Grip Up! : An Amateur Arm Wrestling Competition.

 

So here's yet another ridiculous illustration of animate food. Including a hot dog. And an Ice Cream man. And arm wrestling. This one is for an upcoming event sponsored by Dapper Dog (one of my favorite purveyors of hot dog goodness), Little Baby's Ice Cream (obv's), and Philadelphia's own Yards Brewing Co. (makers of Brawler: my personal favorite sipping beer).

The Grip up is an amateur level, outdoor arm wrestling competition, to be followed by a screening of probably the best movie made about the sweet science of wrst-wrestle: Over the Top (the poster of which was the basis for the composition of this piece). There will be prizes. There will probably be hats turned around. There won't be any semi trucks up for grabs. Find all the details HERE. Proceeds to benefit the PSPCA.

Little Baby's Coloring Book & Mixtape!

So here's a little guy I've been working on for a bit, mostly in secret. The wonderful weirdos over at Little Baby's Ice Cream approached me a while ago to put together a special little package for them for their soon to be opening store (These will be available this Fri. Aug. 3). Said package was to include this, an ice cream centric Funny Business coloring book, a mixtape, and one more special, yet to be announced item. I haven't posted anything, as I was waiting for them to let the world know about this activity book for ice cream enthusiasts and discerning weirdos.

It includes, but is scarcely limited to: Hillbilly Ice Cream mutants, Darby Crash: the Ice Cream cone, (also Black Metal Ice Cream, Skinhead Ice Cream, and more in the ensemble...)and a gaggle of flavors as a who's who of the Masters of the Universe.
So, that all exists. As well as bikers, surfers, skulls, BMX ice cream cones, and more. A collaborative effort all around: the book was edited and composed by myself and the lovely Jeff Ziga, the mixtape was curated and mixed by Ryan T.

Hot D-Day (For the Dog Days of Summer).

A new addition to my constant struggle to jump all sharks: Hot D-Day. Done for a small pop up show with Autumn Society alums and in conjunction with one  of Philadelphia's premier hot dog cookin' establishments Hot Diggity Dog. Made specially for the Dog Days of Summer hot dog themed street festival, this piece is a mild recreation of an iconic image of the storming of Normandy Beach. Except, you know, with hot dogs.

How to Do Summer.

Hello, old friend. Summer is here, and I have taken an accidental hiatus from arts. Why? Because this summer has been for doing other things. Being on boats. Going into the woods. Adventuring. Geocaching? Yeah, that too. Breaking from my usual style of leaving personal and work semi-separate here's a summer-photo-exploits post full of wonder. And Taco Bell.

Goat races at Sly fox started summer. Alicia pets one. Then let there be Doritos Locos. And heads poked thru unicorn paintings at Art Star Craft Bazaar.

Then on to the closing, sadly, of Phantom Hand gallery.  A unique and brilliant space for a diverse mix of some of Philadelphia's finest to ply the wares of their astounding arts and musics. Alas, on South St. in the summer.
I regret none but the last.
Also the Delaware overlooking the Ben Franklin Bridge, and some Morgans Pier action. And the end of the debate of sprinkles vs. jimmies. Jimmies forever, motherfucker.

Liberty Lands BBQin'. And how I wish every meal ever looked. Ghetto sprinkler runnin' & drankin'. Free case of Vitamin Water, post block party, and...we...yeah. Patriotic corn-holing. Which is a phrase (that I'm super curious if will lead to keyword searches here...)

Dogs geocaching in Timber Creek park and our initial discovery of Timber Creek pond.

Alicia and her brother on a boat to a restaurant that you could pull said boat up to and order your food. Yup.

And next is my stupid head above the waves at Island Beach State Park. Which. Is THE BEST PLACE. We caught many a sandcrab that day, I tells ya.

If you haven't been there, it's a state park on the coast of NJ near Tom's River that is paid admission, so it cuts down on stragglers, and where more often than not you have to hike through wooded sand dunes to access the actual, pristine, lonely beach. It's a marvel.
No fucking joke.

Franklin adventures. With God Lights. In a creek hunting tadpoles. And seeing his first deer.

Said deer was seen in the woods surrounding Valley Forge Nat'l/ Park, where we also spotted the mini-Washingon monument.

And what Summer would be complete without watching live, as adults, dudes in funny hats play Double Dare on it's 25th anniversary with the real Marc Summers in a German style bier garten.

Which happened right before Radiolab Live in Philadelphia, where we saw giant dancing eyeballs, uber nerds, heard a blind man talk about sculpture, and turned the Academy of Music into outerspace.

A Disgusting Pile of Delicious.

One of my most favorite holdover foods from when I was a child is Mac and Cheese. It's a damn near perfect thing. I also understand now as an adult how truly not good it is for you. But. I still feel compelled everytime I see an interesting variant on this classic to order it. Here is a rendition of my current favorite, as produced by Philadelphia's own North Bowl. It's a pile of goo and noodles with Goldfish and shred baked onto the top. It is a miracle of modern creation. It's also really fun to exaggerate in drawing. To the left is a sample swatch of the mac-n-chee inspired repeat in the background. This piece is currently hung at the Greenline Cafe in W. Philly.

And Thus A Flaming Skull was in a Chokehold.

I will be slowly trickling out new work over the next few weeks. Some of it from our recent show at Greenline Cafe, some not. This piece was for that show. It involves a luchador in the midst of slime monsters, lizard men, Draculas, mummies, wolfmens, and aliens putting a giant cybernetic flaming skull wrestler in a chokehold. Obviously. Also: Frankenstein in a flying car. Living cactus. Words.

Adventure on a Small Floating Island, Part II.

Companion piece to Adventure on a Small Floating Island I, which can be seen in an earlier post. These 2 paired pieces feature some/most of my favorite things, including: A corgi, a lady adventurer, floating eyeballs, slime monsters, animate Rice Krispy treats, tentacles, more floating eyeballs, I think a monster made of beer, and possibly a living terror macaroon. So.

Empty Night Skies. _ats.

Here is my image for the Empty Night Skies upcoming benefit show. See previous post for more details regarding the cause and it's dates or check out it's event page here. The premise behind this is pretty easily identified (Which is to say it's a bat with a tat on a cat and a rat on pat covered mat with some splats of some fats and a vat behind a gat and a gnat flying round an AT-AT who is looking at a hat). Below is the bat-themed repeat pattern dropped in behind the image. For photo shop whizzes this is hi enough res to grab, crop and make a repeat out of. Feel free.

Dummo and the Queen: Arts of Me and Alicia Neal.

I know it's sort of last minute, but coming up this Friday (April 13th) is the opening reception for the 2 month long showing of the artworks of me and the lovely Alicia Neal. There will be some old work, offset by a bunch of new stuff from us both! If you haven't seen us much in the last few weeks, this is a good chunk of the reason!

It will be at the 45th and Locust location of the Green Line Cafe, and starting around 6 PM. We would love to see some friendly faces, and hope you can make it out!

Below is one of my new works for the show, and the flier image is one of Alicia's fine new pieces, with my dumb type slapped on it. Hope you can make it to see the rest!

Bat. With Rabbit in Hat, 64 Impala.

Here's a thing I made to be made into a 1.5" button for an upcoming benefit show being put on by a wonderful group of folks to help bat conservation efforts here in the US. Bats are super important dudes and have a near apocalyptic disease decimating their population. While this image is meant to be lighthearted, the struggles of these little dudes are no fucking joke. See more about the cause here, at the event page for Empty Night Skies.
And here is the sneakiest of peaks at 3 new images for a show Alicia Neal and I are putting together that will go up, no joke, in like 2 weeks. These are going to be massive and wildly fun/complicated. More details to follow!

Doc Brass x Pulp Love.

My newest thing I made for a thing. Thanks to the fine folks and drunken, artistic wonders once again over at the inimitable Phantom Hand Gallery, I have been given cause tangentially to explore one of my loves from years past in the dummo manner people can/have come to expect from this here dude. Namely: Planetary. Specifically: one of my favorite chunks of that damn masterpiece Doc Brass, in and of itself (himself?), an ode to the iconically pulpy Doc Savage adventures of times past and present. Dont know what I'm talking about? REEEEESEARCH it. Fully, totes, 100% terrific.

Heart Shoooooow.

Another year of making Valentines day hearts! This Saturday. Feb 10th, come over to Jinxed Clothing in the Piazza to see a variety of heart-work (Huh? Get it?!) ranging from the beautiful and complex to my yearly, cartoonish, dummo attempt at painting!

Friday Night Special!

Hey all! A quick blast about openings tonight! The newly opened, genuinely astounding Phantom Hand Gallery at 604 South St. will be hosting an opening tonight featuring artworks by some of Philadelphia's finest artists, in a pop-to-propaganda (or vice versa) salon. My MBMBaM fan-art propaganda piece will be making it's full color full size premier, and there will be a Hunger Games nod from the lovely, talented Alicia Neal, that is not to be missed.

And right down the street at the same time more or less, will be an event hosted by the awesome-as-shit Liz Demartino at Tattooed Mom's featuring: well, what the flier says: Skulls, Snakes, Art, Food, and Heavy Fucking Metal!

Hope to see folks out and about!

MBMBAM and a Year in Review.

So. As anyone who may read this may know: I get excited about things. Something will pop into the ole' noggin, and I will get absolutely stuck on it. Books, comics, movies, vijeogames, whatever.
This happened to me in the last year or so with podcasts. I work at the 'puter most of the day, and can't find it in me to listen to music all of the time, and so: podcasts.
And audiobooks.
But podcasts are free.

Of all the things I listen to, only one over the last year has forced me out of my chair and the office with school-boyish giggle fits. Which is something a grown ass man shouldn't have to write. That podcast is: My Brother, My Brother, and Me: An advice show for the modern era. See their complete deal at the link.

This is a piece constructed from ideas jotted down that made me laugh (too often actually out loud) over the last year of changing jobs, headlights, and opinions and for a Pop-propaganda show (Upcoming). All the mini illo's. are from 2011 episodes of the show, so if they don't make a whole lotta sense right now: don't sweat it. Do the research and go listen.

And I may be getting these made at some point, so holler at a dude if you want a print, and we'll work something out.

And thanks for looking!