Mxkly / My Kim Dao

Author: Mxkly

  • All of my Stuff as Stickers

    All of my Stuff as Stickers

    Illustrator | 2024

    Digitally illustrated drawings of all my personal items to create a pastel sticker sheet poster. Each object was transformed into playful icons that when came together created all of my belongings in one poster.

  • Corvus Corax

    Corvus Corax

    Ink and Paper | 2024

    Using Micron inks and crosshatching techniques on a 12×18 paper, this scientific illustration showcases a full body raven, in flight, and a skull anatomy. Each drawing is meticulously labeled with scientific anatomical terminology.

    Also noted, this piece was selected to be in ‘Emerging Visions‘ in Buffalo State’s first student exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center in over two decades!

    Behind the Scenes:

    Working with traditional media is meticulous especially using a cross-hatching technique throughout the piece but I think it is so worth it when seeing the rich black inks come to life.

  • Inbetween

    Inbetween

    Kodak Tri-X 400 film, Fujica 35mm camera | 2023

    Captured on film while strolling through the streets of Buffalo, NY, this photograph was taken in-between two trees while showing the door of a house at the end.

    I thought the composition of the two tall almost symmetrical trees was so beautiful and when I noticed the door at the end, it was the perfect picture.

    Also noted, this piece was selected to be displayed for Buffalo on Film and CEPA Gallery at Cass Gallery!

    Behind the Scenes:

    Learning to develop my own film and work in the darkroom at Buffalo State was one of the most rewarding experiences of my creative practice. There is something deeply gratifying about the process especially watching an image you captured slowly come to life in the developer tray made my love for analog photography grow in a way I did expect. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the patience, intention, and craft that goes into every single frame.

  • Coil Vessel Vase

    Coil Vessel Vase

    Ceramics | 2023

    I will be completely honest, working with clay is not my favorite medium. I am not the biggest fan of the feeling of wet, slimy clay on my hands, and that alone was a challenge in itself.

    But there was something about the process of building this coil vase by hand that was unexpectedly meditative once I got into it.

    The roses, thorns, and stars motif was carved into the surface using Sgraffito, a technique where the top layer of slip is scratched away to reveal the contrast beneath.

    Seeing the design emerge through the carving made the whole experience worth it, and it gave me a deeper appreciation for the patience and craft that ceramic work demands even if I will probably never love the feeling of wet clay on my hands

  • Graphite Lips Study

    Graphite Lips Study

    Graphite and Paper | 2022

    There is something about graphite that I keep coming back to, it is calming and endlessly rewarding.

    This study was made using General’s Kimberly 525 graphite pencils, building up layers gradually to push the values as dark as they could go.

    The process of replicating an image through graphite alone is the kind of work I could lose hours in without noticing.