The Thing From My Dystopian Future

 

The Thing From My Dystopian Future

Pencil and Paper 

9" x 12"

2013

"The Thing From My Dystopian Future" was created for "Futurology" a group show hosted by Copro Gallery (March 23rd - April 13th, 2013). When I first heard the title of the show, I instantly thought, "the study of the future". Taking this into consideration, I started creating a piece that suited a futuristic theme. 
I don't know about you, but when I think of the future, I think of technology, and from that, robots, or mechanized creatures become the logical progression. "The Thing From My Dystopian Future" is an obvious nod to James Cameron's classic movie, "The Terminator". If you're not familiar, the movie features a robot assassin that comes from the future, disguised as human. Underneath its human dermis hides ghoulish robot killing machine.
Creating "The Thing From My Dystopian Future" was a lot of fun for me. When I was in high school, my drawings were undeniably inspired by manga and anime. I drew a lot of giant robots / mecha, and I loved incorporating hyper detailed mechanics. However, sometime around college, I felt like I lost the ability to render things this way, maybe because of a change in priorities, or maybe because I destroyed a good portion of my mind with my self destructive lifestyle. Fortunately this drawing has helped me reconnect with that illustration style, and I hope to incorporate more of it into my future works.
You might have also noticed that this was just a simple pencil drawing. I would have loved to have finished it with ink, or made it into a painting, but the details are so fine, I was afraid of ruining the drawing with ink, and I honestly didn't feel like I have the skills to recreate the image with acrylic paints.

Panda

Panda

12" x 12"

Acrylic on Panel

2013

"Panda" was created for "The Art Collectors Starter Kit", a group show hosted by Corey Helford Gallery (March 23rd - April 10th, 2013). It's a painting about wanting to be something you're not. This is the second time I've worked with this specific narrative, the first time being my painting "Everybody Loves Panda". I actually was planning on naming it "Everybody Loves Panda (Revisited) / Yearning for the East", but I figured "Panda" summed it up elegantly.

Smile

Smile

Acrylic on Wood Panel

12" x 12"

2013

During the month of March, 2013, I was invited to contribute a painting for "Kindred", a group show curated by artist Nathan Spoor and hosted by Bold Hype Gallery NYC. The only parameter we were asked to consider was that the artwork be 12" x 12". 
"Smile" was my contribution to the show.

Target (Alternate Colorway)

On Saturday, March 16th 2013, Munky King will debut the alternate color of our third major release, "Target". Based on previous releases, "Target (Alternate Colorway)" features the black gold and red colors I regularly use.
This version of "Target" is limited to 500 pieces.
There are also plans of having a limited edition print of the "Target" box art and a black & gold "Target" t-shirt to be available during the signing.


Release/Signing
Saturday, March 16, 2012 (1pm - 4pm)
 
Munky King
4505 W. Jefferson Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90016
www.munkyking.com

Crotch Talk - Year of the Snake

CROTCH TALK (YEAR OF THE SNAKE)

Acrylic and Ink on Panel

9" x 12"

2013

On February 2nd, 2013, Giant Robot hosted the "Year of the Snake" themed group show. As the name implies, February 2013 marks the year of the snake on the lunar calendar. 
Since the end of 2012, I've been looking for opportunities to try something different and create something a little more 'experimental'. Unfortunately I ran out of time, so I resorted to a series concept I've been holding onto for a while: the "Crotch Talk" series. 
"Crotch Talk" was going to be the sequel to "Head Space". Where "Head Space" is about the things inside my head, "Crotch Talk" would focus on my thoughts concerning sexuality. My original plan for "Crotch Talk (Snake)" was to incorporate something like the black mamba, or another venomous spitting snake. But for "Crotch Talk (Year of the Snake)", I thought painting the snake red and gold will be a nice nod to Chinese New Year. I guess I'll save the mamba for when I create the series to be displayed as a whole show.
I'm still not sure when I can bring this series to fruition, but I guess this as a preview of things to come.

Slow Poke (Hug)

SLOW POKE

Approx 2"-3"

Acrylic, Ink, and Magic Sculp on Resin Figure

2012

On December 15th, 2012, Toy Art Gallery hosted Blamo Toys 4th annual custom show. For this show Blamo invited over artists to customize their "Hug" figure.
For my contribution, I started by considering the design and the idea behind the "Hug". Rather than being warm and welcoming, I wanted to make my figure repulsive and unsettling. My initial ideas revolved around covering it with spikes, but as time ran short, my idea whittled down to one strategic "spike". Once I settled on this, I did my best to make it visually unappealing. I started by changing his expression from smiley to sad (as if he were saying 'will someone please hug me?'), and sculpted a stubby and unflattering erect penis (complete with testicles). I then painted him a light flesh tone, drew in a mess of public hairs, and added the words "Slow Poke" as abdominal tattoo. I finished by adding my signature bear head, coupled with the name of my brand "Unbearable", as a back tattoo.
On hindsight, I think it's odd that when customizing toys, I find myself leaning toward themes I don't usually approach in my paintings, specifically sexual themes. You can see it in my Bellicose Bunny custom, and my My Little Pony custom. I'm curious to see what I create in the future.

For Designer Con 2012, 15 other artists and I were invited to customize a Sucklord figure for the Suckadelic "Super Suck Up!". Limited to an edition of 50, each figure was assembled and painted by hand. The helmet and claw were sculpted and cast by George Gaspar of October Toys, and Sucklord designed the card backs. I ended up using Instagram to document most of steps I took while designing and creating the figure I call "Kuma Fett".

Kuma Fett Turnarounds 

When designing Kuma Fett, one of the first things I considered was how I would incorporate my brand onto the figure. One of the most intriguing things about Boba Fett was the fact that he was pretty much annonymous. He always wore a helmet, and I thought it would be fun to start by adding Luke Chueh style bear helmet for his head. We over sized the head to exaggerate the idea this was a helmet. We also added the signature dent on the head and that "mic/visor" piece signature to the original Kenner Boba Fett figure. And since Boba Fett is a notorious villain, I thought I'd add a bloody claw as inspired by my "Southpaw Series"

Helmet sculpted by George Gaspar of October Toys

 

Claw sculpted by George Gaspar of October Toys

 

Kuma Fett Card Back designed by Sucklord