Portfolio 2023.

The Evolution of a Chicago Streetscape.

I lived in Chicago and witnessed the evolution of streetscapes first-hand. I moved there in 2011 when the Cabrini-Green edifices were being demolished. Before I left, in 2017, the gentrified neighbourhoods spawned on those grounds. That was my inspiration. For the past, one sandstone, brick, and wood building are shown. The only stable and the most consistent building was the brick building since they are a common sight in Chicago, and are often kept close to mint. The sandstone building becomes abandoned in the Ghetto era, with the brick building standing tall, and the wood home burnt down into a lot. The future is bright. Shown in golden hour, all buildings contain flats and shops. The Sandstone building houses a German bar. The brick building houses a pet shop, and the new modern-industrial glass building lies over the brick building and lot. The drawings are marker-on-pencil, watercolour, and oil pastel.

Retrato de Famille.

An event is something of importance, planning and accordance to all parties attending.

A family gathering of both sides of my family together in Mexico, including passed relatives, is a major event for me.

I wanted to illustrate this big arrangement on a bespoke 48" x 36" canvas constructed by myself. Acrylic paints the room with beams, bright colours, and Mexican Terracotta Tiles. Each member is sketched in charcoal, with a negative print representing their shadows. They are elevated to show their livelihood and prominence to me. The ones who have passed do not have shadows and are not elevated from the painting. The succession of everyone is strategic, with the Mexican side on the left, and the Québecois side on the right. My aunts are on either side and my grandparents are on the highest points of the painting.

A Coat Cactus.

When you enter one’s home, you expect someplace to hang your coat. You would most likely stumble across either a row of hooks or a coat tree.

The tree sounds rather dull, so it got me thinking. A cactus seems like a good receptacle for coats. Behold the Coat Cactus. This smaragdine piece of form and function is more than capable of carrying over 25 coats and 6 backpacks, with room to spare. It was built with heritage parts, including a piece of Earl of March Secondary School’s old oak stairwell grabs, which were spindled into shape. Obtruding from either side are two plywood arms with even curves; similar to Apple’s modern bezel design. The base is white pine with metal brackets imitating legs. Hooks are placed strategically for numerous accessories.

The Ethos of Bélanger.

Car design is an art form that is very similar to architecture since they are both interactive art and are larger than yourself. I have been perfecting a design language for a theoretical car brand named Bélanger. Bélanger’s goal is to introduce a timeless, unique, avant-garde, textureful-yet-quality Canadian automobile. Inspired by British, American and Italian automotive design, Bélanger vehicles are distinctive with their trapezoidal c-pillar fins, trapezoidal grille, clamshell bonnet and boot, black plastic cladding, and slender LED headlights camouflaging in between the panel gaps. This drawing was produced with pencil and then overlaid with colour using Photoshop. It signifies my automotive design language in an abstract and bare-bones approach, with the battery pack that transitions into the grille/skid plate, motors exposed, large front wheels, and an exaggerated glass dome for a greenhouse with a clamshell body. Due to its show car status, the interior is disregarded.

Microbe Moreno Sisters.

My Abuelita is a woman who always holidays whenever she can. She and her sister are extremely close and are almost inseparable. They are together, lounging and posing on a zipper that I took a picture of.

Bauhaus Cake Stand.

The Bauhaus School of Design brought out some of the best designers. Dieter Rhams. Mies Van Der Rohe, to name a couple. The cakestand pays some well-deserved homage to the Bauhaus School of Design, with its earthenware architecture and vivid colour palette.

Fiat 200 Concept.

Since Fiat are experts at small vehicles and are part o the Stellantis group, it was fitting for me to design a Fiat version of the Ami/Rocks-e. Using the new Centoventi design language, I modified the design Accordingly. Base image source from Opel via NetCarShow.com. Now, Fiat has since used the Ami/Rocks-E platform to make the Topolino, which I do prefer in design.

Aloe Waves.

My favourite holiday is when I travel to Los Cabos. Aloe is abundant and rather putrid. To embody Los Cabos' flora, behold a macro photo of my Aloe Vera at home.