My T-shirt design was on the show COMMUNITY!

I am a big fan of the tv show Community. I have seen every episode on Hulu plus (because I prefer to watch things whenever I want, I dont have cable and the HD signal is kinda iffy in my neighborhood). I appreciate the detail that is put into every episode. I was looking at the details in the background this morning while I was eating my chex, and then BAM! right in the foreground was a familiar T-shirt. I paused the playback, and there, plain as day, was my T-shirt design on the chest of the character Abed Nadir!

SEASON 5, EPISODE 4 of Community...featuring my T-Shirt!

The design is actually based on a large velvet painting that I created for Spooktacular VII (2006)...it was the Vegas themed year and Roy (of Zeigfried and Roy) had recently been mauled by one of his white tigers...so, I thought it was an appropriate Halloween painting to give away as a prize. We usually have a game that we make up and play at the Spookatcular, and I create prizes to give away. We put a very high price on the painting (we had lots of gaming chips as the unit of exchange) figuring that no one would actually earn enough to "buy" it...but Yancy Davis (formerly of the Sweettravelblog.com) rounded up all the chips from people leaving at the end of the night...well, a deal was a deal, and I found myself, a week later, delivering a giant velvet painting to his house. Ain't she a beauty?

So, fast forward to 2010 where I get an email from the T-Shirt company Sub_Urban Riot asking if they can use my painting as a design for one of their T-Shirts...I negotiated a deal with them and they printed up some tees, and sent me one which Kate currently wears.

I had forgotten about the whole thing until this morning, eating chex and watching one of my favorite shows. I am honored and humbled because I have great respect for everyone involved in the show...and in a way, I am part of the show now too....if you want one of your very own, you can buy one HERE.

Summer Roundup (All of July, and Half of August)

Its been a weird summer, and we still have two weeks left! Below is a round up of the summer's adventures and artwork.

So, first, we had the appearance of the "Concession Stand Kids" on the Arch Campbell Show. Below are the best stills I could find, but really, you should watch the show (HERE) because it is, well, a real...um...well...you kinda had to be there...

 Most of the actual appearances of the Concession Stand Kids have been lost to the mists of time...however, we did get a few good shots on the last night of the Union Market DC Drive In (Photos by Tom Kochel. (C)2013 Jon Gann/ReelPlan)

SNOW-CAPS, COLONEL KERNEL, BUBBLES and HOT DAWG

FemCee KITTIE GLITTER hosted most nights

Four Sold-Out Nights in July/August!

It might be burying the lead a bit by putting the artwork last, but it has been an unusual summer for me artistically. I started out the summer making some small "quickies" (small 5"x7" paintings that I don't spend more than an hour on) in order to start exploring new ideas. below is an example:

 

Vaudeville "Quickie" 5"x7" Acrylic on Masonite.

 I started to think that perhaps it was painting that was getting me down...so I decided to start working on some drawings on paper to loosen me up...

The first piece (below) is called "Man In The Moon". It is a departure from my normal mode of painting monkeys...I like the results, and it am looking forward to making more work like it...This piece will be exhibited at the Artromp Anacostia (which opens next Friday August 23rd)

Man In The Moon, Mixed Media on Paper, 11"x15"

After Man in the Moon I started to get that monkey itch again. So, I started work on a small series of work that centered on monkeys ineptly trying to fake different hoaxes. I am calling the series "Faking It"

Faking it: Nessie, Mixed Media on Paper, 15"x11"

Faking It: Bigfoot, Mixed Media on Paper, 11"x15"

Faking it: UFO, Mixed Media on Paper, 11"x15"

Faking it: Painted Rocks, Mixed Media on Paper, 11"x15"

 The last in the series (Painted Rocks) is going to be exhibited at the Annmarie Sculptural Garden and Arts Center during their "Humor Me" exhibit (Opens October 18th)

I will leave you with something cryptic...as a harbinger of things to come....

POST C2YN PHOTOS! A SELECT FEW FROM THOUSANDS!

Boy, I ain't kidding about that post title...we had lots of pics this year, and they just keep rolling in! Today's post will just incorporate some of BYT's fantastic coverage of the show (you can read the round up HERE...THANKS RACHEL!)

The rest of the photos are from Jared Rodrigues, who you may have noticed roving the party all night...THANKS JARED!

I present these in pretty much no order, and without comment...other than to say it was an Out-of-this-world event this year, and that we are already planning for next year! WOOT!!!