It's Dangerous to Go Alone

   Here it is, the painting that got me back into painting after a four-year plush extravaganza! I was surprised at how easy—and frankly, how fun—it was to get back into it. And I'm pretty happy with the results as well. I truly enjoyed creating this piece!
   It's called , aka "Hitori de iku no ga kiken desu", aka "It's Dangerous to Go Alone", and it depicts the hero of The Legend of Zelda, who had been pursuing a couple of Octoroks, who cunningly led him to meet their mama.
   The game was created by the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto (do Mario and Donkey Kong ring a bell?), and originally released for the original, 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. It will always hold a special place in my heart: I sunk a lot of hours into it when I was a kid, and it is a true classic that still has a great influence on gaming today.
   Here are some in-progress photos that show my painting coming to life:

The drawing, which I transferred onto canvas after laying down a base color

Finished lifework has been painted

Starting to fill in the color (and making decisions along the way); initially I considered making this a full-color piece, but in the end I liked the dramatic impact of limited color

Filling in the Big Octorok

Starting to bring Link to life

TA-DAAAA!!!

   It's already on its way to the classic video game-themed show at Gallery 1988: Venice, opening Friday, September 16 in Santa Monica, CA. Over 90 artists will be participating, so there will be tons of variety as usual. Here's a teaser. Here's the evite, as well as the evite from their VG show earlier this year, which I also love.

Poolside

   It's pretty rough out here in LA, but somehow I think I'll manage. Can't wait to jump in...

Van Nuys Composition

   Waiting at the Flyaway Shuttle terminal for Kelley to pick me up, & noticed this composition from my seat. The weather here could not be more perfect, so I'm happy to wait outside!

The land of palm trees & traffic jams

   Actually, the traffic isn't too bad yet (for 9 am on a Friday), but Kelley told me that next weekend they're going to shut down part of the 405, which will displace more than half a million cars, and chaos will ensue. So glad I came out here when I did!

LAX

   Thankfully this time I flew into a terminal where the construction was completed... SO much easier than when I flew through here on the way back from Alaska!

G1988: Opening Tomorrow!

Crazy 4 Cult Book

Photo by Cool & Collected

 The new book is getting a ton of press already: very exciting!

Purchase the book on Amazon

...and a calendar?!

Titan Books

What Culture!

Guardian UK

Moviefone interview with Jensen

Crazy 4 Cult 5: I'm Too Old For This Sh**

   The next installment of the popular annual show, Crazy 4 Cult, is opening 7/8/11 in LA at the incomparable Gallery 1988. For a change, I will be in attendance for both the opening and the special book signing on Sunday, 7/10. So excited to be a part of the show... now if I can only avoid being eaten by my own artwork... I give you Audrey II, otherwise entitled, "Feed Me, Seymour."

Crazy 4 Cult is Coming Soon to a Town Not Very Near Me

   Opening soon: Gallery 1988's latest installment of the "Crazy 4 Cult" art show! The difference from years past is that there will be a book signing on July 10, following the opening on July 8. And as luck would have it, some of my work is featured in the book, so I've been invited out to join the panel of artists. Yay, long weekend in LA!!! Kelley, tidy up the guest house, I'll soon be on my way...

Funny or Die sighting

   Check out this new video on Funny or Die, written by G1988 co-owner Jensen Karp to promote the current "Is This Thing On?" art exhibit, running through the end of the month at Gallery1988 (Melrose)! (Warning: not safe for work.) And, yes, that is my plush Bret on the left side of the screen, behind Michael Cera, at 0:50. So now I can claim that Michael Cera, Tony Danza, and Nick Kroll have definitely seen my artwork. Coolio.

Is This Thing On?

It'll be on this Friday!

'Til then, here's some press for my upcoming show.
And another one. And you can see my plush here.

The Plush Sale Cometh

   Gallery 1988 just returned a big box o' unsold plush to me, and in the next few days I will be listing these guys at a great discount. So if you accidentally left someone off your Christmas list, now's your chance! We're talking animals, video game characters, kaiju kitties, Shaun of the Dead and more! Check back soon...

The Humans are Dead

   Here's the big reveal of my work for the "Under the Influence: Is This Thing On?" show that opens at G1988 on January 7, 2011. It's entitled, "The Humans are Dead" and depicts Bret & Jemaine, those wacky New Zealanders from Flight of the Conchords! While I think it would have been wise for me to travel to New Zealand to do some research prior to creating these, I had to settle for watching both seasons of the show. The guys have removable robot heads and sullen looks, just as in the premiere episode of the series. G1988 blog

Exciting news!!!

   Just got the word that two of my plush creations will be featured in a book celebrating the pop culture themed shows of Gallery 1988! "Red Stapler" (Milton from "Office Space"), 2008 and "You've Got Red on You" (Shaun & Ed from "Shaun of the Dead"), 2010 made the cut. Both were for a series of shows celebrating cult films.

   The publisher will be releasing the book at the same time as the opening of Crazy 4 Cult's newest installment: July 8th, 2011. And they're getting some incredible people to write up their favorite parts of the exhibit (including some of the buyers of our pieces to give us a quote about how they've enjoyed in their house since the purchase). Kevin Smith will also be writing the book's foreword. LA, here I come!

   And in other gallery-related news, I will also have work featured in "Is This Thing On? A Tribute To Funny People" at Gallery1988:Melrose to kick off 2011. The show will open January 7th and will feature over 100 artists creating artwork portraying some of the best classic, vintage comedians—and emerging stars! The line-up for this show is incredible and the gallery is partnering with FunnyOrDie.com as their exclusive press outlet. Wow. Kinda pinching myself that they keep including me in the madness. I won't say yet who I'm portraying, just that I couldn't be more excited about it!

Hello Zombie

   Whoa. I just found this repost of my Shaun plush, and the blogger said I am "officially a citizen of awesometown for life." I am humbled; have always wanted to move to awesometown. Thank you, Hello Zombie! Apparently there are people out there who love zombies even more than me. LOVE. IT.

"It's clobberin' time!"

   I finished a commissioned plush last night & early this morning, while watching the complete "Sex & the City" series on DVD. (My first time seeing the episodes unedited because I watched them all on TBS.) Anyway, the plush is a reprise of "The Thing" that I created for a January 2008 show at Gallery 1988 (a tribute to Stan Lee). I don't usually make more than one of any character, but they buyer had purchased my Skeletor plush as well, so I was happy to oblige. But I modified the original design to make him a little bigger, a little buffer, and a lot tougher looking, with larger brow and embroidered nose. I definitely think it's time for Thing vs. Skeletor, don't you?

Yep, the rocky spots go all the way around:

Detail of the stitching, prior to sewing & stuffing:

Gypsy "helped" me his morning:

Thanks, Jim! Hope you like this Thing!

Crazy 4 Cult Customs opens tonight!

My Shaun of the Dead plush is now online, with the rest of the work.

You've got red on you.

   Presenting my entry for Gallery 1988 San Francisco's "Crazy 4 Cult Customs" show, opening Saturday, September 4. SPOILER ALERT: The back of the plush gives away the ending of the movie, so if you haven't seen this film, turn back now!
   It's entitled, "You've Got Red on You" and it depicts two scenes from "Shaun of the Dead," one of my all-time favorite movies. (How can you go wrong with a dark romantic comedy buddy film about zombies?!) The piece consists of hand-sewn, embroidered & painted felt, with paper album sleeves and a wooden base.

Ed & Shaun in the garden, chucking records at zombies:

Shaun: Some of these are limited... Ah! What was that?

Ed: Blue Monday.

Shaun: That was an original pressing.

Ed: For f***s sake.  Erm... Purple Rain?

Shaun: No.

Ed: Sign O' The Times?

Shaun: Definitely not.

Ed: The Batman soundtrack?

Shaun: Throw it.

Ed: Dire Straits?

Shaun: Throw it.

Ed: Er... Ooh, Stone Roses?

Shaun: No.

Ed: Second Coming?

Shaun: I like it.

Badass zombie-killing Shaun (with cricket bat) & Zombie Ed (with video game controller):

Liz: How many shells have we got left?

Shaun: Erm... two. I suppose we could take a few of them out if they stand in a line.

Liz: I wasn't thinking about them.

Shaun: I know.

Liz: What about Ed? There's only two shells.

Ed: I don't mind being eaten.

Liz: How are we gonna do this?

Shaun: I don't know. Erm...

Liz: One of us has to go first.

Shaun: One should do the other and then do themselves.

Liz: You should do me. I'll muck it up if I have to do myself.           

Shaun: I don't think I've got it in me to shoot my flatmate, my mum and my girlfriend all in the same evening.

Liz: What makes you think I've taken you back?

Shaun: Well... you don't want to die single, do you?

Ed: Actually... I would like to be shot.

For a sense of scale (everything looks huge next to me!):

   The eyes & noses are hand-embroidered to make them dimensional, and there is stitched detail in the hair, brows & goatee. Ed's "I got wood" shirt is hand-painted (both sides), as is Shaun's ink spot, ID badge, tie, and blood splatters. Can I just say, there is nothing more fun than painting blood splatters all over plush???

Shipping them off to the gallery. I miss them already.

Check it out: they're featured on a zombie blog!
Click here to see the Shaun of the Dead trailer.
Click here for an interview with Simon Pegg.
Click here to get your own "I GOT WOOD" t-shirt.
Click here to get zombie outbreak caution tape.
Click here to see more work from the gallery show.
Click here for information on surviving a zombie attack.

G1988's recent 3G show was similarly outstanding.

Under the Influence

The He-man & the Masters of the Universe show opened tonight! And David Coffman was kind enough to take this photo to share with me:

But check THIS out! They turned the whole freaking gallery into Castle Greyskull!!! Ho-ly-Cow! And just for fun, see more cool super-hero-related art from Super Punch! (Love their logo!)

P.S.: My plush Skeletor has been purchased already! YAY!

Master of the Universe!

Who knew Skeletor was so huggable? He's headed off to LA for the next installment of "Under the Influence" at G1988 opening 1/8/2010. Huge thanks to my friend Kelly for helping me cut out all those parts!!! He's the buffest plush I've ever created.