Random Hallmark Moments: Rainbow Brite

   Here it is... my entry in Hallmark Cards' headquarters art show featuring dozens of artists, each with their own interpretation of RB! Rainbow Brite was created by a Hallmark artist in 1983 and was wildly popular, with animated TV series, live action TV, Macy's Day Parade float, multiple Emmy awards, dolls, toys, games, sheet sets... you name it, this girl was likely on it. It's kind of mind-boggling.

    I will readily admit that although I liked some of the characters back in the day (before I developed a lil' thing called "taste"), I am not a fan of the character design style of RB and her contemporaries. This includes Strawberry Shortcake, Pound Puppies, My Little Pony, Cabbage Patch Dolls... the styling looks dated and doesn't hold up well against modern character design. But they were modern for their time. My goal with this piece was to keep enough of the hallmarks of the characters to make them immediately recognizable, but to update their style, with a Japanesey "chibi" or "kawaii" look, and costume updates like shifting the color palette away from those hideous primaries, and making the arm and leg cuffs transparent.
   Here is "the making of" the piece, step by step... including the fancy chocolate and sauvignon blanc which clearly aided the process. Considering how infrequently I get the opportunity to paint (not since Hallmarket 2013, and before that... who knows!), I needed all the help I could get. LOL!

   I completed the piece during the Sochi winter Olympics.That was my background noise. It kept me going longer and gave me a front seat to all the snowboarding action.

Brite new year

   Hallmark created the character Rainbow Brite 30 years ago. And though my sisters and I watched it a bit, I don't remember it well. So today I've been lazing on the couch, researching the show, and sketching the character in preparation for an anniversary art show coming up this month at work. The tough thing is that the character design is so far away from my personal aesthetic. I'm challenging myself to make her as cute as possible, and to work a fun concept into my piece(s). Time to get painting!

   That is, if these beasts decide to let me off the couch. My legs are pinned!!!

   I'd say we have a right to be a bit lazy today, though... party with the girls last night, and with Brett, Sawako, Christy, Abby, Scott, and August tonight. Two dinner parties at my house in a row? I like the way this year is ending/beginning!

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.

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...

Hyper Hobby

   Thanks to Mark Nagata and the Max Toy 5th Anniversary show, my work made it into another Japanese magazine: Hyper Hobby! (Interior image, bottom right corner... right where your thumb goes so you can't miss it, right?!) すごいね。ありがとう、マルクさん！

Link to more info  /  Link to more photos

Max Toy Photos

Design Festa, Tokyo, Japan

My guys are on the little shelf on the back wall

Double Punch, San Francisco, California

Mark plays with the toy... Uh... I mean "sets up the show"

Mark & his son, I presume? (He's getting big!)

All photos by Mark Nagata

Max Toy's 5th Anniversary Show

    The opening of the show is approaching, and here's a blog post on my plush, a post on the show, and a nice preview of the work...

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!

Random Hallmark Moments: My plush in Japan!

Another Centennial update from Hallmarkland: I was not lucky enough to accompany my plush Don & Dave Hall on their voyage to Japan, but check it out... top of the cake, baby! And Don looks pretty happy! 
I definitely think he should have brought me along as his translator, though. Then I could say, 「こんいちはホールさん。あなたのぬりぐるみはとてもハンサムですね。そして、そのケーキはとてもおいしさケーキですね。いっしょにお鮨を食べたがっていますか。じゃあ、行きましょうか。」Which means, "Good afternoon, Mr. Hall. Your plush look very handsome, don't they? And that cake, it looks very delicious. Would you like to eat some sushi together? Alright then, shall we go?!"   Thanks to Mark Spencer for the photo!

"The art of the brick" exhibit in Crown Center

Eric & I visited Crown Center next, and checked out this exhibit. Everything in these photos was created by a (possibly insane) man out of Legos.

random Hallmark moments: sketchbook show

Here are a few shots of the sketchbook show in the 9th floor library windows at work. The artists' names are not marked, so it's fun to try to guess which is whose. Can you guess mine? (Hint: there are two.)