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December 10, 2011 – January 2, 2012
Gallery Nucleus
210 East Main Street
Alhambra CA 91801 (Get directions)

This past weekend saw the opening reception for one of Gallery Nucleus’ latest tribute exhibitions, The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me, dedicated to a man who has inspired countless others in his pure, simple pursuit of dreams… Jim Henson. For those that aren’t aware of my affection for puppets let me just say that I am a HUGE fan of the artistry behind puppetry; a love that was inspired largely by the works of Henson and his countless co-conspirators.

Henson (by way of his children and protégés) and what are arguably his most famous creation, The Muppets, recently made their return to the public eye this past November; inspiring an entirely new generation of creatives. Gallery Nucleus’ latest show is a tribute to that”enduring impression” Jim Henson has left on the world:

Timed with the release of Disney’s The Muppets motion picture and news on a forthcoming Henson biopic, Nucleus has invited more than 30 artists to pay homage to this universally beloved visionary whose inspiring concepts and characters have impacted our culture in a monumental way. The collection will showcase a variety of mediums from a roster of professionals who are also genuine fans.

Artwork by Mike Mitchell

Artwork by Sebastien Mesnard

Artwork by Scott Campbell

Artwork by Felt Mistress

Artwork by Alberto Cerriteño

Artwork by Jeni-Yang

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You might remember that back in October we met digital artist Luca Molnar. Molnar, a Hungarian native, uses a mix of traditional illustration and graphic design to create exquisitely detailed compositions that have been used by a variety of ad agencies the world over.

More recently, Molnar has decided to start her own business. Miss Future, which launched this past November, offers a variety of Molnar’s signature designs on t-shirts for a female audience with “free souls” and a Hippie spirit – including some that we featured in our previous interview.

As a bonus, 10% of Miss Future’s profits are donated to animal charities, a cause that the artist is pretty passionate about. “I was always involved with animals,” says Molnar, “and I’m so happy that I can help them now.”

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It’s officially the first day of Halloweekend (woo-hoo!) and here at Fuel Your Illustration we’d like to dedicate today’s posts to kicking things off for all of our readers the only way we know how… sharing some Halloween-related illustrations!

First up we’ve got a brand new ebook from comic artist and freelance illustrator Dave Windett and author John Gatehouse simply called Trick or Treat!. While it actually premiered back in September, as the title suggests, the book was definitely created with Halloween fanatics like myself in mind. Well, okay, the target audience might be a little younger than I am, but I’ve never been one to turn down a book full of fun monsters and adolescent adventure.

Storywise, Trick or Treat! follows a young girl named Neela Nightshade who wants to be a famous reporter. Determined to prove herself, Neela decides to investigate the town legend of the haunted Monster Mansion atop of Gallows Hill and soon finds more than she bargained for when the legends turn out to be true. Before she knows it the monsters of Monster Mansion are running amuck and ready to take over the whole town!

For more information, check out the creative team’s Little Lemming Books website.

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September 30 – October 22
Closing Reception:
Friday, October 21st (6-10pm)
Paradigm Gallery + Studio
2020 South Street
Philadelphia, PA 19146 (Get directions)

Dead and Dreaming: A Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, curated by illustrator Sam Heimer is an art show dedicated to the literary works of author H.P. Lovecraft – an appropriately themed one at that for the Halloween season. The show has bee described by Heimer as one of his “dream-shows” to have put together in collaboration with The Autumn Society, The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society and Paradigm Gallery + Studio.

Featuring 20 different artists, each participant was asked to interpret a story or character from the author’s extensive cast of “weird fiction” and otherwordly oddities. As the title of the show would suggest, Lovecraft’s work often takes the reader on wildly imaginative flights of fantasy that exists somewhere between death and a dream and from the sample pieces I’ve seen from the show it made for some great inspiration (see below).

The Call of Cthulhu by Same Heimer

The Dunwich Horror by Michael Bukowski

The Shadow Over Innsmouth by Germán Orozco

From the press release:

In re-printed volumes, personal sketch books, mythos inspired film, games, and writing, Lovecraft’s work takes on almost a second life, a horrible re-birth by the hands of hundreds of artists worldwide, carrying on Lovecraft’s legacy, weather for print or pure pleasure, they keep the green, noxious flame burning in some burrow, tomb, or cyclopean vista just beyond the wall of sleep.

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It’s hard to believe that it’s actually been 10 years since Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett’s virtual band, Gorillaz, unleashed their very first studio album on the unassuming masses. The self-titled debut went on to earn its very own World Record in the Guinness Book and set the stage for various musical collaborations throughout the years – elevating Hewlett’s illustrative career from cult comic superstar to nothing short of a household name.

The band itself (which includes fictional characters 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs) is set to celebrate the big one zero with a special release dubbed The Singles Collection: 2001-2011 on November 28th. As part of the celebration they’ve kicked things off with this interactive collage of Hewlett’s artwork and animation (in association with ThingLink). In addition to being able to scroll through the giant canvas of works, there are also 10 touch points scattered throughout that expand to reveal hidden content like videos that stand as defining moments in the career of the band. See if you can find all 10!

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Strange Kids Club is excited to announce its second issue of the Strange Kid Comix Magazine featuring a hauntingly awesome cover by David Hartman— character designer and Emmy Award-nominated director for shows like Transformers: Prime, MTV’s Spider-Man and Extreme Ghostbusters.

This extra special Halloween-themed issue continues SK’s tradition of combining immature, gross out humor with a crazy love for pop culture parody in a spine-chilling new series of stories by creators Aaron Klopp, Brian Fyffe, Christine Larsen, Craig Collins, Glen Brogan, German Orozco, Sean K. Dove, Keith Allen, Neil Camera, Smo, Beans and Bueller and Zach Bellissimo.

Each short stars the club mascot; Strange Kid, a personification of prepubescent deviant behavior with a penchant for monsters, video games and generally causing as much Halloween-themed havoc to those around him as possible and includes an a bonus “treat” for all of the Halloweenies out there: two exclusive cut-out monster mask by David Hartman and Keith Allen!

“Vibrantly illustrated by many of today’s top talents… artist interviews and gooey handfuls of dark humor help round out this release.”

-Gary Pullin (Rue Morgue)

“Strange Kid Comix #2 is, more than anything, a potent shot of hyperactive horror fandom, a candy-fueled headtrip time-warping our brain-damaged psyches to the endless Halloween of Monster Kid childhood.”

-Wilhelm Screem (Bloodsprayer)

“STRANGE KIDS COMIX MAGAZINE is a bloody romp that will take you back to the good old days of gorey (sometimes comically so) movies, up-all-night scarefests with friends, and more fun than a funsized bag of candy corn.”

-Meredith Short (Viper Comics)

To snag yourself a copy, check out the official Strange Kid Shop.

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Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
(thru October 31st, 2011)
Saturdays from 11am to 5pm
Sundays from 11am – 3pm
Mountain View Mausoleum
2300 N. Marengo Avenue
Altadena, CA 91001

It’s that time again. October is right around the corner and the chill in the air is slowly creeping its way down our spines and along with it a slew of Halloween-inspired art shows! Yesterday we mentioned the Autumn Society’s Iconoclastic Dead show opening this Saturday in Mexico and today we’ve got another show to share with you which will take premiere on Sunday: Creature Feature’s October Shadows art show.

Going on it’s fourth year celebration, October Shadows will take place at a very appropriate location this year – an actual 19th century mausoleum – and showcases the world’s most “prestigious group of artists from the worlds of fine art, comics, film, TV and animation” including Justin Mabry, Gris Grimly, William Stout, Drew Struzan, William Basso (see above), Corlen Kruger, Eric Pigors, Gary Pullin, Randy Queen and many more! Unfortunately, no preview artwork has made its way online yet, but with a line up like that how could you not want to attend?!

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Saturday, October 1st, 2011
(thru October 31st, 2011)
6:00pm – 12:00am
Gurú Tienda Galería
Colima 143, LA ROMA
Mexico City, Mexico

Coming right off its first international show in France, the Autumn Society is showing no sign of slowing down with their next art show opening in Mexico this Saturday (another first for the art group!). Entitled The Iconoclastic Dead, the theme of the new show is “Dia De Los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) where over 40 artists have assembled to celebrate some of the iconic people who they truly admire (dead or alive) and includes special guests such as Alberto Cerriteño and Jorge Gutierrez among others.

The show, which opens Saturday, October 1st, is being hosted by Galeria Guru in Mexico City will feature live music and food. The Iconoclastic Dead was curated by German Orozco, Chogrin and Jorsh Pena.

Jermaine Clement by James Gilleard

Dr. Suess by Rhode Montijo

Penn Jillette by Glen Brogan

Emiliano Zapata by Jorge Gutierrez

Jim Henson by Xander Laytin

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Friday, September 2, 2011
(thru October 1, 2011)
7:00pm – 10:00pm
Gallery 1988 Melrose
7020 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, California 90038

September is looking to be a pretty awesome month for those of us who grew up in the 80s with Gallery1988 announcing its month-long celebration of “Childhood Items We Miss The Most Month.” Set to begin this Friday, September 2nd, Gallery1988 kicks things off with a tribute to Garbage Pail Kids– “the gross-out phenomenon from the 80’s!” A show nearly two years in the making GPK1988 will feature “over 100 of your favorite artists [who] were asked to create their own Garbage Pail Kids… some may even become actual cards soon!” The show is being produced in partnership with Topps Trading Cards and The Hundreds.

The following night, on September 3rd, Gallery1988 and Cinefamily will co-host a Garbage Pail Kids (see trailer) movie screening at the Silent Movie Theater (Cinefamily) on Fairfax at 10 PM. As an added bonus, stars from the film, Mackenzie Austin and Arturo Gil, will be on had for questions.

Below are a few sneak peeks that have already leaked, dripped, oozed, barfed and crawled their way out from the trash bins to get fans excited about the show.

Handy Randy by Glen Brogan

Manny Heads by Steve Seeley

UnDead Ted by Ryan Jones

Modern Art by Jaw Shaw

Ultra Vincent by Rhys Cooper

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When I was little, I was obsessed with the Dark Crystal (okay, maybe I still am). As I grew older, I discovered more works by Brian Froud and fell in love with his faeries and goblins and brownies and creatures of all sorts. It was a gateway into my current affinity for drawing faeries and winged-creatures of my own. So when I ran across this Kickstarter project, A Field Guide to Chrysalies, They’re Not Faeries, by illustrator Paul Keskey, I knew I had to help him reach his goal. To me, his paintings are a throwback to a classical fantasy style from my childhood, fitting between David the Gnome and my collection of Beatrix Potter books. I would love to get my hands on a book like this.

Paul’s Kickstarter project is an attempt to get his Chyrsalies book published. The costs will cover the publishing of the book and the book itself is going to be beautiful. “The Field Guide to Chrysalies there not Faeries will be a soft cover, print run of 2,000. The book will measure 8.5”w x 12”h. The book will be printed in full color, with a solid paper stock (100#) for the interior pages.” This is his dream and I hope anyone reading this takes a moment to make a pledge towards helping him achieve it. He has some fantastic rewards for different pledge levels so definitely take a moment to go through them.

Paul was gracious enough to answer a few questions for me and I hope that his work gives you the same nostalgia as it did for me. Please contribute to his cause and enjoy the interview!

They’re Not Faeries: The Interview

Hi Paul! Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into art.

I have always been a daydreamer and drawing imaginary worlds as long as I can remember. The two activities took up much of my class time in my elementary school days. By the time I was in High School my interests were on other things, but I had an art teacher who was always trying to encourage me to take it more seriously. Her words did not start to resonate with me till a couple of years after high school.

In my early twenties I began to take my art more seriously, so I left Milwaukee Wisconsin and enrolled in the fine art program at Rocky Mountain College of Art in Denver, Colorado back in the 1980s, when it was only a two year program. That was all I felt I needed to improve on my drawing and painting skills.

The name of your Kickstarter project is “A Field Guide to Chrysalies. They’re Not Faeires.” How did the idea for this story come about?

What first started out to be a few work up sketches of a butterfly for an idea I had about a painting, the sketches started to evolve into Chrysalies faerie like creatures, I just kept going with it, it seemed like it had its own energy. My first impression was – I had just made another faerie drawing. As I looked through some of the sketches, they seemed to be more butterfly-like than faerie, That is were They’re not Faeries part of the title comes in.

The sketches and paintings of the Chrysalies generated they’re own story. The story began by me jotting down notes and questions next to some of the sketches, like field notes. I decided to make them real and put them in a natural setting, as if they have been around us for centuries, they became stewards of the environment. Taking care of host plants to butterflies, and other beneficial plants as well.

The illustrations are very whimsical. What medium are you using for the book?

I used various mediums starting from pencil sketches to oil paintings, water colors, and acrylics. Being whimsical is part of my nature of sketching and drawing and I tend to keep this style throughout in each medium.

How is the artwork in this book different from your classic work?

My classic work has more of surrealistic feel to it, a more dream-like quality. The new work is almost all fantasy trying to fit an imaginary creature into our world.

our work reminds me a little of Brian Froud’s faery books. Are there are any artists that you look to for inspiration?

I believe inspiration comes from within,though the following artists have had an influence upon me in many ways. They have captured my interest with their imagery and the mastery of painting and drawing.

I remember when Brian Fraud came out with his first book in the 1970’s I spent a great deal of time flipping through those pages, because I was fascinated with some of his images.
There are others: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Johannes Vermeer, Maxfield Parrish, Frank Frazzetta, and Michael Parks.

And finally… what “fuels” your illustration?

Painting for me has always been a meditative process, some people go to the gym or take yoga, I create new worlds.

Find out more about Paul and his project here:

• MorningMist Studios
• Official Kickstarter Page

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Saturday, August 13, 2011
1:00pm – 3:00pm
210 E Main St
Alhambra, California

As if the upcoming super iam8bit show isn’t awesome enough, California locals will have something else to look forward to this weekend when illustrator Kevin Dart makes a special appearance at GalleryNucleus for a meet and greet to celebrate the artist’s latest book, Looks That Kill featuring the creator-owned femme fatales Yuki 7 and The Gadget Girls.

A Pasadena-native, Dart first created Yuki 7 back in 2008 inspired by the artist’s “fascination with the 1960s, retro spy flicks, and powerful female characters.”

Dart will discuss Yuki 7’s development in addition to his influences and more. The artist will also cover the production of both the book and animated short while touching on how the project started and and it’s continuing evolution. This is top secret material you won’t discover elsewhere.

Bring questions for our Q&A session to follow and get some one-on-one with Dart as he signs his new book Looks That Kill.

There will also be a raffle contest for those who buy a copy of the book at the event, including some exclusive Yuki 7 memorabilia.

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Thursday, August 11, 2011
7pm to 11pm
2147 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Since 2005 Los Angeles, CA has been host to an annual invasion of video game-based artworks (not too be confused with the alien invasion video game Space Invaders) courtesy of the creative think tank known as iam8bit. Every year attendees from all over come to LA in droves to celebrate their favorite games and gawk at the hundreds of remixed video game memories and this week they’ll get a chance to do it all over again at the 5th Annual Super iam8bit celebration!

This year, opening night will take place on August 11 from 7pm to 11pm at the new iam8bit headquarters in glorious Echo Park (2147 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90026) and feature “over 100 artists [who] will reimagine their 80’s gaming fantasies, delusions and secret desires via all sorts of media – painting, sculpture, plush, and even some more interactive experimentation.” With entertainment provided by electronica musicians Leeni and A_Rival, a 30th anniversary Galaga tribute featuring the world’s largest “arcade cabinet,” and a “retro-fied” Kinect hack from Double Fine super-artist Drew Skillman this event may just be the closest thing the gaming heaven you’ll ever experience!

Super iam8bit Flyer by Dave Crosland

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Residents of Burbank, CA are in for a real treat this weekend when over a dozen artists including Brent Engstrom, Corlen Kruger, Justin Gray, Glen Brogan, and Karla Jane converge to celebrate the two most loved films of writer/director Fred Dekker; Night of the Creeps and Monster Squad.

“When I was in my last year of college I began remembering and getting inspired by my childhood heroes,” says remarks Joseph Game (aka Chogrin). “Memories of the Goonies and other ‘Kids dealing with weird sh*t’ movies kept coming to mind… these movies are gems and truly signify the magic that 80s movies had on kids like me growing up.”

The exhibit, Monster Creeps, is scheduled to take place for 1-Night Only on Saturday, August 6th at Dark Delicacies (www.darkdel.com) from 8-10pm. Fred Dekker himself is scheduled to be in attendance and there will be a special screening of Monster Squad will be held at the Banshee Theater featuring a special Q&A with /FILM’s Germain Lussier & Fred Dekker. Check out the samples below for a taste of the terror that’s to come:

Monster Creeps is sponsored by: The Autumn Society, Strange Kids Club, Fright-Rags, and Dead of Night Radio.

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Not to isolate the male comic book artists out there, but as a geeky girl with an intense attraction to visual storytelling, I absolutely love learning about female artists and how they’ve managed to infiltrate the primarily male-dominated field. I’m going to focus today’s Webcomic Wednesday, not on webcomics (gasp!), but on their printed counterpart, and showcase a phenomenal Kickstarter project that is celebrating the work of 140 talented female comic book artists: Womanthology, a 300 page anthology already in production that is finally giving women recognition for their amazing comics. It’s the first of its kind and I’m already hoping for another one in the future.

The Massive All Female Comic Anthology!

The creator of the project is Renae De Liz, a professional comic book artist and illustrator of the graphic novel version of The Last Unicorn (which I own and love to pieces – her style of drawing suits the emotion of the tale perfectly). She undertook this incredible anthology project when she began to notice a lack of female artists being published and had an idea that quickly took off.

The goal of the Kickstarter project was originally a small $25,000 to publish 1500 books. Now, with 11 days to go, the project has received $67,000 in donations from art lovers the world over, and they’ve raised their goal to $100,000 and are hoping that with this goal, they’ll be able to do a whole lot more. Even with the project deadline approaching, I have a feeling Renae will reach her goal and some. Why not help her out?

More Womanthology Links

• Official Kickstarter Page
• Womanthology Blog
• Full List of Contributing Artists
• Womanthology Twitter
• Womanthology Facebook Page

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I love apps. I love game apps, to-do list apps, time tracking apps, apps to make wireframes, apps to tell me where the stars are, apps that make peeling oranges a snap! Well maybe not so much… BUT. The app I am going to introduce you to today is by far, the most beautiful iPad app I have ever come across. It combines incredibly touching stories with beautiful works of art and interactive play into one breathtaking iPad app for both children and adults. I am extremely happy that this app was sent my way.

Forgotten Colours & Other Illustrated Stories

Forgotten Colours is “112 page ‘book’ containing fifteen stories that deal with universal themes, seen from an optimistic and lively point of view” and was created by Play Creatividad. It contains sketches, interactive pages that allow you a closer look at the artwork, and great moral tales with happy endings. The tagline for the ipad app is “A Surprisingly Unique Version” and let me tell you, it most definitely is surprisingly unique. I fell in love with this book in just the first five pages and I wanted to share this with all you as soon as I could.

Get Forgotten Colours 50% off today!

This is going to be a short post because it is a quick preview of a longer post I will be publishing sometime next week that will contain interview with some of the faces behind the app. It’s a big project and a big post, but I wanted to talk about it sooner BECAUSE today is June 23rd and today you can get Forgotten Colours for 50% off in the iTunes store! How awesome is that?! Not only will buying it mean getting your hands on this beautiful book, but there’s another reason: “10% of the proceeds obtained shall be donated to the DNGO Educación Sin Fronteras (Education without Boundaries).”

The Free Forgotten Colours Wallpaper App

That’s not all. Today is also the release date of the Wallpapers – Forgotten Colours app, a FREE companion app for the iPad and the iPhone that lets you download illustrations from the book to use as wallpapers! You can bet what my current wallpaper is, huh?

So what are you waiting for? Go download the 50% off Forgotten Colours app and its companion Wallpaper app today! And don’t forget to check back next week for an interview with the folks behind this beautiful application. Enjoy!