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A year in portraits.

A look into 90% of the portraits commissions  made for my clients through 2011. Happy New Year.

Featuring

Ana, Fadila, Yoli, Samara, Jane, Alyson, Sivan, Jennifer, Christina, Jane, Miss Feeny, Lucia, Ana, Jae, Carmen, Zoila, Elda, Tush, Bebe, Lola, Ela Family, Kelin, Tina, Shownine, Jessica, Vintage Vandalizm, Tessa, Jamie Principle, Frankie Knuckles, Eric Kupper, Betty Chantel, Brittany Kaye, Tonya Thomas, Carmen B, Tabatha, Michelle, Chena, Anki, Charlotte, Miranda, Lauren, Samantha, Nicole, Myrna, Lily, Marilyn, Boos Bakes, Charity, Delancie, Sol, Rene, Brooklyn, & Melanie.

 

 

Lilly Bee Pinup

I was commissioned recently by one of my fans to come up with a design and illustration for her business. She wanted a sexy bumble bee complete with antenna and stinger basing it on an old pinup illustration called "Spilled Ink" by Joyce Ballentyne. It's a classic pinup art piece of a sexy pinup is creating art, yet having an "oopsy" moment and spilling ink. My client also loved the reinterpretation I used of great pinup master Enoch Bolles style of faces. She also requested a boombox with the Lilly Bee c haracter jamming out to it. Here is the end result.

Do it badly!

Here s an old school mini article I never posted. It from a Indigenous/ Native American magazine from October 2006. Ughh. I get so freakin' embarrassed reading any interview I take part in . I am super thankful for the attention but since I can't fake shit talkers, yet I feel like I am a  fake shit talker when reading these. Anyway this piece inspired by the lovely Tanya V was what really helped me find my direction as a pin up artist. I was starting to get back into painting again after almost 10 years of barely making a thing. Perfectionism, self critical sabotage will warp your mind body and soul. I stopped making art a few times because I thought I was never good enough. (the life long battle many of us share) But as I have slowly learned, If you love what you do,  Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.  I constantly hear from my fans wanting to see the "old Santiago" the wild cubistic painterly works again. (Trust me, you are about to be blown away by my upcoming works) but I had to take a detour for a few years and learn to make art because I love it, even if it comes out "badly" or not to certain standards. Letting go of unrealistic expectations has in the end made me 10 times more productive. Olus that :shitness I was afraid of was actually another style in me that was yearning to burst out, yet I surpressed it becuasr it did not fit the mold I saw in my head. It was better...

If it is worth doing, its worth doing shittily. Better shitty then not at all. Enough of my rambling.

Click image for detail.

Portrait for Chena from Texas.

She commissioned me to create a pin up piece that was sexy yet reminded her of how much she is loved. She also requested the shocking color combination of pinks and lime greens. Here is what I came up with. :)

black and white

detail