Philly ARTrepreneurs wins SEED Grant

This week, I showed a presentation to the Philly CORE Leaders in City Hall's City Council Caucus room. I talked about my student artists at Memphis Street Academy Charter School and did a 3-minute pitch for a program called Philly ARTrepreneurs.

Philly ARTrepreneurs is an idea I've had for the kids since I started teaching at Memphis Street when we started the school in 2012. Memphis is a turnaround school that used to be called John Paul Jones Middle School. The kids there have grown so much. The academic and behavioral progress they have made is mind-blowing. My students are my heroes. I say it all the time. 

When I show them my work, my t-shirt designs, comics, anthologies, and art for shows, they always ask me how they can do it too. Now with this SEED grant, I will be able to show them. In the next few months, we will be outfitting my art room with professional equipment and programs so I can show students how to design their own shirts and create their own books and prints. I will also teach students about marketing and shipping their creations. 

The proceeds from the products sold will be split three ways - 1/3 will go to a charity of the student designer's choice. 1/3 will go to the student in some form of scholarship. 1/3 will fold back into the ARTrepreneurs program to keep it moving forward for other students.

I am blessed every day to have this job and work with these kids. I can't wait to walk them through this experience of getting their work out into the world to a wide audience. Please stay tuned for updates over the next few months.

Please CLICK HERE to read the Newsworks article regarding the SEED 4.0 event.

Who the Wild Things Are (eleven) on Teefruy June 30

On Monday, June 30, Teefury will be running another collaborative designs I did with Stephen Yarish. Steve came up with the idea, and I did the finish design. This time, I got to pay tribute to one of my artistic heroes, Maurice Sendak with this Doctor Who/Where the Wild Thinsg Are crossover parody. This was a lot of fun to work on, and we may even do some more (based on other Doctors and villains).

To purchase the shirt, just go to www.TeeFury.com on Monday, June 30, 2014. It'll only be up for the day, so get it while you can.

March 24 - "Rocket & Groot" Tee on Teefury!

On Monday, March 24, Teefury will be running a "Rocket & Groot" tee - a Guardians of the Galaxy/Calvin & Hobbes parody. The shirt is a collaboration by myself and HULK superfan Steve Yarish.

Steve is best known for his incredible fandom of the Hulk. He is such a big fan, that Marvel writers and artists named a recurring character after him in the comics. Steve also has a bar from one of the Hulk movies named after him. You can get some background on Steve Yarish in this episode of Fanatical:

Steve approached me with the idea for Teefury's March Collaboration Challenge. Being a huge fan of Hulk, comics, and Calvin and Hobbes, I whipped up the design in a few short days. 

Starting at Midnight EST, Monday, March 24, go to www.teefury.com to get the shirt for just $11. But after that day, it's gone, gone, gone!

No Pizza After Midnight - Today Only (Feb 24)

Sunday, February 24, 2013 - Teefury will host Jeffro Kilpatrick's homage to two of the greatest pieces of fiction to come out of the eighties - ninjas who are turtles and gremlins who are...well, gremlins! The shirt will only be for sale for one day at such a low, low price. So please CLICK HERE to go to Teefury's website to grab one!

Georgia's Finest Walker Walking Service on GimmickTees!

GimmickTees will be running my Walking Dead parody shirt "Georgis's Finest Walker Walking Service" until February 17. They may even extend the sale. To buy or look at the shirt, you can CLICK HERE!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.