Where do you buy your gRaFFiTi supplies?

Did you know there are many Graffiti Supply stores?  I would like to experiment with the fantastic array of permanent pigment and colors.  I am especially intrigued by Lindsey Lohan White. 33third los angeles and Bombing Science  look like some excellent places to start.

Edward Gorey's Birthday

Today is Edward Gorey's birthday.  He was born in 1925 and passed on in 2000.  I have not really seen many of his pictures, I am mostly familiar with him through his animated intro to the old PBS MYSTERY! program but having read a little about him this morning I am very impressed and plan to look at all of his work I can find.

Eward Gorey- Wikipedia

Edward Gorey House

Hot Rod CarToons Magazine

Hot Rod CarToons Magazine was a magazine devoted to humor about cars and hot rods and the covers were superb!

Inspired by Hot Rod CarToons Magazine and the hot rods and monsters culture of the 1960's I painted some "Monsterpieces" of my own!

"Graveyard Garage", Watercolor, 16 x 20 inches

 "Transylvania Speedway" Watercolor, 22 x 30 inches

"Brick Street Monsters", Watercolor and Acrylics, 22 x 30 inches

The Grocery Artist Blues

I worked for a grocery company in the 1990s travelling to many stores with a box of Fomecore board , markers and spray paint.  I was usually drawing big posters depicting happy families on picnics or anthropomorphic vegetables and fruits doing whatever they might do to promote the product on display. 
I was cleaning out my studio and found this sketch made in preparation for some "back to school" signage.  I guess I must have been pretty bored of the ultra happy grocery scene when I made the sketch.  I never made that sign!

Inspiration from the world around me

This little picture was inspired by events that were taking place during October, 2012.  It was the election season and yard signs were everywhere.  We had some new neighbors who decided to celebrate when we normally slept.  That grumpy old werewolf is me threatening to call the cops! 
I decided to make a picture rather than turn my new neighbors in and I think it was a good decision.  Hey, at least I got an idea from it.

Juan Gimenez

Juan Gimenez , born in Mendoza, Argentina, is one of my favorite illustrators.  He has mastered a style that is a beautiful blend of futurism and rococo.  I especially enjoy his illustrations for the comic series "The Metabarons".

Ed "Big Daddy" Roth

When I was a kid I loved to draw monsters and hot rods and monsters driving hot rods!  It's what every little boy seemed to be drawing back then.  The inspiration for our crazy car art was Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.  As far as I know Ed Roth was the father of the whole Monster-Hot Rod movement.
Ed passed away recently, I wish I could have met him, I've heard from several car enthusiasts that he was a real nice guy.  Check out the official Ed "Big Daddy" Roth site, ratfink.com .

Beer Labels

No matter what you think of beer, surely you agree that many of the labels are downright beautiful!  My favorite label is the one for the Japanese beer, "Kirin Ichiban".  It has some mythological looking horse printed in gold foil, it's gorgeous!  Well, I searched "beer labels" and evidently the interest and demand for creating beer labels is so intense there are many, many design sources and even a free custom label designing program for beer labels http://labeley.com/

John Pike Paints Watercolors

John Pike was an American water colorist who lived from 1911 to 1979, I'll always be in awe of his work.  I first saw some of his artwork in a book I checked out in the 1980s called JOHN PIKE PAINTS WATERCOLORS.  The way he painted the light from colored lanterns glowing in a smoky village or transparent green water in a fishing village or gigantic trees catching the sunlight in a snowy field is unequalled.
Pike said he couldn't afford expensive Sable brushes when he started out so he bought cheap bristle brushes which he used for his entire career.  He designed a unique watercolor palette which is still being production, one I enjoy using when I paint... however, not as beautifully as he did.