Honduran Equality Delegation

Holy Mother of Pearl! It's been too long, friends! I've been doing loads and loads of work so I haven't had time to sit and construct an update in a while. You can however check out my quick updates of my sketchbook on tumblr if you haven't already! http://deyampt.tumblr.com/

Now, down to business. Amongst working retail and finishing up a commission for a book cover (updates soon) I've been researching and working on a series of new paintings for the Honduran Equality Delegation. A friend of mine and Andrews (Jaclyn Scudiero) invited us to be involved by constructing a collaborative show. The intentions are to raise money and awareness about the LGBT community in Honduras. There is a lot of mistreatment and layered political/social brutality being directed at the community. You can read more about it here: http://honduranequalitydelegation.wordpress.com/ You can also apply to actually go down and visit Honduras to help out first hand.



You can also support the organization by liking them on Facebook. Stay involved!
Honduran Equality Delegation Facebook Page

As for the artwork I've been producing for the cause, this is a value drawing for one of the paintings I plan on doing. This is a pretty solid indication of whats going to happen throughout the series. I'm going to be painting some of the victims (illustratively, in order to avoid making the victim terribly uncomfortable) faces in the middle(ish) of a square surface. The head will be kind of floating over Honduran town-scapes while the houses are on fire. The house fires are more a symbol and a nod to the early witch hunts and trials. The accused "witches" being members of the the LGBT community. In this particular piece, she is a transgendered woman who was beaten heavily. I found the hospital photo on Google.

This is a line drawing for another painting I'm getting prepared to do. Instead of houses being completely engulfed in flames they will just be leaking loads of smoke. This way it will symbolize the lack of clarity and uncomfort that the LGBT community is being forced into. Not to mention the situations some of them are forced into. Safety isn't even felt in their own homes just because they're being themselves. On that note the floating mask in the middle of the composition is a mask I found in a photo of a Honduran pride parade (below). The amount of fear that is being injected into these people is massive. However, look at this photo, look at this group of people. The bravery to combat these political acts of bigotry is equally as massive. That's why I find such a great satisfaction in working on this project. I want to help in my own way. Even if it's only painting a series, I want to create awareness of what is going on. I hope you feel as inspired as I have by these incredible people.

This collaborative series I'm doing with Andrew Mannaz (my boyfriend) will be up for viewing at the end of August in the Crossroads district in Kansas City, MO. As the date gets closer I'll give you more details and more sneak peaks of what is going on. In the meantime hang out on my tumblr and watch my silly light-hearted sketches come about every so often. I post whenever I can find time between my retail alter ego(s).

I'll leave you with this song. It's been pretty darn helpful lately. Kick it hard to Purity Ring.

Millie the Sea Witch

Well. It took an extra amount of time but I finally managed to get the painting documented without hurting it! Some apologies for it being 4 months past my personal due date. Moving will do that to you, I guess. Now all I have to do is send it Lisa Ambrose to complete this way drawn out art trade. Here's the little old lady now so I can move on and let you know what else is going on.

Before I continue on I should let you all see what I got in return for Millie here. Lisa had painted this beautiful portrait of a despondent old woman in her kitchen. It's a really beautiful scene that she captured but take a look for yourself:

Alright. So, within these past four months of not updating you all with whats crackin, I've moved to Missouri. That's right, I'm a Kansas City resident. I'm looking forward to (more) making artist connections and some friends a long the way. I've got myself a job and everything. Hooha! It's not a grown up job quite yet, but that's what I'm working towards in this brand new year!

I've been drawing just as much as I usually do. At the same time I'm playing with new mediums that I became unfamiliar with at school-- such as Gouache, Watercolor, and Acrylic. I have it all posted on my sketchbook tumblr. Give it a look see! I'm pretty excited to be playing with new mediums and eventually getting them up to speed. While I'm playing these waterbased mediums I'll be hopefully building a portfolio I can walk into grown up illustration jobs with-- like Hallmark and whatever else Kansas City has to offer!

Until then I'll do my best to update with some of the cool stuff I'm getting myself into. There are some pretty cool things happening with a band I recently met. More on that soon, until then listen to this Fiona Apple song that I listened to A LOT while I was painting this image. Parallels in the video to the painting are strictly coincidental.  Oops.