:: All Dahl'd Up ::

I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in this most excellent group show, entitled All Dahl'd Up. These 28 local Toronto artists were all asked to create a piece of art inspired the wonderful author Roald Dahl. How cool is that?

Exhibition runs: June 11-16, 2013, The Gladstone Gallery
Reception: Thursday, June 13th, 7pm-11pm

You can RSVP here.

Alysia Avey
Alexandra Kavalova
Andrew Wolf
Bill Speers
Blair Kitchen
Caroline Hung
Dharmali Patel
Hilary Leung
Ian Westoby
Jason Groh
Jason Thompson
Jim Bryson
Joey So
Kathryn Durst
Kyu-Bum Lee
Mike Csunyoscka
Mike Helmer
Nick Hehn
Nikolas Ilic
Noam Sussman
Perry Osuna
Sam Bradley
Sarah Mercey
Shawn Colbeck
Tara Donovan
Rachel Chalk
Rory Madge

Special thanks to Kyle Marshall

Hope to see you there!

:: My First LEGO Window Display ::

This weekend was super busy one, but one of the highlights was definitely helping install my very first Lego Window Display. Y'see my daily 8 bit Lego creations (from earlier this year) had opened some doors for me - including membership to The Toronto Lego User Group. ToroLUG is a team of mega talented Lego builders from all walks of life. From artists to engineers, these fine folks have one thing in common - we all love Lego.

They have been super supportive of my designs, despite my rudimentary collection and builds. One person in particular was always encouraging me to build my own store window. His name was Sean Jensen. Sean is not only an amazing dad, but he is also what I refer to as a Lego Super Genius. With his infinite generosity, he offered to help build some of my designs.

In under a week, after a flurry of emails and sketching, our collaboration came to life! Our masterpiece sits proudly at one of the Toronto Lego stores (Sherway Gardens Location). It will be on display for the entire month of June, so if you're in the neighbourhood please go check it out!

In other news, my 23 week old son has started stealing kisses...



Update!I turned my 8-bit Lego design into a t-shirt. Please feel free to vote here.

:: TCAF 2013 ::

Hooray, I have been lucky enough to be accepted into Toronto Comic Arts Festival (aka TCAF) again this year!

In preparation, I have been busy punching buttons, re-ordering my picture books, hand-cutting bookmarks and even assembling a special mini book that collects my "Top 28 Picture Book Lego tributes". Check out the photos below.

TCAF is being held again at the Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge St.) on May 11-12. This year I am on the main floor at table #122 right in the middle... just follow the ninja balloons!

Drop by, say hi and get a free origami pirate bookmark too!

Hope to see you there :)

:: Team Imagination ::

When I first heard about the Threadless Real Play challenge, I knew right away that I had to make time for this.

"Design a kids tee that inspires imaginative and creative play."

Amazing! My inspiration comes from my childhood where I spent much time in the wonderful world of imagination. I used to create rocket ships from old paper rolls and build cardboard cities only to knock them back down, because inevitably a giant monster always arrives. Ha ha, I'll always cherished these moments. Hopefully this design will inspire others to create, play and enjoy this fantastic concept called imagination.

If you like this design, please click the image above and vote. There are many great designs up for voting, so please go check them out!

:: wittlebee + threadless Kids subs ::

When I heard about the Wittlebee + Threadless Kids design challenge, I knew that I had to create something. Not just because I love designing for kids, but rather I now have the very best inspiration ever... in my beautiful baby boy.





This first design "Daddy's Little Monkey" was inspired by my little monkey.

As an artist, I thrive on that feeling of satisfaction from creating art. That sense of pride and accomplishment is second to none...

That was true, until I became a parent. As a new dad, I find my heart overflowing with pride and joy that I helped bring this little baby into the world. Watching my masterpiece get brighter and more beautiful every single day is just amazing.






This second submission "Knock Knock" is an infographic design of, "Three Little Pigs". It's clear, concise and parents can use it to tell the classic fairy tale to their child.

Just in case you needed a refresher, Christopher Walken is always happy to help you out! Just play the YouTube video below and enjoy the best four and a half minutes of your day!

Enjoy :)

:: Game of Pixels ::

I've submitted this design to Threadless, so please feel free to vote here!

To help with the mood, here's the Game of Thrones theme on three Commodore 64 sound chips




Anyone else pumped about Game of Thrones Season 3?

:: 8 bit Bravest Warriors ::

I am a HUGE Pendleton Ward fan and have really enjoyed both his Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors series. So when I heard about Threadless' Bravest Warriors design challenge I just had to put something together.

With the mini hiatus from my daily 8-bit Lego creations, this seemed like a perfect chance to jump back in.  Several of the great Threadless community was also hosting a Pixel Community Challenge.  Plus can you honestly think of a better fit for an animated sci-fi series than an 8-bit pixel design?  Conditions were perfect!

This was so much fun that I actually submitted two different entries.  The first one was illustrated in a monochrome monitor style aka green screen from the 80's.  It was a bit tricky, but I only used four shades of green on a black shirt.  The official Bravest Warriors logo is also illustrated in this style.



For my second entry, I wanted to depict the characters with their heat sensitive stickers animal friends.  The Warriors summon animal weapons by rubbing heat-sensitive stickers on their suits. Danny has the Dog Sword,  Chris has the Bee With Excellent Leadership Skills, Beth has the Cat Lashes and Wallow has the Falcon Axe.  The Bravest Warriors is a super colourful and vibrant series, so I decided to use a full colours palette for this second sub.



If you like either of these designs, please feel free to drop by here and here (or click on the images above) to support by voting!

Thank you!