Faces of 2020: "Refreshing My Anxiety"

First portrait in the series that I started right around Election Day. Man, that first week of November was a wild ride, huh? I had this paper towel I was using to clean the paint off my brushes while working on another project and I kinda liked how it looked when I was done working, like some human head twisting and coming apart. Kinda how I imagine a lot of people felt glued to their tv's, computers or phones back in early November. 

 

Faces of 2020: "Static Sensations"

Second portrait in the series. Along with George Romero's "...of the Dead" series, David Cronenberg's Videodrome has been on my mind a lot as well. It's one of those movies where you can understand if audiences viewed it as some far-fetched science fiction in 1983 because watching in 2020 feels like it was made for our current relationship with technology/media.

 

Faces of 2020: "I Can Almost Taste The Freedom"

First piece I'm posting in a series of portraits I've been working on the last month. I watched all of the George Romero "...of the Dead" series over the summer and a lot of the ways he critiques rampant consumerism in the form of a zombie apocalypse has been on my mind a lot lately. I think, just short of eating people alive, we came about as close as possible to resembling the zombies in Dawn of the Dead this year.

 

Hot Lava 'Cado Toast T-Shirt Has Arrived!

I posted about this project back in March, right after the world completely got turned upside down. At that time, Coffee Coffee Coffee, who I made the illustration for, had closed their doors and laid off all their staff. The shirt I made the illustration for was used, along with other prizes, in a pledge drive so the shop could survive the initial lockdown. Luckily, the shop has pulled through and the shirts are beginning to ship out, along with the other prizes people had purchased in the pledge. It's nice to finally see the finished product, even if the release wasn't able to go the way we had planned. 

Obviously there are still hurdles to overcome as we continue living in this strange new reality but for now Trey and his family are able to keep the shop doors open with curbside pick-up and take-out options for downtown Cleveland. If buying gifts is on your radar this holiday season I encourage you to look to the local and family owned businesses first. Small businesses are still hurting greatly and with no relief in sight at the moment, these places rely on the consumer more than ever. 

 

Wild Times at The Drive-In

New one in honor of the holiday I make the most illustrations about and the Elmira Drive-In, and just drive-ins in general. I miss the days of hanging out there and watching some b-grade, and sometimes top shelf, horror double feature. And some probably fondly recall going there to make out with someone for hours. 

This was originally intended to be a straight forward landscape painting but I couldn't resist adding all this mayhem. The drive-in is a mash up of several looks that they've had over the years. There are some nods to favorite films of mine and then just general nonsense that I associate with the genres. Detail pics below.

 

Cozy Royale: Lobsters and Mobsters

Over the summer I was contacted by my old pals at The Meat Hook, a butcher shop in Brooklyn, about working on an illustration inspired by old mobster movies that would hang in their new restaurant COZY ROYALE. Their only direction was "lobsters and mobsters" and gangster movie posters and I got to work on some thumbnail sketches for them. 

After review, it was decided that sketch #3 would be the one to go to final. At first it felt like it was going to be a dead end, and I had a few false starts, but after pushing and pulling the composition and perspective a bit it finally began to take shape and I actually started feeling a bit more confident in how it would turn out.

And here's the finished product. Just moments after tightening up the last couple details. Thanks again to Kaitlin at The Meat Hook for asking me to be involved in this project. With everything going on in the world right now I'm glad that I'm still able to collaborate with good people who are doing good work, trying to have a positive impact on the world and give so much of their time and energy to enrich our lives. Cozy Royale is open for business and located on the corner of Humboldt and Jackson in Williamsburg. 

PRE SALE For PRINTS!

ALERT! I've got a big ol' PRE SALE going on over on MY WEBSITE for the next 2 weeks. I've been taking note of prints people have been asking about and have tried to put up as many as I could remember. PRE SALE will end at 11:59PM on OCTOBER 23rd so act fast, hit that 'Click to Purchase' and get your order in. 

I've included a few images here, out of the 12 new prints I have added on my site, to give you a little idea of what you may find when you browse through my WEB STORE. 

 

Gem Spa Egg Cream: Part 2

Took my Egg Cream drawing I did for the Gem Spa x Left Field NYC t-shirt collaboration and jazzed it up a bit more. I wanted to do some sort of flash sheet inspired illustration of what St. Marks means to me. I spent a good chunk of time there when I first moved to the city since it was in walking distance from the apartment I was staying at, had cheap food, and was great for people watching while I scarfed down my meal on the curb. I even got kicked a few times by a crust punk during one of my visits. Such sweet authentic memories.

Anyways, I think there are still some XXL Gem Spa t-shirts available on their site HERE and at LEFT FIELD NYC

Also, Y'all ever had a Whosawhatsit Candy Bar? It tastes just like Whatchamacallit but without that pesky trademark infringement.