Crazy 4 Cult 8: Back In LA!

Another year has flown by, and it's time for Crazy 4 Cult to return, but this time, it's returned home to the loving arms of Los Angeles.

A few weeks prior to the show opening, I was asked by Gallery 1988 if I would be interested in creating the poster for this years show. 4 years ago I was first invited to be a part of this show that I loved attending. I never imagined that 4 short years later, i'd be creating the main image that encapsulates this renowned gallery exhibit.

My first pass at a title treatment.

It's a huge honor that they would ask me to create this poster, so I knew I wanted to do something very different than what i'm known for in the Gallery. Something that looked unique and iconic, something that subtly referenced the 80's, but felt at home in 2014. Normally, i'd start with a sketch or writing down a list of movies I wanted to include in the piece, but I started with the title, to get the feeling across I was going for.

Character lay-ins for composition

Next up, I gathered some iconic images of characters from movies that I wanted to include in the poster image. I laid them all out in the composition that I felt worked best. The next step was to then create the final artwork over this "sketch". The final poster image is hand drawn (in photoshop...) using this image as the template.

To purchase this 18" x 24" poster, click HERE

After cleaning up all the line work, I added in some Los Angeles specific elements as well as lightning bolts because lightning is AWESOME!

In addition to creating the poster image, I have another entry in my "Storytime" series based off of one of the weirdest, deepest, and most interesting movies i've ever seen...

To purchase this print, click HERE

Crazy 4 Cult is a Gallery 1988 tradition that i've been thrilled to be a part of for the past 4 years. If you stopped by the opening, thanks for coming out! If you're in the Los Angeles area between December 12th - 28th, and you love unique film art, you'll definitely want to check it out!

"Crazy 4 Cult 8: Back In LA"
Dec. 12th - 28th
Gallery 1988 West
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
www.gallery1988.com 

Thirty Three and a Third @ Gallery 1988

This show is pretty awesome, and i've done something a little different for it, but still very close to my heart. For this show now open at Gallery 1988 (East), artists were asked to recreate some of their favorite album covers in their style. I knew immediately which album I would choose to do for the show, the only problem is... it's not really an actual album, and it doesn't really have an actual album cover (though there is a fan created cover that has become the standard).

Songs From The Black Hole... where to start. If you're a Weezer fan, then i'm sure you've heard of this lost gem. After the huge success of Weezer (The Blue Album), Rivers Cuomo decided he'd follow up perfection with a very deep concept album with a sci-fi theme. Well, things changed, Rivers changed, and ultimately Songs From The Black Hole was scrapped. Some songs were moved over to their new album, Pinkerton, while some songs got locked away in the vault.

Prints are available by clicking HERE

A few songs were released as B-Sides from Pinkerton, and slowly over the years, more songs started leaking out. There are some incredible songs on this "album" and hopefully someday it gets it's time to shine. For more information about this rock opera that was never meant to be, click this link HERE.

Below are a few tracks that I love from SFTBH... sit back, relax, and imagine what could have been...

"Blast Off" This track opens the album and blew my mind the first time I heard it.

"You Won't Get With Me Tonight"

"Superfriend" This was written as a duet, it has an incredible melody. 

"I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams" This ended up as a Pinkerton B-Side, love that moog.

"Longtime Sunshine" Depending on the tracklist, this closes the album, and is pretty excellent.

Thirty Three and a Third is open now at Gallery 1988 East and closes December 21st. There's a ton of amazing artwork in this show from some incredible artists. Definitely don't miss it!

"Thirty Three and a Third"
December 5-21st
Gallery 1988 East
7021 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
www.nineteeneightyeight.com

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I've been a big Weezer fan for years. I even got to hang out with them at the Playboy Mansion for the day... (A.K.A. one of the best days of my life!) You can see a 25 year old me at the .44 second mark...

Joss Whedon X Gallery1988

Joss stopped by the opening and I was able to snag a shot of him with my artwork!

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A few years ago at San Diego Comic Con, during a Q&A in ballroom 20, someone asked Joss Whedon a question about his favorite fan art. During a very awesome and thoughtful answer, he mentioned that he hoped Gallery 1988 would one day do a tribute to his work with an art show. Well everybody... get ready.

It's no secret that i'm a huge fan of the man. A few years ago I created this tribute to the crew of the Serenity with "River Tam & The Fireflies". That piece really kickstarted my career as a pop-culture artist. As I was working on that idea, I never imagined the places it would take me... The following year for the next Crazy 4 Cult show, I made another one for "Dr. Horrible".  And Then... my amazing wife (girlfriend at the time), Kristin got me hooked on Buffy. I created this "Buffy and the Scoobies" piece for her.

I'm so happy to be a part of this show. I've been a Joss fan for years, and I can't wait to see all of the artwork at the show! When I was planning out what to do for my solo show "Storytime", the first three things I wrote down on my list of MUSTS for the show was Firefly, Buffy, and Dr. Horrible. When I presented my list to the gallery, they suggested that maybe I put those aside as they had something in the works that those would be perfect for. I got VERY excited, and i'm happy that I finally got to do them.  Without further ado (about nothing)... here's my artwork for the Tribute to Joss Whedon show at Gallery 1988!

Shiny! Get this print by clicking HERE! SOLD OUT!!

Scoobies! Get this print by clicking HERE! SOLD OUT!!

Balls! Get this print by clicking HERE!

This show is going to be amazing, so if you're a fan of Joss Whedon, Buffy, Firefly, Dr. Horrible, Angel, Cabin In The Woods, Much Ado About Nothing, or anything else this creative genius has been responsible for... please, come. You won't want to miss it. Fingers crossed for a Dollhouse piece :)

Also... though it's not a part of this show, my "Avengers" print from my solo show "Storytime" will also be available to purchase at the gallery! Again, this piece is only available through the gallery (at Marvel's request) and not online. So if you're coming out to the show, you can pick one up (unless they're sold out).

The show opens this Friday, September 5th from 7-10pm. I'm sure the turnout is going to be insane, so don't miss out on the fun!

"Joss Whedon X Gallery1988"
Gallery 1988 (West)
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
http://www.gallery1988.com

"Storytime - A Little Gallery Show" at Gallery 1988!

This is something I never in a million years thought would happen; I had my very own solo show at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. I'm a little over a week late in posting this, but it's been such a busy, crazy, exhausting, and time consuming experience, that I'm just now finding the time to sit down and write about it.

Prints from the show (that aren't sold out) are available to purchase by clicking HERE

The show is now in it's last week at the EAST location in Hollywood, and it's been so wonderful to have such a great response to the show.

Late last year, I was asked if I was interested in doing a solo show of my Little Golden Books series. My first thought was, "seriously?". Just over 5 years ago, I left full-time employment, stability (to some extent), a consistent paycheck, and above all, a wonderful group of friends who are all beyond excellent in their respective fields of Video Game development. At the time, being a gallery artist wasn't even a glimmer of a dream, but here I find myself... Interesting how sometimes the best things in life are the things you never expected to happen.

On Friday, August 1st, Gallery 1988 and I opened my first solo show "Storytime" where I took 50 of some of my favorite Movies, Music, TV Shows, and Video Games, and turned them into artwork inspired by the Little Golden Books series. For several months, I worked in secrecy, not even my Wife would see what I had done until it was hanging up on the walls at the gallery.

I'm very proud of this collection of work. The responses I have received from people and press have been overwhelming. I can't thank Gallery 1988 enough for their continued support of my work, and of the work of independent artists from all over, and most of all, if you're reading this, thank you. Thank you for following my work, for supporting what I do, and for helping to allow me to do what I do.

As part of my show, I wanted to do something special with a focus on charity. With the help of the awesome folks at Marvel, I created this one-of-a-kind framed album artwork featuring "The Guardians of the Galaxy". For $5 you can buy a raffle ticket, as many as you want, and when the show closes, we'll draw one winner, and you'll get to take this home! We'll even ship it to you if you live far away! The best part of this is 100% of the proceeds from this raffle with go towards Child's Play Charity.

To purchase a raffle ticket to win this piece, click HERE

Without further ado... here is a small sampling of the work from my show "Storytime - A Little Gallery Show":

To order this print, click HERE

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There's plenty more in the show, so if you're in the LA area, head on down to Gallery 1988 (East) to check out the show! It runs until August 16th! More info below.

"Storytime" at Gallery 1988 (East)
August 1-16th
7021 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.gallery1988.com 

Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary @ Gallery 1988

30. Years. ... 30. Ghostbusters celebrates a big milestone this year, and Columbia Pictures decided to celebrate by working with Gallery 1988 to put on a traveling art show as a birthday gift to the fans.

Gallery 1988 is loading up the ECTO-1 with tons of awesome artwork and hitting the road! First stop is New York City, home to the infamous Ghostbusters. The Gallery is really close to the Firestation Ray, Egon, Peter, and Winston called home.

Seeing Ghostbusters is one of my earliest memories from my childhood. I had all the toys, the proton pack that didn't look anything like the one in the movie, but my brother and I felt like we were actually busting ghosts. I'm super excited to be a part of this show, I believe this film is partially responsible (along with the Christopher Walken film "Communion") for my obsessive interest in the paranormal and all things ghosts. I guess also growing up in a haunted house that had a permanent (and often times friendly) ghostly presence probably helped add to that... I'm super excited to be a part of this show, here's my work for the Official Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary Show at Gallery 1988:

Prints will be available through the gallery, and I've also created a framed album, with the official Ghostbusters Soundtrack vinyl LP included!:

Bustin' makes me feel good

I've added a custom record label to the record!

The show will be making it's way around the country, starting in New York City This Saturday, April 19th, 2014. Then it comes to Los Angeles, then Chicago, and then makes it's final destination in San Diego for the San Diego Comic Con!!!

Here are the dates of the cities it will be visiting, for more info please visit http://www.ghostbusters30th.com

New York City: April 19-26
Los Angeles: May 17-June 1st
Chicago: June 20-22
San Diego: Comic-Con (if you don't know when that is... it's too late to get tickets, so don't bother!)

There's an amazing list of artists for this show, so there's bound to be something for everyone! If there's something strange in your neighborhood, you know who to call.

10 Year Anniversary Show @ Gallery 1988: Insert Coin(s)

10 years. That's a really long time, especially for an art gallery, let alone an art gallery on Melrose in Hollywood. But yet, here we are. Friday, April 11th, Gallery 1988 is celebrating their 10 year anniversary with a brand new show full of awesome art!

After leaving the Video Game industry 5 years ago, Jensen and Katie invited me to my first Gallery show at Gallery 1988, where they allowed me to hang my work on their walls. I think I sold 1 print... but it was an awesome feeling. I was sure they'd never invite me back, but... just a few months later, they did! And now, 5 years on, i'm a regularly featured artist with them, and I can't thank them enough for what they have done for me. It has been an honor working with these fine folks over the years, I can't imagine my life without Gallery 1988.

For the 10 year show, I decided to travel back to the 80's, when hair was big and fashion was bad. The Arcade is a relic of the past, but I believe, just like Vinyl, it's slowly making a comeback. There's nothing quite like a great arcade experience. For this show, I was inspired by two excellent films, "TR0N" and "The Last Starfighter", and I decided to paint arcade cabinets based off of the nonexistent arcade games from those films.

Here are my pieces for Gallery 1988's 10 year anniversary show "The Subtle Art of Pop-Culture":

"Space Paranoids" inspired by Tron

To purchase a print, click HERE

"Starfighter" inspired by The Last Starfighter

To purchase a print, click HERE

I had a chance to play "Space Paranoids" at Flynn's Arcade a few years ago when Disneyland turned part of California Adventure into the Tron-themed "ElecTRONica". I wish they had kept it as a permanent thing, but sadly, it's gone, but at least I still have my token from Comic-Con to remind me of the good times.

Atari made many mistakes over the years, one of which was never actually producing a real version of "Starfighter" like they promised in the credits of the movie... what a missed opportunity.

Happy 10th birthday Gallery 1988! Thank you for the great work you do, for helping me share my artwork with others, and for putting trust and value in what I do. Here's to the next 10 years.

I will have framed artwork of the prints above (in swanky glossy black frames!) as well as signed/numbered prints available.

"The Subtle Art of Pop-Culture"
Gallery 1988 (West)
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
http://www.gallery1988.com

I'd also quickly like to direct you to two places that I feel everyone should know about.

A really amazing Arcade/Bar "EightyTwo" has just opened in Los Angeles, and it's stocked with an amazing range of arcade games from Fighters, to Classic Retro games, Pinball Machines, and sit-down racers. Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/eightytwola You won't be sorry.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas, do yourself a favor and visit "The Pinball Hall of Fame". It's a 10,000 square foot warehouse LOADED with pinball machines from the 1950's up to current tables. Bring some dollars, and get ready to lose some hours... http://www.pinballmuseum.org

Adventure Time @ Gallery 1988!! Mathematical!

Adventure Time

C'mon grab your friends,

We'll go to very distant lands

With Jake the Dog

and Finn the Human

The fun will never end,

It's ADVENTURE TIME!

Gallery 1988 is teaming up with Cartoon Network for an extremely limited time, a gallery show of artwork inspired by the amazingly incredible show, "Adventure Time"!

I remember seeing a clip of Adventure Time a few years back on a blog. The headline was something to the effect of "Adventure Time is your new addiction". How do you not click on that? The show is right up my alley. Inspired by a combination of Dungeons & Dragons (CHECK) and Video-Games (CHECK!) It has such an excellent style that is totally unique and (at the time) completely different than anything i'd seen before, and all of that is thanks to the creative genius, Pendleton Ward.

I'm very excited to be a part of this show. The great thing about Adventure Time is that it inspires creativity not only in children, but in adults too, or like in my case, adult-children. It has a great sense of fun that I hope shows through in my work.

Here are my two prints for the show: 

"The Little Adventurers - Finn and Jake"

To purchase this print, click HERE

"The Little Adventurers - Fionna and Cake"

To purchase this print, click HERE

Both of these will be available in prints that are signed/numbered, as well as framed artwork to purchase at the Gallery!

So, c'mon grab your friends!

To attend you must RSVP! rsvpgallery1988@gmail.com 

"Gallery 1988 and Cartoon Network presents: Adventure Time"

Gallery 1988 (West)

7308 Melrose Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90046

http://www.gallery1988.com

For The Love of Nintendo - Little Video Game Books Vol. 3

I got a really nice little write-up on one of my favorite game sites Kotaku!
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Nintendo has been going through a rough time lately. This isn't the first time they've found themselves in this position, but this time, something feels different. I have been holding out on picking up an Xbox One or a PS4 until some better games come out, but I recently purchased a Wii U because it has some great games RIGHT NOW.

It's a good little system with some major issues (i'm looking at you gamepad battery life and overall uselessness) But the games... oh the games! They're fantastic! Nintendo has created some of the most memorable characters. I would say that Mario is as important to our culture as Mickey Mouse. I hope Nintendo can get out of this slump they're currently in because their characters and the worlds they have created deserve to succeed. In an industry overrun with space marines and brown post apocalyptic wastelands, Nintendo has injected a much needed sense of adventure, color, and joy into our world. 

In honor of Nintendo, I created three new prints in my ongoing "Little Video Game Books" series. See Vol. 1 HERE and Vol. 2 HERE.  Let's hope Zelda and Metroid get their turn on the Wii U before the sun sets on the embattled little console. 

"The Little Plumber Bros."

To purchase a print, click HERE

"The Happy Little Hunter"

To purchase a print, click HERE

"The Little Hero of Time"

To purchase a print, click HERE

You can also buy all three prints together at a discounted price and save some money that you can use to put towards buying awesome video games! Because who doesn't need more video games in their life?

Order all 3 prints by clicking HERE