Blog - Tad Carpenter

Kern and Burn Book

May 21, 2013 | 12:42pm

I was honored to be interviewed and contribute an illustration to the new book Kern and Burn. Kern and Burn is an online and print publication that curates discussions, interviews and essays inviting design entrepreneurs�to share their perspectives and�to share their personal stories and overall passions that have shaped their career. The book it's self started as a true passion project�between Jessica Karle Heltzel and Tim Hoover. The two authors have really put togehter a special book and overall philosophy that I am so honored to have contributed to.

The new print publication is out now and I can not recommend it enough. The concept I was asked to illustrate within the book was�"Dive In". Check it out below or a larger image here. And please do pick up a copy of the book here.

Zion 2013 Snowboard

March 21, 2013 | 11:36am

Was really fun designing a new board for Zion for their 2013 line of products. The concept for the board was all about what lies beneath. Playing off dinosaurs, mammoths and bones frozen below us as we ride. You can purchase a board here. Big thanks to Zion and my pal Brandon Wilson for asking me to work on such a fun project.

Spring 2013 smart phone cases for Case-mate

March 11, 2013 | 2:51pm

A new batch of smart phone cases for Case-Mate for their Spring 2013 line. Purchase them and a few others here.

Toro Y Moi Poster

March 11, 2013 | 10:42am

Had a blast designing this poster for Toro Y Moi. Kind of expected to have a bull on the poster but I'm happy how it turned out. Poster is 18x24, 3 colors and a small edition of only 75 plus artist proofs. Purchase the poster here.

Just Like Being There

March 10, 2013 | 9:36am

For�Kansas City Design Week 2013�I designed a poster for the screening of the gig poster film�Just Like Being There. Limited edition poster below was also printed in purple, blue and magenta for the event.

Target Spark event

January 30, 2013 | 1:05pm

To be asked by Target to come speak as part of their Spark speaker series was a huge honor. Getting to meet all the crazy talented people of Target really was the best part of my trip to Minneapolis. I can not thank everyone at the red bullseye enough for their kind words, hospitality and flat out fun times we shared.�

As part of the Spark speaker series, Target asks each speaker to create a spark mark to add to their collection for the Spark series. Mine is the robot below.

Target Spark Series Poster

January 17, 2013 | 10:17am

It has been a thrill to work with the great people at Target over the years. I was so honored and humbled when they asked me to come up to Minneapolis and speak as part of their Spark Speaker Series on January 24th. If you are up at Target HQ on January 24th I hope you can join us! Will report back after the fun event. Below is the poster I made for the event. Larger version can be seen here.

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UMKC illustration campaign

January 9, 2013 | 10:59am

Was a fun project working with the University of Missouri Kansas City on a cover and series of interior illustrations for their recent alumni magazine. These illustrations will eventually turn into a campaign�used online, on campus and through out downtown Kansas City for a year long university celebration.

2012 Sad Santa Holiday swag!

December 3, 2012 | 11:31am

Each year I design a new set of holidays goodies. This year it was hard for me not to include my friend and new book Sad Santa. I have a set of 3 silkscreen A2 sized holiday cards and a super fun die cut Sad Santa ornament set. Each set comes with 4 silkscreen ornaments and twine to hang from your tree. Each order comes with a Sad Santa silkscreen bookmark also. Happy Holidays everyone! The cards are for sale here and ornaments here.

Sad Santa events in NYC

November 29, 2012 | 12:38pm

I recently had several book readings and events in NYC for my new book Sad Santa. Posted a few photos on the Sad Santa website of the fun times! A big thank you to Left Bank Books, Books of Wonder and my friends at Macy's for the invites. A great time. More photos here.

Publix Halloween Campaign

October 31, 2012 | 2:28pm

It was a blast to team up with Publix, a southern grocery store chain to develop their 2012 Halloween campaign. The campaign included in-store signage, POP displays, trick or treat bags, hang tags and much more. If you are in the south run out and snag some of the Publix swag we developed before it's gone. Happy Trick or Treating y'all!

A special thank you to my friends Brittany Sharp & A. Micah Smith for taking all the photos. Boo-tiful work pals.

Communication Arts Fresh Feature

October 29, 2012 | 11:31am

A big giant thank you to Communication Arts for featuring me on their home page and a post in their FRESH section today. Read the aticle here.

Sad Santa

October 23, 2012 | 10:36am

A new book I have both written and illustrated titled Sad Santa�is in stores now! Sad Santa is the story of the day after Christmas and how crazy bummed out Santa Claus gets each year. To both write and illustrate your own book and see it out in the world is a dream come true. More info on the book, photos, animations and goodies at sadsantabooks.com. You can purchase the book here or anywhere books are sold. Make sure and watch the short video we put together for Sad Santa also below. Ho, Ho, Ho!

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Communication Arts Feature

October 4, 2012 | 10:32am

A huge thank you for Comm Arts featuring the Snapple packaging I worked on. See more here and read the feature here.

I Say, You Say Opposites & Animal Sounds

September 5, 2012 | 12:47pm

So, so thrilled about this new book series I have both written and illustrated. The series is titled I Say, You Say and is published by my friends at Little, Brown. Be sure to also chek out the I Say website here for prints, news and goodies all releated to the books. The first two books in the I Say series is Opposites and Animal Sounds. You can purchase the two books here.�

We also shot a super fun video showing just how fun these books can be for the entire family. Plus how each page has a fun flap to lift and explore. Watch the video below.

Purina One for Zeus Jones

August 29, 2012 | 4:04pm

Was super fun creating this illustration and poster for Purina One and my friends at Zeus Jones. Myself and super talented pals Brent Couchman, Eight Hour Day and Lab Partners all created posters to be handed out at Pitchfork music festival to help promote the improtance of pets and music. See all the posters here.

I also wanted to share a few of the pencil sketche concpets I did for Zeus Jones and Purina One that we did not end up moving forward with. I think thier was some fun things happening but glad we landed where we did. Enjoy.

Target Gift Coin Critter$

July 12, 2012 | 10:38am

Had such a blast working on this recent gift card project with Target and Art Director Sara Lintner. The concept was to create a series of gift coins that Target's guests could add any amount of money to each of the individual coins. Each pack comes with 5 distinct critters ready for you to load up and hand out. Our critter$ are currently in Target stores all across the USA so please run out and grab one!

Help Ink

July 11, 2012 | 12:00pm

Was honored when Drew Carson and his company Help Ink recently reached out to me and asked if I could make a print for them. Help Ink sells awesome art prints that tend to promote the positivity within all of us. I’m super honored to be a part of their recent collaboration with Fab.com and hoping we can sell as many prints as we can to help their charity. Forty percent of the profits go to a charitable cause of their choice. Other collaborators in this sale include the amazing Julia Rothman, Jessica Hische and Meg Hunt. All of our prints go on sale today at 7pm EST on Fab.com!

You can see the print larger here.

The Shins

June 25, 2012 | 11:39am

Was asked to design a poster in support of The Shins show at the Sasquatch Music Festival in Seattle Washington. I wanted to include the bands most recent album Port of Morrow into my overall concpet. The album was named after a street sign lead singer Mercer saw each day in Oregon. The sign which read and lead to the Port of Morrow always sounded very dark and deep when in fact it was really just a borning shipping port. I used the port street sign and various Oregon and shipping icons through out the poster. Each poster is 18x24, 3 colors in an edition of 100. Purchase the poster here.

Snapple Half N' Half

June 21, 2012 | 1:28pm

Was really fun working with the agency BrandCory on this new packaging for Snapple's Half N' Half campaign. I created and illustrated all the flavor monsters used on the packaging that are based on the particular flavors inside each bottle. Wanted to post an update about this project with even more photos recently posted on BrandCory's site here.

Weapons of Mass Creation: Cleveland Bound!

June 7, 2012 | 12:00pm

Beyond honored when I was asked to come speak at the design conference Weapons of Mass Creation which is this weekend. In tribute to the city of Cleveland and the overall event I made this fun little 2 color poster. Edition is only 50, 18x24 in size and uses metallic gold and silver inks. Lots of fun Cleveland references like the dawg pound, the tribe, Drew Carey and the Rock and Roll Hall of fame. Cleveland, you really do rock. You can buy one of the posters here.

Wander

June 5, 2012 | 12:46pm

Was excited when I was asked to create a postcard for the new project Wander. Read more about Wander or even download my illustration for your phone or iPad here. Or you can see my illustration larger here. Wander on y'all.

Adobe How-to-Guide!

May 31, 2012 | 7:19am

To say it was an honor to work with Adobe is a crazy understatment. Adobe reached out to me last summer and sent me a pre-release of CS6 so I could play and explore with the new software. They wanted me to create my own version of the classic Adobe illustrator Venus image using the new CS6 version of Illustrator. It was such an honor to get the new AI so early! Illustrator really has several new features and pure awesomeness in the new release. You can read and download my how-to-guide over on Adobe's site here. I walk through my process creating my illustration and talk about some of the new features in CS6. One of the features I love is the new pattern tool. Adobe and I even made a shopping bag�from several of the patterns from my illustration. Such an honor to test out a new and improved tool I use everyday.

The Great Discontent

May 15, 2012 | 1:15pm

So honored to be featured on The Great Discontent. A really beautifully designed site with a very impressive line up of people being interviewed. You can read our interview together as I ramble on about my love of the Mid-West, doing what you love and most importanly KC Bar-B-Q. Jump on over to the interview here.

Alternabike

May 9, 2012 | 11:08am

A brand I developed for a small family bike shop in San Diego, California. Alternabike wanted a brand that was bike and family friendly appealing to all age groups. The brand is being used as signage and apparel in 1 retail location and eventually to online applications.

Alphabet Print

April 2, 2012 | 2:49pm

Had a blast drawing up this print recently. I have been wanting to do some larger prints so this is the first. This 4 color silkscreen �alphabet print is huge at �24x30. Each is signed and numbered by me in an edition of 125. So rather it for your little one learning the alphabet for their first time or all of us bigger kids who may need a refresh. Snag one here!

Kern and Burn

March 21, 2012 | 1:37pm

I have really admired what the folks over at Kern and Burn have been doing. Kern and Burn is a publication that curates discussions about design entrepreneurship. Something that a lot of us partcipate in everyday. These discussions are spanning�100 days�of inspiring interviews and features. Needless to say it was a real honor to be involved. So, jump over to Kern and Burn and read all the amazing, inspring and flat out jaw dropping interviews. You can read my feature here as well.

Rhyme Out!

March 12, 2012 | 2:59pm

I recently designed the packaging and overall brand for a really fun game for my friends at Educational Insights. The game is called Rhyme Out! it is a triple-word rhyming game for kids and adults alike. The overall design approach was creating fun, friendly iconography and packaging that spoke to this fast paced guessing game. You can purchase the game here.

Radiohead King of Limbs Poster

March 12, 2012 | 2:47pm

Was really fun to design a poster for a band I admire as much as I do Radiohead. The overall concept for the poster comes from the bands recent release King of Limbs. Poster is 18x24, 3 colors (silver and gold are metallic). Each poster signed and numbered by me.��Purchase the poster here.

AIGA St Louis Student Conference

February 24, 2012 | 12:36pm

Was really honored when I was asked to speak at this years St Louis AIGA student confrence. I will be speaking their tomorrow (with the amazing Mig Reyes!) so if St Louis come on by! More info here. I made this fun 2 color poster for the event. Plan on giving away a bunch at the event and will also have some extra with me. You can buy it now here.

HOW magazine feature

February 23, 2012 | 12:43pm

Thanks so much to HOW Magazine for doing a feature on me and my client Yeah! Burger. Was such an amazing project and continues to grow. Article can be read in current issue of HOW on news stands now.�

Dr Dog Poster

February 3, 2012 | 12:34pm

A fun new 2 color silkscreen poster on chipboard for Dr Dog's show in Lawrence, Kansas. Signed and numbered in an edtion of 200. Pick one up for your walls�here.

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Land of Nod alphabet print

January 5, 2012 | 8:05pm

I recently designed an exclusive alphabet print for�Land of Nod. So if you got a little one at home or need an alphabet refresher go grab one here.

Case-mate collection Video

December 7, 2011 | 8:30am

Was down in Atlanta a couple weeks ago meeting with my pals Case-mate to talk about new projects when we also filmed this video to promote the current collection of cases I have designed for them. I have to say I think the Case-mate team did an amazing job. Especially with what they were working with (me! yikes!). More info and pick up a case here. Enjoy our little spot.

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NEW! North Pole Party People Game!

November 22, 2011 | 3:57pm

Really excited about this new holiday game for 2011. Each year I do a set of holiday cards and last year also introduced my Holiday Homies. Well this year I took my Holiday homies a step further to create this super fun board game. Each Party People game comes with 6 Holiday Homie figures and stands, dice and 18x24 inch game board. All pieces are silkscreend so they are in limited quanity. This year I used purple, bright blue and metallic gold as my color palette. So grab the fam and help these holiday homies get to Santas big party. It is promised to be a blast. Pick up the game here.

2011 Holiday cards!

November 22, 2011 | 3:50pm

Each year I create a set of holiday cards. For 2011 each card is silkscreened with 3 color including purple, bright blue and metallic gold in a limited edition. Each set includes all 4 designs and A2 bright blue envelopes. Happy holidays everyone! Pick up a set here.

Case-mate colletion

November 22, 2011 | 2:05pm

Just the first of many projects with the people over at Case-mate. This is my first 6 case collection for the Atlanta based company. Pick up one or several of my cases for your phone here.

Conan Posters on Conan LAST NIGHT!

November 15, 2011 | 10:13am

It was such an honor to illustrate and design posters for Conan's Summer concert series this past summer. Well, that gig got a little sweeter last night when Conan used the posters on one of his on air segments. So great! Thanks Conan! Watch the segment below.

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Spot Illustration

November 15, 2011 | 9:11am

A spot illustration for Moscow based business magazine Sekret Firmy. Illustration was in support of article about efficient energy use and how businesses are using heat and water for energy.

Guidehop

November 3, 2011 | 1:23pm

Guidehop is a place for people to get and give individual tours of things they love.�I was asked to create the illustration that runs along the base of Guideop's website that would share this concept of community and exploration. I really loved this sites concept and the folks behind it are top notch as well. So hop on over and give Guidehop a try next time you travel or are lookign for soemthing new to do. Happy exploring.

New Client: ADOBE!

November 1, 2011 | 3:17pm

Unbelievablly honored and excited to be working with Adobe on a project coming out in 2012. In the meantime Adobe is featuring me on their Facebook page where I talk shop and all things Adobe. Check it out here.

MTV Core Values

October 20, 2011 | 10:56am

Was really honored when asked by MTV to illustrate two of their companies core values. The illustrations were used on MTV goods such as journals, posters and other accoutrements. Was a really fun project with a really fun group of people.

Letter from Aidan

October 11, 2011 | 11:23am

Was really honored to get this letter from Aidan who is a 3rd grader who loves to drawn comics and monsters. Needless to say we have a lot in common. Really puts things into perspective when you can inspire someone like this. Not to mention Aiden is an amazing artist, look at those illustrations!�Thanks for the drawings Aiden, made my day. Very inspiring stuff.

Aging Pets for Family Circle magazine

September 29, 2011 | 3:51pm

Created a small spot for Family Circle magazine in support of an article on how to best care for your aging pets.

Yeah! Burger

September 13, 2011 | 12:08pm

I was asked to create a brand for a new restaurant concept who was wanting people to think in a new way about food within the casual dinning experience. The two owners goals were to find local, healthy and organic products to serve some of America’s favorite foods while adding a fresh approach to the American burger.

The overal playful brand was a goal from the start when creating such health conscious, oraginc food experience. We wanted a brand that could speak to those goals without ever sounding too preachy. Yeah! Burger has now become a destination restaurant within Atlanta with 2 locations in West Midtwon and Virginia-Highland.

More images from the project can be found on my�site here and even more on my flickr page.

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Austin City Limits

September 9, 2011 | 1:17pm

Austin City Limits has an amazing tradtion and history of putting on a top notch festival and event. I was thrilled when ACL called and wanted me to create an illustration to be used on a poster, ipod cases and several other event matierals. I tried to keep the concept of the illustration pretty focused on what really makes this event special: Austin. You can see various Austin landmarks in the piece like the state capital, 360 bridge, UT tower, bikes, boots and even bats that fly around the 360 bridge. Hope Austin likes the piece. You can purchase a 3 color silkscreen version of the poster here.

Conan O'Brien signed posters!

August 30, 2011 | 4:10pm

I have shared the Conan O'brien poster series�project several times through out the summer and it is a pretty big understatemnt to say how honored and what a thrill it was to work on this project. It just got a little better. In the mail recently Conan and his team sent us signed copies of all the posters from Conan himself! Not to mention an amazingly nice note to inform us these posters will now line the guest green rooms on Conan's show. How cool is that!? Was so nice of Conan to sign all these posters! Such a great guy and what a dream project.

Poketo Wallet

August 15, 2011 | 4:31pm

I love the people over at Poketo. Not only do they carry and make some of the coolest goods around but they are so nice and woderful to work with. I recently designed this wallet for thei Summer 2011 line. Please go buy one here.

New Home Prints in Color

August 15, 2011 | 3:57pm

After getting an amazing response from the smaller hand written home quote prints from the feature of my home on Design Sponge several people wanted a larger option with this quote. So here it is. Just slightly smaller than 18x24 1 color silkscreen. 4 color options to choose from: brown, blue, grey and purple. Snag one while they last.

Conan O'Brien Concert Series Poster #4

August 2, 2011 | 2:01pm

The 4th of 4 posters fro Conan O'brien's summer concert series features Pitbull. This print calls out Pitbull songs and albums Hotel Room Service and Miami. Each print is 18x24 and hand singed and numbered by me. Purchase the print here.

MomentUS

July 27, 2011 | 3:20pm

Was really fun to contribute to the MomentUS Project. For those who have not seen the project hop on over there! MomentUS is a project where designers and illustrators were asked to visualize some of America's most defining moments. I was asked to remember the 2000 Presidential Election. Below is my final piece and how I arrived there. Icons surrounding George Bush include Iraq, refrence to his father George Sr and the Texas Rangers. On the Gore side refrence to Bill Clinton's infamous cigar, Gore inventing the internet and the popular vote not really counting for much in 2000. I collected lots of research on both men and the event prior to getting going. Not to mention lots of thumbnails and pencil sketches for various concepts. Learn and see more over on the MomentUS site.�

Conan O'Brien Concert Series Poster #3

July 26, 2011 | 10:58am

The 3rd of 4 posters and illustrations for Conan O'brien's summer concert series. This for KT Tunstall shows our man Conan riding a top of horse which is of course a refrence to Tunstall's hit song Black horse and a cherry tree. You can see below also how the series is starting to work together when all set side by side. Will look great to have all 4. You can see more work on the home page of Conan's Team Coco website too. Where you can download a free copy and sticker of the psoter. Each poster is 18x24 and singed and numbered by me. Grab one here.

Conan O'Brien Concert Series Poster #2

July 19, 2011 | 10:42am

Really excited to share the 2nd of 4 summer concert posters for my friends at Conan O'brien/Team Coco. Such an honor to work with just great people. The poster here for Edward Sharpe references his home town and the town Conan calls home Los Angeles. Many of Edward Sharpe's song's like "Home" and "Desert" can visibly be seen on the poster as icons also. Each of the 4 posters loosely line up to create a larger scene as you can see with the previous Ke$ha poster. The poster is 18x24, 4 colors each signed and numbered by me. Pick one up here.

Design Sponge Home Print

July 18, 2011 | 10:54am

Several months ago my wife and I's home was featured on Design Sponge. You can see feature here. Design Sponge asked me to write out a couple answers for their interview. One of the answers is the print below. I had dozens of email request for this answer as a print...glad people felt the same way. So, here it is for y'all. The print is 1 color letterpress on off white paper and a version on brown paper. Each measures 7.5x13 and is signed and numbered. Purchase the white version here and the brown version here.

Zynga Company Poster

July 15, 2011 | 9:47am

Was fun working with Zynga again on a poster for their quarterly meetings. It is a 4 color 18x24 poster that I created all the type with traditional letterpress wood type to give the circus poster feel. Screen printed in an edition of 750.

Land of Nod Wall Art

July 14, 2011 | 4:43pm

Like a lot of you out there I am a big fan of Land of Nod. So when they asked to carry an exclusive print from me I was thrilled. Below you can see the new color way of my whale print Nod is currently selling. You can purchase that the special edition print here. Or my red version here.

Conan O'Brien Concert Series Poster #1

June 28, 2011 | 10:21am

To say I was excited to work with Conan O"Brien and Team Coco would be a huge understatement. Recently I and Vahalla Studios designed and printed a series of 4 posters for Conan's Summer concert series. This is #1 of the series for Ke$ha. Lots of subtle references in the poster. From Conan driving his 1992 Taurus, to pills and glitter referencing Ke$ha's hit songs. A 4 color print, 18x24 on natural stock using metallic silver ink. You can also download and see a larger version of the poster here. You can buy this poster here. 3 more posters for Conan coming very soon.

Drawn In

June 28, 2011 | 9:12am

Was very thankful and honored when I was asked to be featured in Drawn In a new book by the very talented Julia Rothman. This book explores the sketchbooks of dozens of talented designers, illustrators and fine artist. Make sure you go buy one now.�

New Prints

May 31, 2011 | 4:12pm

I recently had some�archival giclee prints made of some older paintings I did. They range in size from 11x14 to 12x12 and all have a 1/2 inch border. Fun stuff!�You can see more pics on my flickr page and can purchase all of them in my store here.

SpaceFace!

May 16, 2011 | 4:48pm

Was really fun creating this illustration and art print for National Bike month. The image and print was part of a gallery show put on by Poster Cabaret. See photos of show�here. Learn more about the print and purchase one here.

Monster Parade

May 11, 2011 | 12:14pm

So honored to contribute to the new Cloudy Collection print set, Monster Parade, in honor of and including Ed Emberley!!!! Here is the print I created for the set.�The entire collection is now available for purchase here. Was a huge thrill to be included in a project with Mr. Emberley, a true design and illustration hero of mine.

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Logo Lounge 2011 trends

May 11, 2011 | 12:09pm

The great people over at Logo Lounge included my logo for Yummo Yogurt + smoothies as part of their 2011 trends in branding. Super nice of them to do so. Read article here.

New pieces for good people

April 22, 2011 | 12:15pm

I recently did a couple little illustrations for my friends Andy Miller and Eric Smith. Each have really great new books they put together that were just released.

Eric Smith has created a wonderful book and great organization titled�Live Now. Was happy to contribute a piece to his book. Book was published with the help of How. You can purchase and learn more�here.

Andy Miller created a book titled The Indie Rock Poster book�which support the Yellow Bird project. It�was an honor to be included. Each page can purf out of the book and is ready to be framed art. The book pairs designers with musicians and asks them to create a visual to support the selected song. I was given the song Field of Birds by the Tallest man on Earth. The song mentions a little bird who finds a thread on a little girl, takes it and flies away. The song makes reference to wanting to find a field of birds as well. Really nice song. This book was published by Chronicle Books. You can grab one here.

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Zynga Event Poster

March 24, 2011 | 11:49am

What a great show the people at Zynga put on at SXSW. Headlining was Tv on the radio and Sleigh Bells. The entire event had a carnival theme so when I created the design I kept that theme in mind. After the show, as you left everyone who attended was given a free silkscreen poster designed by me.

Plush Pals!

March 24, 2011 | 10:12am

Something I have always wanted to make is a series of plush toys. So here we go people! This fun little 10 x 10 inch guys has a super smart orange face on one side and a devilishly handsome blue face on the other. So when you are sick of one side (or spill coffee all over it) just flip it on over. The best part about these plush toys is each one is sewn by my very own,�beyond awesome mom! She is the best. You can purchase a plush�here.

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Netlife

March 23, 2011 | 2:09pm

Created a tee design for Netlife to hand out to help promote their great cause of preventing malaria in Africa. So, go out and kill a mosquito. Help Netlife here.

Night & Day Flyer

March 22, 2011 | 11:14am

Was really fun to design this balsa wood toy airplane for Noted. My concept for the design was based around another flying creature and the theme of flying durning night and day. You can purchase one here.

Grain Edit Interview

March 7, 2011 | 11:17am

I am sure like a lot of creatives out there Grain Edit is a place you visit frequently. So to be featured and interviewed by the amazing folks there is a real thrill for me. I talk a little about my overall process, influences and some of my favorite things in my home town. All photos taken by Eric Linebarger. So, if you got 5 minutes hop over and read the article here.

Zion 2012 Snowboard

February 23, 2011 | 10:29am

For me designing a snowboard had always been a designer bucket list item. So when I got to design Zion's newest board for their Woah! Man 2012 series I was beyond thrilled. Working with Zion and pal Brandon Wilson was a super treat. You can purchase my board here.

Our Home on Design Sponge

February 21, 2011 | 3:14pm

A huge honor for my wife Jessica and I's home and part of my office to be featured on Design Sponge. Really great people who run Design Sponge, so thanks Grace and Amy! A ton of great photos taken by my pal Eric Linebarger of LimeLime Photography. More photos of my office coming for another feature very soon too. Jump over to Design Sponge here to see full feature.

Custom Tape

February 21, 2011 | 9:41am

If you order something from me or we do work together and you get a gift in the mail from me you might ask yourself why does this traditionally boring snail mail piece seem so gosh darn fun? I can tell you, it is the fun custom tape I am using. Just black on kraft tape seems to do the trick. Fun stuff!

Happy Valentines Day!

February 14, 2011 | 8:44am

I didn't do any new Valentines day cards or goods this year but still want to say how much I Love you with some goodies I have done the last couple of years. You can see more Valentines days goodies here and here.�Happy Valentines days everyone! Hugs!

A Tribute to John Hughes : The Great Outdoors

February 11, 2011 | 11:26am

Had so much fun drawing and creating this piece for a show at Gallery 1988. The gallery asked artist to create a piece in honor of of the late great John Hughes. I love John Candy so much so had to go with the Great Outdoors. So I made a plush of John Candy, the lamp riffle and Big Bear, Big Big Bear. This was a serious group effort. My dad an amazing illustrator helped me get Candy's expression right, my Vahalla partner Dan screen printed my illustration on to fabric, Dan's fiancee Mel cut each one out and my Mom sewed each print into a plush. WOW, takes a village. You can purchase the plush over at Gallery 1988. Each is around 17 inches high, silk screened on fabric and signed and numbered by me.

Fifty and Fifty State Motto Project

February 8, 2011 | 7:23pm

Was a huge honor to be included in the Fifty and Fifty project. This fun project took one illustrator/designer from each of the fifty states and asked them to illustrate their states motto. Living in Kansas City, Missouri I illustrated MO's state motto. I also included the states slogan�in my concept which is The Show Me State. Maybe I showed a little too much. You can see my piece larger here in the Fifty and Fifty gallery.

Myspace 2010 Year in Music

January 21, 2011 | 9:39am

Myself and Vahalla Studios partner Dan Padavic have had the fortune to work with Myspace a lot over the years. Myspace recently came to us and asked us to illustrate the top 50 records of 2010. Myspace wanted each image to be simple and clever. Each piece was released on Myspace’s site with a count down of the top 50 records of 2010. We also designed a poster with all 50 images for a year in review party for Myspace. You can view all graphics and article here.

Secret Firmy Magazine Cover

January 12, 2011 | 11:52am

My favorite thing about what I do is the variety. So doing a magazine cover for Secret Firmy a Moscow based business magazine was a thrill. SF always has really strong design, info-graphic and layout as you can see on their flickr page. They wanted the cover I created to be a modern spin on packman.

Snow Dragons Hang Tag Campaign

January 10, 2011 | 12:04pm

Was a real blast concepting, designing and illustrating a new hang tag campaign for Snow Dragons. Snow Dragon is a kids line of ski and snowboarding gear. Each article of clothing comes with a Snow Dragon maze hang tag, a technical feature tag and a gender based tag. More photos and info here.

1,000 more Greetings

January 6, 2011 | 10:09am

Was featured in the new 1,000 more greetings book. Have a bunch of projects I have done with my friends at Sunrise Greetings as well as several of other projects and posters featured in the book. You can purchase the book here.

Macy's Holiday Campaign

December 20, 2010 | 8:31am

Man oh man was I thrilled to work with Macy's. The experience was great not only because the project was so strong but the team of people were amazing. The campaign I created was for�Macy's National Holiday Events. Each year Macy's puts on several special events in cities all across the US to help promote the joy of the Christmas season. The campaign was used in all medias on materials ranging from magazine and newspaper ads to in store display & POP to dozens of other marketing materials. Keep an eye out in coming years for more from me and Macy's....we plan to bring this campaign back for several years to come. More images from the campaign can be found here.

Playful Type 02

December 17, 2010 | 11:20am

Honored to be included in a really great book titled Playful Type 02. The book explores current trends and styles in type design. I highly recommend it. Amazing work and thrilled I was thought to be included.�

Holiday Homies on Poketo!

December 16, 2010 | 6:44pm

I really love the people over at Poketo! They have a great brand they are creating that is just so fun. Really excited to be creating some products together for 2011. My friends over at Poketo featured my Holiday Homies the other day in an amazing way. A really great set of shots they took of them! Thanks so much Ted and Angie!

2010 Holidays Goodies!

December 6, 2010 | 2:34pm

Happy Holidays everyone! Every year I design a set of Holiday silkscreen greeting cards. Here is my group for 2010. You can actually even pick up a set for yourself here. Each set of cards includes 4 A2 silkscreen greeting cards and 4 A2 orange and navy blue envelopes.�

I also have put together something new this year....Holiday Homies! Each Holiday Homies pack come with 4 Holiday figures screen printed on chip. Each pack comes with stands to help stand each figure up. Some people have even used them as ornaments on their tree. You can pick up a pack of Homies here.�

Now until the end of the year I will give away with each purchase a free mini Elf art print which you can see below. I hope everyone has a great Holiday season! Ho, Ho, Ho!

Cloudy Collection

December 1, 2010 | 2:01pm

Love the collections of prints being put together by friend David Huyck called Cloudy Collection. Was honored to be included in the most recent collection of letterpress prints. My design is below and can be purchased here.

Post-it-Show

December 1, 2010 | 8:26am

I am part of the annual Post-it-show at Giant Robot LA coming up on December 11th. Was super thrilled when pal and amazing illustrator Mark Todd asked me to be apart of a show that includes the likes of Matt Greoning, Jamie Hernandez and many more. If you have never seen the show it is basically exactly like it sounds, all art on 3x3 post it notes. Really great fun, and amazing art. Below are the 4 doodles I will have in the show. SO LA, come big to the show and pick up a couple of my little post-it-drawings.

John Mayer Sumer Tour 2010

November 29, 2010 | 11:08am

Was an honor to again design more posters for John Mayer's Battle Studies World tour. This time for some of his summer shows. This batch had a strong type based concept which turned out nice. All posters can be purchased at Mayer's store here. You can see all the Winter posters I designed for John here.

Print Regional Design Annual 2010

November 22, 2010 | 10:31am

So incredibly honored to have 6 projects featured in the Print Regional Design annual this year. Very humbled and excited to be included in such an amazing book of this years best design from around the country. Truly great projects featured in this years Annual. Below are some of my projects featured in the book. Thanks Print!

Matt & Kim Secret Show

November 12, 2010 | 9:45am

Always a blast working with Myspace on a secret show. No different working on this show for Matt & Kim. Matt & Kim have a new album coming out soon so I tried to use as much of that to influence me on this poster. Song titles like camera and east coast, Matt's rounded glasses and the state of New York where the band are from show up as icons on the poster. The poster is 18x24, 3 colors on black paper. You can pick one up here.

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2010 | 3:14pm

Hey! Happy Halloween all you little Monsters! Play safe and eat lots of goodies tonight!

Never Hide Illustration on DEXTER!

October 27, 2010 | 3:19pm

So just like a lot of you out there my favorite show in the world is Dexter. Everything about it is great. So was beyond excited and wet my pants thrilled when on this past Sundays episode the illustration/poster campaign I created for Ray-ban showed up in the background of a scene. Made my day to say the least! More info on the Ray-ban illustration here.

Design Chat

October 12, 2010 | 8:32am

Was a lot of fun to be featured on Design Chat recently. Design Chat is the best Live design chat on the internet.�With guest ranging from Milton Glasier, Steven Heller among others it is needless to say I was honored to be included. Watch the interview below�or jump here where I talk design, illustration, art, family and spaghetti.

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Thank You Project

October 6, 2010 | 12:26pm

Was included in the Society of Design's Thank you project. The Society of Design asked 4 designers to design a thank you card that will be sold with proceeds going to the charity of their choice. Honored to be included with designers Ken Barber, Jessica Hische and Haley Johnson. Please buy a set of cards here and my design is in support of the alzheimer's society.

Rayban Rare Prints Campaign

October 1, 2010 | 10:46am

Was a huge honor for me and Vahalla Studios when Rayban came a calling. The campaign started when we were given a new limited edition pair of sunglasses Rayban was releasing for the spring. They asked us to create an image to be used to promote the pair of sunglasses we received. Always keeping the pattern the sunglasses was covered in in mind and to be part of the final print was a design challenge we were given. The final image we landed on was used in all print advertising and featured in Maxim, Rolling Stone, Nylon, Complex and several other magazines as well as online ads, billboard and other media outlets. Rayban even made a short live action video spot illustrating my final illustration. Pretty funny! Was a great campaign to be a part of. More info and Rayban rare prints prizes can be seen here

RE:FORM School NYC Show

September 29, 2010 | 1:44pm

I am in a show in NYC next month Titled RE:FORM SCHOOL. It is a great show with an amazing line up of artist! I think close to 125 total. RE:FORM SCHOOL�is a high profile group art exhibition, event series and public awareness campaign taking place in New York City, that brings together the creative community in a call for the reform of the American Public Education System. So really honored to be involved. Here is my piece I did for the show. One of the themes was Community which is what the piece is inspired by. It is titled Together and is ink, watercolor on paper. More info can be found here.

Kidrobt 2Tone Dunny!

September 24, 2010 | 2:31pm

Always a big thrill to be included in a new Dunny series. Not to mention a series like this with such incredible artist. The 2Tone dunny series is very limited and rare. You can still grab one today if you move fast on kidrobots site. Really happy how my dunny turned out, especially the pink bird attachment. Of course if all else fails you can find a few of my dunny also on ebay. Will be selling some signed AP editions in near future.

You are Awesome!

September 14, 2010 | 10:02am

What a great thing to hear or see everyday, because you are indeed awesome!. This is an 8x8 1 color letterpress art print on Crane's lettra paper. Each is signed and numbered of an edition of 100. Pick one up here.

Images on Poolga

September 1, 2010 | 2:14pm

For all of you with iPods, iPhones and iPads you should hop on over to Poolga. A great site that features selected illustrators and offers their images for you to use on your mobile devices as wallpapers. I have 4 images on the site so please go grab a couple of my images here!

Jack Johnson

August 18, 2010 | 12:01pm

Always wanted to do a poster for Jack Johnson. So, when I did I knew just like his music I wanted it to be upbeat, summery and just loaded with fun-ness! The poster is just two colors and when the blue and yellow overlap it creates the 3rd color being green. Happy summer all you Jack Johnson fans. Can purchase poster here.

Oil Spill relief image

August 18, 2010 | 8:53am

Was asked to supply an image for the non-profit group Fire & Water who help bring funds, awareness and help to the oil spill in the gulf. This was the image we landed on that was later used for the organization to raise funds for future missions and help. That darn oil is so pesky, ornery and just darn mean. Go away oil! :)

Bird Posse & Dog Says...

August 10, 2010 | 2:08pm

A couple of mini prints I did a while back got much bigger. Both Dog says and Bird Posse are now 9x24! Each is 3 colors on natural stock and perfect for any home. As you can see below my adorable niece likes them so I bet you will too. You can grab Bird Posse here and Dog says here.

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Bob Dylan & Tokyo Police Club!

August 9, 2010 | 11:07am

Some fun new posters going on this month a several to follow. First, it was so fun to design a poster for a musician I have always wanted to do a poster for. When I was faced with doing a poster for a legend like Bob Dylan I decided to leaned on another legend. This poster for Dylan was my mini tribute not only to Dylan but the iconic poster that Milton Glaser created for the icon decades before. Also this month created a poster for Tokyo Police Club with my pal and Vahalla Studios partner Dan Padavic. Really love how it turned out. You can pick up the posters here!

Happy Colouring Book

August 8, 2010 | 10:40am

I love working with Anorak, great people! I was recently asked to create a mini little colouring book with the theme of cycling. I love how it turned out and hope all the kiddos in your life like it too. Please but one here from my pals at Anorak.

Jack Johnson & Rock the Earth

July 29, 2010 | 1:23pm

Jack Johnson has worked with my friends over at Rock the Earth for years helping them raise money and awareness for their great cause. Was thrilled recently when i found out Johnson was recently photographed taking home one of my prints I illustrated for RTE (and hanging out in the RTE booth). Then I was also sent this picture of Jack wearing one of the tees I designed for Rock the Earth! Pretty cool when someone you admire likes what you are doing too.

New Books

July 26, 2010 | 2:07pm

Always thrilled when I purchase a new book. I know, everyone is now moving to the Kindle or iPad to read their favorite books but the tangibility of turning a page is hard to beat for me. Especially when we are talking about art books. Was honored to be featured in several of late. So go grab Letterhead and Logo design 11, Vivid: the Allure of color, Gusto: a journey through restaurant design�and Impressive: Letterpress, silkscreen in Graphic design. All are really well designed and excellent examples of strong work so please do enjoy!

Family Circle Illustration

July 13, 2010 | 10:24am

Was a huge honor to work with the magazine Family Circle on a recent spot for their Beach Read Round up. I created the headline illustration as well as support headline typography and several little birds that float around several pages. Really fun project. So, run out to your local bookstore because it is on news stands now. More info here.

AIGA Poster event

July 8, 2010 | 3:44pm

Created this poster for the AIGA�who were celebrating an anniversary and asked 20 designers to design a poster for the event. Here was my contribution. Each was auctioned offed for the organization. I might have to turn this into an art print. Would you like it? I think it turned out pretty fun.�

Giant Robot New York: Printed Matter 8

June 24, 2010 | 10:33am

Really excited to be part of a new show at Giant Robot New York's space next month. Really incredible line up of artist involved. More information on Giant Robot and GRNY.

NEW Faces T-shirt!

June 17, 2010 | 4:17pm

A few months bak I took a little vacation to the beach. While there I always sketch and doodle. Well, one of those little doodles just ended up on a brand new super fun summer t-shirt. It is an American Apparel organic cotton tee. You can purchase it on our Vahalla site�here.

AMMO Magazine

June 8, 2010 | 2:47pm

I am currently featured in AMMO magazine with a wonderfully talented group of artist. Honored to be included. You can purchase the magazine here.

Kids of All Ages opening weekend

June 7, 2010 | 1:41pm

If you are in LA and still have not seen the Kids of all ages show go now! You can see my Monster Mix Up prints in the background of the below photos from the show. You can purchase my monsters�here. More shots by the amazing Claire Weiss�from the opening weekend can be found here.

Kansas City Design Week

June 2, 2010 | 1:22pm

Created the brand and all brand applications for the first ever Kansas City Design week was a real thrill. The event was a week long event devoted to all things design. Speakers such as Sol Sender who branded the Obama campaign spoke, a Herman Miller lecture and even a design inspired scavenger hunt to name just a few of the events. I designed everything from the mark and posters to all collateral, website and signage which included banners as well as three 7 foot tall demential wood cut outs of my illustrated characters. More info and pics can be found here.

Kids of All Ages Set up Video

May 27, 2010 | 4:10pm

Again, so excited for the Kids of All Ages show to open this weekend! Here is a video of the gang hanging and preparing for the show. Keep your eyes out for my monster mix up prints and You are awesome prints. The show is going to be amazing dont miss it. More info here.

Kids of all Ages from THIS on Vimeo.

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Rock the Earth Illustration

May 27, 2010 | 2:25pm

Happy and excited to still do work for the non profit group Rock the Earth. This illustration and print was made for the group to help promote memberships over a summer youth tour series. You can purchase the print here.

Kids of All Ages!

May 26, 2010 | 4:52pm

So tremendously honored to featured in THIS Los Angeles's gallery show opening this week titled Kids of All Ages. It features an amazing line up of 13 artist all of whom have created children's books. The line up is truly inspiring. Please check it out if in the LA area.

Beep, Beep, Bike Print

May 13, 2010 | 2:16pm

Was really fun to develop this new art print for an upcoming show in Austin Texas. The Print is 18x12, 4 colors and in edition of 250. Hurry and buy�one here. Beep, Beep!

New Posters

May 7, 2010 | 10:44am

Over the past month I have designed new posters for Phoenix, Passion Pit and Camera Obscura. Each can be purchased here in my store. More info on each poster can also be found within my store.

John Mayer Winter Tour 2010

May 3, 2010 | 12:26pm

Was a huge honor for myself and Vahalla Studios partner Dan Padavic to work with John Mayer and his team to develop 15 posters for his winter 2010 tour. All were designed, printed, signed and numbered by us and sold on tour with John himself. Really great to create a collection of posters that were used for an entire tour. Below are some of the posters I designed for the tour. Our full collection can be seen on our Vahalla Site. You can purchase each poster individually or the entire set here on John’s tour store.

Willowood Book Jacket

April 26, 2010 | 4:14pm

Worked with some of the amazingly wonderful people at Simon & Schuster on this book jacket for the book�Willowood. I was asked to do the illustration for the book jacket while working with an art director and designer on final layout. You can buy the book here.

Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2010 | 1:28pm

Happy Earth Day everyone! In honor of this Chronicle Books is offering my book on special for 25% off! It helps a great cause in the NRDC so go grab one! More info on my book here and you can buy it here.

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Tyreke Evans Poster

April 19, 2010 | 12:29pm

Was super fun to work on this project with the Sacramento Free press and the Sacramento Kings. We (Vahalla Studios) were asked to design a poster to help promote Tyreke for the 2009-2010 NBA Rookie of the Year. The final poster is 18x24, 3 colors using metallic silver, black and purple. Good luck Tyreke!

Uppercase magazine

April 19, 2010 | 10:07am

I have a little painting featured in the current Uppercase magazine issue number 5. On news stands now!�

Anorak Magazine: The Seagull's Reunion

April 2, 2010 | 11:51am

Always an honor to work the children's magazine Anorak. I was asked to illustrate the story The Seagull's Reunion. It is a cute tale of seagull's, high school and love. It is in the current Spring issue and the article is 7 full pages! It is on news stands now so go grab one! Also features work by�Jon Boam, Jack Teagle, and, JeremyVille to name a few. Below is a few pages for my story. Read the full article here.

ReadyMade Feature

April 2, 2010 | 11:47am

Want to thank the people at ReadyMade magazine for having a little blurb about me and my work in the recent April/May issue of their magazine. I really look forward to much more work together!

Simple Steps Children's Book

March 8, 2010 | 2:20pm

Was a huge honor to illustrate this childrens book with Chronicle Books in San Francisco. The book written by Molly Smith in conduction with The NRDC which is the Nation Resource Defense Council and a wonderful cause. The book is an activity book that teaches children ways they can help protect their environment and some the species within it. Was really fun to work on a great project. Not to mention the last two pages has more than 80 full color stickers to use throughout the book! So fun! Please go buy the book here and help support a great cause.

Ghost Whisper

March 8, 2010 | 11:52am

A fun new 8.5x11.5 art print that is 3 colors on chipboard. Printed in edition of 100 all signed and numbered. Grab one here.

Yummo Yogurt + Smoothies

February 24, 2010 | 3:07pm

A fun yogurt and smoothies concept that I branded that allows the guest to build their own yogurt combination. The Yummo brand was designed to create a contemporary asian yogurt influenced experience for the whole family. I created everything from logo, stationary package, signage, environmental graphics and apparel. More info here on my site,�More photos can be seen on my flickr page here.

St. Vincent Poster

February 19, 2010 | 8:25am

Really happy how this 2 color 18x24 print for St. Vincent turned out. It is navy blue with metallic gold ink. We at Vahalla Studios worked with Mitch Putnam who organized the St. Vincent tour art. A real good guy to work with. Pick one up here.

Happy Valentines day Cards!

February 12, 2010 | 9:53am

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I love designing greeting cards and this fun set of 6 cards is 3 colors printed on chipboard. I have 3 designs that are more illustrative and 3 more that are interactive for the purchaser. You can either fill in the blank, circle words or check a blank box to customize your valentine. Always fun to make your own messages.

Arctic Monkeys Poster on Chuck

February 9, 2010 | 4:43pm

Was a pretty cool deal when NBC came a calling and asked to use one of our posters in one of their shows. Last Monday night in the background of one of NBC's hit sows Chuck their it was. It deserved a close up I think. Sadly, the poster is currently sold out but a second edition print is in the works.

Show the Love print release

February 9, 2010 | 4:38pm

Was a giant honor to along with my Vahalla Studios biz partner Dan Padavic create this 18 artist print series. Below is a couple pics for the release as well as my print in the series. You can find more pics here and buy the set and my print here.

Show the Love preview 2

February 1, 2010 | 9:38am

Another reminder and preview of the show I am involved with coming up this Friday: Show the Love! It includes 18 artist who all contributed an 8x8 Love inspired print. The series will be releasing this friday and having an opening in our Vahalla Studios gallery that evening. Really hope you can join us. It is an amazing line up that includes the likes of: Kate Bingaman, Will Bryant, Tad Carpenter, Frank Chimero, Maura Cluthe, jennifer Daniel, Chris Eliopolos, Matt Hawkins, Hydro 74, David Huyck, Blake E. Marquis, Andy Miller, Dan Padavic, Richard Perez, A. Micah Smith, Mark Todd, Nate Williams and John Vogl.

I included the print I did for the show below. Just a couple of Love birds.

Hope For Haiti

January 26, 2010 | 4:53pm

Was a no brainer when asked recently to to come up with a tee-shirt design for the group Hope For Haiti over at StoreEnvy. If you are still looking for a way to help the people of Haiti�please go pick up one of these tee where the money will be donated to the Red Cross. Here is a link to to purchase my tee-shirt: Hope for Haiti.

Show The Love Show

January 20, 2010 | 3:48pm

Really excited about this show that myself and biz partner Dan Padavic over at Vahalla Studios are putting together. In honor of Valentines day the show is titled Show the Love. We have asked 18 artist to create an 8x8 3 color screen print with the theme of love in mind. The print series will release at our gallery and online on February 5th. So honored and excited to have such talented people involved. Here is a preview of a couple pieces.�Stay tuned for more.

Forever the Sickest Kids

January 7, 2010 | 12:17pm

Really was fun getting to work in one of my monsters into this Myspace Secret show. This is a 3 color 18x24 print on natural paper. Looks like a fun show plus a free snowball fight.�

Winter Holiday Cards 09

December 23, 2009 | 2:33pm

Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you all get everything you ever wanted. Every year I do a series of Holiday cards of some sort. This year I created a series of 6 holiday cards silkscreened on chipboard. I wanted to do a bit of an untraditional color palette. I love the metallic grey and yellow on the chipboard. Really fun. All were packed together with yellow and grey envelopes and sold at our Vahalla gallery. Again, Happy Holidays!

Swell Season poster

December 23, 2009 | 10:27am

A 3 color poster for the bands show at the Uptown theater in Kansas City. Did a color swap so offering both a blue and brown color option. Buy blue poster here and brown option here.

Last minute Holiday ideas

December 17, 2009 | 10:07pm

Wanted to pass out some last minute holiday ideas.�

Love my folks over at Nonsek. Go to Nonsek grab a tee-shirt with my illustrations on it or heck you can even grab a gift card. So much fun to play with the Nonsek machine. If you have yet to play with the Nonsek site go now, it is a blast. Here is my Nonsek page.

Visit Simplistick a wall and decal company who is using some of my cowboy and indians to decorate children's rooms. Would be great for the little chief in your life.

Lastly, a few items that I am running low on. My super fun ceramic plate set. All are ready to be eaten on, microwaved or just admired. Great fun for all. Also really running low on these silkscreen prints on wood. Great little art pieces for stocking stuffers.

Happy Shopping.

Anorak Magazine maze Illustration

December 11, 2009 | 2:37pm

One of my favorite people to work with is Anorak Children's magazine. Always a thrill to work with them. For the winter issue I created a�maze. That poor pooch ate all kinds of things he shouldn't have. Good luck getting through the maze. It's a gas! More images found here.

KC AIGA INterview

December 11, 2009 | 1:32pm

Was very nice of the KC AIGA chapter too think of me and sit down and have a little discussion about what is going on with me and in the world of design. This also kicks off what is sure to be a pretty great week coming up in February. Kansas City is holding it's first KC Design week which I was asked to brand the event. Thanks again everyone involved. You can read the discussion here.

Grain Edit Holiday Give away!

December 10, 2009 | 10:01am

No one does it like Grain Edit. They are having a monster holiday give away. Was honored to have a print in the give away. Jump over to Grain Edit Give Away and sign up!

Monster Mix Up Give Away!

December 9, 2009 | 10:35am

For the rest of the year starting today if you buy any of the monster mix up set you get another set to take home and mix up for free! So basically, you get two tops and two bottoms for the price of one. This deal goes on until December 31. The free-be monster set will be at random so it will be a surprise what you get. Enjoy and let the monster mash begin! Buy em here.

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New Second Edition Print!

December 9, 2009 | 10:30am

One of my all time favs had been sold out and we just reprinted it on French Pop-tone grape colored paper. I think I like this set better than the original even. You can grab one here or on our Vahalla site.

Happy Va-holidays!

December 9, 2009 | 10:00am

Last friday we at Vahalla Studios had our december gallery opening. We can’t thank everyone enough for coming out to our opening in December last first friday. We had a blast and I hope we helped you with your holiday shopping list. We hope to be open much more often in very near future. Lots more goodies to come and thanks again! A few shots of our space and show last friday.

Featured in Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine

December 3, 2009 | 11:19am

This holiday season I was just informed I and a print I did will be featured in Pregnancy & Newborn magazine. Really nice of them to think of me. I hope all the kiddos like this robot wood print. Try not to chew on it! :)

New Vahalla Studios Website

December 3, 2009 | 11:09am

A long time coming here. Some of you may or may not know I co-run a super fun Design and silkscreen shop with my pal Dan Padavic called Vahalla Studios. This year we also opened a gallery attached to our print shop and now just released a new website where you can find tons of prints and goodies from us both. We specialize in silkscreen and letterpress specifically doing a lot of work for musicians and record labels but I think you will find a lot of other goodies too. Check the site out here: Vahalla Studios

Happy Thanksgiving all you turkeys!

November 25, 2009 | 12:21pm

I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving! Below are some designs and licensing work I have created that reminded me of the big turkey day. I know they are cowboys and not pilgrims but hey, still fun! Try not to eat to much!

Communication Arts 2009

November 25, 2009 | 11:22am

Always one of the biggest honors to have some of your work featured in Communication arts. This year I had two projects featured and 3 complete pages devoted to those projects. Pretty exciting! First project was the redesign of the architecture firm 360. Was a really fun process working with the folks of 360. I worked with Design Ranch on this project and art directors Michelle Sonderegger and Ingred Sidie.

The second project was of course my beloved chefBURGER. I talk about this project a lot but really one of my favorite brands I have yet to create. I work with chefBURGER still on a fairly regular basis and still hopeful they will be franchising in the next several years. So keep your eyes peeled. More images and info on chefBURGER here.�

Vahalla Studios featured in IDN Magazine

November 25, 2009 | 7:14am

Super excited and proud to have my buddy Dan and I's Vahalla Studios featured in the recent IDN magazine. It is on news stands now or online version here.

Illustration for Secondary Teachers

November 18, 2009 | 9:41am

An Illustration I did for Secondary Teachers magazine based out of the UK. Worked with the lovely folks at John Brown Media for art direction and design.

Portfolio book

November 12, 2009 | 10:26am

Not to often am I requested to send an actual physical portfolio to a client. Thats the joy of the internet right. I recently was asked to do so by a huge awesome client. I was happy to do so. I was lucky enough to have this design getting ready to go to press as a mini book being made for self promotional materials so, I turned it into a portfolio book of sorts. The covers are silkscreen on chipboard and interior is french folded. A nice quick representation of me I think.

Some random Sketchbook doodles

November 10, 2009 | 9:59am

Always love sharing and seeing peoples sketchbooks. Here are some random pages from my current sketchbook. A few doodles are for jobs but some just random sketches. Here are a few links to past sketchbook posts: 1, 2, 3.

A Happy Halloween rejected design.

October 30, 2009 | 10:36am

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween weekend. I wanted to share a rejected Halloween design I did last year for the Ting Ting Myspace secret show. I was really happy with the design they went with but always thought these two posters made a fun pair. Check out which design was actually used here and hope you have a ghoul-tastic weekend! See you in November!

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Print Regional Design Annual 2009

October 26, 2009 | 3:43pm

Always a huge honor when Prints Design Annual comes out and you have a piece in it. Was thrilled to have both my chefBURGER identity and Pizzabella branding project featured in the Annual this year. Really proud of my Kansas City also who really represented well on a national level. More info here on both chefBURGER and Pizzabella. 2008 design annual info here.

Fun NEW Journal Jotters

October 23, 2009 | 10:55am

Made a group of fun journal jotters more so for promotional material but thought I would sell a couple too. Came out pretty fun. The envy of any office if you showed up to a meeting with one of these. ha! They are all 4.5 x 5.75 inch journals with 1 color silkscreen cover and back cover on chipboard and roughly 50 offset interior pages. Can purchase here.

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Exchange magazine spot illustrations

October 15, 2009 | 9:43am

Was fun to work with Exchange a UK based business and technology magazine as well as John Brown Media in concepting how to illustrate their specific articles. Had almost as much fun in the concept stage as I did drawing them. Love working with the limited color palette too. More info and views found here.

Anorak Magazine Interview

October 9, 2009 | 9:09am

For my money one of the best childrens magazine is Anorak childrens magazine. Great articles and really fun work. I have been really excited to be doing work with them as well. They recently did a little interview with me where I talked about my first illustration job. It was when I was 9 years old and I won a contest and draw the season tickets for my home town Kansas City Chiefs pro football team. See the ticket and fun interview�here.

Myspace Secret shows Key covers

October 6, 2009 | 9:47am

As a lot of you know I also co-run Vahalla Studios a silkscreen, letterpress and design shop with my dear pal Dan Padavic. One of our favorite clients is Myspace. We have been blessed over the years to do dozens of secret show posters for them. Myspace recently took a few our designs and made key covers with them So freakin cool! My Kooks poster and Ting Tings poster made as well as Dan's flaming Hold Steady and our pal Micah Smith who also designs secret show posters is well represented. All and all super fun stuff! Thanks Myspace!

Pizzabella: an oldie but goodie

October 5, 2009 | 4:17pm

I worked on Pizzabella sometime ago but never properly documented it. Pizzabella's overall branding goal was to create a modern, warm inviting space. It can be seen as both a destination restaurant as well as a neighborhood eatery. A super fun project. More info and photos here.

Sunrise Greetings: 1970's beach cards

September 25, 2009 | 11:25am

Always a treat to work with Sunrise Greetings. Some of my favorite people to work with. This group of 25 cards were 70's beach inspired. From typography to color to even content, that was the goal. They are all over sized (8x12-ish) and each have a fun die cut shape to them. All are for sale at Barnes & Noble or where Sunrise Greetings are sold. More info�here.

Nanny Match

September 16, 2009 | 10:37am

Was asked to create a brand for the start up Nanny Match which places nannies with families and families with nannies. Client wanted something fun, playful and showed how the service can be trusted and nurturing. A kangaroo and it's joey seemed like a great icon to do this. Brand consisted of Stationary system, website, brochures, office signage and press kit. More photos and info here.

Flatstock 22 in Seattle

September 10, 2009 | 9:50pm

If you were able to get to Seattle this past weekend it was great to see you! I loved meeting everyone who came by our recent Flatstock 22 booth at the Bumbershoot music festival. Below are a few photos from our Vahalla Studios booth at this great event. Really enjoyed signing dunnys, selling posters and talking shop. See you again next year Seattle.�

Bumbershoot & Flatstock 2009

September 3, 2009 | 11:47pm

It is that time again. Flatstock time. If you are in Seattle this weekend September 5-7 please stop by and see me at our Vahalla Studios booth within Bumbershoot music festival. The American Poster institute is putting on Flatstock and I will be there with prints and goodies. Please do stop by.

Illustration Mundo Spotlight

September 2, 2009 | 8:11am

Just like a lot of you one of my favorite sites to tool around on is Illustration Mundo. It has so many wonderful illustrators involved and is maintained beautifully. Not to mention the great Nate Williams who runs it is an amazingly awesome guy and beyond talented illustrator. So when Mundo and Nate decided to do a spotlight on me on the site I was quite honored. View the spotlight here.

Nonsek is a graphic remix!

August 19, 2009 | 3:51pm

I was thrilled to create an artist page and channel for Nonsek. Really great artist and people involved. I guess I should explain if you have yet to see it. Nonsek is a graphic remix t-shirt site from the crazy talents over at Planet Propaganda. Nonsek was born to thrive in the age of the remix.�It generates rare and random graphic remixes with a simple click of a button. You don’t like what you see? Click again. It doesn‘t cost anything, and won’t hurt one bit. Give it a try! It will churn through hundreds and hundreds of my drawing and doodles to create you your very own t-shirt that no one else will ever have. Here are several examples of remixes below. Check out my artist page here and a link to remix one of my t-shirts here.

Our well branded wedding.

August 18, 2009 | 11:00am

I dont usually like to share a lot of personal things on my site however, I recently married the most wonderful girl! She is also a designer and illustrator so we collaborated to design our big day. Below shows our invite which is letterpressed and silkscreened. The envelope for the invite is a blind debossed with an icon system we developed that tells a little story. On the reverse of the actual invite we tell what a few of the icons mean to us and in turn tell our little story. Each guest at the wedding received a set of 4 silkscreen note cards designed by us. The guest who stayed the night at the President Hotel also received the below silkscreen tote bag we designed. A few shots from the actual day are also below. It was a beyond great day and all our wedding collateral material turned out really fun. For much better and larger views of our stuff please visit LemonLime Photography. Our favorite fellas who did a wonderful job for us!

New Art Prints!

August 12, 2009 | 10:00am

Super excited about this new little series of art prints. It includes a Mighty Knight print�11x14, a much requested Whale print on paper 11x14, a Dog and his bark�print 11x3 and my Bird posse�print 3x11. All are 3 colors, editions of 100 and signed and numbered. Click above or here to purchase.�Hope you enjoy.

Kc Biz Care environmental graphics

August 11, 2009 | 2:00pm

I teamed up with McHenery Schaffer Mitchell Architecture as well as the city of Kansas City to help brand and create a new office space and business. The idea was to create a space where people can come to ask questions or get help about starting a new business or even inquire about their existing business. The idea to have the city help entrepreneurs when starting a new businesses. The overall visual concept was positive business messages and graphic illustrations collaged together. The brand we finished is on all of the centers collateral materials as well as running along a 50 foot wall within their office space. Some details below and more photos here.

Rock For kids

August 3, 2009 | 2:38pm

Was really excited to work with and help out Rock for Kids. A great non-profit organization that brings hope and support to underprivileged kids and teens through music. I created 6 music monsters prints that get packed together and wrapped with a belly band in a clear plastic bag. Each print is a 4 color, 7x7 inches and an edition of 100. Each pack comes with all 6 prints. You can purchase the group here.

Grain Edit Poster pick

July 31, 2009 | 5:21pm

Was truly honored to have one of my posters picked as Grain Edits Poster picks this past week. Grain Edit is for sure one of if not the best Design blog to focus on classic design from the 50's-70's and all the contemporaries who are influenced from those times. Thanks so much Dave, Lad and all you associated with Grain Edit. Really appreciate it. Here is a link to the post: Conor Oberest Poster pick.

The Mighty Boosh Secret Show

July 28, 2009 | 7:52am

Just did this 5 color 18x25 print for a Myspace secret show in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. I have to admit I did not know much about the comedy team The Mighty Boosh. I know one thing, they have a gorilla in a lot of their shows so that was enough for me. You can grab one here.�

Silly new sketchbook pages

July 27, 2009 | 11:38am

Here are some silly new doodles I did recently while waiting at the DMV. Oh, how fun that is. Think these might come in handy. Here are links to other sketchbook doodles: 1, 2, 3.

Shiny Squirrel interview

July 23, 2009 | 6:09pm

The nice folks over at the Shiny Squirrel just posted an interview with me. Was really nice of them to think of me. Was also picked up over at Notcot.org. You can read the full interview here.

New Promo Prints and Business cards

July 17, 2009 | 11:05am

I am getting ready to send out a bunch of promotional material and just made these little prints on the end of a print run the other day. I like the little indian print which is only 3.5x8.5 but pretty fun. You can buy one here if you like. Also some new little screen printed business cards I will be sending out to everyone. If you want to work together let me know, I will include you in on the mailing. Talk to you soon. :)

Anorak Magazine Game Illustration

July 8, 2009 | 2:32pm

Just did a Spot the Difference game illustration for the amazingly wonderful childrens magazine Anorak. This was for their summer issue that was focused around cycling. Their are 10 differences between the top and bottom image. Can you find them? Anorak truly is one of the best kids magazines around. Pick one up at Barnes & Noble or where magazines are sold. Also be sure to check out Anorak's new website. Top notch stuff to be found.

Conor Oberst

July 6, 2009 | 2:54pm

Was excited to create a poster for Omaha, Nebraska's very own Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band. With Omaha, Nebraska in mind and the summer classic that takes place there...the college world series this explains my baseball player theme. Not to mention who doesn't like baseball in the heart of the summer? This is a 3 color print on french construction green paper. Edition of 200. Purchase it here.

Gettin' Hitched!

June 18, 2009 | 6:09pm

Just a heads up that I might be gone for a little while. I am super excited to announce that this Saturday I will be marrying my dream girl Jessica. She not only is the best designer I know but the love of my life! With that in mind, Starting June 20th I will be away from the office until July 2nd. So any new business, print and poster sales or chit chat we might need to have will have to wait. I also cant wait to share all the branded materials we came up with for the wedding. Here's a sneak peek. See you soon!

The day I met Maurice Sendak...

June 17, 2009 | 9:25am

In keeping with the below theme of�Terrible�Yellow eyes and Where the Wild Things are these are some photos I wanted to share. Back in the early 80's when Wild Things was first being released I was lucky enough to meet The Maurice Sendak at a book release, book signing. As you can see I was no more than 5-6 years old and brought my favorite Wild things stuff toy to have Mr. Sendak sign. Each foot of the toy was signed by Sendak. One foot with Sendak's signature and the other made out to me. One of the truly great childhood memories!�One of the many reasons I wanted to become an illustrator. So glad my illustrator father took me to this event. I am sure he knew one day I would be thankful for such a meeting.

Terrible Yellow Eyes

June 12, 2009 | 9:07am

Was really excited to contribute to the fantastic website Terrible Yellow Eyes. If you have not seen it go there�immediately. It is such a wonderful idea and an�amazing�cast of artist and artwork all in honor and tribute to the wonderful Maurice Sendak and Where the Wild things Are. I am also in the coming weeks going to try and track down the photo I have of when I met Mr. Sendak back in the early 80's as a child. I still have a signed plush Wild thing from Sendak. A great childhood memory. Here is my contribution and a link to the site.

Naive Graphics book

June 9, 2009 | 12:28pm

Really excited to get this in the mail last week. It is the book titled Naive. Modern and Folklore in Contemporary graphic Design published by Die Gestalten Verlag. Was very happy to have several pages within the book I included a few below. It is a really great book with some of the best illustrators and designers today featured in it. Honored to be a part of it. A must buy so go get it! You can purchase it here.

Glasvegas

June 9, 2009 | 6:59am

A myspace secret show in Las Vegas for Glasvegas? Was that planned? The show was at an actual church so thats what the overall concept behind the show was. 18x24, 4 colors on black paper. You can purchase it here.

Rock the Earth

May 28, 2009 | 5:22pm

I am really happy to start working with Rock the Earth a wonderful non profit that has a wonderful message. Here are a couple illustration I did for them recently that have been made into tee-shirts and other merch. To learn more about Rock the Earth or to grab up these tees visit them here.

Tad's Endangered dunny with Kidrobot

May 27, 2009 | 10:02pm

I know I�announced�this last week but just wanted to show a quick shot of one of my samples I got from Kidrobot's Endangered dunny series. I have heard they totally sold out online within a few hours and very few are left in store if any. Hope everyone got one. If you got several of my little owl let me know I am always trying to get a few more. :)

Kidrobot Endangered dunny and apparel release!

May 18, 2009 | 10:36am

I can't tell you how excited and humbled I am for this weeks release at my pals kidrobot. I was honored to be a part of the recent endangered species dunny series which will be�available�on May 21st at 11am EST. From what I hear they sell out fast. My dunny is the owl with the glow in the dark eyes! I was also lucky enough that kidrobot and I made some apparel with my dunny which is currently�available�on their site. Did I mention it glows in the dark!!! I will have more info in the coming weeks. Here is the link to buy the endangered species dunny series and a link for my owl apparel. So excited, go kidrobot!

New Business Cards

May 12, 2009 | 6:29pm

Just had some quickie business cards made and they just arrived. I love having a variety of card backs to hand out. Kinda fun. So, if you want to do work together here in the near future I will give you a couple cards I promise.

New sketchbook doodles

May 8, 2009 | 3:58pm

I love sharing and seeing other peoples sketchbooks. I have shared several in the past. Here is a link to some older doodles: 1 & 2. Here are a couple more pages from a current sketchbook. Happy drawing!

The Killers

May 6, 2009 | 10:14am

This 18x24 3 color poster looks like it is 4 colors but it is really just the blue and yellow overlapping to create the green. We just finished this one last week. It is on a natural colored paper and printed in an edition of 180.�Buy it here.

Bloc Party RePrint!

May 4, 2009 | 9:50am

This is an 18x24 4 color screenprint. This is the second edition of this Bloc Party print with new fantastic colors. The original print is all but sold out and this new second edition is in an edition of 150. You can purchase print here.

Franz Ferdinand poster & art print

April 28, 2009 | 1:42pm

A super fun 18x24, 3 color on natural stock mermaid poster for the band Franz Ferdinand. My concept behind the poster was based on the bands new song Ulysses. If you are familiar with the story, it involves sirens and mermaids at one point. Any excuse to draw a fun mermaid really. I also did an art print without the band info. Art print available here, Franz Ferdinand poster�available�here.

The Corcoran's Wilson the Lion

April 22, 2009 | 4:05pm

It was such a thrill and great process to work with the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. I was approached to develop a mascot for their youth & family program. On the steps up to the museum are two bronze lions. So, the overall idea to keep with the lion theme was an easy one. Here is our new friend and mascot Wilson. I also included how he was used in the recent Spring & Summer issue. I have to say the Corcoran did a great job with the overall design of the piece. More photos here.

Social Bird icon set

April 15, 2009 | 8:15am

The super fun Inspired Magazine recently asked 20 illustrators to create a twitter bird icon in their own style. Some really great artist made some really great icons. They are all totally free and ready to freshen up your blog. I was also honored when my favorite blog DRAWN posted a blurp about it and featured my icon. AH, shucks. You can see my bird below

Here is a link to The Social Bird Project & DRAWN

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Flight of the Conchords

April 13, 2009 | 7:17am

This is a poster we did for the amazing and wonderful Flight of the Conchords. It is a 3 color screen print, 18x24 on white stock. I am sure you big Conchord fans know this but the concept behind the poster was the song "Business Time". As they say, "You know when I'm down to just my socks, it's business time." You can purchase it here.

Happy Easters Day!

April 9, 2009 | 8:26am

Hope you all eat lots of�chocolate covered bunnies, marshmellow chicks and do a little egg hunting over the weekend. Have a wonderful Easter Friends!

The Get Up Kids San Francisco Show

April 3, 2009 | 8:00am

A poster for The Get Up Kids current tour. This was for the San Francisco CA show. I really like the little sun and plane, pretty fun. The poster is 18x24, 4 colors on French lemon drop paper. You can purchase one here.

Myspace Music's Corporate Office

April 2, 2009 | 8:33am

I thought this was pretty great. One of my favorite clients Myspace who we do lots of secret show posters for has created some great wall graphics using some the posters we have done. Here is the one area where the Lily Allen poster I did is highlighted. Thanks Myspace!

New Sketchbook Doodle

March 27, 2009 | 6:10am

I love random doodling. Here is a doodle I did the other day while sitting at our flatstock booth. In between talking shop, selling posters and making friends I have some pretty fun and random drawings in the old sketchbook.�More doodles can be found here.

Bear and Bird show comments

March 26, 2009 | 6:03pm

I currently have a show at the Bear and the Bird Gallery in Florida. The folks there have been wonderful to work with. They have set out a comments sheet within the gallery and recently sent me several pages of comments. Here is some of the kind words you said, thanks everyone!

Flatstock 20!

March 25, 2009 | 6:20pm

I wanted to thank everyone who came by and visited Dan and I at our Vahalla Studios booth at Flatstock in Austin. I met some wonderful people and had lots of fun. Hope you all enjoyed it as well. More photos from Flatstock on my flickr page.

SXSW 2009!

March 17, 2009 | 8:25am

A big reminder to everyone visiting South by South West�March 19-22 in Austin Texas. Please stop by and say hello to me�at Flatstock. Dan and I will be selling our goodies under our Vahalla Studios name in the Austin Convention center so stop by. It will be fun. Also, any sales this week will ship March 25th. Hope thats cool. Have a good week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

March 17, 2009 | 6:05am

Just wanted to tell you a quick Happy St. Pat's Day. Be careful out there!

Rhys Darby Comedy show in New Zealand!

March 16, 2009 | 5:55pm

Some of you out there like me are fans of the great show Flight of Concords. If so, you are most likely familiar with the comedy of Rhys Darby. He recently did a Myspace secret Comedy show in New Zealand. Dan and I were super excited to do a poster for the over seas event. It turned into a pretty silly poster really.

Grain Edit Stimulus Package!

March 10, 2009 | 7:38am

What an honor to be included in the recent Grain Edit's Design Stimulus package Giveaway! You can see the list of folks involved below. What a crazy humbling group it is. Very proud to be a part of it. So, shoot over to Grain Edit and sign up to win! On a side note, all of you who don't win on Grain Edit and purchase a print here from me I�will be throwing in free stickers, silkscreen greeting cards and a surprise mini print with each purchase! Like a big ol' giant grab bag! This will last 1 week so it's over on March 17th! So come on jump on it! Thanks everyone. :)

Sketchbook Doodles

March 9, 2009 | 6:14am

Happy Monday! Here are some very random sketchbook doodles I have made recently while talking on the phone, or calling in on conference calls or perhaps waiting for my car to be worked on. Some are fun others kinda silly. I sketch in a Canson 5.5x8.5 sketchbook. How about you?

Mayhem Mischief and Monsters at the Bear and Bird Gallery.

March 4, 2009 | 6:05pm

Currently I have a solo show at the Bear and Bird Gallery in Lauderhill Florida sponsored by Scion. It is more of my Mayhem, Mischief and Monsters with new prints and new paintings to go along with it. Last Saturday they had an opening reception and sent me some photos. It looks like it was a great turn out. I so wish i could have been there. Thanks to all the great folks who came and the wonderful peeps over and B&B! I appreciate it. For more photos from the opening night see Bear and Birds Flickr page here.

Deerhunter Secret Show

March 2, 2009 | 6:31am

Hi everyone! Last week I designed a poster for Deerhunter's Myspace secret show. I was excited to do this print not only because Deerhunter makes some great tunes but wanted to make a poster that said deerhunter without actually screaming a deerhunter. I think this modern camo worked pretty good. We printed 3 color options and you can purchase it here. Photos by Aaron Farley via Myspace.

Uppercase post

February 26, 2009 | 7:32am

The folks over at Uppercase Gallery have one heck of a blog as well as a great magazine among other things. They recently did a little post on me. It was for�"type tuesday". They mentioned myself, Linzie Hunter, Andy Smith and Paul Thurlby. I would say I am in excellent company. Thanks Uppercase. Leave me a comment and view the post here.

Mayhem Mischief and Monsters in Florida!

February 25, 2009 | 6:15am

Excited to have a new gallery show at Bear and Bird Gallery in Lauderhill Florida. It will feature my Monster mix up prints, new paintings, wood prints, ceramics and all kinds of other goodies. The opening reception is this Saturday the 28th of February. So if you are in the neighborhood please come check it out. I promise it will be fun!

Anya Marina

February 23, 2009 | 7:00am

I recently designed these fun posters for my friends over at Chop Shop Records. Anya Marina was playing a show in Los Angeles so I made this small 2 color 11x17 print for the show. For her latest tour and other events I took the same design to 18x24 and 3 colors. I think it came out pretty fun. We also got some pretty fun test prints which you can also see below. If you look close you can see some of the Lily Allen print I recently did in there.HA! You can purchase the Anya Marina poster in my store here.

Lily Allen's Myspace Secret Show!

February 19, 2009 | 7:01am

I recently designed some goods for Lily Allen's Myspace Secret Show in NYC. It looks like it was an amazing show. As well as the poster for the show I designed some tee shirts for Myspace and Lily's label Capitol Records. Here are some photos from the show thanks to Myspace and the photographer Matthew Salacuse. You can purchase poster here.

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

February 13, 2009 | 7:44am

I �know it is a day earlier but I will be spending the day tomorrow with my best gal. So wanted to tell everyone a big old Happy V-Day a bit early. Hope love finds you all.

Valentines Day card set

February 12, 2009 | 11:07pm

A group of 6 silkscreen Valentines day cards for Design Ranch to send out to clients and pals to help share the love. I think I like the cupid with the tighty-whities the best. :)

Hello Whale Wood Prints

February 6, 2009 | 8:02am

These whale prints are pretty big, or at least the largest screen print I have done up to now. They are 24x48 inches on .25" plywood. I really like how they turned out. I included some photos of them also from a recent show. Hope that helps get the idea across. You can purchase them in my store here.

Tokyo Bunnie post

February 5, 2009 | 8:35am

The blog TokyoBunnie just did a little post on me. Thanks for that! Some nice words from the Bunnie. Be sure to check out�TokyoBunnie and the post they did on little old me.

The Republic Tigers on Vinyl

February 4, 2009 | 7:15am

I just received this yesterday and really like how it turned out. The Republic Tigers�latest album Keep Colors�was something I designed last year see pervious post�or entire package here. That album was just released on vinyl. I love how the actual record looks. Feels a little like a 1970's record with the minimal color label. If you would like to purchase this album on vinyl Amazon is currently carrying it.

Halloween and Beach Cards

January 29, 2009 | 8:10am

Thought I would share some Halloween and Summer Beach inspired cards I have done recently for Sunrise greetings. They have been lots of fun to work on for sure. They will be die cut cards which is pretty fun. I also included a Halloween card that got rejected. I really liked it though. I think I just respond to the limited color palette. It feels very retro childrens book to me which is my favorite. All is ok though, the direction they went with is pretty great too.

Flattering, I think...

January 27, 2009 | 7:17am

This is a little odd but very flattering when you think about it. I was sent this photo yesterday by a gentleman who this past weekend literally went out and had my little octopus character which you can see below tattooed�permanently�on his arm. Holy cow, how crazy is that! Hope you enjoy the arm art Jake, it's an honor.

Oldies but Goodies RePrints

January 21, 2009 | 8:21am

The Shins Double Monster posters and Decemberist Robot prints have all but sold out. Dan and I have only a couple left of the originals so we are releasing NEW second editions of the two posters. The new Shins double poster is now in a great green color palette and the Decemberist robot is now on a French brick red paper. Both in editions of 200. Both available here in my store.

Blog Love

January 19, 2009 | 7:35am

I just wanted to give a little love back to a couple Blogs out there that gave me a shout this past week.�The design magazine How has a blog and mentioned me and some of my hand drawn type. Pretty swell of them. Check out their blog here. The two others were Rare Bird Finds and Brain Pickings which listed me as one of 5 artist to watch. Pretty nice of them to say and to be in the company of the other 4 artist which are all fantastic.

Gig Posters Volume 1

January 18, 2009 | 10:42am

I had meant to mention this some time ago. It is quite an exciting new book that I am very proud to be a part of.�It is Gig Posters Book Volume 1! Congrats and great job Clay over at Gig Posters and all the folks at Gig posters for putting this together. It really will be an amazing book. Dan and I are super proud to be featured in the book under our studio name Vahalla Studios. The book will be released in April but you can pre order it now here.

Grain Edit post

January 12, 2009 | 8:17am

The other day one of the top blogs around did a little post about me. Please check it out and leave a comment! I have to say, it was quite an honor to even be mentioned with some of the other folks they frequently post about. If you have not been to grain edit before you are really missing out. They really do a great job showing great new and retro based design and illustration. Thanks grain edit, keep up the goodness! Here is a link to the post they did about me.

The Hello Show Video

January 9, 2009 | 7:15am

I am pretty excited about this. My friend Eric over at LemonLime Photography was at my previously mentioned Hello Show. Eric took some of the amazing photos you see below as well as this wonderful video. Everything about it is just great. Bravo Eric, Bravo. And thanks a million thanks. Enjoy.

HelloShow from Eric // LemonLime Photography on Vimeo

The Hello Show!

January 8, 2009 | 8:34am

As I mentioned before,�myself and my�Vahalla Studios�poster partner�Dan Padavic had a gallery show this past month. The Hello Show at 1800 Baltimore in good old KC MO. It was so much fun and a huge success.�I can't thank everyone enough who came and said hello and purchased some of our goodies. Here are a few photos from the show and a link to my flickr account where I have tons more shots. I will keep everyone posted cause we might show again in February.�And between me and you, we might have a permanent gallery/store sometime around March. I will keep you posted, promise.�Thanks again everyone for coming!

.�

A few new Paintings

January 5, 2009 | 8:00am

Here are a couple new paintings I just added to the site. I painted these for the Hello Show in Kansas City as well as my upcoming show at the Bear and Bird Gallery in Florida next month. I will have more on that upcoming show soon. Happy Monday!

�

Happy New Years Friends!

December 31, 2008 | 3:37pm

I hope everyone had a wonderful 2008. I have to say i am going to miss the little guy. All the best in 2009.

My Christmas Characters on Cupcakes

December 22, 2008 | 2:35pm

One last bit of Holiday info before the big day. I recently was contacted by Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle Washington. Jennifer the owner is so nice! This Holiday season she started making cupcakes with a couple of my illustrations on them. Pretty cool idea if you ask me. Not to mention it looks like Jennifer and Trophy have the most amazing set up for cupcakes exotic drinking chocolates and all kinds of other goodies. She was recently on Martha Stewart also, pretty amazing stuff Jennifer. So, if you are in Seattle go by Trophy Cupcakes and buy a Tad cupcake and gobble it up. I can promise you they taste even better than they look.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

December 18, 2008 | 9:30pm

Hi Everyone! Let me be one of the last to say Happy Holidays. I am here to bring a little help for all you last minute shoppers. From today until the end of the year everyone and anyone who orders anything from me will also receive a free 3 color Holiday screen print and a group of random Holiday greeting cards and gift tags. So, not only do I give you a great gift to give a loved one but also the card and gift tag. Man, you are set up! So, try not to eat too many suger cookies and candy canes! No one wants a tummy ache. Have a Happy Holiday friends.

DesignWorkLife Blog Post

December 15, 2008 | 8:00am

Some of the nice folks over at designworklife just posted a little blurb about me on their blog. They really have a great blog. I love their holiday shopping tips, great stuff! Please check it out and drop me a comment. Here is the link: designworklife:tadcarpenter.�

PikaLand Interview

December 11, 2008 | 7:30am

The wonderfully great Amy over at PikaLand asked me sometime ago to be part of their PikaPackage for December which I was quite humbled and honored to do. She then recently asked me a few questions for her fantastic site PikaLand. It was great to be apart of such a great site! Thanks Amy! Here is a link to the full interview.

Illustration Mundo!

December 10, 2008 | 8:18am

What a week! As i mentioned we all have favorite sites and blogs and forums on the world wide interweb. Another site I look at a trizillion times a week is Illustration Mundo. It is an amazing place for illustrators to showcase their work. It is created by Mr. Nate Williams who I adore his work and what he does for the world of Illustration. Anyway, I was featured on the site today which is a huge honor! View here. Viva Illustration Mundo!

DRAWN!

December 7, 2008 | 9:16am

Everyone has their favorite blogs out there in cyber-ville. One of mine for sure is DRAWN! The best Cartooning and Illustration blog out there. I was just featured on it the other day which is a huge honor. Thanks all you DRAWN-ERS, and you Mr. Johnny! You can veiw the post here.

A Brand New Website! Really, it is!

December 3, 2008 | 10:56pm

You are at Tad's website do not be fooled my friend. I have done a little clean up and have a new look, a new store, a new blog and lots of new work! I hope you enjoy it. Drop me a line and say hi, it has been way to long I am sure. Thanks for the support and see you soon.

Hello Show!

December 1, 2008 | 9:36pm

That's right. A show in Kansas City. It has taken long enough. Dan and I are putting together a show of all of our posters plus new artwork from each of us. I will also have most of my Monster mix up prints, wood prints and lots of fun new stuff. It is at 1800 Baltimore in good old KC. MO. It is in the former retail space where Habitat Shoe store once was. We are having an opening reception on December 5th, first Friday and the show will run through the 28th of this month. Please stop by and say HELLO wont you.

�

Jolly Good Show!

November 29, 2008 | 7:31pm

I am at it again with the folks out in Seattle at the Blue Bottle gallery. This time they are pputting together a group show focusing on fun Holiday art for the holidays. I have several prints in the show so check it out. Here is a link to the show: Jolly Good.

The Ting Tings Secret Show.

November 8, 2008 | 11:50pm

I just got done designing The Ting Tings Myspace Secret show in Philly. The show was on Halloween too, how rad! So I made the posters like those skeletons you cut out as a kid at Halloween and hung in your door. Pretty cool. I will have a couple for sale soon. I bet it was a great show to be at!

Print Regional Design Annual!

November 7, 2008 | 10:24pm

Not sure if you got the new Print Regional Design Annual but I got crazy lucky and feel very fortunate to be featured 6 times plus I was interviewed to speak about Kansas City. How cool is that. Thanks print folks. I got a coulpe great projects from Design Ranch into the publication, 3 Vahalla posters that Dan and I did and a personal favorite my Republic Tigers silkscreened EP packaging. Kansas City had quite a bit in the magazine which is great, Go get 'em KC!

Interview On Stickers & Donuts!

October 24, 2008 | 3:44pm

The nice folks over at Stickers & Donuts�recently interviewed me. It was really nice of them to think of little old me. You can read the interview here.

Yummo yogurt and smoothies! Heck Yea!

October 10, 2008 | 7:45pm

I just designed another new restaurant in the Power and Light District in Kansas City. I really am glad to see KC jumping on this yogurt craze! This place is called Yummo and is right next to chefburger. I have my own little corner now. It is a great place owned and operated by local folks who are a treat and truely good folks. They serve�16 yogurt flavors and you just add whatever toppings you want. Hello, 2 lbs of cookie dough! I wil have photos and other goodies soon.

Mayhem, Mischief and Monsters in Seattle

September 23, 2008 | 12:45pm

In September I had a show at the Bluebottle Gallery in Seattle Wa. It turned out so great and the folks at Bluebottle are amazing. I hope everyone in the Northwest enjoyed it. I am sure I will show there again very soon. Here are a couple shots of the work. I have lots more photos on my flickr page.

Republic Tigers On Letterman!

September 10, 2008 | 12:03pm

I recently designed The Republic Tigers full Length Album "Keep Color". The guys have hit the road to promote the new album and one of their stops was on Late Night with David Letterman. I was so stoked for the the Tigers. Not to mention Dave held up the CD! How cool is that!?

Chef Burger

July 2, 2008 | 6:17pm

If any of you live in Kanas City or are passing through I got the place for you to eat. I recently designed a great new burger joint in Kansas City's power and light district called Chef Burger. It is fantastic! Great hamburgers with yummy things like friend green tomatoes on them, a salmon burger, and they even have spiked milkshakes! I designed the identity and lots of the interior so please check it out please.