Sketchbook and other stuff

So here are a few samples from my sketchbook AKA: security blanket. The first two pages feature some more work from England and Italy while the last two are images from Seattle coffee houses. I'm trying to focus more on my line quality and confidence.




Here is a color study for a quick portrait of one of my favorite singers, Ingrid Michaelson. The concept of the piece revolves around the shifting nature of Ingrid's music--her songs range from happy and hopeful to sad and moody. She has a jubilant personality on stage but I wanted to show the more serious side that appears in her songs, which helped generate the idea of a half-umbrella. She uses both the happy and the tragic as the foundations for her music, she does not totally shield herself from the negative things, she uses it for her art.
A funny story inspired this project, I kinda passed out at one of her concerts and she was so nice and accommodating that I would like to send her an illustration as a thank you. This also give a chance for more experimentation, particularly playing with mroe sophisticated color palettes. I'm also hoping to integrate even more of my sketchbook style with the finished painting.

The incredible work of Andrew Hem aided with the selection of the color palette. I highly recommend his work if anyone is not already familiar with it. http://www.andrewhem.com
Cheers!

New Work!

Hi everybody, I have FINALLY finished Bernanke (yay!) and the No Doubt piece. I voluntarily became a hermit to finish and tweak the pieces in time for some competition deadlines and because I am ready for some new inspiration. I will let everyone know if anything gets accepted.
Here's Ben. Many thanks to everyone for all their suggestions and support in the creation of this piece. I'm incredibly proud of the finish, particularly since there were so many interruptions while I was working on it. I hope you all like it.
The No Doubt piece also had a stretched out development process but I am really happy with the final product.
I will post some new thumbnails and sketchbook pages soon, as well as a new drawing done in the Florence style.