Tag: kevin wada

kevinwada:

Thank you so much to the patience of a certain Miss Estee Longah.  She commissioned me to do a portrait of her to use for promotional purposes and whatever else she saw fit.  I’m very happy with how it turned out, but more importantly, I am relieved that she loves it as well.  Estee is known for turning to retro looks and old-school glamour so we really tried to just paint her up like a screen goddess of the 40s and 50s.  Obviously, she is evoking a certain Miss Crawford and I’m so glad I was able to maintain Estee’s face within the piece.  I sold her on going with this wire hanger imagery; is she undoing the hanger or bending it into form?  Drag is so inspiring to me, it’s about creating something from scratch as much as it is about ripping and dissecting culture.  Let me know what you guys think!

kevinwada:

After a lot of time and struggle to get this piece out there and finished, here it finally is!  The client wanted a fashion inspired take on Spidey’s three leading ladies, Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and Felicia Hardy – something akin to a Vogue cover, he mentioned.  I was absolutely excited at the prospect of juxtaposing all three of these women together in a piece.  I have done a MJ/Gwen piece in the past and needed to do a new take on their looks and styles.  I really wanted each woman to feel different, and while I’m happy with their fashion choices I do wish their faces came out a bit more distinct.  I really tried – even going so far as to base them on different actresses.  But let’s be honest, most Hollywood starlets fall into a very narrow standard of beauty.  So a bad translation of faces mixed with a fairly slim view of Hollywood beauty leads to so-so character distinction.

After I finished it I knew I had to create a mock Vogue cover to complete the feel of the piece.  I am not a graphic designer by any means to don’t knock the type treatments too harshly.  I’ve no clue what I’m doing.  Hopefully it’s all really coy and cute and playful.  Enjoy, Tumblrites.  I realize Tumblr is not made for comments but I do enjoy catching them when I can so comment or reply away!  Love the feedback.

kevinwada:

Megan Draper

APE 2012 commission

Sidenote: I am no longer open to commissions for the time being.  I am SWAMPED.  Sorry if I’m taking awhile to respond to your emails and get our your prints.  It’s been a storm since APE.  Apologies and thank you for your patience!