About Me

Bear is a Laotian born, first generation immigrant who is currently based in Southern California. He specializes in cartoonesque and comic book style illustrations and has been working as a professional artist since 2007. His past works include illustrating graphics for printing on merchandise and other commercial use. His current work includes traditional and digital illustrations as well as acrylic and water color paintings.

My Story

Art has been part of my life as far back as I can remember. My first memory of art is drawing side views of robots with guns and jet packs in spiral notebooks, ones that were probably meant for my studies and not doodles. As I got a little older, it was onto ninja turtles, power rangers, and any of my other favorite cartoon or comic book characters. It was something I always enjoyed and it made me happy.

When I started grade school, I began drawing from imagination for projects in class and would always be known as the kid who could draw. It became part of my identity and would follow me all the way through my high school years. After graduating and entering the “real world”, art would all but completely disappear from my life. I was attending community college, hating it, working a retail job at the mall, had a girlfriend of two years, and life was what it was.

Two pivotal things would unexpectedly happen and set my life on the course that would lead me to where I am today.

The first is when I heard a song by the band Meg & Dia while it was on the playlist of the store I was working at. They weren't playing any shows nearby at the time so I decided to go the the nearest one that was one state over from the one I lived in. It was the first time I really traveled on my own with friends and really the first time I had money to do so. The show was in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma in a small venue and there were maybe a dozen people there. It changed everything. Traveling with my friends to a place we've never been and exploring a city was all new and thrilling. Seeing a band preform live in an intimate setting and meeting them after was also something we've never gotten to do. Meg & Dia became my favorite band and their album “Something Real” is the soundtrack to some of the best years of my life. So I kept going. I traveled to new cities with Meg & Dia shows deciding the destinations for me. I got to see a lot of new places and made friends along the way. One day the band saw one of my drawings and asked me if they could use it as a graphic for one of their t-shirts. I was shocked and of course said “yes”. Never had I thought my art was something someone would value in that way. That anyone would like it enough to want to put it on something like a their band's shirt. The first time I saw my art on one of their shirts at their show and people wearing my art was a deeply profound moment in my life. From there I would go on to years of getting to do art for Meg & Dia's band merchandise, art for other bands, and graphic designs for merchandise in general. None of that would have ever happened if not for the members of Meg & Dia and their manager. Their encouragement was everything. I will always be grateful.

The second thing would come years later. I moved back to California, the place I spent my early childhood. I had been back several times for shows, made a lot of friends, and it felt like home so I decided to move back on my own. A couple years in, I met a girl I was sweet on and did an ink drawing for her on a whim. I posted it on social media and got several inquiries to purchase it. I told everyone it was gone but I could make prints if they wanted. The common response was that people wanted the original drawing and passed on prints. So I continued to make ink drawings and posted them. They would be gone as soon as they were finished and at times they would be spoken for while I was still working on them. I had done a lot of artwork for people over the years for the purpose of being printed on merchandise but this was the first time anyone wanted to have the original pieces. So again my life would change forever. I kept making more drawings and would go on to make paintings as well. I wonder if I had never met that girl and made that drawing if my life would be what it is today. It really is true how even the smallest encounters can still make a large impact in your life. What a world.

I don't know where I'd be now and if art would even be part of my life if I hadn't ventured out of my bubble and saw more of the world. I spent what little money I was making on quick trips on my days off. That money is long gone and forgotten but I made so many friends and memories that are still with me today. Life truly is short and all the money in the world can't buy back the time you lose. So friends, chase your dreams, even towards the furthest horizons. Bare your teeth and breathe deep the blowing wind. Have courage to try even with the risk of failing. Have the adventures now while you can so you can look back on your life fondly without regret. I'll try to do the same. See you out there.

-Bear