Shaved Ice (Bat)

On June 21st, 2014, Giant Robot hosted Ugly Doll's annual Ugly Con.
The feature Ugly Doll this time was Ice Bat, who was celebrating its 10th anniversary.

While I was trying to figure out what to do, I happened to see Sean Chao's contribution.

SHAVED ICE! OF COURSE!

So from there, I was able to conceive my idea for the show:

Shaved Ice (Bat)

12"x 9"

Color Pencil On Paper

2014

Thanks Sean!

Post It Show 9

On December 2013, I participated in Giant Robot's annual Post It Note Show (number 9). For this show, I started by thinking about how I used post it notes. What I realized was that I mostly used them as grocery lists. From there I illustrated six items I normally purchase when I go grocery shopping.

 

The week after the opening of Post It Show 9, Giant Robot decided to host a second opening since a bunch of artists were late with their contributions. I used this opportunity to create a second set. Sticking with the food theme, I chose to create a series inspired by my love of coffee.
For my coffee series, I decided to feature an animal that I consider the opposite of what coffee stands for: the Sloth.

 

Ugly Love (Featuring Peaco)

Ugly Love (Featuring Peaco)

6" x 8"

Graphite and Ink on Paper

2013

Ugly Love (Featuring Peaco) was created for Uglycon 2013, a show dedicated to Ugly Doll. Hosted by Giant Robot, contributing artists were asked to create something featuring, or was at least related to, the Ugly Doll. For my contribution, I imagined it (in this case, the character Peaco) being loved by my bear to the point of being hurt. 
Because I had little time to do this (with my upcoming solo show looming overhead) I choose to stick with using graphite and pen on paper.

Ball Point Pen Series

The Ball Point Pen Series was created for Tiny Trifecta, a massive group show hosted by Cotton Candy Machine (opening June 15th, 2013). As the title implies, artists were asked to contribute three small pieces of art, and as the name of the series says, these pieces were created with ball point pen on paper.

Ball Point Pen Series (A Study In Color & Texture) Black

 4" x 4"

Ink on Paper

2013

Ball Point Pen Series (A Study In Color & Texture) Blue

 4" x 4"

Ink on Paper

2013

Ball Point Pen Series (A Study In Color & Texture) Red

 4" x 4"

Ink on Paper

2013

The Thing From My Dystopian Future

 

The Thing From My Dystopian Future

Pencil and Paper 

9" x 12"

2013

"The Thing From My Dystopian Future" was created for "Futurology" a group show hosted by Copro Gallery (March 23rd - April 13th, 2013). When I first heard the title of the show, I instantly thought, "the study of the future". Taking this into consideration, I started creating a piece that suited a futuristic theme. 
I don't know about you, but when I think of the future, I think of technology, and from that, robots, or mechanized creatures become the logical progression. "The Thing From My Dystopian Future" is an obvious nod to James Cameron's classic movie, "The Terminator". If you're not familiar, the movie features a robot assassin that comes from the future, disguised as human. Underneath its human dermis hides ghoulish robot killing machine.
Creating "The Thing From My Dystopian Future" was a lot of fun for me. When I was in high school, my drawings were undeniably inspired by manga and anime. I drew a lot of giant robots / mecha, and I loved incorporating hyper detailed mechanics. However, sometime around college, I felt like I lost the ability to render things this way, maybe because of a change in priorities, or maybe because I destroyed a good portion of my mind with my self destructive lifestyle. Fortunately this drawing has helped me reconnect with that illustration style, and I hope to incorporate more of it into my future works.
You might have also noticed that this was just a simple pencil drawing. I would have loved to have finished it with ink, or made it into a painting, but the details are so fine, I was afraid of ruining the drawing with ink, and I honestly didn't feel like I have the skills to recreate the image with acrylic paints.

Coachella 2012

In April 2012, I was invited to create a t-shirt design for the Coachella Art & Music Festival and to also live paint in the Coachella Boutique. I've been to Coachella before in 2004 and the one thing I can't forget was the relentless desert heat. For my shirt I chose to illustrate my bear, grimacing, while exclaiming "DAMN IT'S HOT!".
For the live art portion, I choose to create a variation of the shirt design on to the 4ft x 4ft wood panels we were provided. I never fancied myself a competent live artist. I generally do things slow and methodically, and I'm easily distracted. But I'm happy to say this is my most successful live art creation to date. 

 Coachella : Fuck It's Hot

Acrylic on Wood Panel

48" x 48"

2012

The Coachella Boutique Live Artist lineup features Angry Woebots, The Beast Brothers, Dabs & Myla, Luke Chueh, Phil Lumbang, and Sket One.
On Saturday, May 12th, 2012 the six live art paintings will be sold at auction with all proceeds donated to a charity for the Raices. The event will be hosted by the Shag Store (725 N. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262)

If you are unable to attend the auction and would like to bid on a piece, please contact jon@theglasshouse.us or call 714-396-3473

Ford - Go Further San Francisco

Ford (yes, the car company) presents "Go Further SF", a "pop-up" shop in San Francisco's Union Square area to showcase a couple of their new cars. The event will feature original artwork by Luke Chueh and Sket One. Artists include Ben Lam, Xian Fong Wee, and Hsin Yao Tseng will also be showcasing work. Sponsors include Pandora, Moshi, Kidrobot, Izze, and Style You. Both Sket One and I will be attendance. We'll will also have exclusive prints available based on the artwork created for the event.

Private Preview Night: Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 (7pm - 11pm)
117 Post St. San Francisco, CA 91408
RSVP: rsvp@gofuthersf.com

www.gofurthersf.com

GO FURTHER

Ink on Paper

11" x 14"

2012

These are the drawings I created for "Go Further SF". 

These will be available as prints at the event.

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Ink on Paper

8" x 10"

2011

Created for the Sweet Streets Art Exhibtion Co-Curated by Spank!, hosted by WWA Gallery. Sweet Streets is an artist management group that fosters talents from Japan and the United States. This relationship inspired me to create a piece that blended my own American/Lowbrow aesthetics with Japanese/Manga styling. The drawings title "I Think I'm Turning Japanese" was inspired by the hit single from The Vapors.