Touchstone Teen Week

I had the great fortune of teaching a drawing course for teen week from July 15-19 at the Touchstone Center for Crafts out in Farmington, PA this past week. There's nothin' like being tucked away in the  hills of PA with minimal distractions, spotty internet and getting to teach/work alongside such an amazing group of students and staff. Bonus points were added for the 50+ person drum circle and getting to watch newborn kittens ugly eat. 

For the first couple days I mostly had the students focus on still lifes and drawing from nature but they were moving at such a good pace we quickly dove into working on a self-portrait.

This was the calm before 50 students and some counselors started going apeshit on various drums and shakers and whatever else was laying around that could generate some noise. 

I gave a lecture on my work Tuesday night and used this photo as my intro on how NOT to start your first week of college. 

After the class was aware of my various concert and Soul Clap & Dance-Off posters I let them create their own dream concert poster.

Thanks again to all the staff who helped me get into the groove and assisted me in the classroom and a big thank you to my bud, Travis Winters for asking me to be a part of this week.

"Character and Narrative" Opening August 16th

Here's another new one for the upcoming group show "Character and Narrative" featuring work from Phil Ashworth, Travis Winters, John Van Horn, and Tom Sarmo. Opening on August 16th at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO. 

"Character and Narrative" opening August 16th

Here's my first taster piece from the upcoming group show I will be included in, along with Travis Winters, Tom Sarmo and John Van Horn at the Foothills Art Center in Golden, CO. The show will kick-off on August 16th! 

Left Field NYC Denim Flasher

Had the opportunity to work with Christian McCann again at LEFT FIELD NYC on another project recently. This time we put together a denim flasher for his new line of men's workwear based off the heavy duty workwear that coal miner's wore. At first we shot for a sort of homage to the classic advertising illustration for menswear in the 50's/60's but then moved into a more serious tone for the illustration. Had a blast looking through all the old illustrations from the golden age of advertising illustration and creating my own version of that. The line is now available with my flasher attached. Check it out HERE. 

Yaki Tiki A-Frames

Just whipped up a batch of a-frames for the new restaurant, YAKI TIKI in the Greepoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The restaurant kicked off on Saturday, June 1st and we had limited time to get all the signs completed so I spent an entire afternoon churning these out as I was fed ice cream, beer, coffee and some pizza as I wrapped up the menu. I was psyched when they mentioned they enjoyed my neon work and wanted to shoot for something along those lines. Combining that with the kitsch of vintage tiki bar illustrations was right up my alley. Thanks again to George for asking me to contribute. Be sure to check Yaki Tiki out this summer in the backyard of the A/D/O building. Saturday and Sunday 12-8PM. 

Sunday Soul Scream!

Recently whipped up some stuff for Jonathan Toubin's Sunday Soul Scream party that takes place every Sunday from May 26th - September 1st at Our Wicked Lady in Brooklyn. First up here we've got the illustrations for the first ever t-shirt I've had the chance to create for Jonathan and then a colorized version of the calendar graphic that will be the poster. 

There's a couple pics below of the shirts. They're available in a variety of sizes at Our Wicked Lady for $20 and they are super soft, super comfy and the perfect weight for those warm summer days. Hopefully everyone will wear them til they're covered in holes and tearing apart at the seams, then donate them to their local Salvation Army and in 30 years some kid in middle America will find one and wonder what this weird, cool thing is and wear it with no idea as to what the Sunday Soul Scream is. But, they'll be stoked they've found this bizarre shirt that no one has any clue about. 

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Ikebe Shakedown Record Release Poster

I recently completed this illustration for the Brooklyn-based band, IKEBE SHAKEDOWN, who is having a record release show in JUNE at ROUGH TRADE NYC. This piece was one of those freak times where everything just moves so smooth from sketch to finish, maybe a little too smooth? The gang gave me a few pics for reference and a song for a sample of the album's sound and I just immediately went for these sketches of this skeleton cowboy in a neon desert. I know it doesn't seem hard to translate your sketches into a finished piece that completely mimics the look of the sketch but I guarantee almost every artist you talk to will say something is lost in the process and they almost always love their sketches more. This was one of those really rare times where I feel like I got as close as possible to getting the piece right where I wanted it from sketch to finish. I will enjoy that feeling for a second and acknowledge this may not happen again for a very long time. Thanks again to Vince and the band. Process pics below.

American Illustration 38

Happy to announce that my Kool Keith/Soul Clap & Dance-Off poster has been selected to appear in the American Illustration 38 book. Big THANK YOU to all the judges! And Jonathan Toubin! 

PRINTS AVAILABLE HERE! 

Soul Clap & Dance-Off with Sheer Mag

Painting it black this month for thee Soul Clap & Dance-Off at Brooklyn Bazaar featuring Sheer Mag. Sometimes coloring can become so daunting to me that it's nice when something like this comes along. Back in my early RISD days I was so apprehensive about coloring my work because I felt like I was just going to ruin the piece and I still somewhat feel like that, even though I try to just charge ahead in an attempt to keep learning. But, pieces like this can be a nice reminder that I can pump the brakes a little and don't need to force myself to color every piece.