A Tribute to SNL @ Gallery 1988

You can buy a limited signed/numbered print by clicking HERE
You can buy the one-of-a-kind framed album by clicking HERE
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I have been watching Saturday Night Live since I was in my early teens. The show has had some pretty memorable characters over the years, but for me, there is no one better than Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar.

This is Gallery 1988's third group show based on comedy. For last year's piece, I chose Conan O'Brien, and something amazing happened. Conan O'Brien got in touch with me and now is the proud owner of a Joebot original! If you ever happen to make it into Conan's green room, you'll see my artwork hanging on the wall near the front door!

This year, the theme for the show was specifically to keep the pieces SNL themed. I was 12 years old when Wayne's World came out. I loved it. A lot. Next to the possibly obscure Christopher Walken skit where he puts googly eyes on plants to not be afraid of them anymore (See it HERE), Wayne's World is my favorite bit to ever come out of Saturday Night Live. I briefly thought about submitting a fern with some googly eyes... but instead, I decided to create another addition to my ongoing "High Fidelity" series:

I grew up in the small town of La Verne, CA. Across from my old high-school was a church that was used as a location in the film "The Graduate" which they recreated a scene from for Wayne's World 2. They were filming during the summer, and so I got to hang out and watch them for a few hours. In between takes, Mike Meyers came over to meet with the small group of us watching, and he was super nice! This is one of my favorite photos from my childhood:

I also created an album backing (just because it's one of the most fun parts for me, I love creating fake tracklists... I dunno why).

And here is the full framed one-of-a-kind album:

There is a lot of super talented artists in this show, so if you live near Los Angeles, take some time this month to go take a look at the show in person! If you can't make it out, you can always browse the gallery online by clicking HERE.

Come check out the show! It's currently showing in Gallery 1988's newest location until April 20th, 2013

Gallery 1988 (West)
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-937-7088

Little Video Game Books

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Got a very nice little article on one of the biggest sites in video-game news: KOTAKU

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I recently have been really into the artwork of the classic Little Golden Books. There's something very charming about their simplicity, and yet they are some of the books that I remember most from my early childhood.

As the sun sets on this current generation of video games, I've been thinking about some of the classic games that people will still (hopefully) point to years from now and hold them up as games that made a difference, and possibly, for some child out there, Portal or Skyrim will be a memory from their early childhood.

I love video games, and I love children's books. I was inspired to combine the two into the artwork you see below:

"Our hero, our hero, claims a warriors heart, but the body of a child." 

To purchase a print click HERE

Sorry, this print is no longer available

"The Cake may be a lie, but the friendship between a little girl and her robot friend is true love."

To purchase a print click HERE

"Somewhere, beyond the sea, there lived a little girl and her big friend Mr. Bubbles."

To purchase a print click HERE

You can order all 3 prints together! Click HERE

I hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I enjoyed making them! If Ken Levine, Gabe Newell, and Todd Howard are interested in making these a reality... feel free to contact me :)

Mutatis Mutandis at Teefury

Howdy y'all! I have a new shirt design coming to Teefury on Tuesday March 5th! If you're unfamiliar with Teefury, you should know that it is AWESOME! Each day, they sell one t-shirt created by a super awesome artist. Most of their shirts (if not all these days) are inspired by a wide variety of pop-culture.

Teefury is the best! I've been working with them for a few years now, and the community they foster over there continues to impress. If you haven't already, swing on by for a visit, buy a shirt, and check back Tuesday, March 5th and you can get your hands on my new X-Men themed design seen below.

If you follow my blog, then you surely know that I love comic-books. In a perfect world, the x-men would be real, and Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters would exist. If they gave out awards for the Student of the Month at that school, I thought they would look a little something like what you see above.

365 days a year, 24 hours per day, only $10! Visit http://www.teefury.com today and start your new obsession.

A Little Golden Book "Guardians of the Galaxy" Style

I love comic books. I love Little Golden Books. I'm very excited for Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie starring FBI agent Bert Macklin. In honor of this awesome news, I painted up this little fella:

(Disclaimer - I started this artwork this morning before todays casting news broke. Consider it a happy coincidence)

"The Humorist" - A Tribute to Woody Allen at Gallery 1988

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UPDATE:
To purchase the framed artwork CLICK HERE Sorry folks, It's sold.
To purchase a signed/numbered print CLICK HERE
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I'm starting the year off on a new foot for 2013! I love doing the album designs, and they always do well, but I always need to occasionally break free of that style and do something different. I had a lot of fun with this piece because I haven't done a digital painting like this in a while. It felt like a breath of fresh air!

Gallery 1988's first show for 2013 is "The Humorist - A Tribute to one of the big screen's funniest directors". I admittedly don't know a lot about Woody Allen's career so I didn't initially have an idea in mind. But I just kept going to the Toy Story character Woody, and although they couldn't be more different, I think they mash-up quite well together.

A limited amount of signed and numbered prints will be available to purchase at the gallery (and online). I'll update this post with sales info once it becomes available!

My buddy Jason Liwag created a pretty incredibly brilliant print for the show that has been used in promotion, If you are a Woody Allen fan, you won't want to miss what's sure to be a show with some excellent and creative takes on an excellent and creative writer and director.

"The Humorist"
Gallery 1988 Venice
Friday Jan. 11 7-10pm
214 Pier Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
http://www.gallery1988.com
http://www.jo3bot.com

A Tribute to Judd Apatow

UPDATE:
The man himself, Judd Apatow purchased my artwork from the show! Here's a picture to sort of prove it!

Prints are now available to purchase online by clicking HERE!

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Gallery 1988's last group show of 2012 is gonna be a big one. With a year that has seen some incredible shows like The Avengers, Breaking Bad, and Arrested Development, Gallery 1988 is closing out the year with a bang.

Opening Tuesday, December 4th and running until December 30th, Gallery 1988's stable of many artists (including myself) are paying tribute to one of the most prolific comedy writers/producers/directors of all time, the brilliant Judd Apatow. I'm a big fan of Mr. Apatow's work, so it was a huge honor to participate in this show. It was hard to narrow down one movie or show of his to do a piece based off of, so I decided to do almost all of them...

"Apatow Elementary"

There is a private opening that you can attend if you RSVP to Gallery 1988 via e-mail! Just contact the kind folks at Gallery1988melrose@Gmail.com.

A limited number of my signed prints (13x19) will be available to purchase at the gallery.
I'll be at the opening hoping that another artist has tackled something depicting Infant Sorrow!

"ATribute to Judd Apatow"
Opening Tuesday December 4th 7-10pm
Gallery 1988 Melrose
7020 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
www.nineteeneightyeigh.com

Old School Video Game Art Show @ Gallery 1988 - "The Mortals"

***UPDATE***
Prints are available to purchase by clicking HERE.
Framed artwork has already sold before the show even opened! Thank you whoever you are :)

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I'm not gonna lie... as much as I loved Street Fighter II, I was absolutely blown away the next year when Mortal Kombat was unleashed on arcades across America. I was 12 years old in 1992 when I met my new friends Scorpion, Sub Zero, and the rest of the fighters engaged in Mortal Kombat in Earthrealm. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was that drew me to the game, was the easy to learn moves? The mysterious Reptile character? The amazingly realistic graphics (for 1992) or was it the announcers voice? " FIGHT!" "FINISH HIM!" "FATALITY".

As soon as I saw the game at my local comic book store , I was hooked. Scorpion became my go-to fighter. I anxiously awaited Mortal Monday so that I could save my quarters and play the game at home on my Sega Genesis. When Gallery 1988 asked me to create some artwork for "The Old School Video Game Art Show: Level 2" I went with an instant classic. 

"Out of the arcades and into our hearts, it's the new hit album "Fatality" from The Mortals! Join Sub Zero, Scorpion, Liu Kang, and the rest of the gang as they punch out hit songs such as "Get Over Here!", "Toasty!" and "Finish Him". You're spine will tingle with glee, your heart will pound out of your chest, your soul will be theirs. So get ready to Test Your Might with The Mortals!"

Tracklisting

In addition to prints of the artwork, I always create a one of a kind framed album. For this show I was able to get my hands on a pretty rare, and pretty special record:

Vinyl test pressing of The Mortal Kombat theme "Techno-Syndrome 12" Mix"

Yes... This record contains the amazing Mortal Kombat song from the opening of the 1995 film. Anytime I play this song, once is never enough... it usually goes on a loop for at least 6 playthroughs.

The framed album and artwork will be available to purchase exclusively at Gallery 1988 either in person or through their online store HERE.  **Artwork has sold**

"The Mortals" signed and numbered prints will be available only through Gallery 1988.

"The Mortals" framed album will be available exclusively at Gallery 1988

"The mortals" front and back prints will be available exclusively at my etsy store HERE

***This post will be updated when artwork becomes available***

If you're a fan of video games, or were a fan of old school video games, this is a show for you. A lot of very talented and passionate artists have created some amazing artwork that you would be proud to hang on your wall. Come on down to The Old School Video Game Art Show: Level 2 at Gallery 1988 in Santa Monica! You don't even have to bring your quarters because it's free!

The Old School Video Game Art Show: Level 2

Gallery 1988 Venice

Friday October 26th. 7-10PM

214 Pier Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90405

http://www.gallery1988.com 

http://www.jo3bot.com 

The Guild Season 6!!!

*****UPDATE*****

Shirts are available to purchase from Jinx.com!
Ladies click HERE
Dudes click HERE

Artwork prints are available to purchase HERE :)

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Howdy boys and girls. I am super proud to announce that I have joined forced with the lovely folks over at Geek & Sundry to help promote season 6 (!!!) of the hit web series "The Guild"!!!

(Photo courtesy of thebuibrothers.com)

As stated by the all knowing Wikipedia, The Guild is "An American comedy web series created and written by Felicia Day, who also stars as Cyd Sherman (aka Codex). It premiered on YouTube on July 27th, 2007". I was working in the video game industry at Electronic Arts at the time, and although, truth be told, I never got into World Of Warcraft or WOW as the kids called it... I still appreciated the intelligent writing of this show. It was clear that whoever was in charge knew what they were writing about, and didn't treat their audience like mindless dumb dumbs *cough* most network television *cough*. I have thoroughly enjoyed each season of The Guild, and I can't wait to see how Codex handles working for the company that built the game she and her friends love so dearly. 

I'm very thrilled to be teaming up with the lovely Felicia Day and the fine folks over at Geek & Sundry as well as Jinx.com for "The Knights of Good". I've been a fan of The Guild for a while now, and after Comic-Con I contacted Felicia to see if we could work together on something to promote the upcoming 6th season of The Guild. It was very cool to find out that she herself was a fan of my work. She loved the idea and so I'm proud to present my latest artwork for "The Knights of Good - The Guild"

"They came from The Game to raid our hearts, it's The Knights of Good! With their new hit record "The Guild", Codex, Zaboo, Vork, Bladezz, Clara, and Tinkerballa get Guild'd with new songs like "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar" and "I'm The One That's Cool". So drop your loot and get your Beards extra Cheesy, The Knights of Good are waiting for you to join "The Guild".

*****Prints of this artwork are available in my Etsy store located: HERE 

*****You can also (this is so cool!) purchase t-shirts of this design over at Jinx.com

Seeing what Felicia has done with "The Guild" over the years should be a huge inspiration for those of us who have had a rough time trying to fight their way through typical channels. Going your own route, doing what you love and believing in that vision is the best thing any creative person can do. Felicia Day has done it extraordinarily well and inspired a few people (including myself) along the way.

I'm honored to be a part of Season 6 of the Guild. It starts Tuesday October 2nd here at Geek & Sundry's youtube page. Be sure to subscribe and don't miss one episode of The Guild Season 6! Also, if you're new to The Guild and have a Netflix Instant Watch account, you are in luck! All 5 previous season are up and waiting for you to devour them. What are you waiting for? GO!

I want to give a special thank you to Felicia Day, Kim Evey, Geek & Sundry, and Jinx.com. I appreciate you all letting me be a small part of this excellent series.

4 Year Anniversary Celebration of Step Brothers

!!!UPDATE!!!
The Framed artwork is sold out, but prints are still available to purchase:
Super Step Bros. is available to purchase HERE
Prestige Worldwide is available to purchase HERE
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2008 was an interesting year. The Economy was just on the verge of going down the toilet, Flo Rida had the number one song in the country, I left my full-time job at Electronic Arts to return home to Southern California (really good timing Joey...), and a lovely little movie from Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly came out. Only one of these things can we look back on fondly and laugh.

Gallery 1988 is paying tribute to a very funny movie with "The Four Year Anniversary Celebration of the Cinematic Classic Step Brothers"

Funnyordie.com posted an excellent preview of some of the work from the show: http://www.funnyordie.com/articles/a7a2dc72b4/step-brothers-honored-at-gallery1988

Huff and Doback are one of the best comedy pairings in recent memory. Both of these actors are excellent on their own

So when I heard these two guys were making a movie together, I was pretty excited! Gallery 1988 is known for putting together interesting art shows that people didn't realize they wanted and they never disappoint. The artwork from this show is incredible, and the inspired artwork shows what a great movie Step Brothers truly is.  

I created 2 different pieces for the show. I am a fan of NES box art and always love the challenge of simplifying something into the iconic pixel art. For this show I thought it was only appropriate that Huff and Doback replaced Mario and Luigi:

But then I also thought it would be appropriate to continue my series of retro children's albums with Prestige Worldwide:

The show will open Friday, August 31st and run through September 22. If you're a fan of this great movie, you should head on down to Santa Monica and check it out!

A limited number of signed and numbered prints of my artwork will be available exclusively through Gallery 1988 at the gallery as well as through their online store: http://nineteeneightyeight.com

"The Four Year Anniversary Celebration of the Cinematic Classic Step Brothers"

Opening Friday, August 31st 7-10pm

Gallery 1988 Venice

214 Pier Avenue

Santa Monica, CA 90405

http://nineteeneightyeight.com

The Breaking Bad Art Project @ Gallery 1988

**I was interviewed by CNN about this artwork. Yes, that CNN! Check it out HERE**
Prints are now available for sale by clicking HERE :)
Wow! Sold out, that was quick. Thanks to everyone who bought a print!
A few artist prints are available HERE 

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The hits just keep on coming for Gallery 1988!! Just weeks ago was the Arrested Development show, then they packed up and headed east to NYC for Crazy 4 Cult. Now they're back at home and ready to cook! Next up, Gallery 1988 presents "The Breaking Bad Art Project".

Vince Gilligan is one of my favorite people working in television. Not only did he write and produce some of the most excellent episodes of The X-Files (quite possibly my favorite show of all time), He has also given us the best drama currently on television. To say that Breaking Bad is a great show is really a huge understatement, Vince Gilligan and his writing team are beyond brilliant and continually out-shine every other dramatic series currently on TV. 

I've been watching Breaking Bad since the pilot episode hooked me back in January of 2008. I've had to wait through very long breaks between seasons to find out what's going to happen next. I LOVE Breaking Bad, so when I heard Gallery 1988 was going to be doing a small group show, I really was beyond thrilled to be a part of it. 

I am extremely excited to be a part of this show, so without further ado, I present my artwork for "The Breaking Bad Art Project" at Gallery 1988:

"Walt and the Bad Breakers have been cooking up something extra-special in New Mexico. The hit new album "Blue Sky" is loaded with the purest music your ears have ever heard. One hit of their first single "The One Who Knocks" and you'll be hooked. With catchy songs like "Better Call Saul", "The Ballad of Skinny Pete" and "Lily of the Valley", you'll never feel blue again. So get cookin' with Walt and the Bad Breakers today!"

Tracklisting

Along with prints, one lucky person will be able to purchase this one-of-a-kind framed album complete with a crystal blue vinyl record!

Available exclusively at Gallery 1988

A very limited number of prints of the album cover (signed and numbered) will be available at Gallery 1988 in person as well as through their online store: http://nineteeneightyeight.com

Album front/back Artist Prints will be available in very limited quantities through my store (After the gallery show has closed) by clicking HERE

This is an extremely short show, it opens Monday, August 20th and is up for only a week I believe. So if you're in Los Angeles, and you're a fan of Breaking Bad or just awesome art in general, head over to Gallery 1988 and check it out!

"The Breaking Bad Art Project" - Presented by Breaking Gifs

Opening Monday, August 20th 7-10pm

7020 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90038

www.nineteeneightyeight.com

You can just show up, you don't even have to knock. 

A special thank you to Gallery 1988 for letting me a part of this awesome show. They continue to do shows that i'm super excited to be a part of, and I am so honored that they continue to have me.

*******UPDATE*******

On Saturday Aug 18th, Gallery 1988 held a private VIP event with cast/crew and artists. I got to meet a very lovely former high-school chemistry teacher and his son:

Walter White: High School Chemistry teacher, a classy gentleman all around.

...and his son Walt Jr. sometimes goes by the name Flynn, lover of breakfast. 

Very, very kind hearted guy.

 A very nice lawyer offered to help me sort out my financial issues. He suggested I purchase an arcade, I like the way he thinks:

I think he stole my wallet. 

And this very fine gentlemen is the whole reason this gallery show exists. Creator of the greatest show on television, Vince Gilligan! Writer of some of the best X-files episodes and new proud owner of the Breaking Bad album artwork I created for this opening! It's such an honor to have someone who's work I appreciate so much, appreciate my work.

Thank you Mr. Gilligan

Crazy 4 Cult: New York @ Gallery 1988 - Wyld Stallyns

***UPDATE***
Prints are available to purchase by clicking HERE :)
Front/Back Artist prints are available exclusively in my store by clicking HERE!
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For the past 8 years, Gallery 1988 has existed solely in California, and they have done several Crazy 4 Cult shows. These Crazy 4 Cult shows have always been incredible shows full of extremely talented artists and amazingly great artwork, but this year is going to blow the roof off the place. Crazy 4 Cult is moving across these lovely United States of America to New York City!!!

Badass artwork by Jason Edmiston

This summer tradition for those of us fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your views) enough to live in Los Angeles is packing it's bags and heading for Big Apple. Though the show may have left Southern California, I wanted to base my artwork off of a lovely little city near and dear to my heart, the City of San Dimas.

San Dimas, CA. According to Wikipedia, it was founded in 1887, incorporated in 1960, but was really put on the map in February of 1989 thanks to two young gentlemen that go by the name of Bill S. Preston and "Ted" Theodore Logan.

I'm still waiting for Wyld Stallyns to write the song that changes the world. But for now, I present the latest album from Wyle Stayllyns, "Be Excellent To Each Other"

"Wyld Stallyns"

"Straight from San Dimas and into the history books, it's Wyld Stallyns with their new album "Be Excellent to Each Other". Packed full of new songs like "Most Triumphant", "Dust, Wind, Dude", and their first single "Strange Things Are Afoot". San Dimas High School Football rules, and you will too when you listen to Wyld Stallyns!"

Tracklisting

Along with prints available will be this one-of-a-kind framed album. In continuing tradition with my other albums, the record chosen for this piece was hand-picked to be appropriately connected to the subject matter.

Available exclusively at the Crazy 4 Cult show.

The record used in the framed album. Rufus would be proud.

I was 8 years old when Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure came out. I grew up in the small town of La Verne. La Verne happens to be next door neighbors to San Dimas. Seeing this movie take place in San Dimas blew my 8 year old mind until I quickly figured out the locations in the movie didn't match up with what I knew San Dimas looked like. Our Waterloo is actually called Raging Waters (FACT: I once got chased by human poop in the lazy river at Raging Waters, I never returned) Sadly, the movie was actually shot in Arizona, my 8 year old psyche never recovered.

I brought the framed album to two very important locations in San Dimas, as I live only a few shorts blocks from these historic landmarks.

Strange things are afoot.

I hear their football rules...

A limited number of prints of the album cover (signed and numbered) will be available at Gallery 1988 in New York as well as online through their store: http://www.nineteeneightyeight.com 

Front and back Artist Prints will be available through my store by clicking HERE

"Crazy 4 Cult: New York"
Thursday August 9th, 6-9pm
Gallery 1988 NY Pop-Up Store
64 Gansevoort St.
New York, NY 10014

And please... Be excellent to each other.

Arrested Development @ Gallery 1988

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ARTWORK IS NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER

"The Bluths - Come On" print - Click HERE

"The Bluths - Come On" Front/Back print - Click HERE

"Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution" print - Click HERE

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Oh Netflix. How I love thee... you may not have the best selection of streaming movies, and you may have gotten the raw end of the deal with availability of new releases on disc, but I don't blame you, you are wonderful. You are reuniting me with my family next year, and I couldn't be happier. In honor of this momentus occasion, Gallery 1988 is celebrating the Bluths as only they can, they're putting on an art show!

"There's Always Money In The Banana Stand - A Tribute to Arrested Development" at Gallery 1988 is coming!!! Blue yourself, call Bob Loblaw, join Army, do whatever you have to do to come to this show. If you are a fan of Gob, Tobias, George Michael, Pop Pop and the rest of the gang, you don't want to miss it. It'll be as Ann as the nose on Plain's face.

"Fresh from The O.C. it's The Bluths with their new album "Come On"!! Join the whole family and sing along with hit songs such as "Pop-Pop In The Attic", "Always Leave A Note" and "Annyong!". There's always money in the Banana Stand when you Come On with The Bluths!"

Tracklist

Along with prints will be this one-of-a-kind framed album. As with all of my other album pieces for Gallery 1988, the record used in the framed artwork was specifically chosen for this piece:

This would look good on the wall of a Bluth Company model home.

The actual record used in the framed album

A limited number of prints of the album cover will be signed and numbered, available to buy at Gallery 1988 Melrose as well as online through their website: http://nineteeneightyeight.com

Front and back prints will be available unsigned through my store by clicking HERE


"There's Always Money In The Banana Stand - A Tribute to Arrested Development"
This party is going to be off the hook!

Opening Reception Friday June 29th, 7-10pm
Gallery 1988 Melrose
7020 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323)937-7088

And watch out for bridges and hop-ons. You're gonna get some hop-ons...

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"Open up and say "Ahhhhh" It's Dr. Funke's 100% Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution!!! The old blowhard's gotten the old band back together again!! There's no "I" in Teamocil, at least not where you'd think. Get ready to blue yourself with Frightened Inmate #2, his wife Lindsay and daughter, Maeby. With hit songs such as "How ARE you?", "Banger In The Mouth", and "Uncle Teabags", you'll never go nude again." 

print available to purchase exclusively through my etsy store HERE!

Coming soon to http://www.teefury.com