The Art of Wilfred Lee

Life of Pie

2012-12-23T21:13:00.001-08:00

Life of Pie was definitely the best film of 2012.

Christmas Caricatures!

2012-12-16T07:12:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year.

There's been LOTS of different places hosting great Christmas Party events and I've been given the great opportunity to join via Caricaturing.

Here are some of the drawings that made the cut. Hope you enjoy:

JK DANCE STUDIO

CHRISTMAS PARTY

I've been drawing Alison several times over the years, so it's always interesting to take her familiar face and express it in new territory. She was my first model for the day, so it helps to get into the swing of things as well gather some interest from nearby guests.

I drew this guy last year as well, so i've taken the liberty to go a little bit more out there than usual. He's always a good sport about it!

CHRISTMAS IN SEOUL was hosted by Seconds2Impact; a great company that really endorses and supports local artists as well helps raise the cultural level by being more inclusive with the community.

You can see I drew Alison AGAIN...@__@

But!

I wanted to go away from yesterday's approach and really try something that captures her 'quirkiness'-if that's an understatement at all.

She is quite the lover of cats, so her hairstyle really gave me the idea of cats (playing?) inside her yarn-ball hairdo.

Here is Misong's caricature! Since she was the winner of submitting our Groove article on Facebook, I had the chance to really give her a caricature that goes alongside her passion: Hairstylist.

*Note* She doesn't have arthritis, I just totally butchered her hands. I was going more for a 'kawaii' approach to her especially around her mouth area. It may not seem like a big deal, but just by drawing bold lines for her eyebrows (compared to my usual habit of stroking them in) really gave me a new insight into how I can start composing faces with a Japanese influence. Sometimes, drawing cute is hard.

The last caricature of the night was this really great couple, who wanted one together. It was their first time, and they were really great sports about it.

If you like me to do caricatures for any events you may have, or personal commissions, you can feel free to email me at: metaphysicalsurgery@gmail.com

Hipstamatica 2012

2012-12-12T03:19:00.000-08:00

2012 has been an interesting year indeed.

Here is what I've captured throughout the year:

Homunculcature!

2012-12-10T03:05:00.002-08:00

Homunculus + Caricature= Homunculcature

Self-Caricature #2

2012-12-04T01:55:00.001-08:00

All this talk of Elephant Man gave me some new ideas for another Self- Caricature. Gotta go deeper! SO deep it becomes DERPER.

Self-Caricature

2012-12-03T00:27:00.002-08:00

Been awhile since I drew a caricature of myself. Came to the realization I resemble a receding-haired owl.

Poptastic Party Caricatures

2012-11-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all. I've been in hiatus with a lot of projects and they are now overlapping (making it easier to update)

This is a few of my favourite caricatures done at the Poptastic Party. Had a great time and lots of great reactions! Check 'em out~

Artist's Journey Tumblr

2012-11-27T19:34:00.003-08:00

New Tumblr!

Revamped!

Renewed!

Slightly NSFW (be careful)

and Very Pretty!

http://artistsjourney.tumblr.com

The Asian Illusion

2012-09-21T00:44:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted here (trust me, i've been drawing A LOT, just not allowed to share to the public yet) and I drew this little comic after podcasting with a buddy of mine, Paul Stafford.

You can check out the link to the interview at Artist Journey Interviews Paul Stafford

Also check out my Artist's Journey Facebook Page where we post daily inspirational, funny, enlightening stuff and interviews!

Enjoy~

Happiness is Inside You!

2012-02-28T01:03:00.000-08:00

Mixed message of the day

Evolved

2012-02-12T05:53:00.000-08:00

2012 has been busy. I have some upcoming exhibitions and one of them is a nude exhibition with a lot of talented artists in the Korean community.

For this particular piece I wanted to do something different from the usual 'nude' pieces that's seen in the community. I've always considered that most nude pieces are more like studies of a final piece, a means to an end.

It's about taking everything you learned from the body and create something more out of it.

So with this piece I went with an 'evolved' state of being.

I worked on several sketches based on how the pose will express this form of evolution. There are some I enjoyed a lot more than others, and by making different variations, I can figure the 'evolved anatomy' of the subject. In the end I decided on the traditional pose to show the body as a whole or perhaps like a specimen. Later on I can always go back to the sketches and finish them up as a series. Always save your sketches!

I worked on gradients and thought of different textures as I was coloring the final chosen sketch. I wanted to give it a slimy/shiny effect to it with a slight translucency like the wings of a bat in the light.

As a final result I liked how it came out. Definite learning experience and looking forward in doing more in this direction.

Vincent Van Gogh Caricature Redux

2012-01-30T23:47:00.000-08:00

Awhile back I had done a caricature of Van Gogh already and wanted to do a newer version. Here we go!

I first started with a simple sketch. You'll notice there's not a lot of undersketching, just going with the flow and trusting my intuition. Since I had done it before, the approach was easier with a lot more improvisation so to speak. This was also taken with my iphone. I used to be more thorough, putting it in a scanner and adjusting the levels, but starting simple gets things done efficiently. It's not about being fast but efficient!

Next I resized it (A4) and placed two separate layers, one for the VG and for the bg. Then put a simple overall color to be its foundation. I like to take advantage of its roughness to bring some texture underneath the final result.

And voila! Just good-ol' fashioned drawing and rendering. While drawing just listening to some comedy and music. It's the relaxing part of the journey. This was a fun drawing to do, I feel i'm growing towards another form of painting. We'll see how the next one goes!

Michael Jackson Caricature

2012-01-26T00:55:00.000-08:00

Here it is! My Michael Jackson caricature. Here is a brief rundown of what went on here:

As usual I start with a small thumbnail sketch. I just enjoy the feel of pen carving on paper. And having a physical piece which can be transformed into another plane of medium. The thumbnail is about actual size of the sketch.

With the color process, I enjoyed the process of the David Bowie Caricature and mixed in the blocked in element compared to a smoother transition. I love coloring this way, especially up close, because it helps with understanding planes and structure through color no matter how they may vary in tone, value, saturation etc.

The hair was the only process I'd say that is approached separately from the rest of the piece, which hopefully harmonizes in an interesting way. That's it from me. Hope y'all enjoy it!

MUSTOY! Again...!

2012-01-19T21:54:00.000-08:00

I keep this one beside me at work. This was my second attempt at a Mustoy. It still stands the test of time after accidentally dropping it from small drops. Maybe a good new year resolution is to make one a month.

Ziggy Stardust aka David Bowie Caricature~

2012-01-19T01:56:00.000-08:00

For most finished I usually start with a very rough sketch, not worrying very much about size. I find that any great drawing can come out from a scribble because of the essence it contains. Some would argue that it is an artist's responsibility to capture that very essence in the final piece. Then we would be friends and watch Ghostbusters and find and ANOTHER epiphany of the Ecto-containment unit and the trap is like drawing. MOVING ON...

From this point I scan it in, and usually use an A3 size format. I then block in the colors and overall tones. Midway into the drawing, I realized I wanted to try something a bit different...

I wanted to try out that Aeon Flux feel or that low-count polygon feel for all your Virtual Fighter lovers out there.

...And Ta-Da! A lot of lessons learned from this approach. Simplifying and 'desaturating' detail so to speak. Either way, I'm looking forward to the next one. Hope y'all enjoy!

Clint Eastwood Caricature

2012-01-17T21:21:00.000-08:00

Just finished my Clint Eastwood caricature! Here is just a quick breakdown of my process.

I had started with a sketch of the character himself. Using my rough rendering as a future reference for toning. I laid a gradient for an overall tone.

I started to work on the background on a separate layer, zooming in and out for overall clarity. I made this composition to find interesting ways to share and make the piece striking. Focusing on the face area is most important and let the detail 'bleed' from that particular point.

And Ta-Da! Background is an exhausting process, but it's where you lose the concept of subject matter, realizing its illusion and separating colors from each other. Think of it like saying a word over and over until it loses its meaning, but teach a person how to sing it and gradually they can succumb to its raw coherence.

Drawing while you Dream

2012-01-17T03:57:00.001-08:00

The Resurrection

2012-01-17T03:53:00.000-08:00

The Resurrection

This was a piece made for the 2011 Fantasy Festival. An full day event in which I helped organized, gathering various performers and creating an interpretation of one of the stages in Joseph Campbell's Heroes Journey.

Hipstamatica

2012-01-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

Here are a few samples of my hipstamatic photos I do on my spare time.

To see more visit my flickr site by clicking this strange highlighted text which magically transports you to another side of the Internetz

MUSTOY!

2012-01-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

I found this great cafe in Hongdae (although there is a plethora sprinkled all around the area) but here they give you a ceramic little doll to design on. Anybody interested in going let me know!

SPEAK: Performance Art Exhibition

2012-01-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

My part in the participation of the SPEAK performance, was to give an introduction to the world of caricature and followed by 'blind' caricature. Focusing only on feeling of the person in front of me and finding that special caricaturistic they posses.

It was very interesting how an image gradually builds when your visual senses are cloaked and is guided by your hands travelling across a strangers face.

It was also my first time attempting this and had performed over an hour and drawn over 10 blind caricatures. It was quite an amazing experience and I really learned a lot to trust my intution.

I'm also looking forward in doing this again as an exercise with my students, because it really helps with spatial thinking an requires a deep focus.

Live Caricatures at JK Dance Christmas Party

2012-01-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

What's great about doing live caricatures are the invitations to great parties! JK Dance Studio's Christmas Party was pretty stellar, and great to get back into drawing live.

Adventures in Japan

2012-01-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

Went to the 2011 Japan ISCA convention. Amazing time, met old and new friends. Inspired. Here are the results.

Injin, fellow Korean artist.

Kuni!!

The very talented Marlo Meekins and her rendition of me!

Michihiro and his robot wife.

Taka!

Great guy who was the driver for all the artists.

Mr. Okuno

Caricature of Albert Rim

2012-01-15T18:33:00.000-08:00

Awhile back I was asked to draw a caricature of the new current CEO of Nexon Mobile Albert Rim. After some tweaks and through some communication, I managed to get the idea of what they were looking for. The cartoony one was the one they went for.

Super Savior

2012-01-15T18:29:00.000-08:00