Revenge of the Paw

Hey everyone, here are a few concepts that I have been working on for the past few weeks. Dr Frank Einstien, geneticist and mad man has been experimenting and trying to create a new breed of bounty hunter. The Brain is his number 2 and leads the gang of mechanized beasties.

More to come. 

Sketch Friday

My apologies for not posting until today. Things have been super crazy with work and I just got some exciting news. I was just notified yesterday that I will have a table in Artist Alley at this year's Comic-Con International-San Diego! I am super excited and am preparing a lot of new material so in the coming weeks you will see a sneak peak here and there of what I will have available during the convention. I hope to see some familiar faces and look forward to meeting some new ones. I will post more info as the dates gets closer. Until then, here is my sketch for this awesome Friday!

This was a demo for my online class at CGMA.

Have a great weekend everyone!

-Patrick

Indy Art

Hi everyone, hope all of you had a great Mother's Day weekend! Aside from hanging out with my beautiful mom on Sunday, this past Friday was the opening of the "I Love You Man" art show at Bottleneck Gallery. As promised, here is the full image of my piece Indy Art, which will be on display at the gallery until May 26.

Indy Art

For this show, a limited edition giclee on canvas and 10 limited edition giclee on watercolor prints were created. If you're interested in purchasing a print or seeing all the other awesome work for this show you can view the online sale here.  

The theme of the show is partners/buddies in film. I took a slightly different angle and showcased the minds behind one of my favorite trilogies of all time. Here's a hint, "You call him doctor Jones!" I know there were four movies made but the trilogy is what I grew up with. There are quite a few little "easter eggs" in this one so I hope you can find them all. I will be working on a few more illustrations and will have some big news for the summer so keep on the lookout! 

Thanks again for stopping by!

Sketch Friday

Just some free doodling before I have to hunker down and get cracking on freelance and schoolwork all weekend. It's gonna be a long so let's do this!

Also, if you are in Brooklyn tonight make sure to stop by the opening reception of "I Love You Man!" at Bottleneck Gallery. I have 1 canvas print and 10 smaller watercolor prints available for purchase of my piece so those going get dibs! The fun starts at 7PM tonight so get your bromance on!

"I Love You Man" Art Show + Sneak Peak

Hey all! I am happy to be part of a wonderful group show at Bottlneck Gallery in Brooklyn, New York!!! That's right folks I am now invading the East Coast! The show is called "I Love You Man" and it revolves around partners and buddies in film. Opening reception is this Friday, May 10 from 7pm to 10pm. Here is the flier with more info on the show.

Opening This Week:

I Love You Man

Friday, May 10th - May 26th

Opening Reception: Friday May 10th from 7 - 10pm 

Online Sales Begin Saturday May 11th ~ 12 Noon EST. 

Check out a sneak peak of my piece that will be on display:

So for those of you in New York you must check out the show because I know it'll be amazing!! 

(Take some pictures for me please.)

Sketch Friday

Hey all, I did a little something different for this week's sketch friday. For those on Instagram I posted my process of this from initial concept to finished lineart LIVE as I was working on it. I will try and do this every once in a while as it is pretty challenging to draw and update at the same time. If you want you can catch up with me next time I try this on Instagram, just look for PatrickBallest.

The idea of this one is it is a book launcher for the upcoming book release of my next kid's book "How To Be A Super Hero" mentioned in the previous post. Alright, have a great weekend everyone and hope to see some of you Sunday!

 -Patrick

Book Release Party

Hi everyone! Exciting news, I just finished illustrating my third kids book! If you are in southern California this weekend please stop by the book release party for Treehouse Bandits' How to Be a Super Hero! It will be this Sunday, May 5, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at The LAB in Costa Mesa, CA. The release party will be part of a weekend festival called "Saturday Night/Sunday Morning," which is organized by the good folks at Paper Farms. Here is more info for the weekend festivities:

Saturday Night, May 04, 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Sunday Morning, May 05, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

The LAB

2930 Bristol Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

We will have books available for purchase, and co-creator Kevin Staniec and I will be on hand for signings. Make sure to bring the kids because I will also be doing a drawing workshop called "How to Draw a Bandit" so you do not want to miss out on that!

To entice you a little bit more here are some sample pages from the book. Enjoy and I look forward to meeting some of you this weekend!

-Patrick

Sketch Friday

Sorry for missing my Wednesday post, I started this but wasn't able to finish it until today. No major story or anything associated to this, more of just a free sketch day and just getting back to having fun before getting back to work.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Earth Day!

Yay happy Earth Day! Well...some of us more than others..lol. 

Have a great day!

Sketch Friday

News of the King's son brings sadness to the kingdom...but not for everyone. 

Sketch of the Day

Sketch of the Day

Now, now play nice kiddos.

Checkmate!

Sketch Friday

Sketch commission for a friend. They asked for the Crow and Death from Vertigo Comics. This was challenging but a lot of fun to do. Looking to experiment a bit more with my compositions. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Sketch of the Day

As of late I have been asked to draw a lot of women heros. Just been doing some morning and afternoon warmups to familiarize myself a bit more with the characters and practice streamlining the female form. I will probably do a few more of these and change it up of course so it deosn't get to monotonous on here.

Sketch of The Day

Peekaboo!

Sketch Friday

Just trying out a few things. So here's something Bat-Girlish. 

Happy Friday!

Sketch of the Day

An afternoon stroll.

WonderCon 2013 It's A Wrap

Thank you for making WonderCon 2013 a huge success! It was great seeing some old friends and making some new ones. To everyone who stopped by our table, chatted, picked up some prints, and asked for sketch commmissions, thank you SO MUCH. I feel privileged to be able to share my art work with all of you and am very happy to be able to bring a smile to your faces and to hear the occasional chuckles. I can't  wait for next year and look forward to sharing more new art with you all!

Some recap pics.

A few of the sketch commissions from the weekend.

Mech kids.

Longing for Diana.

Younger Sherlock.

Young Dr. Who and partner in crime.

Again, thanks guys for a rocking con!

WonderCon 2013: See you there!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I will be at WonderCon this weekend (Friday, March 29, to Sunday, March 31) at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA. Come by, say hi, and pick up some new prints that I created just for this con! I'll be in Artist Alley at Table 112; below is a small map to help you find me a bit easier on the convention floor.

Here is one of the new prints that will be available this weekend:

Brain Freeze

If you are interested in preordering Brain Freeze click here to go to my online store. I'll also be available for some commissions so hit me up early before it gets CAAARAZY! If you're interested in getting a commission started sooner (i.e. before WonderCon) and picking it up at the show then please contact me at iwantyourart@gmail.com. Here are a few samples of commissions I did at San Diego ComicCon 2012:

Thanks again for stopping by and I look forward to seeing you all at WonderCon this weekend!

Sketch of the Day

So I have been infatuated with boba as of late. For those that do not know boba is basically small, sweet tasting tapioca balls that you put in a milk or tea drink. Its like comfort food but in a liquid format. I usually go to a spot near Rosemead, CA but for some reason the last time I went it was super crowded. They are pretty good at getting your drinks out in a timely manner, however, I can't help but think it could go faster. Here is my solution to the problem they have.

Mischief Managed

Can you spot your favorite wizard?!

Hi everyone, here's a little departure from Sketch Friday so hopefully you don't mind too much. I just wrapped up on this new piece called Mischief Managed and I'm really excited to share it with you all. It's an homage to all the tiny magicians and wizards out there, and is now available for preorder on my online store. If you want to have one sooner than later then come by my table at WonderCon 2013 from March 29 to 31 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Find me at Artist Alley table AA-112 where I'll be selling prints, books, and doing a few sketch commissions. I'm looking forward to seeing you all there. More info as well as a sneak peek of one more new print will be announced next week so stay tuned!

Thanks again everyone and have a great weekend!

Sketch of the Day

Best Friends.

Sketch of the Day

The admiral's daughter.

SKETCH FRIDAY

Here is another edition of STUFF THAT HAPPENS TO ME. 

Really, this stuff does happen to me I have witnesses.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Coffee Break

Taking a quick break to enjoy the day never hurts.

Sketch of the Day

Nothing warms the heart like a girl and her puppy......puppyesque anyways.

Sketch Friday

Happy International Women's Day! Lets Celebrate!

Stuff that happens to me: Chapter 1

So I seem to always get myself into rather awkward situations as of late. Instead of writing about them I thought I should document it for posterity but mostly for your amusement into my daily stumblings. Well here it is the first of many to come, STUFF THAT HAPPENS TO ME by Patrick Ballesteros.

New Illustration: Afternoon Tea

Thanks to everyone who visited the show MINTconidition at Ltd. Art Gallery this past weekend in Seattle, WA. Sadly I was unable to go to the opening reception but the pictures from that evening look amazing! For those who are unable to see the show in person, the gallery was kind enough to put the enitre show online for you to view here. 

My piece called Afternoon Tea is on page 3 of the site but just in case you get lazy here it is:

I decided it was time to showcase female superheros and the cartoons that I grew up with. I know there are a few still missing from this image do not fret because look out for them in the coming months! I had a blast with this image and coming up with each of their personalities was a great challenge for me. I hope I did them justice and it this brings a smile to your face.

Last, here is the original pencil version.

Thank you to James Monosmith for having me contribute Afternoon Tea to the show and thanks to all of you for dropping by!

REMINDER: One lucky person will get a FREE sketch commission. More info here.

Sketch Friday!

Not so angry birds.

Also make sure to check out the opening reception of "Mint Condition, Issue 2" at Ltd Gallery in Seattle. More info in my previous post.

Have a great weekend!

MINTcondition: A Comic Book Inspired Art Show

For those going to Emerald City Comicon in Seattle this weekend, please check out an awesome show at Ltd. Art Gallery: Mint Condition Issue #2. The theme is basic and cool....COMIC BOOKS. I am super excited to have a piece in the show so check it out and tell me what you think of it. Here's a sneak peek of my artwork:

More information about the show and directions to the gallery can be found by clicking here. Also, consider this, if you go to the show 

1. take a picture next to my artwork, 
2. share it on Facebook,
3. and tag me on on your Facebook post,

then the post with the most shares and likes by 8:30 p.m. PT/ 11:30 p.m. ET on March 31 will get a FREE sketch commission*.  Deal?! Alright now go see the show then hit me up! 

*sketch commission will be of established characters only and is limited to 1-2 characters.

Sketch Friday!

Inspired by a cold night and a nice bowl of hot ramen. Can't beat days like that!

My visit to the Boys and Girls Club

Last week Kevin Staniec and I did a presentation and book signing for the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna Beach. We talked about the process of creating stories and how we made How To Catch A Cloud. It was a ton of fun and I ended up doing a drawing demo for the kids. Afterwards, some of the coordinators told us a few of the kids were writing stories and drawing comic book frames. That is total inspiration for me! Here are a few photos from the event.

We asked the kids for a few key words and premise for the demo. The words they gave me were giraffe, cop, and ferrari and the cop was stopping the giraffe from getting a ferrari. I had never drawn a ferrari before so I had to look it up real quick for reference, it ended up looking like a porsche but hey, they enjoyed it nonetheless......lol! Here is the demo I did for them.