Medium: Acrylic, Pastel, Photoshop
It was Fall 1999 when I took Kazu Sano's Acrylic Figure Painting class. He gave me the best advice as an aspiring illustrator. He would come and show his class his fantastic paintings every session. One memory I remember was my self portrait. I really didn't take much time to go into detail and make this portrait work. I was little frustrated painting it. When it was time for the homework critique, Kazu said something in my painting that I never saw. Unlike some teachers, they would be brutally honest and say what they really feel. He saw feeling and emotion in my piece. My technique wasn't much, but he saw the potential I had. Maybe he knew that that I did not have enough time to paint it. As the sessions progressed, I realized he was very kind and patient man and saw each and everyone's potential. He even suggested me to take a look of a work of an artist he thinks may influence me. I totally missed out on the day he released his art book. However, I did let him sign my stamps of the 20th Century Stamp Series: the 70s. His works have inspired me a lot and make me work on the acrylic medium more.
My tribute is a collection of works from his class. From left to right, I have a classwork figure study, a homework assignment and my Final. They are in the background and slightly darker. In the foreground is my self portrait featuring my eyes. This piece was done on pastel. I originally thought about doing it in acrylic, but due to time constraints I went for a medium I was comfortable with. I later imported those four drawings to Photoshop and put everything together. The slight transparency effect on the self portrait in the foreground is a small homage to the techniques Kazu uses in his paintings. I call this piece, "In my Eyes." Kazu once mentioned that painting the eyes does tell a story.
On the first week of October, I received the Academy of Art University Alumni paper. In the front page was a portrait of Kazu and it read Remembering Kazu Sano. I was in disbelief. Maybe he was retiring from teaching, but it was not. I was totally shocked hearing about his passing. This art project was something I had to do to pay tribute to a man who touched my life and so did everyone around the world. A great teacher who I will never forget. Your teachings and wisdom will forever be with me. Thank you Kazu.
-Jeffrey Caballero-
BFA Illustration 2001
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