Carry On, My Skyward Sword

The latest Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword hit stores this past Sunday, so I'm posting this watercolor illustration I just finished last week as a birthday present for a friend.

"Treasure Everything"
Watercolor & Ink on archival paper
18" x 24"

I have nothing snarky to follow up with, mainly because I haven't gotten around to buying the game yet (I was in the green room of the 2011 American Music Awards on Sunday when the game came out! I should probably do a post about that! But I'm lazy with an exclamation point! "Lazy!" the musical!). Anyway, I'm sure I'll have a snarky comment to make once some nerd in a Best Buy outfit sells me the game. Until then, just enjoy the art minus the snark.

Comic-Con 2011 - Thursday, Part 2: Breaking Dawn

Stupid hotel internet went offline so the complete Thursday report never posted. Anyway, you can see the rest of what went down at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 21 (Elijah Wood, slave Leias, Phineas & Ferb, Designer Toy Awards and more) after the jump.

Read more»

Nozomi

Since I haven't been tweeting for a while, it's probably been tough for you to stalk me, so I figured I'd give you all a heads-up on the next place you can find and harass me. This Saturday, June 11, 2011, I'll be featured in the Nozomi - Hope for Japan Artshow, a charity auction with all proceeds going to Global Giving's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

Here's the painting I made for the show, and you can bid on it this Saturday from 3 - 8pm in Long Beach, California:

"The Sun Always Shines" (12"x24", acrylic on canvas)
Dedicated to my father (Jan 11, 1940 - May 16, 2011)

We Heart Japan

Happy St. Patrick's Day! If you're in L.A. today, celebrate until you're green in the face at We Heart Japan's charity auction at Meltdown Comics on Sunset. There will be food trucks, free drinks, raffles and appearances by anime voice actors. Plus, you can bid in the silent auction for art, including three paintings by me! All proceeds go to the Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund.

Fill in the Groove

This past Saturday, I attended the opening reception for the "Fill in the Groove" 3rd Annual Vinyl Art Show in Tempe, Arizona, where artists were invited to create their work on vinyl records. Two of my paintings were on display (they'll be there through April 15), so I went on a road trip to see them.

"Sushi-Go-Round"

"Pac-Man Fever"

Painting on vinyl was difficult and driving 400 miles from L.A. to Arizona was tough, too, but the hardest part for me, actually, was finding records I was OK with defacing. I'm such a music nerd that I spent an hour at Amoeba Records' bargain bin trying to find suitable vinyl victims. (Jenni got mad that I used a Justin Timberlake 12" single as a test painting and another friend asked if I had painted the sushi on The Vapors' "Turning Japanese." I wish I was that clever. And to think I thought I was smart for rendering an Aqua record unplayable.)

There are lots of great pieces from around the world on display at the show (I bought this great record art from UK artist, Popcorny), so it's worth a look. You have until April 15 to get your groove on.

Painting of the Month

As part of my New Year's resolutions, I resolved to create a painting every month. I also resolved to avoid going to jail and to not appear in a leaked sex tape. Two out of three ain't bad.

Here are the January and February entries for my Painting of the Month:

January 2011

February 2011

Sanrio Grande

It's the 50th anniversary of Hello Kitty's company Sanrio, so last month, we visited Sanrio's Small Gift expo, which featured carnival games, a gift shop, mini golf, food trucks, an arcade, an art show and more cuteness than you could shake a stick that has googly eyes and rosy cheeks at (see, everything in the Sanrio world has a face). Anyway, this post is a month overdue, but it took us that long to recover from our cute overload. Seriously, stop staring at me, hamburger!

Check out our picture blowout after the jump.

What's the Sitch?

Last month, I got the opportunity to design the Dancing with the Stars team shirt for Jersey Shore's The Situation and his pro partner Karina Smirnoff.

True story: There were once motion lines by the fist pump 

image inside the crest, but they had to be removed

because it looked  like the fist was pumping...

um, never mind.

Now, it's an honor that I got to design the shirt in the first place, but all my hard work of emulating Ed Hardy paid off like a tattoo of a flaming tiger fighting a dragon in a koi fish pond on sale at the merch table at Criss Angel show. I don't even think that last sentence made sense, but the point is that my work was validated because The Situation himself liked the shirt enough to wear it in public and it was featured on TMZ. The only thing that could make it better would be if TMZ cut to that blond surfer dude in their office and he said something cluelessly profound about it all.

The shirt I designed is now part of the "L" in The Situation's GTL regime!

Comic-Con 2010 - Thursday: The Nerdical Limit

Thursday morning I arrived in San Diego to attend Comic-Con International 2010, and let me tell you, my warp drive is exhausted! Nerd humor! I'll be here all weekend. Try the veal! No, really, I'll be here all weekend. Dunno about the veal, though.

Anyway, Day 1 of my annual trip to the San Diego Convention center culminated in reaching the nerdical limit of geekdom -- previewing movie props and new toys including merch sneaks from Monster High, Marvel Super Hero Squad, Super 7, Scott Pilgrim, Mez-Itz and Minimates, scoring bags full of freebies and exclusives, and attending a highlarious panel with Rob Corddry, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino and the rest of the cast of Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital.

Read more (and see almost 100 pics!) after the jump.

The Most Adorable Plane Crash Ever

"The Frying Pan and the Fire"
LOST art by Jason
Ink & watercolor & digital

I also posted my art at the official LOST Fan Art Wall.

Up, Up and Away Art Show

Halloween is coming up, but before your senses get overloaded with sweet candy and naughty outfits for every random vocation under the sun, take in some culture by visiting Monkeyhouse Toys in Los Angeles. This Saturday from 5pm - 9pm is the opening reception for Monkeyhouse's group art show, "Up, Up and Away," which, believe it or not, has nothing to do with the Balloon Boy. Instead, it's a superhero-themed show, and here's a preview of my painting of The Thing:

"Clobberin' Time"
acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas


Up, Up and Away group art show
Monkeyhouse Toys

October 24th - November 29th, 2009

Opening reception October 24th 5-9pm

I'm listed on the art show postcard as "and more..."

Dr. Seuss Art Show

Here is a preview of my two paintings for a Dr. Seuss-themed group art show that's opening at L.A.'s Monkeyhouse Toys this Saturday, August 29th.

"LOLcat in the Hat"
Acrylic

"Hang in There"
Watercolor and graphite

I know you're all planning to spend this weekend in the theaters watching The Final Destination 3-D ("Death saved the best for 3-D!") and Halloween II: Not in 3-D ("Rob Zombie saved the best for 2-D!"), but why not cleanse the palate by taking in some art and seeing my paintings this Saturday ("Jason saved the best for you! In 3-D! And in 2-D if you close one eye!")?

Here's the flyer with all the info and stuff:

I'll be attending the opening reception, so if I owe you money or if I might be your baby's daddy or if you need to serve me a summons, you'll know where to find me.

Oh, the Art You Will See!
OPENING RECEPTION:
Saturday, August 29th
4pm - 8pm

Monkeyhouse Toys & Art Gallery
1618 1/2 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Attention, Cyberstalkers: Jason's Next Art Show

Dear Cyberstalkers,
I'm participating in BoredLA.com's upcoming art show, "Underwater Is Where the Action Is." The opening reception is Saturday, March 7th from 7pm to 11pm at the Ragazzi Room in L.A.

There will be live music, a DJ, food, drinks and some live art demos. Basically, it'll be a very public event, so it's not ideal for abducting me if you're that sort of cyberstalker. Also, if you happen to be that sort of cyberstalker who wants to kidnap me, I'm actually gonna be somewhere else that night so maybe look for me across town or something.

If you're not a cyberstalker or if you're a harmless cyberstalker, please check out the art show. Otherwise, thanks in advance for not raping me.

Sincerely,
- Jason

All the Small Things

Last night, Monkeyhouse Toys in Los Angeles had its opening reception for the Itty Bitty Art Show, where I had 10 pieces on display.

Everyone's been asking me how my itty bitty opening was, and let's just say it's awfully sore 'cause there were so many people crammed into it (I hear porn stars charge double for that kinda action).




Sometimes I think the only reason I do art is so I can make awful "opening" double entendres, but in any case, the reception continually drew a revolving crowd for the three hours I was there. It was actually so packed that you'll have a better chance seeing things up close now that the reception is over.

Bigger than itty-bitty thanks go out to everyone who attended, and if you didn't make it out, you can still check out the exhibit through November 30th.


Here's all nine of my robot paintings grouped together. Each one is 2" x 2" and they should still be available for adoption if you'd like to own one.

From left to right, top to bottom: TV-bot, Aqua-bot, Thought-bot, Toasty-bot, Love-bot, Danger-bot, UFO-bot, Fight-bot and Buzz-bot.

All nine of my robots teamed up to battle "Li'l 'Zilla," which is the tenth painting I contributed to the show. The rough version is shown below:

This was painted on aluminum, and I taped off skyscraper shapes before priming. You can see the finished painting in the post immediately before this, or you can see it by clicking here.

Itty Bitty Art Show

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'd like you all to gather at the spectacle that is my itty-bitty opening. Wait, look, I'm simultaneously flattered, insulted and somewhat scared of you now, but I'm actually talking about a reception next Saturday for an art show I'm participating in.

If you're in L.A. next week, please visit Monkeyhouse Toys to see the Itty Bitty Art Show, featuring over 100 artists who've created teeny weenie paintings, as well as teeny paintings that aren't of weenies. All of the works on display will be smaller than 9"x12".

I've contributed 10 paintings, including the three featured here. I'll post the rest after the grand -- yet tiny -- opening.

At last check, my stuff is the smallest, but that's not really something to brag about.

"Love-Bot" and "Danger-Bot"

Acrylic on 2"x2" canvas, shown in actual size.
There are seven other robots in this series.

"Li'l 'Zilla" Acrylic on 5x7 aluminum panel

Itty Bitty Art Show opening reception
Saturday, November 8th 2008
5pm - 9pm

Monkeyhouse Toys & Art Gallery
1618 1/2 Silver Lake Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

The art show coincides with the beginning of this season's Silver Lake Art Crawl, so it should make for a fun social event (or perhaps an awkward social event, depending on your tolerance of hipsters who look like roadies for either Weezer or Lisa Loeb).

Here's the postcard promoting the art show:

Please check out the show next Saturday, November 8th. It's the second-biggest event next week after election day! Well, unless you also have a birthday or anniversary or job interview next week, that is. OK, fine, it's just an itty-bitty event, but still.

Sk8r Boi

The All-a-Board Custom Skate Deck Group Show opened this Saturday in Los Angeles at Monkeyhouse Toys, and I learned quite a bit from it:

1. Someone out there likes my stuff. Two out of my three boards already sold before the reception had even started! Thank you, random strangers for almost reimbursing me for the iPhone I bought earlier that morning. I should start painting those tiny Tech Deck fingerboard toys and sell them for 99 cents so I can fund my iTunes downloads.

2. I have some really great friends who showed up in support of me. Sure, none of them bought that third skate deck so I could go for the hat trick on opening night, but still.

3. You know how a little red dot sticker by a piece of gallery art means that it's been sold? You can buy those dots at any Staples or Office Max store, so shitty artists should totally invest in those and discreetly stick them by their work so it looks like people like their stuff. If you're a really insecure artist, you should go sticker-crazy and make the gallery wall look like it has measles.

Ahem, see the red dot by my hot dog skate deck? Sold!

Here's a close-up of my buns and wiener. Yes, I'm totally trying to hit on you.

The top deck was painted by this friend of mine and the one on the bottom was done by this other friend of mine. You have until September 7th to see and buy them (the decks, not my friends), so start saving up.

Some cool decks including a polka-dotted plush one by Heidi Kenney and a Mr. Toast deck by Dan Goodsell.

Oh, what's that? Another red dot? Wait, and it's not herpes? Awesome!

Close-up of my skate deck that I titled "Elevations." I hate coming up with names. I took this picture during an early stage of deck development -- it was at about the time when I realized I had to buy a helluva lot more paint.

Here's my third deck, which is called "Depths." I think it's still for sale. Hint, hint, I'm a whore for your money.
I sketched out a tiny fish swimming above the treasure chest, but I forgot to paint it in so it's hidden beneath the finished painting... very da Vinci Code of me to do that.

The All-a-Board Custom Skate Deck Group Show is currently on display at Monkeyhouse Toys in L.A. through September 7th.