Some recent sketches...

Hello!  Just rounding up some recent people sketches...

(taken with Instagram)

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year!  Or "chúc mừng năm mới" as I would say to my family :)  Hope the Year of the Snake is a joyous & prosperous one, and full of new beginnings.

Some sketches from this month...

Hello!  Just thought I'd round up some sketches from this month...

(taken with Instagram)

Thanks for visiting :)

Happy New Year! Just a brief catch-up post...

Happy New Year, everyone!  I certainly plan on posting more this year, but thought I'd share a few things from the end of 2012 in the meantime.  Here are some holidoodles (holiday doodles), which were given to some of my friends:

(taken with Instagram)

And here are a few sketches done at a recent visit to Congregation Ale House in Pasadena:

(taken with Instagram)

Looking forward to a great year.  Thanks for visiting!

"Little Do They Know" (December 2012) - Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays, everyone!  Below is this year's "Little Do They Know" holiday card.  Here's the outside of the card...

And here's the inside...

Wishing my family & friends a wonderful holiday season...I've learned so much over the recent years, met so many great people & I feel very thankful for all of the ongoing support, encouragement, and inspiration.

PS.  Love you, Mom & Dad :) So happy to spend Christmas with you, Ong Ba, and the rest of our family this year.

Piece for "Retroholic Art Show" (12/7/12)

If you're out & about in the LA area tonight, perhaps you might want to check out the Retroholic Art Show taking place in Westchester, CA from 4pm - 10pm.  I'm happy to be participating alongside many friends & artists...below is my piece:

"Hot Cocoa Party" (original framed 9" x 12" watercolor, pencil, gouache)
Price:  $125

Here is some additional info:

Retroholic Art Show
Friday, December 7th from 4pm - 10pm
6249 87th St.
Westchester, CA 90045

Thanks to my friends Elena & Sarah at Honey Tree / Honey Haus for inviting & curating.  This is just a one-night cash & carry show...so hope to see you there & thanks for the support!

Just a few sketches & updates...

Squeezing in a post at the end of the month...here are a few recent sketches & updates...

It's been a while since I've gone sketching, so I recently joined my friend Erik Caines to check out the Congregation Ale House in Pasadena earlier this week...below are some sketches from the night:

(Taken with Instagram - Early Bird and Hefe filters)

I'm also happy to be a part of a couple of upcoming events...

First off, my friends at Honey Tree / Honey Haus are presenting their next pop-up "Retroholic" art show, which takes place next Friday, December 7th from 4pm-10pm in Westchester, CA.  I'm excited to be participating alongside many friends & artists.  I'll be posting my piece soon...but in the meantime, below is the flyer for the event:

Thanks, Elena & Sarah at Honey Tree for inviting & curating!

Last but not least, Capcom's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Global Tournament Series - Grand Finals will be taking place on Saturday, December 8th in San Francisco.  I'll be exhibiting & selling limited framed, signed prints of my previous series (pictured below) originally done for the Street Fighter X Tekken launch party.

Many more talented artists will be exhibiting their work at this event!  Click here for more event details & a list of participating artists.  Big thanks to Eric Phan at Tsunami Syndicate for inviting & curating this art exhibit.

Thanks for visiting!

"Monstoberfest" Art Show (10/13/12)

Hello! I'm happy to participate again – alongside other friends & artists – in this year's 3rd annual "Monstoberfest" art show at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim, CA – which opens this Saturday (10/13) at 7pm.  Below is my piece for the show:

"Amateur Night" (12" x 16" framed original watercolor & pencil)
Price:  $125

And here is some more info for the show...should be fun!

Thanks to Irene Mendonis and the folks at Rothick for inviting / curating.  Hope to see you there!

The Drawing Club - "Red Sonja" theme (9/6/12)

Ahh I've been so bad at posting :P  Before more time passes, here are some sketches from the 9/6/12 session of The Drawing Club.  Stacy Walker posed for the "Red Sonja" theme:

For more information on The Drawing Club and to see results by other artists, please visit:  www.thedrawingclub.com 
I'll be back soon...thanks for visiting!

"Wild Things"

Below is a gift for my friends Tracy and Teresa, who recently gave birth to triplets!  Their nursery is themed after "The Cat in the Hat"...so needless to say, this piece features a couple of Dr. Seuss's iconic mischievous characters (plus one)...

"Wild Things" (9" x 12" pencil & watercolor)
Taken with Instagram / Kelvin filter

Congratulations & best wishes, Tracy and Teresa! :D

Artwork for "J-Pop Explosion" Art Show (7/13/12)

If you happen to be in the San Francisco area tomorrow night (July 13), perhaps you might want to check out the "J-Pop Explosion" art show at Big Umbrella Studios from 7pm-11pm.  This show features art inspired by Japanese pop culture, and I'll have a couple pieces in there alongside many other cool artists.

Below is a new piece drawn specifically for this show (inspired, needless to say, by Hayao Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro"):

"Keeper of the Living Room Floor" (framed original 9" x 12" watercolor & pencil)
Price:  $100

Also available at this show is a signed limited print of a piece originally done for the Street Fighter X Tekken release party earlier this year:

"Spinning Plush Kick!" (framed 9" x 12" limited signed print)
Price:  $40

Last but not least, below is the flier for the show, with the complete address for Big Umbrella Studios:

For more information on this event & to see a complete list of artists, please click here.  Special thanks to friends & artists Rick Kitagawa and Eve Skylar for inviting me to participate and for curating this show. Thanks for the support!

"Illustrated Legends of the Old West" Book Available at San Diego Comic-Con

I'm really happy to be a part of the "Illustrated Legends of the Old West" art book – a collaborative collection of artwork by over 40 artists worldwide, published by Tiki Machine, LLC.  Below is my illustration for the book, as well as an image of the book cover:

"Young'uns!" (watercolor & colored pencil) by Vivian Nguyen

Cover for "Illustrated Legends of the Old West" featuring artwork by Justin Rodrigues,
Maxwell Oginni, Bruno Chekerdimian, Chuck Patton, Sah Tantivaranyoo, and Beth Sleven

This book will finally make its soft-release debut this Saturday & Sunday (7/14-15) at San Diego Comic-Con!  Limited advanced copies will be available.  You can stop by the following SDCC exhibitor booths & tables to check out the book in person (and be sure to check out these artists' other wonderful works & wares too :)

Eric Gonzalez and Erich Haeger at their Muertoons Booth #1802

Sara Jerzykowski and Greg Rankin at Booth #1945

Mark McDonnell at his Cre8tiveMarks Table I-05

Travis Hanson at his Bean Leaf Press Table E-11

Lesley Vamos at her Small Press Table L-06

If you're interested in purchasing a book, but you're unable to attend the Con, please be sure to check out the online store at tikimachine.com within a few weeks after the convention.
I will also eventually have some books on hand, and may be contacted directly at vivian@viviandesigns.com if anyone is interested in a signed copy for purchase.

Thanks for the support – and a big thanks to Mike Collins at Tiki Machine for inviting all of us to be a part of this book!  It's a treat to participate alongside such amazing talent.  For a list of all contributing artists, please click here.

KWESTONE Online Store Now Open

My friend Kwestone just opened up an online store, which includes many of the fantastic limited-run art prints that he and Dou Hong sold at Anime Expo last weekend.

He was even nice enough to include 5" x 7" prints of my art from the Street Fighter X Tekken Release Party in his shop (thanks, Kwestone!).  So I just wanted to at least help spread the word & hope you'll stop by and take a look.

Here's a note from the artist himself, as well as images from his shop:
"THE KWESTONE ONLINE STORE IS NOW OPEN!  Just go to kwestonestore.bigcartel.com and shop away!  I posted most of what I was selling at Anime Expo.  Art Prints, Mini Prints, Buttons, and Art Toys!  I'll be putting some new items and new deals each week.  And since it's my Grand Opening...if you spend $15 or more, type in (GRANDOPENING) at the checkout, I'll give you 20% off your entire order!  Woot!  This deal will be good till the end of August.  When you get the chance, stop on by kwestonestore.bigcartel.com!"

kwestonestore.bigcartel.com

By the way, if you're on Instagram, you can follow him at @kwestone to receive a special code to redeem this exclusive (limited 50) print & button set, as a thank-you gift from the artist :)

(artwork by Kwestone)

Piece for "ISM: 10" Exhibition (7/7/12)

Below is a piece for the "ISM: 10" Exhibition opening this Saturday (July 7) at the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana, CA.  This exhibition celebrates 10 years of creativity for ISM: A Community Project.  I'm happy to have a piece in there, alongside dozens of other artists.  For this event, we were asked to define our own "ism" (liberalism, humanism, etc.).  So...this is my take on optimism:

"OptimISM" (11" x 14" framed watercolor & pencil)

Here is some basic info for the opening reception:

ISM: 10 Exhibition

Opening Reception:  Saturday, July 7 (7pm - 10pm)

Grand Central Art Center

125 N. Broadway

Santa Ana, CA 92701

For more information on this event & to see a list of other participating artists, please visit:  http://ismcommunity.org/ism10

Hope to see you there & thanks for the support!

This piece is dedicated to Rob :) oxox

Random sketches & updates

Squeezing in a post for the tail end of June...here's a batch of random sketches over the past few sketch outings (including SketchCrawl 35).

Here's a sneak peak of a piece titled "Young'uns!" as part of a cowboy legends anthology book (featuring many other amazing fellow artists) published by Tiki Machine, LLC.  This book will be sold at San Diego Comic-Con in a couple weeks...more details to come in a future post!

"Young'uns!" (photo taken with Instagram & Early Bird filter)

And "Little Do They Know" gets a little reboot with the doodle below :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be posting again soon :)