Looking Back - Part V - Valentine's Day 2008

I got into the groove after two successful runs of my V-Day series. However, the novelty was starting to wear off. Not that I didn't enjoy making these, I just got bored of the idea. This was to be the last year I go "all out" on Valentine's Day. Of course, I'm wishy-washy. I may catch the bug again and create some more some day, who knows? By the way, you may notice that these pieces have a copyright date of 2007. That's because these were so detailed that I started on them in September of 2007 to be released in February of 2008. Enjoy:

I got the idea for this one when I happened upon a poster on the wall somewhere in San Francisco. I thought it would be a good idea if I parodied one of the most iconic images in american popular culture. This is the result. While I didn't pull off the painted look of the original, I like the end result. But I admit I took some creative liberties on my chest. I wish I had a six-pack like that!

Ah, now we come to my favorite piece. And not just for this series, I'm talking about my best work ever. I've always had a fascination with Japanese style art and this was my homage. I love the use of color and the line-work came out better than I could have ever hoped for. If I could, I'd do all of my future work in this style, but like I said before, I'm wishy-washy. Every day I have a new outlook and a new approach. I once made this into a canvas scroll and gave it to a girl I liked at the time. Long story short, I didn't get the girl, but I wish she'd at least given the scroll back to me. Oh well. Live and learn.

This is my second Navajo style piece. I like this one for its simplicity, but I also think it's kinda cute. This is something I wish I had on a t-shirt. I'd wear it every Valentine's Day.

I'm not sure if people could tell, but this is meant to be an homage to Edward Hopper. I had an idea involving mirrors but I wasn't sure how I'd implement it. Then I started to look through an Edward Hopper book for inspiration. Then I came up with this piece. It's kind of somber, I have a neutral expression on my face. So it's not certain if it's meant to depict heartache or new love. Seeing as how my love life was in limbo at the time, I think it portrays my mood perfectly.

I mentioned my interest in Jazz a few posts ago. I gave it another shot this time and I like the result. I wanted hearts to be coming from his horn, but instead I decided to go with musical notes. Despite the love that went into creating it, this would be the only Valentine's Day piece without an actual heart in it. Ironic?

This piece hardly needs any explanation. We've all seen the Apple iPod ads. That advertising campaign was so effective that it somehow found its way into my work. People seemed to like it though. I got a lot of requests for reprints of this one.

This was a last-minute replacement. I had a twelfth picture idea that didn't turn out so good in the end, so I scrapped it. But I really needed a twelfth. 12 is the magic number. Anyway, I came up with this one as I was just doodling around. It's so simple, it captures the spirit of this whole project: I need love. Won't someone give me a lift?

I don't do subtle very often. It's really hard to miss the point of this one. I really like the transition from color to black and white. I only wish I spent a little more time on this one though. I think I could have put in a little more detail.

I'm a Batman fan, so here was my chance to pay some respect. This one went through several drafts before I settled on the final design. I like how it came out though. Plus, I like any excuse to draw myself shirtless and get away with it.

I was ripping off popular movies all over the place this year. This is actually a piece I wanted to do ever since the first V-Day series, but I didn't feel I was good enough to pull it off until now. This is a good example of how much I've improved in so little time. At this pace, in two more years, I could be Picasso!

This is the one cringe-worthy piece in this collection. I was going for a deformed out of character style piece for this Latin-themed piece, but I think I dropped the ball. It's not horrible by any means, I just don't think it's as good as the rest of the pieces in this collection. Plus, my Spanish sucks.

This was a silly idea that turned out to be my second-favorite of the series. I've loved Michael Jordan ever since I was a kid and I always wanted to do an homage to him some day. I never thought I would do such a thing with Valentine's Day however. Funny thing, I was messing around on the internet and saw a picture of Michael Jordan dunking, and a light bulb went off over my head. Thus, this piece was born. Bet you never thought of putting Michael Jordan and Valentine's Day together! Some of my best work was born from an accident. This is a prime example of that.

So that's all for Valentine's Day. I hope to revisit it some day. Thanks for looking!