The Work - artbyescobar.com

Every piece here was drawn or painted by hand, one at a time — no prints, no shortcuts, no AI. Some were commissions. Some I made because the subject wouldn’t leave me alone. It’s all the same work I’d bring to yours.

Paintings — Oil and Acrylic

Portraits, plus the things that pull me in on my own time: chrome, steel, and the corners of old Los Angeles.

Oil painting of two women posing together on a sunlit street — The Models
Two figures in warm afternoon light, painted from my own photograph.

Black-and-white acrylic portrait of Marilyn Monroe in a white gown — Marilyn Monroe
Painted from a classic studio portrait.

Oil portrait of Jim Morrison in deep violet — Jim Morrison
Worked almost entirely in a single deep violet.

Oil portrait of the musician Sting — Sting
“Nothing Like the Sun” album cover, 1987

Oil portrait of Duke Ellington in a blue coat at a microphone — Duke Ellington

Oil portrait of jazz saxophonist Ben Webster in a hat — Ben Webster
The tenor giant, painted from a classic session photo.

Oil painting of a chrome Ford Mustang emblem on a red background — Mustang
The running-horse emblem on a sheet of bright red steel.

Oil painting of a vintage pale-blue DeSoto, showing the badge and tail fin — DeSoto
A close study of chrome and lacquer on a vintage tail fin.

S1700
The front end of a working school bus, down to the latch and the rivets.

Oil painting of the rear of a vintage blue truck with round tail lights — Red, White & Blue
The back of an old rig — steel panels, tail lamps, and a length of chain.

Oil painting of Mao Zedong posters on a wall — Revolution
Sun-bleached posters peeling off a wall on the boulevard.

Oil painting of a storefront — Urban Development
A slice of Los Angeles — a sign shop, a wall of band posters

Colored Pencil

Layer over layer, by hand. The monochrome pieces are drawn on toned or black paper, where the light gets built up rather than left behind.

Colored pencil drawing of a worn cowboy boot with a spur — The Spur
A worn boot, stirrup, and spur — a quiet Western still life.

Butch
An old hand with a long white beard.

Colored pencil collage of a young boy shown in several poses — Growing Up
One boy at five different stages, gathered into a single portrait.

Colored pencil portrait of a mother and father touching foreheads with their baby — Family
A young family, foreheads together. Drawn from their own photo.

Colored pencil drawing of a horse's head — The Horse
A portrait in monochrome colored pencil, from mane to muzzle.

Colored pencil portrait of a rust-colored dog against a blue background — Winter Lab
A labrador against cool blue.

Colored pencil portrait of John Lennon in round glasses — John Lennon
Wire rims and all.

Colored pencil drawing of a sleeping baby cuddling a teddy bear, in sepia tones — Sleeping
A child and a well-loved bear.

Colored pencil portrait of Michelle Pfeiffer against a blue background — Michelle Pfeiffer
From Scarface.

Colored pencil portrait of a woman holding a young child in warm tones — The Girls
My wife and daughter, cheek to cheek.

Colored pencil portrait of two brothers in warm tones — The Brothers
Two boys, drawn from a single sitting.

Colored pencil portrait of John Coltrane in blue tones on a black background — Blue Trane
John Coltrane between takes.

Colored pencil drawing of two sleeping newborns in blue knit hats — Twins
Two newborns asleep in matching knit caps.

Colored pencil portrait of Clint Eastwood as the Outlaw Josey Wales, holding revolvers — The Outlaw Josey Wales
Clint Eastwood. Monochrome colored pencil.

Colored pencil portrait of a young girl with braided hair — Pearls
My daughter, in her grandmother’s pearls.

Colored pencil portrait of a smiling older couple embracing — The Couple
Drawn from their own photo, cheek to cheek.

Colored pencil drawing of jazz musicians Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie on stage at Birdland — Bird and Diz
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, two jazz giants, side by side.

Colored pencil portrait of a gray tabby cat with blue eyes — Milky
A cat, drawn from the family’s photo.

Graphite portrait of a Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo, smoking, leaning against a wall — Ratso
Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy.

Colored pencil family portrait — The Paglias
A father, mother, and daughter, drawn from their own photo.

Colored pencil portrait of Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface — Tony Montana
Al Pacino from Scarface.

Colored pencil portrait of actor Toshiro Mifune in violet tones — Toshiro Mifune
The samurai’s over-the-shoulder stare, in violet and white.

Colored pencil portrait of Audrey Hepburn in warm reddish tones — Audrey Hepburn
Red and white pencils, nothing else.

Colored pencil portrait of a man in sunglasses and a yellow shirt — Keith
From a sunlit afternoon photo.

Black-and-white colored pencil portrait of John Coltrane playing saxophone — John Coltrane
Built up in white and grey over black, lit like a stage. One of my favorites.

Colored pencil portrait of actor James Stewart in a cowboy hat — Jimmy Stewart
From a movie still.

Colored pencil portrait of John Wayne in a cowboy hat — Duke
John Wayne

Portraits of public figures are shown as examples of my work and are not for sale. Commissions are for personal subjects — your family, your pets, your own photos.

See something close to what you have in mind?

Send me your photo and I’ll tell you what I’d do with it. Portraits ship nationally, with local pickup here in the Lexington area. Most take three to four weeks.

Request a Commission