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!!!
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 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":
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
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.
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.
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?
**UPDATE**
Prints are now available to order!! Click HERE
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Gallery 1988 is bringing "Crazy 4 Cult" back to New York City!!! You East Coasters seemed to have a great time at the show last year, so it's happening again (this time in slightly cooler weather). I'm honored to be a part of the show again and i'm blown away by the amazing work coming out of so many talented artists!!
Here's my piece for this years "Crazy 4 Cult 7" show based on the incredible film "Akira"
"Little Akira"
There will be one framed AP (1 of 10) available at the show, along with a limited run of prints! Whatever doesn't sell at the show will go up on sale online the next day, and i'll post that info here as soon as it's available.
So if you're in New York and are a fan of film, art, pop-culture, or large crowds that gather in small spaces, then you won't want to miss Gallery 1988's Crazy 4 Cult show!
"Crazy 4 Cult 7: Back in New York"
Gallery 1988 New York
355A Bowery
New York, NY 10003 http://www.gallery1988.com
I'm back... I've been pretty busy, so i'm sorry we haven't talked. Next year is a busy year for me, so i've been preparing in the background, setting the table and getting things ready for a delicious feast! Speaking of delicious feasts, Thanksgiving is here! In honor of the holiday, i'm releasing a new print!
"The Legend of Zelda" came into my life when I was 6 years old. Released in 1986, this was not just a video-game to me, Zelda was a revelation. My world had changed, and it's future was all about video-games. Zelda games are a great way to mark a specific time in my life. "A Link To The Past" took up a lot of my early teenage years and carried me through High-School. "Ocarina of Time" was a pretty awesome way to spend my first Christmas break from College. "The Wind Waker" congratulated me on graduating from Art Center in 2003, and was my only friend when I moved up to San Francisco and away from my family for the first time. And here we are at the end of 2013. I'm replaying through The Wind Waker in HD on my Wii U. A 3DS sequel to my 2nd favorite Zelda game, "A Link Between Worlds" has just been released and I can't wait to play it. Zelda is awesome, and I love it a lot! I still have my original NES cartridge after all these years:
If you're new to my work, this is one more piece in an ongoing series of prints where I combine some of my favorite video-games with Little Golden Books. You can see more of them HERE and HERE.
Crazy 4 Cult is back home at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, CA! For this show, they decided to change things up a bit, and so the artists are focusing on villains from Cult movies.
The first two villains that came to my mind are actually the real heroes of the movies in my opinion. Stan Winston has created some of the most memorable characters ever to appear on film, and these two characters in particular are among his best. His brilliant knowledge for making incredibly realistic creatures come to life made my childhood just a little more terrifying since watching those movies at an inappropriate age. Thank you Stan Winston for scaring the crap out of me as a kid, and for inspiring a generation of young people to pick up their pencils or clay or a keyboard or whatever we could get our hands on, and start creating.
Here are my prints inspired by the films "Alien" and "Predator" that will be available at the gallery:
If you're unfamiliar with Crazy 4 Cult, it's an awesome series that Gallery 1988 has been doing annually for several years now. There is a new book that just came out that compiles a lot of incredible artwork from some extremely talented artists. You can pick the book up by clicking HERE.
"Crazy 4 Cult: Say Hi To The Bad Guy"
Gallery 1988 West
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046 http://www.gallery1988.com
"The Mother of Dragons" the third (and possibly final) print in my Game of Thrones series has been released and is now available at Gallery 1988! I'm proud to present "The Mother of Dragons - Fire and Blood":
Prints are available to purchase by clicking HERE!
All of the money I earn from these Game of Thrones prints is going towards paying off our dogs emergency vet bills from last year. If you have bought a print, or plan on buying a print, I can't thank you enough. This past year has been very rough on Jasper's health and very rough on our finances. Please, if you have a pet that you love (or even that you just kinda like) do yourself, and your furry friend a favor, and sign up for pet insurance. We use http://www.embracepetinsurance.comand they have been awesome!
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to my best friend, Jasper.
Let me start by saying this isn't a typical blog entry but our dog Jasper is anything but typical. Several months ago, my wife Kristin and I found our dog was very, very sick. Jasper is the best dog the world has ever known. Kristin rescued him from a shelter in Long Beach about 6 months before we met. He was her best friend. He protected her, and loved her before I came along, and has since become my best friend as well. We love Jasper like we would love our own child (if we had one... and even then, we'd still possibly love Jasper a little more, no offense future kid reading this...)
This past March we had a house-guest staying with us. Jasper was not a fan, and so to show his "enthusiasm" he decided to chew a giant hole in the air mattress said house-guest was sleeping on. He proceeded to vomit up pieces of air-mattress material and while we were displeased with his behavior, we thought that he'd thrown up all the pieces, and there was nothing to worry about. Well... that was not the case.
In early July (just over 3 months later) Jasper became VERY ill. After a trip to the Dog Emergency Room, x-rays showed that Jasper had something lodged in his intestines. We had 2 options... Let Jasper die or have the wonderful Doctors at our local VCA perform surgery to remove the obstruction. There really was no option. Sparing no expense, we let the Doctor do his work. The recovery was horrible, the surgery was painful and the effects on our bank accounts were vast. I am a freelance artist, I work from home, I don't have an employer, so I don't get a regular paycheck. The cost of this was devastating, but we had no other option.
I had recently purchased some artwork from Gallery 1988 shortly before Jasper got sick. When I contacted them to ask if I could return the artwork for a refund, I explained our financial situation and that's when God sent us angels in the form of Jensen Karp and Katie Sutton. They not only let me return the artwork for a refund, they immediately offered to help in a way that only they could...
San Diego Comic Con was only weeks away, but they asked if I would create a Game of Thrones print to be released at their booth in San Diego. Proceeds from that sale would help Kristin and I pay off our (very expensive) Vet bills. I was blown away by there generosity, and so that is what you see here. The first print was received very well by Comic Con attendees and I even got word that George R.R. Martin loved the work!!!
I recently finished "The Lannisters" and i'm happy to announce that it is now available at Gallery 1988!!!
My proceeds from the sale of these prints will be going to pay our vet bills, and I can't thank you enough if you have already purchased, or decide to purchase one of these prints. Your support means the world of difference, and I sincerely thank you so so much.
The good news is that Jasper survived the whole ordeal. The Doctor said that he was very very ill, and if we hadn't brought him in when we did, he wouldn't have made it. Jasper had a rough recovery, but he's doing very well and is mostly back to his old happy self.
If you have a beloved animal, please, please, PLEASE get yourself some Pet Insurance. It could make a different between life and death for your furry little family member. We unfortunately learned our lesson the hard way, but now he's insured, and on his way back to health.
Thank you to the Gallery 1988 group: Jensen, Katie, John, and Amber for being so wonderful to us during a very difficult time. I am super grateful for these lovely folks.
You can also see some of my other artwork available for sale over in my ETSY store. Use the coupon code "JASPER" at checkout for an additional 10% off of your order, and those sales will go towards his vet bills!
Earlier this year, I created a series of prints where I combined Little Golden Books with what I felt were a few video games that were instant classics. You can read more about those by clicking HERE. The response was excellent, and because I had so much fun creating them, I went ahead and made a few more!
This generation of consoles has lasted much longer than any of the previous ones and with that, we've had some incredible gaming experiences. More so than I can remember with any other console generation. As I said before, I wanted this series to look back at games that have had a huge impact on not only me, but on the industry as a whole. I felt Red Dead Redemption, Half-Life 2 and Mass Effectwere a worthy follow-up to my previous series. I hope you guys and gals dig 'em!
I love video games, I love Little Golden Books... and I loved combining them into the artwork you see below.
"Don't be too eager to grow up. It ain't as much fun as it looks."
**Update**
"Shaun of the Dead" prints are available to purchase by clicking HERE**SOLD OUT**
"Hot Fuzz" prints are available to purchase by clicking HERE**SOLD OUT**
"The World's End" prints sold out at the show opening!
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"Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz", and now "The World's End" make up what writer/director Edgar Wright has deemed "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy". They're three relatively different films in that their only main connection is that they're written/directed by Edgar Wright, they all star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and at some point, Cornetto ice cream cones are eaten in each movie. That's an excellent basis for a trilogy in my opinion.
With "The World's End" opening next week, Gallery 1988 has teamed up with Edgar Wright to celebrate his career with artwork portraying his various projects. I adore his films, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what he does with Ant-Man for Marvel in a few years. The footage he showed off at San Diego Comic Con last year was incredible, and I think there's no better director than Edgar Wright for that project.
When I started working on ideas for what I wanted to do for this show, I felt drawn to doing three pieces, based off of the trilogy. I love combining things that are clearly not for kids with things that clearly are only for children. So what better way to take these three films, and turn them into children's books!
Limited signed/numbered prints of each piece will be available at the gallery! I'll also have framed #1 prints on the wall.
(I'll provide links for online sales whenever they're available)
There will be some VERY special guests showing up to the opening, so if you can make it, please come early, as the line will no doubt be insane.
**UPDATE** Artwork is now for sale online!
Framed Album click HERE
Prints click HERE
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Gallery 1988 was the first gallery to really understand that not all galleries need to be full of artwork that nobody understands, but they pretend to so as not to look like an idiot in front of other people doing the same. Pop culture has had a major influence on me throughout my entire life, so when Gallery 1988 came around, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. The new show is entitled "We Made Them Do It" and it's a nod to the fact that the success of Gallery 1988 has inspired many others to follow suit and do themed shows based off of various pop culture icons. But what about those shows, or movies that never really quite rose to the level they deserved. Why does a show like Breaking Bad get it's own gallery show, but Walker Texas Ranger only lives on in the mind of Chuck Norris? Well, now 1988 has a solution.
"We Made Them Do It" gives a voice to all of those beloved yet unrepresented classics.
When I was told about the show, I immediately knew what I wanted to do. Saved By The Bell was one of the staples of my childhood. I wanted to be friends with Zack Morris, I thought AC Slater was so cool with the way he would sit backwards on chairs, and Kelly Kapowski was like a beautiful dream. I decided that it was only fitting to create an album for one of the greatest bands in the history of television; The Zack Attack!!
Along with pretty much every kid growing up in the late 80's and early 90's, I loved Saved By The Bell. What I loved about Saved By The Bell, or SBTB as i'll refer to it from here on out because it takes too long to type, was that Zack Morris was the popular kid, but he was friends with everyone. In real life, a kid like Screech and Slater would have never hung out because jocks and geeks just don't do that. And then there were the ladies. Lisa Turtle was way too uptight for my liking, but Kelly Kapowski and Jessie Spano were sweet, kind, and wholesome. I don't know if there are any shows on the air currently that have followed in the footsteps of Bayside High, but if there isn't, it's a damn shame because there should be. There always should be a show like this on for young teens because high-school can be terrifying. This show was special, and made something that haunts every 8th grader into something to look forward to.
A limited amount of signed/numbered prints will be available through the gallery. I'll post a link here when they go on sale online.
For each gallery show I create a one-of-a-kind framed album. The records included with the artwork always relate somehow to the subject matter:
Sadly, The Zack Attack never released a vinyl record, so I got my hands on the Pointer Sisters "I'm So Excited". Any SBTB fan will instantly know why I chose this record:
You may be thinking to yourself "But Joey, Jessie Spano wasn't in The Zack Attack" and you'd be correct. I don't know why she wasn't in that episode. In order to stay faithful to the show, I wasn't going to include Jessie, but my wife insisted she join the band. Kristin, I dedicate this artwork to you, and the 11 year old girl that used to seal her fan letters to Mark-Paul Gossellar with a kiss.
I wanted to stay true to the spirit of the show and so for the record label I painfully reproduced some early 90's design. I was going to use comic-sans but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I found a font similar to the one Stussy used on it's clothing... Early 90's design was so ugly. Computers finally found their way into the hands of graphic designers and everyone lost their minds (and design sense apparently).
So sit back, relax, press play, and enjoy the soothing sounds of Zack Morris, AC Slater, Screech Powers, Kelly Kapowski, and Lisa Turtle. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present "Friends Forever":
"We Made Them Do It" at Gallery 1988 West
Opening Friday July 26th 7-10pm
Gallery 1988
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046 http://www.gallery1988.com
********************************************************************************* UPDATE: 10 Artist Prints of each are now for sale by clicking HERE
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C'mon and grab your friends, we'll go to very distant lands. That distant land? It's Austin, TX! Opening tomorrow night at Mondo Gallery in Austin is the Adventure Time and Regular Show... SHOW! Inspired by two of the most incredible cartoons on TV today, if you're a fan of these Cartoon Network series, and live within driving distance of Austin, do yourself a favor and don't miss this show!
Adventure Time might be the most perfect animated series. If you haven't yet had a chance to check out either of these cartoons, they're up on Netflix Instant Watch right now. Just go... they're both well worth your time.
I'm honored to be a part of this show along with such talented dudes and dudette's such as Mike Mitchell, Glen Brogan, and Jublin, to name a few.
I have two prints in the show. These will both be available for $35 each, with each having an edition of 60. Prints are 8"x10", signed/numbered.
I will also have 10 AP's available at some point in my Etsy store, which you can find by clicking HERE!
Come check it out, it'll make you happy!
"Adventure Time & Regular Show"
Mondo Gallery
4115 Guadalupe St.
Austin, TX
This friday, April 26th is "The Official Bad Robot Art Experience" at Gallery 1988. Most likely if you follow my blog, then you're well aware of how awesome this show is going to be. Bad Robot is the production company run by J.J. Abrams, and over the years, they have brought us some of the best television and movie experiences such as LOST, Cloverfield, Super 8, Alias, and a little thing called Star Trek.
Bad Robot and Gallery 1988 are teaming up to bring to Los Angeles "The Official Bad Robot Art Experience", featuring over 100 illustrators creating artwork based off some of Bad Robots awesome work. Also, some of the proceeds will help benefit "The Mission Continues", an excellent organization that "...awards community service fellowships to post-9/11 veterans, empowering them to transform their own lives by serving others and directly impacting their communities."
I am very excited for this show. When I first learned about it, I immediately knew I wanted to do a LOST piece for the show. I love LOST. It's one of my favorite shows, and while some people like to hate on the show, and unjustly bash the writers for "not having a plan", I'd like to thank them for creating one of the most imaginative, compelling, and well told stories that's ever aired on network television. For every LOST, we get a hundred CSI's. LOST is so dense, so unique and quite an accomplishment that I fear will never be repeated again. Where the x-files trailed off and went out on a somewhat sour note with the final 2 seasons, LOST had a chance to develop an end-game and went out swinging, and for that, I'm thankful to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.
I've continued my "High Fidelity" series for this show with "Jack and the Survivors":
Get ready to put your Seat back and your tray tables in their upright and locked positions, it's Jack and the Survivors! Join Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, and more as they crash into your heart with their new hit album "LOST", featuring hit songs like, "Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do", "You All Everybody", and "Namaste". Get ready for a mind-blowing, time traveling good time and flashback with "Jack and the Survivors"!
LOST featured a lot of hidden messages to those willing to spend the time to look for them, and my album artwork along with the back of the album follows the trend. Here's the back of the album with full track listing along with some other hidden goodies.
Also, for each show I make a one of a kind framed album. The albums included with the artwork are always somehow related to the theme of the piece.
So for this show, I tracked down the record featured in what is easily one of my favorite moments from the series and probably the best 2nd best opening scene from the entire show:
Mama Cass's music is featured twice throughout the series, so I felt it was only appropriate to use this record for the artwork:
I will have quite a few prints (108 to be exact) available at the gallery. They are signed and numbered. A small amount of artist prints will be made available on my online store at a later time. I'll post more info when they become available. What would LOST artwork be without some mystery? Hidden within the stack of prints I gave to the gallery, there are 6 variants. They are signed and more importantly numbered, and each variant features it's own unique Dharma station logo seen below:
If you're looking for a one of a kind variant, be sure to ask for the right number when placing your order :)
There is a lot of excellent artwork in this show, and a lot of very talented artists that have in some way been influenced by the very talented people at Bad Robot. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you won't want to miss out on this exciting opening. Also, some of your money gets to go to Veterans who have risked their life fighting for our country, and ask for nothing in return. Thank you to our Veterans and for those currently serving overseas and right here at home.
"The Official Bad Robot Art Experience" at Gallery 1988
Opening - Friday April 26th 7-10pm
Ends - May 18th
Gallery 1988 (West)
7308 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046 http://www.gallery1988.com
