Texas Trip Oil Painting

I recently went on a trip to Fort Worth, Texas. I was surrounded by cowboy imagery, horses and a few saloons. I got do see the work of famed western illustrator Frederic Remington and got to attend my first Rodeo. I've always loved drawing cowboys so I got the idea to paint my son and I robbing a bank in the wild west.

Some Photo Reference for Bank Robbery Painting

Angel Miguel Alvarez- pencil drawing for "Texas Bank Robbery" Painting

Angel Miguel Alvarez illustration- Final Oil Painting for "Texas Bank Robbery" oil Painting 

Advanced Illustration Class for Graduate School

The new director for my MFA Program is the amazing C.F. Payne. He did a demo for us at a recent contact period and I got to try out his painting technique. He uses a combination of acrylics, watercolors, oils and colored pencils. He kept encouraging us to experiment, artist have to continuously try new things in order to grow. He said "the only one that takes a risk when creating art is the piece of paper, if it does not work out you can just throw it away." I also got some great feedback from all star illustrator Gary Kelley throughout the week encouraging me to push value, create interesting shapes and push the contrast in my work. It was an incredibly inspiring week and I'm eager to get in the studio and start experimenting.




Angel Alvarez Painting for Advance Illustration Class with C.F. Payne and Gary Kelley

Angel Alvarez- Mixed Media Illustration

University of Hartford- MFA Illustration Class of 2017

D3 Art and Design Expo- Illustration Presentation

This year I had the pleasure of presenting at the D3 Art and Design Expo, an interdisciplinary conference & expo hosted by The School of Entertainment & Design Technology at Miami Dade College. I presented to students and design professionals on a variety of illustration processes and techniques. Was really fun to hang out with art students and discuss how to overcome the challenges that many artist face.

Discussing the pencil stage of an illustration 

Drawing Priates from life

 I’ve always enjoyed drawing from life. Both classical figure drawing and costumed models. It’s an opportunity to study gesture, anatomy and add to my understanding of the figure and form. This knowledge then translates to my illustrations and my characters. I recently went to a figure drawing session to draw one of my favorite genres. Pirates.

Angel M. Alvarez- Illustrator Drawing from life.

Angel M. Alvarez- Pirate Drawings from life

Angel Alvarez Oil Painting at the De Vita Academy of Art



 Over the past few months I've had an opportunity to learn oil painting techniques from an amazing painter Tom De Vita M.F.A.  Tom is a great artist, teacher and most importantly friend. He's had tremendous success with is new art studio De Vita Academy of Art www.dvaart.com He has a great passion for art and he passes that along to every student that comes through the door. I wish him and his wife Lynda much success and happiness.

Angel M. Alvarez- Drawing and Painting at De Vita Academy

Tom De Vita- Painter and Teacher

SCBWI Florida Rising Kite Award 2016

Had a great time at the 2016 SCBWI Florida Conference. I won honorable mention for Rising Kite Illustration Competition.Congrats to all the talented illustrators that submitted entries. Thank you SCBWI Florida!!!

Angel M Alvarez SCBWI Rising Kite Honorable Mention

2016 SCBWI Florida Rising Kite Winners

MFA in Illustration at the University of Hartford

This summer I started my journey toward my MFA in Illustration at the prestigious University of Hartford Low Residency MFA Program in Illustration. Along with the All-Star faculty teaching the classes, I’m amazed by the caliber of students that have passed through this program.  Over the course of the program, we will have classes in Advanced Illustration, Children's Book Illustration, Computer Illustration, History of Illustration, Business of Illustration, etc. I will also be working g on a thesis project that will culminate in an exhibit at he Joseloff Gallery at the Hartford Art School. My expected graduation is July 2017, so I’m looking forward to this exciting opportunity.

University of Hartford- MFA Illustration Class of 2017