Leonardo.

Hello everyone! I recently became a member of the Autumn Society so I could participate in the Ninja Turtle tribute. Thank you for the invite, Jeffro and Chogrin! I hope to contribute to other events as well.

Back story:

In 1986 my older brother came home with the comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (issue 7). Prior to seeing the TMNT comic my only real exposure to comics was in Mad Magazine. This was a turning point for me. I had always liked drawing but I never seemed to know where it would go. The TMNT comic, as well as the artists at Mirage Studios, inspired me more than I could ever explain here. 

I have always preferred the raw grittiness of the original b+w comics hence the flavor of my illustration. I drew this sketch back in 2003 but put it to color in the past week. I hope everyone enjoys my piece. This is illustration is out of the norm for me so it was a lot of fun to work on. I may have to do more.

Also, I have to mention that I had a one shot comic in TMNT #57 back in '96 that can be seen on my blog here if you're interested.

I will be at the Autumn Society Ninja Turtle tribute art show in Philadelphia this Friday, June 3 (more info below) from 6 - 9pm. I will be selling this piece at the show in a nice expensive frame. I'm not sure if it is okay to sell prints but I will find out asap. I will also have copies of my Which Art Student Are You? book (as seen on the right side of the blog) for purchase. Look for the short guy wearing the green TCRI canister shirt. Really.