Looking Back - Part IV - Valentine's Day 2007

My Valentine's Day cards were so popular in 2006, I decided to Do another round the following year. It was an exciting time for me. Ideas sprang up out of nowhere and I was bursting with creativity. It was around this time that I also came up with the concept for the "today I feel" comics. So without further ado, here is round two of the Valentine's Day series:

I thought I'd do something dramatic for the series. Also, I was experimenting with Photoshop and wanted to give painting a try. This piece is a bit amateurish but I think I achieved what I set out to do. I love designs that are mostly black and white with splashes of color. I think the theme here, was that I was in a world of turmoil. The outside world was available to me, but I didn't want to venture into it. Instead, choosing to wallow in my sadness. Not exactly cheerful but it certainly reflected my mood at the time.

This s a bit of a takeoff of the "Walk the Line" Poster by Shepard Fairey. I liked this one at the time, but I wish I spent a little more time on this one. I thought it was a witty idea and I still do now, however.

One of my favorite things to do is make a send off of a popular image. In this case, and for the previous piece, it's Hollywood movies. I hadn't seen "V for Vendetta" when I designed this, but I did love the poster, so this was my homage.

This is my favorite piece of this series. I love the simple cardboard cutout look as well as the concept. I like the theme that Love is something that we can use year-round, not just on Valentine's Day.

This is another one I don't like nearly as much anymore. I did think the design was creative and a nice takeoff of the Superman image, but I think I made some bad color choices on this one. Even the word "SUPER" doesn't stand out as much as it should. I was also not quite skilled with Photoshop, but I like how the muscle shading came out.

I went for the simplistic look on this one and I like how it turned out. I always wanted to be a jazz musician despite the fact that I can't play any instruments. In another life, maybe. Anyway, I liked this one so much, I did a similar idea the following year.

Yeah, this was a silly idea. I think it's cute, despite the fact that it makes no sense.

I got away with handing out a nude picture of myself in the office. Yay Me! Anyway, I always liked the Album cover for Nirvana's "Nevermind", and this is my tribute.

Yeah, I think my ambition surpassed my ability here. This one has all kinds of things going on. I drew the floor of a pond, fish circling the bottom, water, rose petals, my reflection on the water surface, and finally the clouds in the sky. The tagline says to look closer, but all you'd see is three goldfish swimming over rocks. I don't know what I was thinking. The artwork is nice, but the imagery is a bit confusing.

I don't take heartbreak well. Could you tell? I wondered how this one would go over in an office full of women. mostly married. I hope I didn't offend anyone. No one ever said anything to me about it though. I don't know if that's good or bad. anyway, This would be my second favorite of this series. I love the use of shadow and color here. It almost looks like a panel from the 'Sin City' comics.

This is the kind of piece a man in need of love creates. Again, I use the concept of love being something tangible. If only a beautiful lady would put some love in my cap, then all my troubles would fade away.

And lastly, my surrealist piece. The original concept of this was even simpler. There were no hills or trees, just me blowing bubbles against a white background. But I have a thing for color and filling every space with color. I think by now, I've grown out of it, but I still think of things to throw in so the piece doesn't look too simple. I like how the bubbles turned out. I've had no formal art training, so I was proud of how I achieved the transparent effect.