In 2021, I teamed up with the great brand Meguiar's and several other artists in their respected fields of automotive artistry as a brand ambassador for a 5-month marketing campaign titled " Portrait of an icon " celebrating the companies 120 year history! Our mission was to take the notable aspects of the last 5 decades and create individual art works covering the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s in our artistic expression while subtly integrating the Meguiar's Brand into it. Each art piece was hand-drawn and posted at the end of every month on instagram.
Portrait of an icon- The rad 80s
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Here is the first post-it art piece I created to kick off the “portrait of an icon” series in collaboration with @meguiars , starting with this 80s themed art work ! Having been born in the mid-1980s, I can’t recall much all the great things the 80s encompassed and offered such as music, innovation, style, movies, and games. For my piece though, I certainly can say that I do remember the art styles and cars growing up during that era... here’s my take on some of things that made an impression on me.. one of those being airbrushing and markers.
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Here is the first post-it art piece I created to kick off the “portrait of an icon” series in collaboration with @meguiars , starting with this 80s themed art work ! Having been born in the mid-1980s, I can’t recall much all the great things the 80s encompassed and offered such as music, innovation, style, movies, and games. For my piece though, I certainly can say that I do remember the art styles and cars growing up during that era... here’s my take on some of things that made an impression on me.. one of those being airbrushing and markers.
“The Popping 90s” …is the theme for this months post in @meguiars “portrait of an icon” art series. This time using Meguiars Gold Class line to draw inspiration from.
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The 90’s was quite a loaded decade and transformative one for me to say the least as I’d imagine for most adolescents. This was the period where I really discovered my obsession for art and anything cars!So, When it came to reflecting on all the influences and memories I had growing up during that time.. from toys,movies, music, culture, style, technology, and etc. I found myself overwhelmed in how I could express all the great nostalgia from that decade ,which had a profound impact on me through a 11”x11” @postit 📝
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My solution: Create an art piece inspired by one of my favorite entertainment books as kid during the 90s : “Where’s Waldo?” (Wally). When it came to integrating inspiration of Meguiars gold class line into the work.. I thought from the perspective of what “gold class” meant to me? I thought as in a “standard” …a “level of excellence” to say. So, I went into the creating this art piece with the mentality of aiming for my idea of “gold class” standard. After 2.5 weeks of focus, here’s the result. Stay tuned for my behind the scenes video going into depth on this art piece. Enjoy! Feel free to comment what you see and recognize!
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The 90’s was quite a loaded decade and transformative one for me to say the least as I’d imagine for most adolescents. This was the period where I really discovered my obsession for art and anything cars!So, When it came to reflecting on all the influences and memories I had growing up during that time.. from toys,movies, music, culture, style, technology, and etc. I found myself overwhelmed in how I could express all the great nostalgia from that decade ,which had a profound impact on me through a 11”x11” @postit 📝
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My solution: Create an art piece inspired by one of my favorite entertainment books as kid during the 90s : “Where’s Waldo?” (Wally). When it came to integrating inspiration of Meguiars gold class line into the work.. I thought from the perspective of what “gold class” meant to me? I thought as in a “standard” …a “level of excellence” to say. So, I went into the creating this art piece with the mentality of aiming for my idea of “gold class” standard. After 2.5 weeks of focus, here’s the result. Stay tuned for my behind the scenes video going into depth on this art piece. Enjoy! Feel free to comment what you see and recognize!
✨”Bling Bling”✨
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For the 3rd installment of @meguiars“Portrait of an icon” art series, I present to you “the furious 2000s”! Using products in Meguiars hot rims wheel cleaner family to draw inspiration.
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The 2000s was quite a fun time for me as I was just a young gearhead coming into my own , eager to get my drivers license, customize my first car, and pursue my commitment to one day being a professional car designer.
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The 2000s car scene from my perspective was a great time in creativity and expression.. for it was the era of DUB culture (created by trendsetter/friend @myleskovacs) , mini trucks , and the explosion of the import tuners thanks to the birth of a little movie called “the fast and the furious” with some cool people in it such as (cough) @rj_devera .
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I can still look back fondly to July 2001 watching the original fast and furious movie for the first time feeling the excitement and energy in the theatre along side many other car lovers.. just enamored in sense seeing the street racing scene be portrayed on the big screen… while being entertained like no other car movie. All I know , ever since that day.. I was hooked on Japanese cars and picked up magazine subscriptions the day after to @superstreet , Import tuner, and Import racer. Haha
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Coming from the artist perspective I was obsessed in learning to draw anything Honda, Nissan, and Toyota …trying to capture the essence of the excitement I felt .
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It wasnt until one day I came across a store in the Northridge mall and found comic like car shirts called “zumspeed” which had this really cool max boost like art style with crazy shine and reflections featuring collages of JDM and euro cars that really sent my imagination wild. Sadly, I never bought any of them because I didn’t want spend $28 on a t-shirt haha.
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But, It was these “Zumspeed” shirts by dykom that inspired me to create this art piece summarizing my perspective and artistic expression of the 2000s! I do hope these make comeback one day 🤔
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For the 3rd installment of @meguiars“Portrait of an icon” art series, I present to you “the furious 2000s”! Using products in Meguiars hot rims wheel cleaner family to draw inspiration.
•
The 2000s was quite a fun time for me as I was just a young gearhead coming into my own , eager to get my drivers license, customize my first car, and pursue my commitment to one day being a professional car designer.
•
The 2000s car scene from my perspective was a great time in creativity and expression.. for it was the era of DUB culture (created by trendsetter/friend @myleskovacs) , mini trucks , and the explosion of the import tuners thanks to the birth of a little movie called “the fast and the furious” with some cool people in it such as (cough) @rj_devera .
•
I can still look back fondly to July 2001 watching the original fast and furious movie for the first time feeling the excitement and energy in the theatre along side many other car lovers.. just enamored in sense seeing the street racing scene be portrayed on the big screen… while being entertained like no other car movie. All I know , ever since that day.. I was hooked on Japanese cars and picked up magazine subscriptions the day after to @superstreet , Import tuner, and Import racer. Haha
•
Coming from the artist perspective I was obsessed in learning to draw anything Honda, Nissan, and Toyota …trying to capture the essence of the excitement I felt .
•
It wasnt until one day I came across a store in the Northridge mall and found comic like car shirts called “zumspeed” which had this really cool max boost like art style with crazy shine and reflections featuring collages of JDM and euro cars that really sent my imagination wild. Sadly, I never bought any of them because I didn’t want spend $28 on a t-shirt haha.
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But, It was these “Zumspeed” shirts by dykom that inspired me to create this art piece summarizing my perspective and artistic expression of the 2000s! I do hope these make comeback one day 🤔
Closing out the end of august with the 4th installment of @meguiars“portrait of an icon series” with my latest post-it art looking back on “the high tech 2010s” while sourcing inspiration from Meguiars Ultimate product line… more specifically their 3 step Paint-Care kit , which I like to call the “trifecta”! ( featuring Car Compound, Polish, and Liquid Wax).
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When it came to creating this art piece I didnt necessarily consider using the physical product as an inspiration.. I focused more on the word “ultimate” and the functionality that each product played in the 3 step-process resulting in beautiful paint finishes! Amongst the few ideas that came across my mind, the most memorable of the 2010s for me through the automotive lens had to be the explosion of wide bodies and over fenders in the U.S. thanks to Muira-San , Nakai-San and Kato-San ! Each of these creators were “ultimate” builders/artists in their own respect and quite influential in my opinion when it came to modifying and leaving purists crying.
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Playing off the 3 paint care products, I illustrated a car from each builder to represent the “trifecta” , Each was done in black to represent the sleek black Meguiars bottles and also give me an opportunity to draw each car in a way as it they just got done up with the ultimate 3-step paint care process with some shine and reflections
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When it came to creating this art piece I didnt necessarily consider using the physical product as an inspiration.. I focused more on the word “ultimate” and the functionality that each product played in the 3 step-process resulting in beautiful paint finishes! Amongst the few ideas that came across my mind, the most memorable of the 2010s for me through the automotive lens had to be the explosion of wide bodies and over fenders in the U.S. thanks to Muira-San , Nakai-San and Kato-San ! Each of these creators were “ultimate” builders/artists in their own respect and quite influential in my opinion when it came to modifying and leaving purists crying.
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Playing off the 3 paint care products, I illustrated a car from each builder to represent the “trifecta” , Each was done in black to represent the sleek black Meguiars bottles and also give me an opportunity to draw each car in a way as it they just got done up with the ultimate 3-step paint care process with some shine and reflections
We did it. It’s the last day of September and it’s the 5th and final installment of @meguiars “Portrait of an icon” art series” .This month we focus on the ⚡️“Electrifying 2020s” sourcing inspiration from Meguiars hybrid ceramic product line!
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Unlike the previous art pieces where I was able to look back in time to highlight notable moments and shifts in car culture through my perspective… it was nice to change gears from looking back to looking forward. Envisioning what the next decade and beyond has in store for us all.
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Having teamed up on a project with Meguiars back in 2020 where I took their whole hybrid ceramic product line and and interpreted each product with a car that I saw fit ( last picture in slides) and managed to correlate similarities between car and product.
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This time round, I chose to revisit and do Meguiars hybrid ceramic wash and wax.. simply for the fact that I loved the look of the odd bottle shape ,which said “utility” to me and the advanced mixing formula of wash and wax.
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Tapping back into the concept designer side of me. With the EV revolution gaining more momentum with each passing day, there is no doubt that hybrids and electric cars are forever changing the way we commute,drive, and perceive the automotive landscape.
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Inspired by the magical works of the late Visionary/ Futurist artist Syd Mead… I couldn’t help but envision the possible reality of one day seeing the @tesla cyber truck serve as a lifeguard vehicle haha. I must admit, the beach is one of my favorite escapes to not only relax and disconnect, but also a place to ponder positively about my future and it’s possibilities. I look forward to sharing more in the depth the little gems that I placed in this piece on IGTV soon!
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Unlike the previous art pieces where I was able to look back in time to highlight notable moments and shifts in car culture through my perspective… it was nice to change gears from looking back to looking forward. Envisioning what the next decade and beyond has in store for us all.
•
Having teamed up on a project with Meguiars back in 2020 where I took their whole hybrid ceramic product line and and interpreted each product with a car that I saw fit ( last picture in slides) and managed to correlate similarities between car and product.
•
This time round, I chose to revisit and do Meguiars hybrid ceramic wash and wax.. simply for the fact that I loved the look of the odd bottle shape ,which said “utility” to me and the advanced mixing formula of wash and wax.
•
Tapping back into the concept designer side of me. With the EV revolution gaining more momentum with each passing day, there is no doubt that hybrids and electric cars are forever changing the way we commute,drive, and perceive the automotive landscape.
•
Inspired by the magical works of the late Visionary/ Futurist artist Syd Mead… I couldn’t help but envision the possible reality of one day seeing the @tesla cyber truck serve as a lifeguard vehicle haha. I must admit, the beach is one of my favorite escapes to not only relax and disconnect, but also a place to ponder positively about my future and it’s possibilities. I look forward to sharing more in the depth the little gems that I placed in this piece on IGTV soon!
