Ultimate Fighting Championship

This was published in Inside Kung-Fu Magazine for an article on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the United States. Two combatants are fighting in the ring, with the American flag behind them. The opponent delivering the flying side-kick is inspired by Russell Crowe and the defender blocking with a knee is modeled after Taye Diggs. I was the staff artist for the magazine from 2003 - 2007. I kept the blends rough and pasted some paper textures on overlapping layers with different degrees of opacity to give it an oil painterly effect. At first I was going to paint some guys wrestling with Ju Jitsu submission holds on the the ground but I thought a flying back kick would look more dynamic. The defending guy is about to block the kick with his arm so it would actually be a draw. I actually broke my right ankle when my instructor did a scissor take down on me. He was more than twice my body weight and my shoes got stuck on the mat. It's been over a year since my surgery and I'm back in kung fu. No more sparring for me says my husband. Painting martial arts is not as fun as doing it.