HONOLULU, HI.- Painter, illustrator, and graphic designer Brian Drake has recently partnered with Printscapes.com, an online art store. Printscapes.com now features Drake’s work for purchase as prints on paper or canvas, with a variety of framing options.

Drake, who currently lives and works in Scottsdale , Arizona , came to his present occupation as a visual artist in a roundabout fashion. His first artistic endeavors were actually in the musical field. At the age of 17, he had his initial experience with graphic design and commercial illustration while working with the jacket designers for a pop album he was recording.

In 1991, Drake landed a job designing flyers for a youth hostel in Boston , while attending music school. From here, he launched himself into what would turn out to be years of illustration and design work which paid the bills while he pursued his music dreams in various cities from Chicago to New York .

Eventually, Drake opened his commercial design studio in Scottsdale , and in 2005 began experimenting with mixed media collages between projects as a means of self expression. In 2006, he started painting with acrylics and realized that he had found the artistic medium closest to his heart. He feels that his abstract paintings are like his music, in that they are improvisations meant to express pure emotion.

It wasn’t long before people started to notice Drake’s artwork. One of the first collages in his stamp series was bought by a local hotel designer, who later asked Drake to furnish the artwork for one of his hotel projects. As a designer himself, Drake is accustomed to working collaboratively, and was thrilled at the opportunity to work on a project that required so much artwork.

Drake has gone on to work on many other hotel projects and commissions. He recently completed the artwork for a hotel in China and is currently working on pieces for a Hyatt Regency in Arizona and the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Washington DC . He begins all of his projects by asking emotion based questions, as he knows that the artwork will set the tone for the space.

Drake says that he lives, eats and breathes design and is first and foremost inspired by culture, although landscape also admittedly plays a role. Many of his paintings have a vertical format, yet seem to depict the horizon line, suggesting a representation of man within the landscape. Along with music, he cites literature and Eastern ideologies as influences.

You are invited to view Drake’s collages, paintings, and digital illustrations at http://www.printscapes.com/content/p/9?searchVar=Brian%20Drake