Grave of the Fireflies

Hi everyone,
This is a personal commission I did based off of the movie Grave of the Fireflies. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend it. It's very sad, though, so keep some tissues handy.
I actually made some changes after I scanned it, so I attempted to digitally make it the same.

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Featured!

Hi everyone,

I am so psyched about all the positive feedback lately! For anyone who was interested in my "That Very Night.." painting, it is now available in my etsy shop, linked over there -----> on my blog.

I'd like to thank Handmade News for including me in their Terrible Yellow Eyes feature. Click here to check out the article!




I also received a mention on a fun blog called toysetc.

Thanks to both of you!

Six of Wands

Hi there!

Here is my next addition to my tarot card illustrations. This card is the six of wands. It's meaning is about the arrival of good news, success and great public acclaim gained through hard work and effort. Hopefulness, and satisfaction in what has been achieved. The surmounting of obstacles through tact and diplomacy rather than use of force. Victory and triumph.

I chose this card because, despite what may seem like a struggling career, I am proud of what I have accomplished and I believe that to get what you want, you have to work hard. ..Also, I wanted to take a crack at drawing horses.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gallery Nucleus!

Hello! Sorry for the lack of real posts lately.

I am honored and excited to be a part of this upcoming show, Terrible Yellow Eyes, which will be held at Gallery Nucleus in LA on September 19th. If you're in the area, make sure to stop by!

The gallery let us know that we could submit up to 3 pieces, so I decided to take another shot at it and made a new piece:


Also, I revamped and updated my website. Click here to check it out! So far this setup is way WAYYY easier to update. I'll let you know on Twitter when I add to the site, though it's usually the same stuff as my blog. :)

That's all for now. Take care!

Go See Hallowen 2!

When I was in Atlanta, I ended up being an extra in the movie Halloween 2. It's finally coming out this Friday!

Make sure to keep an eye out for me, in this scene, when he's saying "Let me make things clear. Michael Meyers is dead."


One full second of fame! More than I ever expected. I have no idea if there's more audience shots. They filmed us for like 12 hours though.

There's a scene right before this as well before the press conference, and you can see me standing around discussing the press conference I'm about to witness. I'm next to a guy with a fedora- mind you, not actually wearing his hat prop, but rather using it as if he were going "Ta-da!" about every 5 seconds. What a weirdo. Standing next to him was one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever done.

Anyways, let me know if you spot me!

-S


P.S. Yes, I met Rob Zombie. Yes, he eats cake for breakfast.

Baby Sarah painting.

Awww, shucks. I've been painting since I was a little baby. If you know me personally, you might notice that me and my brother make the same "concentration face," and it started here. Looks cute on a baby, looks pretty dumb on a 23-year-old.

I've been busy with lots of odd jobs and projects, but nothing I can really post just yet. Stay tuned this week, though. I plan on finishing another tarot card and posting it before Friday.

Revisiting Strength

I was staring at my wall, thinking about how different my two tarot card pieces are. The first one I like (8 of Cups), and the second one I wasn't happy with (Strength). It is so much more realistic in drawing and in color, so I decided to play with it in photoshop. I'm much happier with it now. I generally just throw things out and try to learn from my mistakes, but I am glad I decided to play with this one. Plus, it's been a while since I've messed around in Photoshop.



I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Octopi!

Here's a peek at something I'm working on to give to my cousin for her baby shower this weekend. There will be some flowers and hearts and other adorable stuff.


I have some cleared up time in my schedule, so until whatever work comes my way next, I'll be posting more personal work!

Thanks for stoppin' by. :)

Ruby, MJ, and Cutlet - a sketchbook dump

Hi there,

It's been a while since I have updated. I have been doing some stuff for a purchase print company that I can't disclose just yet. However, I have been sketching and did a couple of odd jobs that I thought I'd share.

First, I met a random dude in Allen who wanted a tattoo. He saw my sketchbook and said 'Dude, this'll only take you like 10 minutes.' We agreed on a very small price. I end up totally redoing this drawing a few times, but we agreed on charging a little more for making me deal with his inability to make up his mind. He loves it, now, but I am holding his drawing and his shirt (which pictures the baphomet's face, for reference) hostage until he pays me.



He said something that I think is a very common misconception that artists have to deal with. "Dude, I didn't know you'd actually care about money, y'know? I thought, like, you'd just be honored to have your artwork on someone's skin forever." I asked him if he was paying the tattoo artist to put the drawing on him, and if he paid for the shirt he loaned me, etc. etc. I wish I had a pamphlet to hand out to people like this, with a good explanation of why work for free and work for 'publicity' isn't an honor, and why artists should be paid.

Moving along...
My sketchbook looks like the development of a schizophrenic patient. The farther along you read, the more nutty the drawings. Here are the drawings I wasn't too embarassed to share:







And finally, another thing that had been keeping me busy lately is designing and coding my brother's website.

He has an alter ego named DJ Cutlet that is sort of a satire-rapper, kind of like Asher Roth and The Lonely Island, but he'd kill me he knew I compared him to them. He writes and composes (and sings) all his music. It's definitely worth a listen, but make sure you have your headphones on if you're at work!

Strength

Here's a new illustration I did for the tarot card "Strength." It has an interesting meaning to it. I think the reason I like tarot cards so much is that they all have a story and a lesson - they don't have to tell your future for you to learn something from them.



This one's story is about the Fool. The Fool is powerful and arrogant, and victorious over his enemies. He sees a maiden struggling with a lion, and as he runs to help he realizes that she is gently but firmly shutting the lion's mouth shut. In awe, he asks how she does it and she explains, "There are many unworthy impulses inside us. It is not wrong to have them. But it is wrong to let them control us. We are human, not beast, and we can command such energy, use them for higher purposes." The important message of the strength card is not to give up. To have the courage to keep at it till you succeed and to have the faith and optimism that you will succeed.
I hope it reminds you to do the same. Thanks for checkin it out, hope you like it. :)