Art: The Sensor

The Sensor 

Pencil, Photoshop

June 2012

I've decided to upload bigger previews of my Star Trek inspired art. Reduced to 25% of the print. My first image in a series that pays homage to the Star Trek universe but in my cartoon style. "The Sensor" is an interpretation of one of the more memorable scenes from 1979's Star Trek The Motion Picture in which Mr. Spock encounters a gigantic copy of the Deltan Ilia that overwhelms him as he attempts a mind meld with it. While most Star Trek fans count Wrath of Khan as their favorite from the original movies, I have a nostalgic place in my heart for this first movie. The effects are fantastic and there's enough camp and overacting in some scenes to keep you awake even through the long V'ger sequences.

Thor, Defender of Midgard

Thor, god of lightning and storms, rescues a child from a Jötunn (giant). The giants in Norse myth are beings that at times are at odds with the gods, even though both races sometimes marry and even have children together. Not all are monstrous in appearance and Thor himself is half giant. There is a fairly typical pattern in many cultures in which the thunder god is an ally of mortals. Anyhow, I didn't want Thor to strike the giant directly in this rendition but rather scare him off. While some of my very favorite movies are very violent and I'm not exactly the nicest person on Midgard, there's already enough over-exposure of violent images on TV and in contemporary art. Not to mention I do have pieces that actually deal with violence, so a bit of balance is needed. 

As usual, the zoomed preview is reduced to 25% of the original print.

Defender of Midgard

Pencil, Photoshop

April 2013

Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

My tribute to one of my favorite films "of all time". Some friends of mine were opening a club night with a minimalist/cold-wave music theme and they asked me if I wanted to bring any art with me. Being the only person exhibiting, of course I was honored and it motivated me to make this painting I had been imagining for months! Being a Blade Runner FANATIC I cranked it out in 3 hours. It's 4 foot by 2. Wouldn't a cartoon of this movie and novel be great?

Blade Runner Blues

Acrylic on Canvas

October 2012

Krytios Soto flyer

My current flyer.

iamamiwhoami

They say the northern folk are cold. Jonna Lee and the mysterious collaboration known as iamamiwhoami seem as "cold" as the surface of the sun. Explosive and highly emotionally charged music accompanies surrealistic videos of performance art that is filled with mythic, dreamy imagery. The sound is part danceable, part sad and bitter-sweet, and part ominous at times.

This image was mostly inspired by the video for clump. Although ultimately a caricature (I try to work in the realm of "cute") it brings to mind certain beings from European myth and folklore. Obviously Fairies and Trolls but I was also inspired by the Basque woman of the forest, Basa Andere. A being who seduces men by combing the short fur on her belly with an enchanted golden comb.

Kin

Pencil, Photoshop

October 2012

AUSTRA

It's been nearly a year and a half since the release of Austra's album Feel it Break and personally, I'm still spellbound. I totally missed them when they came to my city, Miami, because I was out of town (of course!). Despite that, you can say I'm pretty floored by this band. While my favorite singer on Earth, Björk, is a great example of unpredictable atonal sound, Austra gives us music that's still surprising and bold while rich in melody and harmony. Beyond that, their songs express a broad range of emotional states and their lyrics are quite poetic. You know, anything I'd say just wouldn't capture it. Personally, I think they're awesome and they were worth depicting in a cute cartoony fashion. 

I had originally made sketches for what I believe to be the six important people that comprise Austra, including the two girls and the young man with that amazing long hair that appears in some of the videos. But I wound up with these three because it worked compositionally. Sources say that the band is really comprised of three. I'm not so sure about that. I may still try and use the remaining three for another portrait. 

This piece is dedicated to the song Spellwork, which already has visuals in the form of the video. But it's one of my favorites. For all I know, their all a bunch of devout staunch athiests. But the song has such a mysterious and mystical quality to it.

Anyhow, I've been making a few of my favorite musicians in this style. I'm just putting out creatively whatever and whoever I draw inspiration from. Musicians give us so much it's only fair to reciprocate. Up next: iamamiwhoami

Spellwork

Pencil, Photoshop

October 2012

Spacer Woman

I'm a spacer woman

Don't you worry 'bout me

I don't want to hurt you

I just want to love you

My tribute to Italo Disco band Charlie and their song Spacer Woman from 1983

Spacer Woman (pink remix)

Pencil, Photoshop

October 2012

The Mutara Battle Part 2, Wrath of Khan Tribute

This is my second illustration to one of my favorite movies of all time, Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan. I based Kirk's image on that memorable (kinda funny, actually) scene where he yells "KHAN!" and then they loop his voice over and over again "KHAN! KHAN! KHAN!"

As usual the image at left is reduced to 12% from the original illustration on my hard drive. 

The detail image at right is reduced to 25%.

The Mutara Battle 2

Pencil, Adobe Photoshop

October 2012