Press: Interview for Electric Playground

I was asked to be one of the artists who was interviewed in the Chuckwa segment for the TV show Electric Playground. Miri was a super sweet host, and asked me about my plush and urban vinyl customs. It was an amazing experience. Check out the video below:



After we figured out the set-up, the camera guy takes footage of the deer.



This was the final set up with my plush deer and Kalua Moola custom.



Inside of the Chuckwa store.



And this is me after the interview was over... happy, relieved and ready for a chai latte at Starbucks! haha.

Urban Vinyl: Destroyer Custom

A few months ago I mentioned that I was customizing a Destroyer figure for Argonaut Resins, but could not reveal it until it was time. After the long wait, it's finally time to reveal my custom! The Destroyer was designed by O_Negative, sculpted by Eric Nocella Diaz and hand painted by me. This custom and many others are now available in the Argonaut Resins shop. A proceed of the sales will go to the Operation Smile charity (which provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe).



When I was thinking about how to approach his paint job, I looked to his design for inspiration. His huge bugged out eyes, clenched teeth and crazy hair made me think of electrocution, so I tried to incorporate that into my paint job -- with the jagged electricity styled shapes of ice blue, lime green and grape. This custom is by far my most intricate piece I've painted to date. I spent many long hours bent over him with my tiny brush painting precise clean lines. I hope you like him! :)

Plush: Commissions (Deer + Pierrot)

I finished off a couple of plush commissions this week. First off I made a plush skull deer with mohawk for my awesome friend Troy Stith. (Dude sculpts his own toys! Check out his Flickr, he's rad.)



The second plush I made was a Pierrot for an awesome customer who wanted her doll to be female (instead of the male Pierrot I made in the past). I've named this one "Pierrette". :)



I have more commissions in the works, so expect another post soon! :)

Urban Vinyl: Petit Astrolapin

I picked up the new Petit Astrolapin - Black Team A from Rotofugi. I love this guy's simplistic design! He's designed by Mr. Clement, and comes with space gear. Welcome to Earth, Petit Astrolapin. ♥

Mish Mash: Plush, Designs, Paintings + new camera!

Here's a shot of my craft table today with 4 commissions in the works. I'm having a lot of fun with these ones. :)



Below are my entries for Matt JOnes (AKA Lunartik)'s Lovely Cup Of Tea design competition. Check out the finalists HERE, and all the entries HERE. It was fun creating a design from a blank template (although I much rather work on a custom in person). My theme for the one on the left was: black + pink, drips and gothic lettering. The one on the right was obviously inspired by Alice In Wonderland. :)



My Mom found a stash of my old art projects from high school, and this one was my fav in the set. I drew/painted this in Grade 11 (mid 90's) for an "album cover" art project. I chose the band "Tokyo Ghetto Pussy" because I was really into their song "I Kiss Your Lips" www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAmN3ji-iVE at the time (haha). I also really wanted an excuse to draw anime-inspired characters, cause I was totally into Asian design. I omitted a "T" in "Ghetto" so the design would be symmetrical. Haha, how "ghetto" is that!!! LOL.



Below was an assignment for Life Drawing class. First we drew the model (I drew her twice because I was bored :P), then using pieces of construction paper, I ripped off sections to block out shadows, highlights and midtones. I did this in highschool (mid-90's). I kinda like it.



And last but not least... my Dad gave me his old 35mm Canon TLb camera (made in 1974)! Wooo hooo! It's got a 50mm 1.8 lens and a 135mm 3.5 lens. I used to shoot with this baby in highschool (yes, I'm that old). It's pretty good. I shot about 95% of my Toronto Graffiti pics with it. I'm really looking forward to buying some 35mm film and shooting with it again.

Photos: Snow + New Year's Eve Bonfire

We had a ton of snow here in Bear River, Nova Scotia. So much snow that we were actually snowed in! It was beautiful, though. I trudged around in the knee-high snow taking pics and protecting my DSLR with an extra hat. haha. This is what I captured:









Below was our New Year's Eve bonfire. The blue flames were made with gasoline... hehehe.. :)

Photos: Toronto

I also was fortunate to swing a 1 week trip to my hometown Toronto! I grew up here, and although I haven't lived there for a while, I will always consider it home. This is what I captured when I was there:

Happy New Year!

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
~ Abraham Lincoln

Wishing everyone all the best in 2010! <3

Photos: Dominican Republic

I visited the Dominican Republic for one week earlier this month, and I had a great time. The water was crystal clear, the beaches were made of white sand, and the sun was hot: around 25-30C everyday! The showers didn't have hot water until after 4pm, so it was best to swim in the ocean during the day (it was so warm), and then shower in the afternoon. The Dominican Republic is a beautiful lush island full of friendly people and signifigant history. It's the place where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492, so there is a ton of old buildings dating back to the 1500's in the capital city of Santo Domingo. A lot of Spanish influence remains on this island in the architechture, culture, music, and of course the language.

BELOW: This pic below was taken on Calle El Conde, the main shopping strip. I fancied it up a bit in Photoshop, using bokeh from pics I took in Nova Scotia. :)



BELOW: The Panteón Nacional, was the last building constructed by the Spaniards (1748) in Santo Domingo.



BELOW: Posh café's in a pedestrian-only area of Santo Domingo.



BELOW: The Reloj de Sol, erected in 1753, is one of the oldest sun dials in all the Americas. It was used as the official time-teller and could be seen from the government offices in the Casas Reales. This dial sits atop a large stone pillar and has two vertical dials or faces. The Southeast face is to measure the morning hours, and the Southwest side is for the afternoon hours. The large metal plate with its raised parts show the hours by the shaded markings.



BELOW: This is the oldest church in all the Americas! Construction on the Catedral de Santa María la Menor begun in 1514 and was completed in 1540. Fronted with a golden-tinted coral limestone facade, the church combines elements of both Gothic and baroque with some lavish plateresque styles as exemplified by the high altar chiseled out of silver.



BELOW: A hotel sign in Boca Chica. Most hotels were lined with barbed wire, and even some residential homes used a smaller barb for their fences.







BELOW: I saw breathtakingly amazing sunsets each and every night. :)