San Francisco based artist Joel Daniel Phillips examines the characters living in his neighborhood in larger than life-sized drawings. His subjects include street vendors and the homeless, each with a unique personality that Phillips captures in hyper-realistic detail. His ongoing series explores themes like how these individuals use objects to retain a sense of home, and promotes social justice. Graphite and charcoal are the only media used in Phillips’ works, recognized by Conté à Paris which just recently named him brand ambassador. With these he creates striking contrasts that single out the subject on white background, allowing the viewer to focus on the individual and consider their emotions. These are people who generally go unnoticed by the public, living in the shadows. In Phillip’s drawings, they are brought to the center stage and become the hero of their own story.
Without all of the clothes and the accessories of the modern Homo sapiens, human anatomy alone is quite strange and our smug arrogance, rather misplaced. Visualize a baby kitten next to a human infant, and you’ll see how oafish we must appear to surrounding species. New York-based artist 
Washington, DC. based artist 
The intricate drawings of 
In the series “Marquees Tropica,” illustrator