mb artists

hmm, maybe i should be visiting the site more. turns out my art rep's agency has now been officially renamed -- from hk portfolio to mb artists ( www.mbartists.com ).

me thinks i should try to pay more attention to these things.

celtics v. lakers

me & 19,000 losers

ray allen free throw. notice the score. bliss.

me, magic & me lucky charm.

the wife & i spent our 3rd anniversary in the belly of the beast (aka staples center). with celtic hat, wristband, converse weapons and a larry jersey, i saw my boys demolish the lakers 110-91.

the teams were sporting throwback jerseys and the lakers even wore short shorts in the first half. jerry west & kareem were in the arena too. good times.

it's going to be hard to top this one.

%#@*&!

DET 87 - BOS 85. 
- should have worn that 33 jersey instead. 
- shouldn't have left in the 3rd quarter to pick up pizza
- shouldn't have stood up in the last 1 minute. The team was looking good while i was on my back.

next time, i should know better.

rashweed!

big game alert

my boys in green (20-2) will be battling THE east finals contender today, the detroit pistons (17-7). a certified litmus test for the celtics in this young season. so you can be rest assured that for 3 hours this afternoon, i will be glued to the tv and blowing off any responsibilites or duties i should be doing. 

and if you're wondering, that is an nba fantasy league trophy (a what?!) beside my bird bobblehead. -- awkward silence -- maybe i shouldn't have shared that. i know, it's sad and i need help.... but not until the end of the season! 

bring on the bad boys. now, do i wear the #33 or the #34 jersey for good luck? i feel that these are important questions.

a swamp thing

so much for that one post a week idea. 

since I'm pretty busy with work right now, I've decided to post some artwork for a book that will be released in summer 2008. it's called "bedtime at the swamp" (harpercollins; written by kristyn crow). my art rep has already posted an image from the book, so i'm assuming it is ok to post two here. note: no text placements yet.

i've noticed that it normally takes a year (or in this case 18 months) after painting is done when the books get published. after working on a book for 6 months, you can forgive me if i can be a little antsy waiting that long to finally see my work in print.

this book i'm especially proud of. so far, i've heard nothing but good things about it from the publishers, clients and the writer. it's actually opened new opportunities too. it's a fun story (it involves swamps, monsters & mud). the cover looks really, really good (too bad i can't show it).

i'm currently working on a hidden picture book with a christmas theme and it's currently kicking my pwet. if you ever see me do another hidden picture book, you have my permission to shoot me.

oh yeah, that's my dog, winter, in the painting (still a puppy). my bro, chris, is on the left looking up and that's the back of my head in the foreground (in a red cape, of course). a larry bird jersey, a celtic bobblehead and a superman figurine shows up too -- hey, i get bored working on the same thing for 6 months.

ant meets bug

i've totally forgotten about this and only remembered when i was googling my name last night (i know, i know. hey its fun).

my book "I Saw An Ant On The Railroad Track" is a 2007 ladybug picture book nominee. an award given out by the new hampshire state library (go celtics! sorry, couldn't resist). i have no clue if this is a big thing. but i know one thing, i can actually say these words "i am just happy to be nominated". haha.

i dont expect to win by the way. i'm like a giddy laurence fishburne in 1993, nominated for "whats love got to do with it", fully expecting tom hanks to bag the oscar for "philadelphia".

ooh, i just remembered this one while writing this -- man, my memory's bad. another book of mine, Take Me Out to The Ballgame" was also nominated for another award. the 2007 ben franklin nominee for the children's book and audio book category (independent book publishers association). quick search aaand...ok, i lost that one last may. damn you "A Frog Thing"!

being nominated for anything is nice and unexpected but i really just want to draw and be paid for it. avoiding the 9-5er anyway i can.

still, coming from a career C student who's won three awards his whole life:
cleanest tent - boy scouts in grade 6 (the makeshift garden was awesome)
postermaking award -- grade 1 ("mery christmas" -- still cant spell to this day)
NY society of illustrators student award -- now, this was cool.

just being recognized by the publishers is good enough for me.

***oh wait, four awards. judge's choice for a postermaking thing i did in high school. it was crap, but i did win 500 pesos for it. sweet.

banksy

if i could do this art and make bank, it'd be perfect for me. smart, challenging, opinionated and unpretentious.

he's been on the news recently because someone finally caught a picture of him. that part sounds too gimmicky for me. but his work is solid. link