Butterfly Wings

An enthusiastic youth experiences a spiritual awakening. Her soul moves in faith towards a life-changing discovery. This is a moment she will never forget, finding an unquenchable joy she will never lose .

Here are samples of my children's book, ‘Butterfly Wings’scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2025. Writing, rhyming, and rewriting this manuscript, finally has matured with clarity. Fully story-boarded I am in the process of illustrating in soft pastels, this picture book of 48 pages.

Click on this YouTube clip to view my character sculpture, running home. BFW Character sculpture

Visual Development

From 1992 , I worked as a Background Artist in various feature animation studios. Color matching and emulating the exact style of painting was some of the challenges. These are only a small example of hundreds of background paintings I have accomplished over the years. It was always a joy working with the team of artist matching each others paintings so that we communicated in harmony.

Eventually working digitally in Visual Development designing color keys, layouts, matte painting, and texture design for the 3-D modelers.

Currently, I'm passionate about inventing my own stories, designing, illustrating for the Picture book market.

Concept painting for "Guardians of Ga'Hoole"

Concept layout design for "Guardians of Ga'Hoole"

Character design for 'The Enchanted Infestation' personal story development.

'The Enchanted Infestation,' Spindle Hall, layout design

'Pigaro', title concept sketch

Personal story development, ‘Pigaro’ title concept design

Children's book cover

Production background painting, Disney Feature Animation "Hunchback of Notre Dame" 1995

Production background painting, Disney Feature Animation "Hercules"

Production background painting, Disney Feature Animation "Mulan"

Production background painting, Disney Feature Animation "Mulan" matchmaker

Production BG painting, Disney Feature Animation "Tarzan"

Production BG painting, Disney Feature Animation "Tarzan" parents treehouse

Production background painting, Disney Feature Animation "The Emperor's New Groove"

Production BG painting, Disney Feature Animation "The Emperor's New Groove"

Disney's Emperors New Groove, Color development sketch

Production BG painting, Disney Feature Animation ”The Emperors New Groove”

A section of Color script/beat board, Big Idea Production first feature film, "Jonah”

Big Idea Productions "Wizard of Ha", Production design/Color key

Flesh devouring beast, texture, color design

Flesh devouring beast cave, color and texture design, Space Chips 2007

Designed and animated black hole lightning special effects sequence, Space Chimps

Color concepts, using Matthias Lechner 'Little Star' layout

Freckle Mc Free

Courageous Freckle Mc Free wants to make a difference to the town folks below. He pleads with the Mayor, “If only the people would notice our tree, we all could be happier don't you see”. This environmental awareness children's book is full of rhymes and reason. Soft watercolor technique with pen and ink. The process of finding the right publisher is now passionately in motion.

At 5:35, the peak of rush-hour, Mr. Clipper the snipper snaps the stem and Freckle Mc Free begins to descend.

Down down down in a gust of wind, Freckle goes into a terrible spin.

Gouache

My first in-depth understanding of opaque watercolors ( Designers Gouache ) began while working on the feature film, The Swan Princess. We painted the entire film using the old Disney masters Gouache techniques. Later I developed painting outdoors from an easel using this medium. I also taught these techniques in various workshops and classes.

All but a few of these paintings have been previously sold.

In the mist

The Rock

Surf Oasis

Listening

Nautical church, 17 x 24, $2000.

Duet 14 x 18"

San Pedro, 12 x 30” matted and framed $1800.

Palos Verdes Peninsula’s Lunada Bay (Limited addition prints)

Fresh Start

Korean Bell

Avalon's Pier 9 x 17"

Avalon city Fountain

Brand library, Glendale

New years day

Paul Bait

LA Harbor from friendship Park 16 x 20

The Path

Laguna Palms

Commissioned by Harbor interfaith services, Paseo Del Mar park, 4X16’ mural, acrylic on canvas

Planting Seeds, gouache sketch. 10 x 10, frame with UV glass 20 x 20. $700

Editorial drawings

The joy of reading text and then visualizing your own personal images, is seeing a different side of a moment.

Healing the paralyzed

I am willing, with a warning.

Woman at the well

Baptist and Christ

The obedient Son, sketch

How can you say to your friend, let me take the spec out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

Politics

The Father and I are one

36 sq, pastels on paper

Harvest

In the manger

Unequally yoked

Our Oasis~ A historical narrative of my Los Angeles

Living Water… 1990 ~ 2007

Growing up in the Los Angeles area, I was keenly aware of the changing of colors, because of our lack of water. Most of the year, dusty brown dry brush spreads across the landscape. When the rare winter rains come, new life appears in shades of green. This color quickly fades in the undeveloped areas, unless there is a water source. How did this desert wasteland become one of the largest cities in the United States of America? The gold rush brought the people to California, but the engineering of water made L.A. one of the most desirable places to live in the world. Like a Hollywood backdrop, the manicured landscape of the sprawling population is a façade from the truth of the natural weather patterns. The redirection of multiple water sources to supply Southern California’s sprawling population makes this façade our reality. I conceptualize this reality to my faith in the Holy Bible, the word of God, also known as the living water. Jesus said in John 4:14, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give them shall never thirst; the water that I will give them will become in them a well of water springing up to eternal life."

I had the opportunity displaying this large body work at Forest Lawn Museum 2006 and Torrance Museum 2007 focusing on, “Our Oasis”. This body of work parallels the physical exploration for water, juxtaposing a spiritual search to quench our dry souls.

Hollywood and Vine, 45 x 48 oil on canvas with custom frame

LA Sagebrush, 10x16 gouache on board- SOLD

Faith, 48 X 78” oil on canvas

Our Oasis, Los Angeles 28 x 84” oil on canvas. Custom 5” antique gold leaf frame

Mulholland's hat, 24 x 36 oil on canvas Sold

Aqueduct, 11x14 oil on canvas

Power, 50 x 78 oil on canvas,

Lovers cove, 11x14 oil on canvas. SOLD

Our Choices, 6 foot wide base

Psalm 56:8 (Tears in our bottle) 18 x 24 oil on board Sold

Thirst 48 x 78, oil on canvas

Sienna, Jacob, Amber 11 x 14 oil on masonite back

Husband and Wife, 38 x 32, mix media.

Set apart, 11x14 oil on canvas. SOLD

Mossey Cove, San Pedro, 11 x 14 oil on canvas SOLD

Cabrillo landing 16 x 24 wheel on canvas. sold

Submerged then Quenched, 50 x 78 oil on canvas,

Harbor lake moon rise 16 x 20 oil on canvas. sold

Suburban Commandments, 1 to 10 Hebrew letters sandblasted into common spade shovels.

Palos Verdes to LA 9 x 16" gouache on board, $800 with frame

White point, 10x23 gouache on board SOLD

Sycamore Canyon Sycamore Canyon Hills. 11 x 14 oil on canvas, Sold

Ad Design

In my youth, a study of Ad design began at my living room coffee table. Life and Readers Digest magazines Ad’s interested me more than the featured articles. Looking for ways to make pocket cash in high school I begin painting Christmas Windows, advertising whatever the given store had to offer. This forced my hand into the art of lettering, and my mind in commercial advertising. While attending college, I took up sign painting and graphic design to pay my tuition, while running towards my goal as professional illustrator. Here's just a tip of the iceberg of my development in Ad design over the years. Does anybody still call it Ad design?.. OK, now it's Branding.

Set Design

While working at Walt Disney Feature animation studios, in 1996 I started designing and constructing biannual sets for children's musical theatre at Rolling Hills Covenant mega Church.

From 2003 to 2021, I was contracted by RHCC to worked as the Art Director and Set Designer for the living art presentation (Modeled after the Laguna’s famous “Pageant of the Masters”), "Pageant of Our Lord" Choosing art that communicated clearly the biblical message, I adjust the scale and graphic impact in Photoshop. With my team of volunteers, we build sets to hold live models, sculpting additional props and figures to reproduce the exact image. I oversee casting the models, designing the lighting, makeup and costumes, bringing the experience of the original paintings or sculpture to life with in human proportions. During this biannual 3 week production, there was 14 presentation, and I have the privilege of managing over 150 volunteers. With a variety interns and skilled carpenters, welders seamstress we manufactured some 36 living art sets over the years.

Set design is illustration on a life size scale for live audiences to enjoy.

Pageant Our Lord, 'Adam and Eve driven from Eden', work in progress

Adam and Eve with full theater makeup and sculpted wigs. 2017

Detail sculpture of ‘Jesus healing the paralytic’ 2019

Sacrifice of Isaac, sculpture. Three live models. rotates 360° -2019.

2018 bronze sculpture "Dispute" with 5 live models in make up and costume,

In between presentations, I drew Nancy before applying make up.

2017 bronze sculpture "Expulsion of the Money Changers" with 4 live models in make up and costume,

Behind the scenes construction process for ‘Expulsion’.

Styrofoam head carved for ‘Dispute’ bronze medallion piece, Pageant 2018

Pageant of our Lord, The Trial, work in progress

Construction and painting process to Karl Blocks 1857 ‘Resurrection’

Showing process of creating, ‘Mary and Martha with Jesus’. with 3 live models, full costume and body paint.

Showing process of creating, ‘Calming in the Storm’. Intern trying out pose. Final product on stage lit for the audience with 4 live models, full costume and body paint.