Exposing for Fan Expo

We have been working hard at Heemskerk Illustration [and Design] *(unofficial)* in the last few months. Come see what we have to offer at booth A7 at Fan Expo this year at the Metro Convention Center in downtown Toronto from Thursday 22nd, 2013 - Sunday 25th, 2013; 8am - 9pm! This is also our first time at Fan Expo.

Bryan is presenting his "Versus series" paintings that are filled with hilarity, humour, fun, intriguing depictions of your popular video game characters and characters from television animated series. Buy an image of Megaman taking a dump on the toilet, or Ken from Street Fighter beating up Ken's (from Barbie) dream car.

And in light of the announcement of Megaman in the upcoming Smash Bros on WiiU...

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... get your own Megaman Kirby from Bryan at booth A7. There are only 12 of these little guys!

Last but not least, fall in love and get excited with us over this...

COME AND WATCH THE TRAILER AND SUPPORT US!

SUPER SAIYAN LORAX

Hello all

Change is on it's way for my future, it's been an interesting and great year, One where I have grown a lot, as a father, as an Artist, and as a person.   Lately Amy and I have been reading the Lorax to our daughter.  Amy keeps saying "I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees!"  So I spent some time painting and animating this. The Onceler doesn't know what he's getting himself into. 

This was fun to make and in general sometimes I'm just silly.

Perspective of...

What is "success" and how do we define it? And what constitutes a successful art show for one artist?

It is the support of a faithful boss who turns up to the show after a long day of work.



It is the friends and co-workers who make an effort to be a part of the event.



It is written all over the faces of family - so proud of their brother.



The wife who stands by his side.



The baby who was put in babysitting that behaved well for the sitter most of the night.

Strangers who admired certain pieces for a long time, and kept coming back.



The artist who was able to represent himself by asking and answering questions; who was able to provide explanations and discuss with people the content of art pieces.



The artist who received much positive feedback, compliments, and adoration for what he has done, and all nervousness flies out the window.



The only artist with one piece sold at the show.

It is having fun.



Relief.

That is how we defined it - success.

What Lies Beneath the Ocean Floor

exposed [ɪkˈspəʊzd] adj.
Not concealed and displayed for viewing. Without shelter from the elements. Susceptible to attack or criticism. Vulnerable. Open. Unprotected, unveiled, uncovered, unclothed. Exhibited. It's a feeling of nakedness and an emotion of uncertainty. 

An artist's work is always subjected to those experiences.

As the day approaches, we are nervous at where Heemskerk Illustration will go. Filled with questions and uncertainty of whether the art of an illustrator fares well in a gallery amongst the works of a technical photographer, fine artists, and abstract artists. 

"Art" is subjective. I have watched Bryan significantly improve over the past seven years that I have known him. As his wife of almost two years, honesty and constructive criticism is allowed between us, and I am not going to expose all that I think and feel. But if you look at the pieces that he produces with pen, I personally think that he is 87% where I think he could be.

Several of his pen pieces will be displayed at Twist Gallery over the month of March, along with six of his paintings that he has also improved. Come and join us at Twist Gallery on March 8th, 2013 - this Friday from 7:00PM for the public exposure of what is Beneath the Ocean Floor. 
Also, if you are wanting to participate in the charity that this show will be supporting, please check out the facebook page. 

YTF VERSUS THE ROBOTS!

Drawing completed for YTF fan contest.

Featuring: Ryan Higa, Victor Kim, Chester See, and Dominic Sandoval

Jasmine vs the Teddy Apocalypse

ART SWAP

A few years ago I had the idea of doing a couple art swaps with some close art friends.  At the time I completed 2 art swaps, one with Elizabeth Sherry, and another with Jasmine Vicente.  Surprisingly, both of the illustrations they completed compositionally duplicated each other.  With depictions of me standing upon a monstrous pile of bodies, In Jasmines I was atop a pile of ninjas, while Liz had me standing upon a tower of bears.  Their identical assessment of me proved quite hilarious.  How they both came to the deduction that I desire to conquer and stand upon the spoils, bewilders me. 

(Elizabeths) http://lizustration.blogspot.ca/search?updated-max=2011-02-09T00:17:00-05:00&max-results=7

For the last year I have been yearning to complete another drawing swap with jasmine, however, the time has been hard to come by. The previous art swaps I completed were full paintings, but few of us have time to create paintings for fun these days.  So Jasmine and I settled on a drawing swap instead of a painting, due primarily to the quantity of time an artist needs to invest into a painting rather than a drawing. 

This image is my half of the drawing swap, it displays Jasmine vs the teddy bear Apocalypse/ uprising.  Hope she and you all enjoy.

One Year in Life, Love and Art.

One Year

            in Life, Love and Art.

It has been a year since my last post.  So many things can change in a year.  For me, most things have. One year ago I was not married,  and I did not have a child on the way.  I was still a university student and thought that I had already experienced most of what life is comprised of.  Oh how naive I was.

Life can send a million things your way, things you may not have planned or anticipated, but these things can be more beautiful than the things you lay out for yourself.  When life happens to go as you plan, it is calculated and well, boring. The more you love and the more you are depended upon, the more vulnerable you become.  I have never had anyone rely on me the way my pregnant wife does.  Our situation has created trials to overcome in the form of immigration, employment, and insurance.  The little life growing inside of her has placed a responsibility on me that I have never known.  In the last year alone I have experienced more fear and joy than I have in the last 25 years combined. 

There are so many ways to chronicle a year, through blogs, scrapbooks, journals, poems, and songs.  The pictures in this post contain the entire contents of a sketchbook that I completed over the last year.  This sketchbook has traveled Canada and the world with me.  Some of these drawings were completed in New Zealand, Australia, America, British Colombia, as well as, the bitter cold of Thunder Bay.  These pages travelled with me, seemingly unrelated drawings attached to memories.  Different drawings for different purposes, concepts, commissions and characters.  From before I was married through to the wedding, as well as the conception of my first child, it has been a year to cherish, as well as one to flourish.  I have been pushed on all sides, forced to make decisions and to act on them.  Long gone are the days of complacency, I needed to take any skills I had developed and run with them.

Sketchbooks are a strange entity, part journal and part portfolio.  When someone is looking through my sketchbook I feel separated from myself and entirely vulnerable. As proud as I am scared.  Half of me will sit pretending not to be uncomfortable and the other half will be spiritually looming over their shoulder.  When painting an artist has an opportunity to prepare a piece for viewing, and spiritually separate from the piece.  A sketchbook leaves you exposed, with ideas strewn about in a seemingly incoherent order.  Thoughts exposed on paper, there is a vast amount to read into within most sketchbooks.  An artists strengths and weaknesses both artistically and personally, laid bare.  So here I am, naked for all to see.