About
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Luis Diaz draws from a very young age.
People tell him he’s good.
Luis loves to draw things.
He goes to magnet high school.
He graduates from the Maryland, blah, blah, blah.
Gets a job. Quits. Gets another job. Quits.
(Cycle repeats several more times.)
Luis seeks independence in Freelance Illustration.
Finds out it’s not very independent.
Suck it Art Directors!
Luis loves to draw things, again.
BIO
ARTIST STATEMENT
LUIS DIAZ
Creator / Destroyer
EDUCATION
Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MD.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration; 1995-1999 cum laude
Center for the Media Arts, Miami, FL, Diploma; 1991-1995
SKILLS
Proficient in all academic mediums including painting and drawing.
Proficient in Painter, Photoshop, Alchemy & Art Rage.
CLIENTS
NGuage Inc. (Ultimate Fighting Championship Label)
SOS Music / 5Finity Productions / FanTapper / World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Once Upon A Time Clothing / Digital Directions / Edweek.org / Fish Circus Music
KLMA, LLC. / Dog & Pony Advertising / Miami New Times / The Topps Company
IDW Publishing / Lo-Fi Magazine / 3 Boys Productions (Students of the Unusual)
Grafika Press / Flesh and Bone Press / Threat Racing Apparel / American Gift Corporation
Pil Design / Zubi Advertising Services, Inc. / Goldcoast Adverting / Creatives on Demand
Telemundo (an NBC Company) / Hero Network / Harvest Entertainment
TheYummiest.com / Orange Bowl Float Company
WORK EXPERIENCE
Creating for Me - Love it
Dog & Pony Advertising, Coconut Grove; 2008-2009: senior designer - Hated it
Alternate Space Gallery, Coconut Grove; 2008: gallery assistant - Hated it
KLMA, LLC. Miami Beach; 2006-2007: creative designer and product design - Hated it
American Gift, Miami; 2003: product concept artist and illustrator - Hated it
Univision Network, Miami; 1999-2002: designer and concept artist - Hated it
EXHIBITIONS (abridged)
“Creep Cinema Group Show”, Bear & Bird Gallery, Lauderhill; 2011
“Students of the Unusual”, Brevard Museum of Art; Florida; March 1-27, 2011
“Illustrated Group Show”, Audrey Love Gallery; October 12, 2010
‘Littlest Sister 10 Group Show” curated by Spinello Gallery, Art Basel Week; Miami Arts District; December 3, 2010
"Innovate Love" Baltimore, MD; May 22, 2010
“Malice in Wonderland” Buena Vista Building, Miami Design District; May 8, 2010
Art Whino “G40: The Summit” Arlington, VA; March 1-30, 2010
WeMerge Magazine, “Merged” Buena Vista Building, Miami Design District; February 13, 2010
“Miami New Times: 22 Years of Art”, Miami Art Space; October 10, 2009
“Multiversal Group Show” (Art Basel) MiMo District; December 2009
“MASS-A-Peel: Paintings by Luis Diaz” Solo Show, Harold Golen Gallery, Wynwood October; 2009
"Me Me Me" Bear & Bird Gallery, Lauderhill; 2009
"KAIJU Monster Invasion" curated by by Harold Golen Gallery , Miami Beach Dec. 3rd -Jan. 4th, 2009
"UNBREAK Art Basel 2008", PS-14, Downtown Miami, December 6, 2008
"Devil Dog" Art Show; New York City; October 31, 2008
ADAPT Conference "Featured Artist" Corel Painter Gallery; Montreal, Canada; 2008
"15x15 Alumni Art Show" MICA, Baltimore, MD; 2008
ADAPT Conference "Featured Artist" Corel Painter Gallery; Montreal, Canada; 2007
"Sex & Science" Bear & Bird Gallery, Lauderhill; 2007
“See You in Hell” MF Gallery, New York City; 2005
”Hearts of Darkness” Objex Artspace Macon, Georgia; 2005
“The Yummiest -In Life” at Downtown Miami, FL; 2003
“Roving Fridays Art Exhibition” at Lombardi Properties, Wynwood, FL; 2002
"Tendencies" at Avante Garde, Coral Gables, FL; 1999
“Illustration Show”, Pinkard Gallery, Baltimore, MD; 1998
COLLECTIONS
Mark F. Raymond Collection
Harold Golen Collection
Scott Deutsch Collection
John Cafiero Collection (Osaka Popstar- Lead Singer)
Jay Wade Edwards Collection (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim: Aqua Teen Hunger Force- Producer)
Dana Snyder Collection (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim: Aqua Teen Hunger Force- Actor)
PUBLICATIONS (abridged)
Blue Canvas TBA
Tattoo Savage Magazine TBA
Sketch Card Mania by Impact Books; July 2011
“Album Art” Digital Artist Issue 16; February 2010
“Lady Death: Sketch Card All Stars
“Artist of the Month” FXPose; Imagine FX Issue 56
"Education Week", interior spot illustration: Issue 25 pg 32; March 2010
Painting Can Virtual Book; March 2010
Topps Company "Garbage Pail Kids: Series 3-7, FlashBack 1
Dangerous Ink Magazine, “Start the Fans, Please!” Interior Spread (pp 32-33) Volume 2 Issue 3
Dangerous Ink Magazine, “Crossing the Hudson” Interior Spread (pp 11) Volume 2 Issue 2
Juxtapoz Magazine “Reader Art) (Online) December 30, 2009
And Now the Nightmare Begins: The Horror Zine (Paperback) December 22, 2009
"Education Week", interior spot illustration: Issue 15, pg 28; December 16, 2009
City Link Metromix.com, “Art Basel Can Wait” (pp 19) December 2, 2009
Spectrum 16: Best of Fantastic Art,"Fish Circus"; November 2009
City Link Metromix.com ”Paint it Black” October 28, 2009
"Education Week", interior spot illustration: Issue 6, pg 36; October 7, 2009
Jericho Season 3: Civil War (Cover Colorist) Devil’s Due Publishing; September 2009
Ballistics: Exposé 7,"Fish Circus"; May 2009
"Education Week", interior spot illustration: Issue 25 pg 32; May 13, 2010
Acidhead (book cover); Authorhouse April 2009
Corel® Painter Official Magazine, “How to Use Liquid Inks” Tutorial, pp. 30-35, 2009
"Fish Circus, Volume: 2", Music Group Album Artwork; 2008
"Grindin'", (Autumn Toadstool background) 944 Magazine. issue 10, October 2008
"Village Voice", interior spread (pp 26-27); February 6-12, 2008
“Miami NewTimes”, (Cover Art) “Baselopoly”, also interior art December 6-12, 2007
“Miami NewTimes”, (Cover Art) “The Grow Me State”, November 8-14, 2007
“Miami NewTimes”, (half page interior art) “Halloween”, October 25-31, 2007
“Miami NewTimes”, (1/4 page interior art) “Scales of Justice”, October 18-24, 2007
“Miami NewTimes”, (half page interior art) “Colombus Day”, October 4-10, 2007
Topps Company "Garbage Pail Kids" Series 6; 2007
ADAPT Art Expo "Featured Artist" Corel Painter Gallery; 2007
Spectrum: Best of Fantastic Art 13, “3 Days the Devil Danced”; 2006
Ballistic’s Painter, “3 Days the Devil Danced”; 2006
3 Days the Devil Danced: Annunciation; 2005
Lo-Fi Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1-2; Chupacabra 2005
Students of the Unusual #5: Tattoo Love Magic; 2005
“Oh!Magazine”, No. 84; cover painting; Santo Domingo; September 22, 2001
“ADMIT ONE”, Maryland Institute, College of Art Magazine; 1999
ARTICLES, REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS (abridged)
Blue Canvas TBA
Tattoo Savage Magazine TBA
Tattoo Savage Magazine TBA
REVMIAMI.com “Art Basel 2009: The Days Before” December 7, 2009
Corel® Painter Official Magazine (25) "Artist Interview" Issue 25; pp 92-95; 2009
"Fresh Art", metromix.com/artmurmur "Wrath of Baby Dead Head", January 23, 2009*
"CITY LINK" (metromix.com), Cover Story "Six Artists You Need To Know", July 23-29, 2008*
“Miami NewTimes”, (Cover Art) “Munny Shot”, page 8, January 25-31, 2007
“Miami NewTimes”, article “Shake”, January 18-24, 2001
TELEVISION, FILM & SOFTWARE
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" Season 2, Episode 8. "Garbage Pail Kids”
"Artist Welcome Page" Corel Painter X Software; 2007
Tattoo Love Magic Independent Film (tattoo design); 2006
The Four Hour Shoot “Cadeaux”, (credit art) Somers Film Festival; 2005
"The New Masters of Fantasy", multimedia cd, Epilogue.net; 2003
“El Gordo y La Flaca”, set painting; Univision Network; 2000-current
“World Cup Soccer”,designed backdrop for set; Univision Network; 2001
“Estamos Unidos”, set painting; Univision Network; 2000
RESUME
“A professor in college once told me while critiquing my artwork, ‘You make people feel sane.’ From that moment, I learned the power that art can have on its audience,” says Diaz.
"After studying commercial art and working as a graphic artist for over 10 years I found that the work that I always wanted to do was not for clients or art directors. I always felt my work was being perturbed by their views and it gave me a great deal of anxiety. The need to express myself unhindered by others was becoming increasingly clear. It has been a difficult journey that has come with many exhausting and disheartening moments. What I've been left with is my ability and desire to create, and the undefinable ghost that drives the artist."
Diaz is currently working on two series of art works. One he describes as exploring “images inspired by childhood naiveté in an unstable world…a response to the conflict between man's beautifully inventive nature and its destructive and chaotic needs." The other is his "Creatura" series where he deals with similar ideas of dualism through the use of portraiture and figurative work. The illusion of composing two or more images on top of each other is more literal than his other work, but he describes that there is something more conceptual at work than just an optical illusion. Diaz states, "This series is about combining images that have a connection to the viewer. My goal is for viewers to see individual images that they are familiar with from their youth and through entertainment, pop culture, and history. These images morph into an entirely new image that has never been seen before but still feels iconic in some way. I like the idea of combining images because duality has always intrigued me. I have always felt an inner struggle with the battle of good vs. evil and order vs. chaos. I've always felt strongly taken with these principles, and have often noticed them at play throughout my life. This fundamental pendulum affects and unites all of us, and my hope is that no matter what your background is you will be reminded of the dualities at work in your life when you view my Creatura series. Most recently I have been using images of classic monsters for my Creaturas. In the classic films the monster is usually not the physically distorted "creature", instead it is the public themselves who are monstrous and feel the need to cast away these living beings. I think Frankenstein has always been close to my heart and so I did that one first (Creatura 8).
Luis Diaz has worked as an illustrator and graphic designer for TV, web, print and interactive for over 10 years. Some clients include IDW Publishing, Devils Due, The Topps Company, Univision Network, FanTapper, Bang Productions, Miami New Times, New York City's The Village Voice, Education Weekly and the World Wrestling Entertainment. His work has been seen in Corel Painter Magazine, BLUECANVAS, ImagineFX Magazine, Ballistic's Exposé and Spectrum Fantastic Art Annuals. Diaz also created over 40 paintings for the new Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages. He was named one of 'Six Artist You Need To Know' by CITY LINK Magazine. Diaz is a graduate from The Maryland Institute, College of Art. He shares his studio with artist Liza Sylvestre.
CURRENT WORK
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