Cheap crap and Christmas.

When I was a kid, I loved dime store toys. I could go into a dime store on Allowance Day and spend every penny on crap -- cheap seductive beautiful crap that, if lucky, would make it all the way home before I had a chance to destroy it. Devil's Fingernails, Sheriff's Badges, Rubber Spiders, Atomic Water Pistols, and Smoking Monkeys were my treasures.

The chief marketing tool for this cheap crap was the header -- a colorfully printed folded piece of cardboard stapled to the polyethylene bag that held the object of my desire. I think in some cases the headers were more expensive to produce than the toy it was selling. The headers hung from pegs specifically adjusted to be at my eye level. I'll never forget the power of those simple folded pieces of cardboard.

My Christmas card this year was an homage to all that stuff that made me happy when I was a kid.

By the way, if you want to be added onto next year's XMAS card list, email me your address and I'll add you. I might come up with something worth keeping.

Too much time on things that don't matter.

So, I've been introduced to Tumblr. It's about time, eh? Although, I'm not sure if it has any value beyond being just an enormous time vacuum. The exposure one might get as a creator is defeated by the anonymousness of the venue. It's like having an art gallery where nothing can be purchased and there are no placards indicating who did the art. Good for the viewer, I suppose, but not so much for the people who make the stuff. We'll see...

Any way, here's a picture I did while I was playing around with my little ghostie. I combined my three favorite things: little ghosty, clouds and car crashes. Maybe not car crashes.

Not willfully obscure.

The next poster in the Enzian Cult Classic Series is for "Tommy," Ken Russell's 1975 paean to rock and roll and pop culture. Completely over-the-top, this film stands as a monument to excess and the unbridled creative synergy of director Russell and The Who's Pete Townshend.

You will never view baked beans the same.

And yes, I used the word paean.

Occupy this.

A friend of mine once said, "if you can't make it good, make it big. And if you can't make it big, make it red." There you go. My design philosophy in a nutshell.

This a poster I originally did to advertise an Orlando art show given to support workers' rights. Go, workers.

It can be had at the web site of my pals and collaborators, Lure Design.

Going back to Kali.

This is a 3" Vinylmation figure I did for Disney's Park Series 7. It is a representation of Animal Kingdom's Kali River Rapids. Thanks to Thomas Scott.

Well, butter my biscuits.

I just found out, like, two minutes ago, that one of my Enzian Cult Classic Movie posters just got accepted into the Society of Illustrators "Illustrators 54" show. In the Society of Illustrators' words: "the exhibit will be held at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators (NYC) February 25 to March 17, 2012. It features works by leading contemporary illustrators worldwide, selected by a prestigious jury of professionals."

Oh, yeah.

If you're interested in getting your own copy of the "To Catch A Thief" poster, go visit my pals at Lure Design. They'll set you up.

Jemimah.

I used to have a crazy dog, Jemimah. She looked like a Doberman, German Short-haired Pointer mix - skinny long legs, all milk chocolate brown with a pointy snout. Sometimes when she'd get out of the yard, she'd run full throttle in a straight line like a nitro-fueled dragster. Where was she going? No one ever knew, but she sure needed to get there FAST.

This is a sketch I did for painting that never happened. I feel like someday I should do that painting.