Illustration Friday: Breezy + Instinct

For this week's Illustration Friday topic, "Breezy", I decided to play around with watercolor and a bit of white gouache without sketching anything beforehand. The idea of a hot air balloon popped into my head after I finished the painting, so I decided to do a quick doodle of that and combined them both in Photoshop. I did this artwork by "instinct" - which happened to be last week's Illustration Friday theme :D

Kogi BBQ

As part of my daily sketching routine, I thought I'd check out the scene at Kogi BBQ taco truck - the latest street food phenomenon to hit the L.A. scene. They combine Korean and Mexican food in menus like Korean Short Rib BBQ tacos and Kimchi Quesadillas for a unique ethnic food fusion that can only happen in L.A. Their popularity exploded after Jonathon Gold wrote a review about them. Lucky for me, I was able to catch them on their first stop at Santa Monica College. Good eats!

Snow on the Sierra Madre

On the way to the Oscars-viewing party yesterday, I saw a hint of snow on the Sierra Madre mountains in the distance. It was an overcast day, about half-an hour before sundown, when the light is soft and diffused. It's cloudy but bright - it sounds strange, but it happens a lot around Southern California. I like being able to see the change of daylight and seasons, however slightly, in middle of the city.

(Also posted on Urban Sketchers)

IF: Celebrate

For this week's IF theme, "Celebrate", I am sharing an illustration I created for a line of greeting cards with birds. I've retouched the art to reflect this year's official color according to Pantone: mimosa.

Quote from the website:

In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow....The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance.... Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

I'm all for optimism - Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

LACMA

Hi everyone, if you're in the Los Angeles area, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is open free to the public on Monday, February 16 in honor of President's Day.

This is a quick sketch of front entrance. The face in the background is a large poster announcing photography exhibit from Vanity Fair magazine, which will be up until March 1. I plan to go back and sketch when the weather is warmer and the museum starts hosting live jazz performances again - here is an old sketch I did of one of the performances.

(Also posted on Urban Sketchers)