“At the Bar”
“A Thought on the Wind”
“Confidence”
“Lake Bell Study”
Portfolio 2015
Artist Statement
The only reason I got into art is because people said I was good at it. I know it hurts but it’s something I can’t b*******, and if there’s one thing you can’t do an art it’s b*******. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t love art. I mean yes of course that if nobody ever told me I was good at it. I would have most definitely never picked it up, or kept working at it. My drive growing up was mostly to try to impress people. What grew as just a small boy looking for acknowledgement of talent. Turned into a love of art. A new realm of loving art itself that was once never even believed possible. All the beauty, horror, and history inside art was absolutely astounding. It opened up doors in my life that I did not know where possible it let me meet people that are astounding, and in my darkest times it was my only constant. The one thing I would keep going back at. Art is a part of me and no matter how much I change, it doesn’t. Because when I draw it seems to give me a feeling of purpose. A reason to challenge myself to push myself the try to do things that I did not think I could do. To go beyond my boundaries and search my deepest feelings and express them. To try to find answers to questions I didn’t even know that I’ve needed asked. Art even sometimes brief makes me feel like I’m not alone makes me feel like there’s a reason to everything. Even though I know that most likely there isn’t it still gives me that feeling and I like that. There’s very few things in life that will give you that feeling. for me there’s only two things flying and drawing. Now that I think about it maybe that’s why my art is so slow. I like to stay in that moment for as long as I can. Art sometimes feel like a momentary separation from it all.
Austen S. Thomas
Elevator Statement
My mind is full of taboo and I want to share it with you. My childhood was calm. Growing up never really gave me too many challenges. As a result not too much was heaped upon me. As a result I never learned to challenge myself. My young mind discovered that as long and I waited good things would come to me. I knew as long as I stay out of trouble, and tried to be a good person, happiness will come my way. I knew that this is a flawed way of thinking, but still I acted out the role. I hated it no one would ever truly challenge me, ever needing to speak my mind. No one ever telling me to do the difficult thing. Barley anyone ever forcing me to go against my will. As a result I became afraid of challenge itself. That’s why I was so attracted to Art. Art is the only medium where I could consistently challenge myself and enjoy doing so . And no one ever had to tell me to do it. Art was something that I did on my own. Trying to make each and every drawing that I do look better than the last one. Getting praised for my teachers and friends of how good it looked. It was the driving force that kept me going. It is the driving force that still keeps me going. Even when I want to stop I keep feeling this desire the challenge myself. And I can’t get away from it, it keeps calling me back , it keeps resurfacing in me. Another reason I found out I do art was not just because the praises but because for the first time I could show my wants and desires to people. And the things I showed them was a something in my house household that was considered taboo, but I loved the thought of it so much. SEX.
Final Project Idea (Their Invitation)
Here is my idea for a final project brainstorm for Drawing 4. (Their Invitation) the drawing will be of two beautiful women sitting down 
both looking at the viewer with smiling faces. They are meant to give the viewer a invitation to come join them for a night of partying and fun. They will also be flank in the top and bottom corners of frames of cannabis and other drugs.
I the idea is to have give the viewer the felling of fun possibilities. With all the Morally wrong ideas drugs, clubs, and fast women, most of the fantasy that pop culture says is all that we want. Things that current culture says we want the question is do we want it? Do you?
(ARTIST HIGHLIGHT ) Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell is one of America’s finest painters of the early 20th century. Famous for his advertisement paintings, war times paintings, and civil rights movement inspired artwork. Norman Rockwell was born in February 3, 1894 in New York
City. 
Rockwell dropped out of high school and transferred to Chase Art School at the age of 14. He then went to the National Academy of Design and last to the Art Students League. Rockwell’s first major body of work in the magazine world was “Boys’ Life” magazine. At 19 he became the art editor for the magazine and he held the job for 3 years. Rockwell then moved to New Rochelle, New York where his painting life truly took off. Here Magazines would come to Rockwell from “Life”, “Literary Digest”, “The Country Gentleman” , and “Leslie’s Weekly”. During World War II Rockwell painted a series of his most famous paintings one of which being “Freedom from Want”. Rockwell was married
three times all being school teachers. He also had three children thou all three were from the second wife. Rockwell settled down and moved to Stockbridge , Massachusetts and painted until he died in 1961.
(Artist Highlight ) Maxfield Parrish
An American painter and Illustrator who was known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo- classical imagery. Born in Philadelphia, PA Parrish after grade school Parrish went to Drexel University. He also attend Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Haverford College.
His graduation was in 1892 and he entered the Pennsylvania Academy that same year. he then stayed there till 1894 
auditing some of Howard Pyle classes Dextral whenever he could. Parrish was discover at the age of 25He had done some studies for the Fine Arts and Wig club that was doing a show in New York at the time. . One of the visitors was Thomas Ball on of the leaders of the art department. He was impressed by Parrish and asked him to do a cover for Harper’s Bazar. The thing that would send Parrish’s career into the lime light would be his cover art for magazines in the better part of the century. Harper’s Weekly, Scribner’s, and Life magazine just to name a few. He had also gained a reputation for drawing women on rock which a grew out of and went on to paint landscapes. thou his landscaping was not as popular as his covers he continued to do them until his death on March 30, 1966.
(Artist Highlight) James Jean
James jean is a Taiwanese American painter know for both his fine art and commercial art. He has worked with DC comics, 
ESPN, Prada, and Atlantic records. His work has been called disturbing, dark, inspiring, and according to the New York Times has compared him to Mayfield 
Parrish. A young James was born in Taiwan and was raised in New Jersey. Growing up he loved to draw and was even more in love with comics. One of the main things he wanted to do was work for the comic industry. After graduating from high school he went to the school of Visual Arts in New York City, which he graduated from in 2001.
After graduating he sent his portfolio to DC comic and very quickly landed a job as a cover artist. His style was very different from the normal type of covers done having a more fine art look. His most notable cover work was for the comic series “Fables”. In 2008 Jean was losing his interests in comic covers and decided to focus on his fine art. From that point he went on to hold several gallery shows as well as commissions for several companies. One of his most notable works were fashion powerhouses Prada and Phillip Lim. In 2007 Jean created a mural for the Prada epicenter stores in New York and Los Angeles for their fashion show. For Phillip in 2010 Jean was commission
ed to paint a series of portraits featuring Los Angeles actors and other high end entertainers. Today James Jean main focused fully to fine art, open a new galleries often. Personally Im a huge fan of his work I love his use of color and strange figures. I hope to put a little of his techenques into my art.
(Artist Highlight) Adam Hughes
One of most popular( pin-up cover) comic book artist of all time. Considered a master in pin up, good girl, and Cheesecake art. Adam Hughes has worked 
with companions such as DC comics, Marvel, Dark Horse, Luscasfilm, Warner bros, Playboy, and Joss Whedon ind. He was born in 1967 in Riverside
Township, New Jersey and grew up inFlorence Township, New Jersey. He graduated from high school there and stayed until he was 24 “They gave me whatever grades they needed to, to get me out the door. I knew that I wasn’t going to be a test pilot for the air force or a doctor. So I focused on the one thing I was decent at which was art.” – (interview panel NYCC 2014) He has always loved comic books growing up and he decided to work in a comic book shop until he decided to take a year off to try to get into comics. After a friend at a charismas party that was in the comic book industry offered him a job doing a pinup for an older comic book series Eagle. From there Hughes bounced around from pin up job to pin up job. While in the mean time he was working on his craft. Do to the lack of formal training he had to train himself and even came up with a style of anatomy all his own. His Drawing in 
my eyes give them a look that feels like there 80% realistic, 20% comic/cartoon. His main influence mostly pull from the Art Nouveau artist of that time. Artist such as Alphonse Mocha, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Gustav Klimt. In a large amount of his artwork you can see this huge influence especially in the caps to give off a since of movement. Other major influences are Dave Stevens, Steve Rude, Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan, Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, Drew Struzan and Dean Cornwell, as well as pinup artist Alberto Vargas George Petty. His medium of choice is Copic markers and pencil. With a love painting Adam is uses a type of painting method with water based markers call Copics. They allow him to be able to
bled more effectively and gives them a watercolor, oil based look. He personally is one of my favorite artist.
Check out his website- http://www.justsayah.com/
(Artist highlight) Jaime Hernandez – Comic Book Artist
Jaime Hernandez is a comic book artist from Oxnard California, and help co-create one the most acclaimed indie comic books ever made, ” love and Rockets”. His art style is what I would call more of a classic but distinct style. Growing up with is mother, four brothers, and one sister his house was always crowed. He was exposed to comics very young and he would 
draw when he would ever have monuments, and he all had the desire to draw comics growing up. His mother was a pretty big comic book reader and was into comics since she was a small child. She was always willing to support his artist life style. It was only when he left high school when he thought that with his bothers helping write and edit, could get involved into making comics. Hernandez was influenced by Dennis the Menace and Archie comics. 
Both are drawn by Hank Ketcham and DanCarlo, which Jamie based his drawing style on often using “DeCarlo-esque” poses. Jamie has always had a love for punk rock and in addition to him playing in several bands. He eventually based is comics around the premises of punk rock bands, one of which is
“Love and Rockets.” The comic is based on a group of Latina women in a punk rock band on tour. The comic book also has a repetition for long on going and story lines in which the age of the comic book
effects the Characters , they are all in their 40s now. (Pretty cool to keep it going that long.) His comic book didn’t have super heroes or a sci-if genre. Which put the comic in the indie comic genera which was at the time considered a very unpopular genera do to a lack of sales. Today the indi-comic scecne is far more popular, now even with websites devoted to indie comic themselves like Webtoons or
Comixology. Jaime Hernandez was considered one of the pioneers of the genera even having his comics featuring and lesbian main character. His art work and comic book prowess has help define the comic world. Jaime Hernandez is still in California drawing today.
Jaime Hernandez Gallery
http://www.comicartfans.com/comic-artists/jaime_hernandez.asp
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