We pick interesting products and trends for you!
Image via My Modern MET
If you’re a Nissan Skyline GT-R purist, then is your WTF moment, or it could really be art … Sharpie doodle art!
Image via My Modern MET
Stationed in Japan, Collen Kelton owned a 1995 Nissan Skyline GTR R33 and he was getting kinda bored with the factory gray color and decided to let his wife Allison draw on the bumper with a Sharpie marker.
On a brezzy night in San Francisco’s Haight/Ashbury area, Kidrobot held a Artist Signing and Release Party for super talented artist Martin Hsu. A few weeks back, Martin released his latest vinyl artwork – “Blacky” – the dragon/dog 4″ figure. The figure is limited to 300 pieces worldwide, so you might want to pick it up, since it’s also sold at a reasonable price of around $25.00USD.
If you ever watch the animated movies like The Ant Bully (2006) or Escape From Planet Earth (2013), one of the concept artist behind it was Greg Spalenka. The Art of Greg Spalenka: Visions From The Mind’s Eye by Titan Books showcases Spalenka’s artistic career over the years in the many art mediums he uses, from paintings, drawings, sketches and photography.
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“Here was art with a purpose – communicating issues about humanity, from gun violence and racism to social welfare. These images were speaking to thousands, and in some cases, millions of people. I learned that the publishing world could be a powerful platform as well as an industry to work in.” – Greg Spalenka
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Marc Ambuehl spent 2 weeks in Japan and bought along his Canon 5D MKIII and various Canon lenses and captured some vivid everyday scenes. He traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Kobe, Hiroshima and Kinosaki.
It’s pretty incredible what you can do with a smartphone these days. You can play Candy Crush, try date somebody on Tinder, or do something creative like making one cool video montage of your travels. And that’s what photographer Markus Kontiainen has done with his “Moments in Asia.”
Jason Wu rose to fame designing Michelle Obama’s inaugural gowns and NY Time’s In The Studio goes behind-the-scenes with Jason Wu at his office. Jason got into the fashion business by designing toy dolls.
Video Link: http://nyti.ms/1ppQxLo
Check out: NY Times – Interview with Jason Wu.
The last time I was in Japan was like 2009, so maybe it’s time to go back? I do need to get some new bags and boots. The Reserve Channel’s Ultra Eye takes a 3-part look at Tokyo.
The summer maybe over, but I feel the need to travel again. Maybe The RESERVE Channel’s Ultra Eye takes will point me in the next direction – Singapore! Check out this 4-part series on tourist spot – Singapore.
From the hit summer flick Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, one of the fan favorites is the alien plant Groot. If you seen the movie, you will know about the baby Groot because it’s so cute. Here’s a neat tutorial by NerdECrafter on making Polymer Clay Pot version.
What is not to like about this? Now you can build something with these functional LEGO bricks or just eat them. These chocolate bricks were designed by artist Akihiro Mizuuchi.
The hometown of LEGO will be building a full-size LEGO house in Denmark. The LEGO House will be a LEGO museum showing the history and how LEGO came to be. Look for the LEGO House to open in 2016.
Here’s a list of movies you may have seen in the theaters or at home these past 40 years: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Arachnophobia, Blade Runner, E.T., Cocoon, The Goonies, Short Circuit, The Golden Child, Spaceballs, The Lost Boys, Empire of the Sun, Willow, Batman Returns, Darkman, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Aladdin, Jurassic Park, The Little Mermaid and Star Wars. What do all these movies have in common? The wonderful artwork and iconic movie posters done by artist John Alvin.
After watching Guardians of the Galaxy for a second time, my two favorite characters has to be Groot and Rocket. Now here’s neat 12×16 LEGO brick sketch of Rocket by LEGO fan Chris McVeigh.
If you’re in Taipei this August through September, stop by artist Martin Hsu’s exhibition “In Dreams” at the Wrong Gallery. “In Dreams” is Martin Hsu’s take on “Little Red Riding Hood” and bowl of noodles. The “In Dreams” exhibition runs from August 9th thru September 2nd, 2014.
Video game controllers play a big part in the success or failure of a video game console, like that nasty Atari Jaguar joystick. Now that had you thinking, “WTF Atari?” I’m somewhat of a video-game gal, but I don’t remember any video game consoles before the 1990s, unlike my fellow Retrenders super-blogger Stephen Jang, he’s an old-fart. I’m just kidding. This is a super-duper geeky photo project by artist/designer Javier Laspiur. “Controllers” is a photo history of video game consoles through the eyes of the controllers or joysticks, if you prefer calling it that.
Way back in the 1980s when Mirage Comics published Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s creation The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, nobody had any idea how big these green turtles would get in pop-culture. From all the movies, cartoons, toy lines and other merchandising, the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still here today kicking butt.
On July 12, 2014 in Alhambra, CA, Gallery Nucleus and Nickelodeon presented an “official” TMNT art exhibition for the 30th Anniversary. Over 30 artists were involved showcasing TMNT artwork. Also featured, were production stills, memorabilia, storyboards and many other neat things from Nick’ cartoon series. In collaboration with our LA outfit Project 760 Productions we give TMNT-fans a glimpse of what happened at the event.
Even as an adult seeing a swing set on a playground can just bring out the kid in all of us. These special swing set installations have LED lights and plays music. The Swings – An Exercise in Musical Cooperation project was developed by Daily Tous Les Jours, a Montreal-based design studio.
As I kid, I remember watching Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston on TV and like Star Wars, Star Trek and Buck Rogers made an sci-fi impression on me. And then I got all excited in 2001, with Tim Burton’s vision of Planet of the Apes and that was hot mess of suck, kind of like X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Now after many years, 20th Century FOX has gotten the re-boot Planet of the Apes franchise in the right direction. To celebrate, Titan Books publishes The Art of the Films: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes & Rise of the Planet of the Apes.
Let’s see, take my baseball cap and my old raggy sweatshirt and turn it into a face-mask, so I look like a bank robber. Not really, this is art and wearable for the icy cold weather. Artist Shin Murayama latest project is: Yankees Extreme Cold Weather Face Mask Unissued 2014.
Only 8 of 8 produced and sold in Japan!
Like the one in Brooklyn, New York, kicks-maker VANS will be opening a House of Vans in London on August 9th, 2014. Not only will there be an in-door skate park, but a venue for musicians and artists alike. So the next time you take the Tube in London, stop at Waterloo Station.
The 30,000 square feet palace will be hipster fresh. Tunnel One will feature an art gallery; Tunnel Two will have the VansLab artist studios and a 100 person capacity screening room; Tunnel Three will hold a music stage for around 850 concert-goers and of course, a bar; Tunnel Four will hold the in-door skate park and restaurant/cafe; and Tunnel Five will hold another in-door skate park.
For more information, go to: House of Vans – London.
Do you know who Fred Gambino is? I admit I don’t, but I’ve probably seen his work on book covers, video games and films. You will now know who he is with this Titan Books release – The Art of Fred Gambino: Dark Shepherd.
This is not a typical art book collection of personal works, it also includes Fred’s own personal passion project – his screenplay, concept art and snippet graphic novel intro to Dark Shepherd. Along with this, there are various paintings, illustrations, sketches, Photoshop images and book art covering Fred’s career with commentary.
I remember my dad telling me word processing was different in his time, like they had these ancient machines called “typewriters.” What no cut and paste? No spell check or auto-grammar correct? How could you live with yourself? Turning term papers and thesis must have been nuts! But now if you want that “old-school” feeling Qwerkytoys has got it! Introducing the Qwertywriter – the typewriter-inspired product.
If you find yourself traveling the country this summer by bus, car, plane or train and in need of getting gifts for family and friends, or just yourself, then make sure you check out this Philly outfit Pilot & Captain. From the award-winning design house The Heads of State, the founders Dustin Summers and Jason Kernevich stamp their own design touch to Pilot & Captain. Just dropping into Pilot & Captain are new molded souvenir magnets, postcards, mugs and notebooks.
Pilot & Captain Magnet – MSRP: $4.99USD each
Pilot & Captain Postcard Pack – MSRP: $15.00USD
It’s all about textures and layers for this doodling artist. Currently living in Singapore, artist Dhanedra, Dhan aka WalgDP gets his ideas from film, comics, and games.
Celebrate food and music in this happy and trippy music video. By the musician/teacher DJ Overeasy. He records the sights and sounds of San Francisco’s Mission District and mixes it up to give us “Mission Foodiez”.
Johnny Moreno
Edward Ballar
GuestContributor
kellyannbrooke
Ramon Angel
Al Woo
SW biko
Retrenders 