Having honed his skills on napkins and notebooks, Justin Gabbard picked up a BFA from California College of the Arts. He then packed his pencils and swapped coasts for New York City, where he attended the Illustration as Visual Essay program at the School of Visual Arts, earning an MFA.
Scraps of city life filter through his Second Avenue studio, where he works with gouache and paper. His world is earnestly conveyed in almost-askew shapes, sooty shades betraying a warmth below the crust. Milky color and spirited brush strokes give his images a hand-hewn, hushed splendor. Afterward, he washes out his brushes.