This is just a taste of the type of art that will be featured in next week’s Artist Survey with Paris Raupach. I loved this piece so much that I had to have it framed in a befitting manner. I think that Corey at Studio West hit the nail on the head when fixed it up for me. What do you think?
Here are some great looking posters for the National Blues Foundation. I found these and a whole bunch of other great ads everyday on Advertising is Good for You.
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Joey grew up in Sonora, CA just like me. We got to know each other in an advanced placement biology class we probably should not have been in. We were the only kids in our graduating class to attend Long Beach State, where we became good friends. I even lived at his grandma’s house down there for a summer. He now lives in Hawaii and will be moving to Australia shortly. His paintings marry the psychedelic surf scene of the 70s with traditional Japanese tattoo imagery. He is also dabbling in cinema, hopefully we will get a chance to see some films in the future.
Name: Joey Fumar
Location: Hawaii Kai, Oahu, Hawaii
Medium(s): Acrylic Paints, Paint Pens
What do you consider yourself (artist/designer/other)? Artist
Where can we see your work (place/publications/url)? I’m trying to get my work into a gallery to be publicly viewed but for now on Facebook and on Myspace.
When did you start gaining interest in artistic forms of expression? I really started painting when I moved to Hawaii. But I always loved to be creative and make art.
Who/What inspired your interest? Tattoo art primarily inspired my painting style. I study tons of Japanese tattoo books and that helps me be creative. The ocean and its creatures also inspire me. I have always liked to include waves in my paintings.
Where do you first remember being exposed to art? Probably kindergarten or first grade…I remember I didn’t like being told what to draw or paint.
What is your day job? Waiter at Kona Brewing Company…Hooray Beer!
Why do you create? To release emotion whether it be anger, sadness or happiness. Most of the time it’s anger and sadness though. I find it hard to paint when I am feeling good about things.
Is there any recurring theme in your work? Bright colors and tattoo styling.
What do you want from your work? I want people to look at my work and feel emotion (hopefully rage) or be inspired to get it tattooed on their body. I don’t want to be an artist who creates boring shit like stuff you see in hotel lobbies or restaurants. I want my art to stand out and brighten up a room.
What do you want viewers to take from your work? I want the colors and images I use to make them feel the art rather than just have them view the art.
How often do you work on personal projects? Every 2-3 months I’d say…whenever I feel like I need to paint.
How often do you work on commissions or commercial work? Never yet but I would love to.
Does your art support you financially? No
Do you feel preoccupied with your art, do you think about it often during the day and night and do you anticipate your next session? When I have started a painting yes…I think about it all day and its weird I get really pissed off when I am in the middle of a painting because I get so frustrated trying to come up with color schemes and the layout and flow of the painting…I am not a nice person to be around when I’m in the middle of a project.
What do you do in your spare time besides your art? Surf and videography…some photography
Which musicians are you currently interested in? Nowadays…The Faint, The Black Angels, Marylin Manson, Groundation, Damian Marley, The Roots, Lil’ Wayne, Static X, Slayer, MGMT, Prodigy, Gorillaz
Are there any events you are looking forward to attending? None I can think of…Oahu has a really good art scene in downtown Honolulu there is a lot of young up and comers making really cool and funky shit.
How long do you generally take on a piece? 2 to 3 weeks
Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of your art? No I haven’t put myself out on the line yet to push my art. I often think about trying it though but it doesn’t pay my bills.
Do you work on multiple projects at once? Nope one at a time
Do you have trouble parting with your finished work? Yeah when selling paintings it hurts a bit but I am glad knowing someone is enjoying my art. But there are some paintings that would hurt more than others to let go of.
Logotypes from some old trucks I came upon on the outskirts of Sanger, CA.
I have changed my blog guidelines for Fridays:
Found Friday: Fridays will be restricted to photos that I have taken or the work of another. I originally called this Photo Friday, but decided to change it so that I could post info on sites, creatives and work I find in my daily adventures. Photo Friday was just to narrow for me.
Have you ever noticed the hundreds of different t-shirt companies out there that have designs that look the same? You know the shirts with off center skulls and wings? Maybe with a banner and some grunge type? Some ink splats and revolvers? It was pretty neat the first couple of times I saw it, but now it is mundane and obnoxious. The saturation of these images in today’s market is insulting.
I attended Las Vegas’ Fashion and Apparel trade show known as MAGIC earlier this year and counted a couple dozen booths with disgustingly similar, clip art covered shirts. I never understood how one booth was supposed to convince a buyer that their skull design was better than the next guy’s (Yeah, yeah I know I posted a skull t-shirt design earlier, but was created for a purpose and statement. It was satirical numb nuts). In recent web expeditions I discovered a cornucopia of sites that offer clip art packages. They sell sets of the same skulls, wings and Victorian flourishes to every Tom, Dick and Asshole who insists on calling themselves a “designer.” Where the fuck is the creativity and originality‽
I never understood how one booth was supposed to convince a buyer that their skull design was better than the next guy’s… Color pallets, imagery and composition are separate parts of an image/design.
I do not believe that designers must also be illustrators, photographers and copywriters. Your work will stand out and you will be a greater asset if your versatile, but they are separate job titles for a reason. Just do us all a favor and don’t simply regurgitate the first shirt you see in Hot Topic. It usually takes me a good year or so to get tired of a look, but these days the teeny-boppers and their expendable income go through attention whore fashion trends in a matter of months. As soon as they see one shitty dresser on MTV they go and try their best to become a carbon copy. That is not being creative and “showing your true colors”; it is showing how well you can be a fucking tool.
I understand that it is our job to be on top of the latest trends, but that DOES NOT mean that we must copy them. Color pallets, imagery and composition are separate parts of an image/design. They can be manipulated to reflect the popular styles without being completely unoriginal. Your clients want you to recreate looks they have seen in other collections so that there product moves better. It is your job to keep from plagiarizing the competition still making sales. Do your best to create something with the same essence as the referenced product while keeping it as different as possible. If not for yourself and your portfolio, do it for me, the viewer. I am tired of seeing the same tired shit over and over again.
This is my latest line of shirts. Over the summer I volunteered a lot of time to my local Arts Council and our Foothill Farmlands Arts Festival and I designed these shirts with our struggling arts community in mind. I designed and printed them all myself right here in ol’ Tuolumne County. They are a very limited run (especially the yellow ones) and are going fast. If you want to snatch one while they’re still available email me at tuo_cou@yahoo.com with the size and color you want along with your address and I will let you know what’s available. They are $20 a piece.
I illustrated the central image for this a couple years back after reading a bumper sticker that queried the same. At the time I was researching traditional tattoos for a friend and the imagery emerged from there. I thought it was hilarious and unfortunately timeless. I just colored and affected it to make the piece a little bit snappier for you all.
TaVon is an art director at Island Def Jam Music Group along with my friend Todd Russell. Check your local music store for some of his work.
Name: TaVon Sampson
Location: MANHATTAN (Keeps on makin’ it) / BROOKLYN (Keeps on Takin’ it)
Medium(s): Pencil & Graphic Design
What do you consider yourself (artist/designer/other)? Artist & Designer
Where can we see your work (place/publications/url)? At a Record store Near You, magazines Billboards.
When did you start gaining interest in artistic forms of expression? Since Birth as far as I know…I think I was drawing inside the walls of the womb…lol
Who/What inspired your interest? Nobody really but myself…I always liked to see what I create because it always amazes me in the end. Im my biggest fan.
Where do you first remember being exposed to art? When I first picked up a pencil…I used to draw all of these comic books and send them to my uncle every week when I was like 4 or 5 years old and ask him if I gotten better since the last week
What is your day job? Art Director/ Graphic Designer
Why do you create? Self Satisfaction, I love to see what Im going to do next, adding another piece onto the collection…Love to show the world how my brain works visually.
Is there any recurring theme in your work? No theme, except for the fact that I try to create something better each time.
What do you want from your work? I want to look at it and get goosebumps…if I don’t look at it and say damn that’s that shit right there….I don’t ever want to look at it again.
What do you want viewers to take from your work? I want them to want to meet the person behind the visual and to appreciate the talent.
How often do you work on personal projects? Every single second I’m breathing.
How often do you work on commissions or commercial work? Every day.
Does your art support you financially? Yes it does.
Do you feel preoccupied with your art, do you think about it often during the day and night and do you anticipate your next session? Yeah pretty much…Since its my job and my natural talent & hobby…I’m always doing art and during the day and night, so the only time I am thinking about it is when I am dreaming.
What do you do in your spare time besides your art? Research and figure out a way to take it to the next level, I try to make business contacts and look at other art for inspiration…never did that as I child but Now that I have matured I see the importance…and also hang out with my family and my lady.
Which musicians are you currently interested in? The list goes on…but…Marvin Gaye and Nas when I’m in creative mode.
Are there any events you are looking forward to attending? Yes, My future Grammy acceptance…lol ( Hasn’t happened yet)
How long do you generally take on a piece? Personal project – no time limit, I have an idea I’ve been developing for 14 years. Commercial piece…from the time given to the deadline.
Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of your art? No not really everything I’ve been around has always dealing with art, I’ve gained a lot of relationships through it honestly, people really appreciate the talent. Only thing I lose is sleep.
Do you work on multiple projects at once? Yes all of the time, I really don’t like to work that way though.
Do you have trouble parting with your finished work? Yeah all of the time, it feels like I’m giving someone an undiscovered organ in my body. Its like your child. When you get a canvas or a blank document its an empty placenta…then throughout your art process It’s the last thing I look at before I go to sleep and the first thing I look at when I wake up…you work on it and work on it working to improve it to be the closest to perfect as you can, like raising a child. Once you finish and you sell it to the customer, its like sending your kid off to college, you are so proud of what it as become since that blank piece of paper, screen or canvas.
With it being National Election Day I feel that it is appropriate to bring the Mojib Revolution to your attention. Mojib Revolution is a guerrilla propaganda campaign started in the seedy underbelly of Long Beach by Team Euclid. They kidnapped me a couple years back and forced me at spork point to illustrate a portrait of their leader. I also did a follow-up piece.
Here are their words:
It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s coming… The revolution will come, just you wait. And when it does all those capitalist pigdogs who subjugate the masses with their materialism and false idols will feel the brunt of all that is Mojib.
Look for the signs of a Mojib Patriot in a dark alley near you.
Join the Revolution?
