“Where the Angry Things Are” by Chet Phillips
Is This Thing On? #4: An Art Show Inspired By Funny People opens Friday, Feb. 20th at Gallery1988 West. My contribution is a homage to Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are” character Carol mashed up with the king of the angry, finger pointed rant, Lewis Black. Gallery reception is from 7-10 PM. The limited edition Giclee run and framed version with be available at the reception and afterwards in the Gallery1988 online shop.
This Saturday in Austin marks the return of the Austin Flea to the new Highball. Do your last minute Christmas shopping from a selection of over 40 creative vendors offering up a wealth of handmade goodness. ChetArt will be there offering the usual brand of foolishness.
Visit the official event page HERE. See the vendor list HERE.
io9 has released a fun list of holiday gift ideas for the geek in all of us. I was happy to see that my “Boss Battle” print made the list! Thank you Katharine, for included me in your fantastic list of incredible creative fun. Prints available through the Etsy shop.
December 13th-14th marks the 13th year of this Austin holiday shopping tradition. I’m proud to be a part of this year’s Cherrywood Art Fair. Come for the wide selection of handmade artist’s creations and stay for the food and music. Open Saturday and Sunday from 10-5. I’ll be offering signed prints, books, playing cards, night lights and more, all from the ChetArt shop.
Visit the Cherrywood Art Fair site for more info and map.
Now available in the Red Bubble store: Rumble in R’lyeh on a variety of items including t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, ipad cases, pillows and tote bags. Includes the full version and a silhouetted version.
Hero Complex Gallery transforms into an arcade on December 5th with the show opening: “Gaming in the Gallery.” Half the gallery will have playable consoles like NES, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, Atari 2600 and others and rounding out the room with classic cabinet games like Pacman, Space Invaders, Galaga and more.
My contribution to the show is a send up to K’inich Janaab’ Pakal’s famous Mayan sacophagus lid sculpture. Author Eric von Däniken postulated in his book “Chariots of the Gods” that the sculpture referenced ancient astronaut elements. My version transforms the Mayan ruler in an arcade game environment with several references to game characters.
The Blue Genie Art Bazaar is an Austin holiday shopping institution. This year over 200 artists will have their creations displayed within their personally designed booths. The event runs every day from 10AM-10PM starting on November 28th and running through till 6PM on Christmas Eve. I’m proud to be a part of Blue Genie with my 3rd year of selling. If you’re in the Austin area in December, put this fun experience on your list of things to do. You can find out more by visiting: Blue Genie Art Bazaar.
The ChetArt space is up and ready for Blue Genie Art Bazaar shoppers.
~Click image for event page with map~
Saturday November 15th marks the annual Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash Holiday Market. ChetArt will be represented among the dozens of talented artists for this fun selling event. Show runs from 11Am-5PM. If you’re in the area, put it on your “to do” list for a fun day of gift shopping. See the list of artists here.
“Mystery Science Kabuki” (click image to enlarge)
Hero Complex Gallery presents the “Kung Fu Theater” (*not limited to Kung Fu) art show, opening November 14th. The show encompasses a variety of Asian themed pop culture imagery. I’ll have two pieces for the show: “Mystery Science Kabuki,” is a send up of Japanese printmaking and drama with Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000 at center stage.
“The Kaiju Man” (click image to enlarge)
For my second piece I created a Godzilla themed image with a twist. Titled “The Kaiju Man,” it illustrates a story I wrote and incorporated into the piece about an actor transformed into a giant from nuclear radiation. He uses his new found abnormality to don enormous monster suits and act in Kaiju movies. This new career was cut short after the radiation’s second stage turned him into an actual Kaiju monster. His malevolent rampage was filmed in one last battle against the army in which he was ultimately destroyed.
(click image to enlarge)
QPop Shop celebrates the 30 year anniversary of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Legacy with a tribute art show. Curated by Chogrin, it opens November 15th. My contribution pays homage to the power-mad Emperor Pilaf with a Game of Thrones mashup. Visit the official event Facebook page for more info.
“Rumble in R’lyeh” by Chet Phillips
Guzu Gallery presents “Icons of Horror: A Haunted Portrait Show,” in cooperation with Blood Over Texas & Gore Noir Magazine. This Halloween season, Guzu dead-icates its gallery walls to the icons, heroes, and villains of the horror genre…but mostly the villains! The exhibition will feature all new, all horrifying portraits by over twenty-five artists — each carefully selected by Guzu Gallery. Original paintings, mixed media artwork, and screen prints will be available for purchase.
My contribution, titled “Rumble in R’lyeh,” imagines a special event announcement with Cthulhu at center stage.
Guzu Gallery is located at 5000 N Lamar Blvd. in Austin (next door to Austin Books and Comics) Opening reception is Oct. 31st, 7-10PM.
“South Seas Popeye”–Chet Phillips
Hero Complex Gallery presents “Strong to the Finich! An Official Popeye Tribute Art Show” with an opening on Friday September 5th. I’m proud to be a part of this great event, celebrating the 85th anniversary of the squinty-eyed, spinach eating icon. The show is curated by Chogrin and is in collaboration with King Features Syndicate. My contribution (above) is titled: “South Seas Popeye.”
A Shop Called Quest presents a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” show with reception Saturday August 30th. My contribution is titled “Teenage Mutant Samurai Turtle.” The finished piece is a form of monoprint: Giclee print with gold leafing pen details added to enhance the yellow and orange details in the armor.
Gold foiling details on print (Click image to enlarge)
A Japanese translator was hired for the text integrated into image.
Hero Complex Gallery presents the show “I Am The Law/A Life of Crime” opening Friday, August 15th. The show pays tribute to both cops and criminals across a wide spectrum of films and pop culture. My submission draws upon the fond memory of my first viewing of “Bullitt.” Director Peter Yates’ iconic car chase down the hills of San Francisco was beautifully choreographed. The sequence was highlighted by Steve McQueen’s ultra cool demeanor as he confidently glided his Mustang GT over the paved hills and valleys in pursuit of the hitmen in their Dodge Charger.
Guzu Gallery in Austin presents its “Strange Beasts 2” show with a tribute to Godzilla, the king of the monsters. Each artist was asked to pair Godzilla off with the foe of their choice. My contribution, titled “Boss Battle,” matches Godzilla with King Kong for some fierce two player combat. Reception is Friday March 28th 7-10PM Click Here For The Austin Chronicle story
I had the pleasure of supplying 16 portraits of famous literary figures in the guise of dogs for “Classic Poetry for Dogs: Why Do I Chase Thee.” The talented Jessica Swaim expertly expands on my series concept Literary Pets series trading cards with her own hilarious character bios. In addition, the book is filled with her outrageously clever poems with a decidedly canine twist. She has a wonderful talent for crafting puns. Published and beautifully packaged by Gibbs Smith, it’s 88 pages of fur-faced fun for dog and poetry lovers alike.
(Click examples below to enlarge)
(Click Image to Enlarge)
Ltd. Gallery in Seattle will be opening its CATZ! show with a reception Feb. 1st. 6PM-10PM. I’m proud to be a part of the event with 2 pieces. The Star Wars mashup “Grumpy the Hutt” (pictured above) and my feline version of tom cat Daryl Dixon pays tribute to The “Walking Dead” and is titled “The Wagging Dead.” (below)
Norman Reedus poses with his copy of my Wagging Dead print at Austin ComicCon
Get your copy of The Wagging Dead here
The legendary Norman Lear poses with his framed print of my Princess Bride “As You Wish” image. Serving as executive producer for the film, he took a liking to my rendition of famous quotes, characters and icons of the cult classic. With this in mind, I happily worked with Act III Licensing to produce a framed version for his birthday.
Growing up with the genius of his groundbreaking sitcoms “All in the Family,” “Sanford and Son, ” “Good Times,” “One Day at a Time,” “Maude,” “The Jeffersons” and “Fernwood Tonight,” it’s truly an honor for me to have a connection with him through this tribute print. A big thank you to Julie and Penny at Act III Licensing for making it all happen, documenting it, and to Mr. Lear for his appreciation of my efforts.
The TV series “Firefly” and the subsequent theatrical release “Serenity” by the brilliant Joss Whedon introduced a fresh sense of humor, action and unique moments of pure creativity to a devoted fan base. As with all the best shows, when it ended it felt like saying goodbye to close friends for the last time. This tribute combines memorable quotes from both the movie and series. Find this and the following pieces available in the ChetArt online shop.
Joining the previous Coen brothers series tribute comes “O Brother Where Art Thou?,” a comedic treatment of Homer’s Odyssey set in Mississippi in 1937. On top of the acting and storyline, the lush cinematography and collection of folk songs have found a special place in my brain and heart.
When I picked up William Goldman’s novel “Princess Bride” back in the 70’s, I quickly realized I had discovered something special when I came to the first “commentary” in red ink. That same sense of fun hit me years later when Rob Reiner brought the twisted, tongue-in-cheek fairy tale to the big screen. This collection of quotes pays tribute to both the book and film for creating moments of perfect humor.
Sheldon Cooper, played expertly by Jim Parsons on the TV series “Big Bang Theory” is the quintessential nerd. Despite his chronic need to point out the mental shortcomings of those around him, he always finds a way to make you like him. This portrait pays tribute with a variety of quotes by and about him.
The “Land of Kaiju” project meets the Victorian puzzle pouch. This folded design dates back to 1782 and were utilized in a variety of countries. The Japanese version, known as a “Tato”was used to store items such as buttons and needles. Known as a Valentine Puzzle Purse in Britain, it was popular during the Victorian era, used for love notes. One piece of paper is intricately folded to act as a container for a small item. In this case the treasure included inside is an original signed ChetArt sketch card. The pouch measures approx. 3.75″ square when folded and expands to 11.25” square with colorful creature portraits and an alliterative phrase on one side. The reverse displays a fanciful moonlit battle scene and provides a container for the sketch card. An intermediate layer displays the Japanese term “Kaiju,” translating to strange beast or monster. The folded sheet is printed in color on sturdy 44 lb. cover stock.
Each puzzle pouch includes one signed sketch card measuring 3″ square.
