"The Bending Giant" on Teefury - 1/1/2013

I just found out I will have the very first Teefury of 2013. On January 1, you can go to www.teefury.com and get this Futurama/Iron Giant parody shirt for only $10. 



Since it will only be available for one day at that low price, make sure you get over to Teefury.com on January 1.

Woodbury Biters Shirt Design

I am not sure what will become of this one, but I was watching AMC Sunday night and decided to put this design together:

 

I tried to take an almost sports-logo approach with this design. I think it's funny, even in the comic, how different groups and towns have different names for the zombies. The best part about most zombie movies and stories, even the immaculate original zombie flick "Night of the Living Dead", is that nobody calls zombies "zombies". They always say, "those things" or "walkers", "roamers", or "biters". C'mon, people...let's call them what they are.

New Teefury - "Weeping Cherubs" - Sept 29

Tomorrow, September 29th - one day only - I will have a new shirt on Teefury! The sale will start tonight at Midnight and run until Midnight tomorrow. If you are a fan of the Doctor or art history parodies, stop by and check it out.

I apologize for the lack of posts in recent months. I recently switched jobs, and have been teaching full-time at a brand new charted school. It's kind of a dream job, but my freelance and personal work had to take a back seat for a little while. That being said, I will be posting some news in the coming weeks about my new job.

Original Los Pollos Hermanos Shirt up on TeeBusters

For the next couple days, TeeBusters, a shirt company out of Ireland, will be selling a shirt I co-designed with Mike Giacopetti. This was the original design. Teefury sold a variant that was kind of a KFC parody. But Mike and I are both very happy to see this finally get out there to a wider audience.

PCS Book 3

The Philadelphia Cartoonist Society’s third comics anthology. This one is titled “PCS Book 03: The City of Lotherly Brove.” It is the group’s illustrious tribute to Philly.
You read more about it here and buy your copy here.
Keep your eyes peeled for an Official Book Release Party in the next few weeks.

UArts Summer Pre-College 2012

I just wanted to give a big thank you to my students in the University of the Arts Summer Pre-College program. I also wanted to thank my T.A. Yara and fellow teachers Patch and Larsen. This year was great. I had the privilege of teaching students in the Illustration track, where I taught 2-D Fundamentals. It was hands-down the highlight of my summer!

The work looks awesome on the walls. Keep at it. I can't wait to see the amazing art and design work you produce in the future!

Walkin' Dead Inspired Shirt For Sale on ShirtPunch - 7/13/2012

Friday the 13th (spoooooooooooooooooooo-ky), for one day only, Shirtpunch.com will be selling a shirt I designed inspired by one of the greatest and brutal comics of all time. The design features a cute version of everyone's katana-weilding zombie slayer and her two docile pets. Shirts cost only $10 bucks and are gone in 24 hours. Great for zombie-maniacs, dog walkers, and friends who like to wave sharp objects around. To visit the website, click HERE.

UPDATE: Here is a picture of my buddy's kid wearing the shirt. Thanks old tymer!

Norris Street MixTape - More Work

The opening show at Masthead came and went on Saturday. A bunch of old friends and family, and some new friends were nice enough to come out and hang out. Joannie and her kids came. My old friend Marvin (a great artist in his own right) snatched a few of my pieces. As a matter of fact, quite a few attendees got art and prints at the show. It was a great feeling to feel that support. I'd like to thank Shawn Hileman, the curator and owner of Masthead. I would also like to thank Narragansett Beer for donating my lunch and dinner on Saturday (and everyone else's libation as well).

The Norris Street MixTape show will hang until July 7, 2012, when the gallery will host a closing party. If you missed the opening and would still like to see the work, that'd be a great day to hang out. Also, you can get in touch with Shawn in the meantime to see other days the gallery would be open. Below are some more pieces that hung in the show...

Inspired by ALL of the amazing music of Screamin' Jay Hawkins:

Inspired by Kris Kristofferson's "Just The Other Side Of Nowhere":

This is inspired by Tom Waits' song "Underground"

Color version of the E.L.O. inspired piece that started this whole series of work:

Inspired by a Bob Dylan lyric: "Pickin' Up Angel"

Inspired by my hero and friend Nate Wiley's version of "I Can't Stop Loving You"

Inspired by the Skillet Lickers' "Show Me The Way To Go Home"

Inspired by The American Dream's "Can't Get To Heaven On The Frankford El"

Inspired by Eric B & Rakim's "In The Ghetto"

Inspired by the music of Jay Reatard, drawn while listening to him live:

Inspired by Nina Simone's version of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood":

...My Dad bought this one. Aw shucks.

Inspired by the art and music of Daniel Johnston:

Inspired by the Kinks' "Complicated Life":

Inspired by a song Jackie Cooper was singing in the 1931 movie "The Champ":

Inspired by my buddy Sam Heimer and our mutual love for the Kinks' song "Alcohol":

Masters/Misfits T-Shirt

My Misfits/Skeletor parody shirt will be up for sale on FSC Tees all week until June 24, 2012. If you're into the 80's nostalgia, cartoon, fan art stuff, check it out by CLICKING HERE. FSC sells their shirts for $15, but that also includes shipping costs.

Originally, the image came from a shirt I was designing for my friend Nick Mil. His pool team, "The Misfits" just won a tournament and will be going to Vegas for another tournament this summer as a result. With my brush pen, I redrew the standard Misfits skull (but left in the missing teeth). A few people told me that was stupid, that I should have just swiped it from the internet, because the logo itself is basically a photocopy of the face from this old Crimson Ghost serial poster. But I wanted something high resolution. After that, I just put 8-Balls over the eyes to somehow relate the concept to billiards.


After Nick's shirt was done, I started monkeying with the drawing, and for kicks I made it a Skeletor parody with the colors. I was amazed it got picked up as a shirt, but I am also happy now that I recycled the image. It was a happy accident.

My Facebook Art Page

I just wanted to post here in case anyone wanted to check out my Facebook art page. Unlike the blog format, you can just browse through albums of images. Feel free to poke around. CLICK HERE to see the page.

Teefuries to Date

Last August I started designing some pop culture-inspired t-shirts for a few different websites. Without a doubt, Teefury.com has been the most successful for me. Some sales were better than others. But no matter what, it's been a fun ride every time. It's a strange and interesting time for things like this. In spite of media sources screaming about a recession, somewhere in this world, ten-dollar t-shirts are selling online by the thousands.

In this economically-challenging environment, Teefury has been a key source in keeping me financially afloat over the past year. The funds raised from these t-shirt sales got me through the holidays, helped me buy a bedroom set, and have given me a new perspective on a niche market. It's been an interesting challenge, catering to the needs of a whole new audience. To be honest though, the work is more fun and allows for more freedom than many of the freelance jobs I take that pay a great deal less. Anyhow, last Friday, I had my eighth online sale on this site. I looked back over the past nine months at the designs I've done, and I realized how grateful I am to have this resource.

ArtUnleashed 2012 Submission - "How Deep is the Ocean?"

If you were to do a search of the word "Mermaid" on this blog, you would see that I have done several variations on this theme and image. This actual image is a recreation of an envelope I drew for Joannie back in 2009, except much much larger. This piece is 14"x11". I used different colored inks, markers, and colored pencils on 98lb Mix Media paper.

Initially, the seed of this idea came from a sketchbook drawing by one of my favorite artists - Heinrich Kley. I can't find a good version of the image online, but click here to see a small one. The idea of the deep sea diver fascinates me. Something about walking the floor of the murky depths, being alone out there, but still being tied to home. It's romantic to me.

Once again, music has played a part in my work here. This piece is entitled, "How Deep is the Ocean", named after an Irving Berlin song. I love Billie Holiday's version. But lately, I have been loving the version by Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton. I am pretty sure that album was Doc Cheatham's last. He was so awesome.

Anyway, this piece will be on display and for sale at this year's ArtUnleashed event, a fundraiser for the University of the Arts. I have been teaching at UArts in different capacities for several years now. I have also been working full-time for the past year in the Advancement office, working to raise funds for the school. It was an honor to be asked to be in the show. My work will hang on the walls with Arnie Roth. There will also bee a nice group of friends participating in the show, like Chris Patchell, Kyle Margiotta, Christine Larsen, and Paul Palcko. I am really looking forward to the event.

"Chemistry is Fun" shirt to be the first shirt on new TeeBusters site - Friday, March 30

Tomorrow, a new t-shirt site called "TeeBusters" is launching. I am happy to report that my shirt will be the first one for sale. "Chemistry is Fun" is a design inspired by the show "Breaking Bad". I think the show is really well-written and has awesome character development.

Anyways, it'll be up on the site tomorrow. Feel free to check out the site if you like: TeeBusters!

Mythology and the Forgotten Gods Show - Tonight at Phantom Hand

TONIGHT and the next few weeks, Phantom Hand (located at 6th & South in Philly) will be hosting "Mythology and the Forgotten Gods", a group art show curated by Anthony Pedro. It's a great show with an awesome group of local artists. Please see the showcard below.


Here is my Minotaur piece for the show. I drew it with a borrowed pencil at Bob & Barbara's listening to Kelvin, Rich, and Lucky during Wednesday's jam session. I was lucky to sit alongside fellow cartoonists James Kaminski and Michelle Miller with the legendary Bob Dix behind the bar. I finished the inks at the bar, but a swarm of Wharton students came in around 10:45 and grossed the place up. So I had to finish the colors on my lunch hour yesterday at Paolo's Pizza on Pine Street.


Tonight's show will be especially celebratory, because we found out this week that Phantom Hand has been granted an extension in the gallery space for being an 'exemplary member' of the Arts on South program. We will now be in our current location regaling you with art and assorted hand-made sundries and occasional free beer and baked-goods until mid-August.

Norris Street MixTape: "Lady"

Another piece for the Masthead show in June. This one is kind of a dedication to my lady Joannie and her family. I drew most of it at the kitchen table when hanging out with her and her sister and their friend. I finished the inks and colors in McGlinchy's Bar. It's based on Little River Band's "Lady".

I don't know what it is about this song, but they must have played it when they were kids at a really happy time in their lives. Every time it comes on at a party, everyone in their family stops what they're doing and sings along - Joannie's Mom, her Dad, all of her sisters. They LOVE this song. I didn't really know this when I was growing up, but I like it. It makes me realize how you can tie music to certain memories. It also makes me realize how important music can be in affecting people's emotions.



Masthead is an awesome gallery and print studio, run by Shawn Hilemen. It's a really great space located at 340 Brown Street (near the corner of 4th & Brown) in Northern Liberties. http://mastheadprintstudio.com/

Norris Street MixTape: "The Beast In Me"

On June 16, I have an opening for an art show based entirely on some of my favorite songs and song lyrics. Music is a huge part of my cartooning. I would have to admit that I get a lot more inspiration from music than I do visual art - because I can draw and listen to music at the same time. It gives my hand a rhythm. I hope to have at least 30 pieces in the show. There will also be limited edition screen print and giclee prints for sale. Plus I will be giving away free crazy mixed CDs with each purchase. I will post progress on these pieces through these coming months. I want to keep the originals fairly small in size, so the art is affordable to working class people.


The working title of the show is called "Norris Street MixTape". My Dad always had music on in our house when I was a kid. So I figure this all starts there on Norris Street. This is the first piece I started for it, but I am going to add color, and I will probably turn it into a large screen print to sell at the show. I drew it in my Moleskine. It's based on Nick Lowe's awesome song, "The Beast In Me", which he wrote for his then father-in-law Johnny Cash. Cash recorded it on his first album with Rick Rubin, "American Recordings". That is hands-down the best version of the song. It's my favorite Johnny Cash song.



Masthead is an awesome gallery and print studio, run by Shawn Hilemen. It's a really great space located at 340 Brown Street (near the corner of 4th & Brown) in Northern Liberties. http://mastheadprintstudio.com/

Ron Hextall - Happy Birthday, "Famous" Nick!

Drawing for my nephew, "Famous" Nick's 13th birthday - his all-time hero, Ron Hextall. Nick wears Hextall's number. A couple years back I had the privilege of designing the logo for his hockey team's jersey:


Happy birthday, brother!

Joannie's Valentine - 2012

Joannie's 2012 valentine. She wanted Tomer Hanuka's Valentine's Day print, but he was all sold out. She asked me to redraw it, and I said, "No way! but I will do something similar." The final will be an 18” x 24” color, archival giclee print that will hang in our kitchen. Apologies to fellow Meathauser Tomer for biting the concept. To see Tomer's prints (including the one I ripped off), please CLICK HERE.

Wed, February 15 – Sock’em Rock’em Who-bots shirt on Teefury

My Doctor-inspired t-shirt will be up for sale on Teefury.com from midnight to midnight on Wednesday, February 15, 2012. This shirt pits two of the Who-niverse’s favorite metal heavies against each other in a design reminiscent of every boy’s favorite “let’s beat the crap out of each other” childhood game.

The shirt only costs $10 bucks, and will only be on sale for 24 hours. If you’d like more information or would like to purchase the shirt, CLICK HERE to go to Teefury.com.

New Shop Online!

This week, I launched an online shop to sell some of my personal work, like books and prints. If interested, feel free to take a look by clicking this link: JEFFRO'S SHOP.

Aside from selling books and whatnot, every month I will put up a limited edition giclee print that is only available for the duration of that month. Once the month is over, the print will be gone, and a new one will take its place. I wanted to challenge myself a little bit with this monthly exercise, giving myself a recurring deadline and reason to create my own style of work beyond the hunt of my steady freelance gigs.

Berry & Beasley

This past Friday was my parents' anniversary. Saturday was my Mom's birthday. My Mom has been gone 8 years on January 13th. Needless to say, January is never a great month for me. I haven't really come to grips with her passsing after all this time. I still remember things she said, the way she sang quietly in a high pitched voice. My memories of my Mom, for the most part, are idealized. I'm glad for that. Some days this world is a frightening and awful place without her. Then again, the world she left her mark on is sometimes decent and awesome. My Mom had an impact not only on her kids, but her grandkids as well. She had a special relationship with each one.

This drawing was done on sticker paper. I put it in my niece Erin's 2010 Christmas present - a fancy sketchbook. Erin draws a lot. When she was a baby and a toddler, my Mom would jokingly say that I should make a children's book about her and Erin called "Berry and Beasley in the Garden". Berry was her nickname for Erin. It seemed like a great and epic idea that lived in my Mom's brain, but I was never really sure what the story was about.

Erin seemed really happy to get this from me. All my nieces and nephews are great kids. They're charming. It's a pleasure being a part of their lives.

Artificial Dissemination 2 & The Resurrection of "Meet Your Neighbors"

I created this piece for the Artificial Dissemination show this weekend at Phantom Hand. This 17" x 11" poster sized pen and ink drawing is a resurrection of my "Meet Your Neighbors" strip, a weekly true-to-life comic that ran on the Philly Turkey's website for almost two years. Most of the comics were a little meaner than my normal stuff, drawn in a thin-line style with no pencil. Every week, I would draw something or someone I saw in Philly that struck me as ridiculous, hilarious, disgusting, heartbreaking, or sometimes all of the above. This one was just heartbreaking. I learned a good lesson from this man, but the truth is I could not tell what kind of life he leads. For all I know, he might be happy just to be alive.

I will be donating all my proceeds from the sale of this piece to the Philadelphia Committee to End Homelessness. Make sure to stop out this weekend and see all of the awesome work hanging at the gallery.

Sketches of Fishtown # 107 - Big John Bosak

It has been well over a year since I have created or published an issue of "Sketches of Fishtown". After the second book release, I just needed a little bit of a break. I also worked on some art shows and other projects. I will be publishing these drawings and anecdotes as often as I possibly can. I started the project back up because this one is very special to me. John Bosak was my gal Joannie’s uncle. I initially drew this portrait for Joannie’s mom for Christmas. But before I even knew Joannie, Johnny was always good to me. A few years back, when I would be sitting alone bartending on an empty Wednesday night, Johnny would see me through the window, come in, and keep me company. He also asked me to draw a congratulatory picture of his son for this paper a few years back, when his son came home from the military.

John Bosak had character and a great sense of humor. He was unique. Drawing John’s portrait reminded me of why I started this project eight years ago - because Fishtown, with all of its unique facets, history, and people, is a place worth remembering. It’s a place worth celebrating. If you have a memory, an event, or a person worth remembering and celebrating, please share your words and photos: sketchesoffishtown@gmail.com.

Chicken Brothers Shirt on Teefury - Jan. 19 Only

On Thursday, January 19, 2012, Teefury will have a shirt up for sale that I co-designed with my buddy Mike Giacopetti. The shirt is inspired by Breaking Bad, a show on AMC we both watch and enjoy. If you've seen the show, you'll get the chicken joke - both how it parodies the restaurant and how it depicts the behavior of the main characters in the show from last season.

If you are interested in purchasing the shirt (for the low lo cost of only $10), PLEASE CLICK HERE.

Christmas Season 2011 - Part 4 - The Card

Sorry that I forgot to post this here. I had it up all over facebook in December. This will be my last post regarding work I did during the holiday season of 2011.

I used the same characters on my family Christmas card this year as I did last year (Click Here to see). The elves are Joannie and her sons Brandon (with the ear gauges) and Aaron (jumping). Zoe, our insane puggle (ripping through the snowman's belly). I am the abominable snow monster, of course.


On the back, I added the newest edition to our family - our turtle, Murray. He's crazy.

My Main Man Bil Keane

I wrote this article recently while reflecting on the passing of cartoonist Bil Keane. Bil helped me out a great deal in my life. I owe him a lot. I am very grateful to have known him, and I'm sad that he is gone.

CLICK HERE to read the article in Spirit Community Newspapers.