I was contacted and invited to participate in HP's Print, Play and Learn Series for Dia De Los Muertos. HP (Hewlett-Packard) offers many Print, Play and Learn activities throughout the year and it's worth checking out. These are the three designs I came up with for their Dia De Los Muertos series.

Playing around with what kind of designs I want to include with my three activities.

An image of what the Prayer Candle will look like once the project is completed (and if the pre-colored skull was used).

The city of Reno put a call out to artists' for positive message murals located throughout downtown. This is the start of my project; two blank wood canvases that measure 4' x 16' in total.

The boards have been base coated with leftover house paint; a warm gray color.

The completed mural! "WHERE FLOWERS BLOOM, SO DOES HOPE". Overall, I'm very happy with the completed mural and what I love the most? It looks nothing like I'd ever paint. My thanks go out to the City of Reno for another opportunity to spread art throughout the community!

I have a friend who's a bass player. He asked me to make over his bass with whatever design I wanted. This is the second bass I've made over for him and when I received the bass it was painted metallic copper. I sanded the entire bass down to the bare wood.

The work begins on the front; base coat, shading and some scroll work.

The completed bass, front and back!

Old Pasadena's Annual Day of the Dead Weekend - the The Tour of Altars & More (click on the link below to learn more about this event)! I was one of three artists' selected to build a community altar for this annual event. This is my second public altar that I've had the honor of building. First, the prep work begins with base coating items to be used on the altar (painted wood crates and a large sugar skull).

Everything is painted and prepped and now it's time to "map" the altar and decide placement. Taking photos of the mock set-up was helpful and allowed for a quicker build on site.

After the altar was built (on Friday morning), it was time to say good bye to it until that Sunday evening (when it was time to take it down). I did, however, give it a visit on Saturday afternoon to see how the community was interacting with it; they did. I was happy!

The front of the signal box, primed white and ready for paint.

The back of the box ready for paint.

The front of the box, completed! The box can be found on the corners of Virginia Street and Artemesia Way, across from UNR and The Davidson Academy.

The city of Reno (NV) has a newly painted, very vibrant signal box, located in downtown! To see more pictures and descriptions, click the link below.

An opportunity was presented to paint a signal box for the city of Reno. The box is located on the corner of Virginia Street and 6th Street. This is the before picture of the front and the back of the box; primed and ready to go. To see more pictures and descriptions, click the link below.

The other side of the box completed along with the front of the box. To see more pictures and descriptions, click the link below.

A reproduced canvas of my original painting, "The Pink Sombrero" was selected to represent the new restaurant, Tinta Mexicana in Arizona Mills, Tempe, Arizona. The image was reproduced in sepia tones (from the original red and pink tones) to coordinate with the theme and vibe of the restaurant. Tinta Mexicana opened its doors on Friday, November 29, 2013. Additional restaurants will be opening at later dates. To view the original painting, click on the link below.

This image is the artists' rendering for the proposed idea of what Tinta Mexicana might look like. To view the original painting, click on the link below.

Photo courtesy of Chef Silvana. To learn more about Chef Silvana, click the link below.

"Naiades", a CD of music accompanied by a book of lyrics, words and art by musician/writer/artist, Monica Richards. Released January 2012 My piece, "Monica As Sea Princess" is featured on the second page of the book.

A side shot of the book.

The back cover of the book. Please visit Monica's website and, if you can, purchase yourself a copy of "Naiades". The music is fabulous, her message always right on and the companion book is worth every penny - filled with lyrics and art! Please click on the link below to visit her website - thank you!

A call to artists' went out via Xico's Facebook page to create a clock face that would be submitted for auction at their annual dinner and art auction. The theme had to do with the end of the world. Click on the link below to be taken to Xico's Facebook page (a photo album with photos from the event).

The wood clock face (about 14" in diameter) was provided (with the hole already in the middle) and we were free to do whatever we wanted. We had to keep in mind that a simple clock mechanism would be installed in the center. Instead of adding numbers to mine, I added painted wood rounds for the 12, 3, 6 and 9. I was pretty happy with the way it turned out.

This is one of only about three photos that my clock appears in at the event. Since I didn't attend the event, I was hoping to see more photos of the art and maybe even the art with their new owners, but, that didn't happen. So, this was my first special project with Xico and it was my last. I guess only time will tell as to whether or not I ever find out what happened to my clock.

I was asked to create artwork for the cover of the DIARIO La Estrella newspapers Dia De Los Muertos issue, November 2, 2006 (which serves the Dallas/Ft.Worth, Texas area).

The artwork had to be a certain size and had to have an area where words could be fit in and not obstructed by art. They fit perfectly on a tombstone! Later, after the paper was published, I added to the design a bit. The image can be found (entitled: The Cemetery At Twilight) by clicking the link below (in amongst the skeleton gallery).

I was asked to create artwork for the cover of the DIARIO La Estrella newspapers Our Lady Of Guadalupe issue, December 12, 2006 (which serves the Dallas/Ft.Worth, Texas area). The only requirement was that it be respectful and not so "out there" since so many in this area worship and love Guadalupe. My interpretation was one of a young, innocent Guadalupe that was colorful and a bit modern. The newspaper staff was happy, as was I - another great experience working with DIARIO La Estrella!