inaugural

'In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.'

a w

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sketchcrawl

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just got back from holidays; will post soon. hope u r well!

UP^

i'm going to follow in the footsteps of uberstorycaptain Ronnie Del Carmen, and promote Pixar's next cinematic extravaganza, UP!

this was the first film I worked on here, and i'm thankful that because of it I met some of the most talented and large hearted people anywhere: story artists Bill Presing, Enrico Casarosa, Justin Hunt, Josh Cooley, and Tony Rosenast; Bobby Rubio, Mr. Rob Gibbs, Brian, Shannon, and Veronica; kindly directors Pete and Bob, and Ronnie Del Carmen himself. I can only count myself very lucky, and wait to see this on the silver screen!

Check out the trailer in theatres November 21st,
and watch for the film next May 29th, 2009!

in the mission

a couple of olde gouache paintings from around my neighbourhood! the first is from the coffee shop I often frequent, a girl that I met who just happened to be from just about the same place that I'm from in Canada.

the second painting is the view from bernal heights, looking southward... there are a lot of dogs up here, and early morning walkers. reputable sources have told me that the hill possibly provides the best views in the city...

breakfast, at last.

sorry for the long haitus, i'm up to my ears in work. i promise that gesture drawing posts are on the way; it just might take a while for me to get to them.



in the meantime, here's a wonder woman i painted today-yes that's right-for the third annual wonder woman day held by the wonder woman museum up in portland, oregon. it's a benefit for domestic violence shelters, and i was pleased to contribute. here, princess diana is reading the new york times op-ed page with some coffee and chocolate biscotti. yes, that is something somewhat resembling a carnation on the table. ah! breakfast, at last. now where are those invisible jet keys?

The Totoro Forest Auction!

yay! the totoro auction was a big success! i spent the entire evening running around, but wow it was fun! there was so much beautiful artwork—so much love from around the world—one couldn't help but be impressed. I was so pleased to see my friends and co-workers in attendance and I was also lucky to meet some wonderful artists from outside the studio:

Martin Witting, Bobby Chiu and Kei Acedera, Richard Vander Wende, Alina Chau, Chris Turnham and Kevin Dart, Jony Chandra, Tim Heitz and Christian Ward. i can't believe that there is still a cartoon art museum show to look forward to...




congrats to enrico, dice, yukino pang & ronnie, and everyone involved on a great evening! the photos above are by the very talent miss Deborah Coleman and were posted HERE on AWN.

The Battle of Algiers

freedom and independence for the people of algeria!
from the incredible film The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo
recently, i've been challenged with the notion that nature eclipses nurture. it's a ridiculous argument. everytime someone asserts that artists are born with some inherent brillance, some unfathomable talent beyond skill, they dismiss the years of effort and struggle it takes to accomplish great things.

sure natural affinity exists, but it doesn't develop without education, experience and nurturing. growth doesn't strike us in some single shining moment, but occurs gradually; it's a process and it's hard work--maybe not for mozart, but i think that even he put in some hours. the question isn't can you, because yes you can. the question is whether you're working hard enough and smart enough and getting the support you need.

anyway, for the last few months i've been instructing the gesture drawing class at pixar with my friends alex and louis, and over the course I find us repeating the same concepts and ideas. I'd like to make a few posts to crystallize my thoughts on these subjects. drawing is something that can be learned and improved upon and Art, capital-A Art is within everyone's grasp.

Education, Experience, Nurturing. Tonight is the Totoro Auction, so expect a post after the weekend. until then, make artwork! go!