His Majesty, The Umpire // edition of 75
Hangin' On A String, Girl // edition of 75
The Umpire, His Majesty (reverse)// edition of 25JAMES - it's been quite the whirlwind in the past 2 months or so, and it all culminated in my visit to London last week, where the above three prints were unveiled at the opening of
Jealous Gallery.
the short story is that i was contacted by Dario Illari, who was opening a brand new gallery (and print studio), focusing on fine limited edition prints by folks such as
Warhol, Hirst, Hume, Kapoor, Banksy, D*Face, Jamie Reid, Nick Walker, etc etc, as well as
young and up-and-coming artists. eneter James Flames. we began a collaboration on these two illustrations to be printed in their studio by Matthew Rich - a master printer who, amongst many prestigious credits, worked on all the early prints for the Hacienda and Factory Records bands in Manchester, early 80's - so cool. sketches and many emails back and forth with Dario, then i sent them the artwork, and finally they printed them. it was a great collaboration and i think we worked really well together. they're about 50cm square (20inches or so), and i think they did an incredible job. the black is deep and velvety, they put a varnish over the grays so they shimmer slightly, and the blue really brings it all together.
well, i needed to sign them, and so instead of fedex-ing them back and forth, they figured it better for me to just go there personally. and i'm so glad i did. i arrived last monday morning, started signing right away, and then for the next two and a half days i became a part of the family - watching Eddie paint, asking Matthew a bunch of printing questions, and doing whatever i could to help get the place ready for the big opening on wednesday night.
^signing my prints, my hand was about to fall off by the end of the day. yes, that's a real Damien Hirst behind me.
^here are the two main prints, masterfully hung by Adam Bridgland.
^the front of the studio right before opening
^the "Menu", which went with the theme of the evening. i hand lettered both sides. quite a roll call of names on that list, an honor to be in their company
^the Jealous family. (L-R): Me, Jacqueline, Dario, Eddie King (and his latest piece - i got one to take home, thanks Eddie), Adam, and Matthew
^at full swing, the place was packed from the front door to the backyard. great food, and great company.
^the view from across the street, the place was poppin'i'd have to say the night was quite a success, for everyone, and myself included. my Umpire print was the first thing sold that night, and by the end of the night myself and
Eddie King had the most prints sold - more than i think anyone expected. it was such an incredible feeling to see them there, and to get such positive and insightful feedback. i'm still reeling.
the next morining i was back on a plane to come home. a truly amazing trip - i've never recieved such generous hospitality as i did from Dario and his family, both at home and at the gallery. it was quite an experience, and an honor to know that someone would put so much work into my own work. incredible thanks to everyone.
the prints have continued to sell well since,
and are available online here. they'll also be showing at another gallery show later this month, i'll follow up with more details. and we're already at work on the next print. psyched!
TOM - Here is this weeks Flavor of the Week illustration for the New York Press. Looking at it now, it has a little Halloweenish feel to it. It's about a women who accidentally throws away her favorite vibrator. Ooooo, spooky. I had fun with this illustration.
This one appeared in the last issue. It's about a one night stand that turns out to be a schizophrenic.
TOM - Here's some highlights from last nights figure drawing session.
I try to play around with different approaches everytime I go. Yesterday was really focusing on the face.
His Majesty, The Umpire // edition of 75
Hangin' On A String, Girl // edition of 75
The Umpire, His Majesty (reverse)// edition of 25
^signing my prints, my hand was about to fall off by the end of the day. yes, that's a real Damien Hirst behind me.
^here are the two main prints, masterfully hung by Adam Bridgland.
^the front of the studio right before opening
^the "Menu", which went with the theme of the evening. i hand lettered both sides. quite a roll call of names on that list, an honor to be in their company
^the Jealous family. (L-R): Me, Jacqueline, Dario, Eddie King (and his latest piece - i got one to take home, thanks Eddie), Adam, and Matthew
^at full swing, the place was packed from the front door to the backyard. great food, and great company.
^the view from across the street, the place was poppin'
TOM - Here is this week's 'Flavor of the Week' illustration for the New York Press. It's a story about a young British college student in New York City who's uptight and repressed attitude keeps him from enjoying the many strange and sexual encounters he keeps falling into.
