James Jean @ The Nucleus Gallery

Last weekend, Deb and I went to the Nucleus Art Gallery in Alhambra for the James Jean’s signing.  With his book, Process Recess 3, in hand, I met James Jean for the second time and got him to do a quick sketch. James Jean is a talented artist noted for his work on Fables for DC comics, Prada and Gap.

Check out his website at processrecess.com and pickup his book PR3.

The Big Day – D&G Finally

What a busy couple weeks I’ve had! As I mentioned in my last post I got hitched to the love of my life, Debbie Kee. “Finally!” was the mantra of the year once the word spread that we were engaged, and now it was finally going to happen.

On Saturday August 15 2009 at The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Deb and I made it official. It was a beautiful ceremony witnessed by family and close friends.

As I found my way into the church, it hit me…this was going to be HUGE! In the days preceding the big day, Deb and I were up to our necks sorting out projects and cleaning up the final details, we were too busy to really comprehend what we were in for. The stress was most intense on the last couple days before the wedding.  Even the day before we were still doing last minute touches, and by the evening, we were sweating over table and chair set up at the reception site.

Anyway – as I stood there at the altar waiting for my new bride, I surprised myself and started to choke up seeing Deb walk down the aisle. She looked even more beautiful than I have ever seen her in the 10 years I’ve known her.  It wasn’t so much the big white dress, but more the look on her face of complete happiness. So from that moment on, I took one deep breath, let everything go, and absorbed every moment of the day.

It was the coolest ceremony I’ve ever been to – between the laughs during the vows, the hype Gospel Choir, and the incredible architecture of the entire space. Even though it was an entire hour and change, I didn’t want it to end.  But when it did – we made the grand exit on a Double Decker Big Red Bus.

After a few cool shots from our awesome photographers, Ja and Bev Tecson, both at the Cathedral and at the top of the double decker, we headed straight to CBS Radford studios. I finally saw the results of mine and Deb’s sleepless nights and our endless convos with our awesome wedding planners Carissa Solomon and Jeanelle Pineda. From the details of the hangtags, the D&G ads, and the red carpet, I could see that everyone was enjoying the experience and gearing up for what I felt was going to be a “good night”. The food was great, including the roasted pig, and I can’t complain about the drinks. It was all good! After some roasts and some toasts from our entourage, we ended the program with a surprise video for the guests. To my surprise, Deb wrote and performed the song which played in the background of our day-of-edit video flawlessly executed by
Loyd Calomay, of Red 5 Studios. (check out the video below.)

Before I forget, I just want to say that If It weren’t for Deb I wouldn’t be here;
an artist in Los Angeles, blogging about art and blogging about my wedding.

I Love you always Deb.

San Diego Comicon 2009

I spent Last weekend in San Diego attending the biggest Nerdfest (myself, proudly
included) in the World, COMICON! I already knew from my experiences last year that
I would have to fight my way through massive crowds, overexcited fanboys, and long
lineups. And I was right. Once I set foot into the convention center it was packed.

Walking through the main exhibit hall was overwhelming. Every Hollywood studio,
Comic book publisher and Video game company were in attendance promoting their latest and greatest product. That was where crowd control became a bit of a problem because swarms of people were unwilling to move due to the free schwag being given out and the impromptu celebrity sightings. People were even lining up 3-4 hours in advance,
to see their favorite panels. We missed the panel for both Iron Man 2 and Smallville due to the lineup which snaked around the whole convention center.

One particular section at the event I spent most of my time at was in Artists Alley where
I picked up a few sketchbooks for inspiration. I ran into some of my old instructors from the Animation Academy - John Nevarez, Jose Lopez and Stephen Silver. They each manned their own booths and were selling their sketchbooks. Please check their blogs out and buy their books. I HIGHLY recommend their work!

Another cool experience was seeing James Jean and picking up his new book “Kindling”.

And of course, it’s always great to see Leonard Nimoy (Spock!)

I had a great time although I was bummed out to miss the Iron Man 2 Panel. Can’t wait for next year!

Check out my Flickr page for more pics!