Vancouver Debrief!

At last, here are photos of the art I created while I was in Vancouver, a few weeks ago. These works include three large live art paintings I whipped up alongside Jim Mahfood & Troy Nixey at the Hennessy Lounge, plus some color drawings I rocked for the friendly crowd during Vancouver Comic-Con.

The live art pieces above were created under the smooth influence of Hennessy & ginger ale, with random shots of Patron thrown in for good measure. I also managed to paint all three of these while simultaneously dancing my proverbial ass off. DJ Mykro Douglas absolutely crushed it, that night!

To top it all off, I had an unbelievable view of downtown Vancouver, the bay and points beyond, all from my hotel balcony. I couldn't help but nab a few snapshots! 

 Food One and I had a fabulous time. The people of British Columbia were very, VERY good to us. I was totally blown away by my very first visit to Vancouver. Many thanks to the fans and friends who came out to show support. And a huge dollop of gratitude to Leonard, Andrew, Troy and everyone else who conspired to make the Live Art Funk Jam and Vancouver Comic Con such a wonderful success!

"Ya just can't stop! Got ta party on!"
- David

TR!CKSTER & Comic-Con Are Upon Us!

Like a hailstorm of badgers, San Diego Convention Week has arrived! I'll be there with the rest of the freaks & yahoos, mingling with fans & colleagues, selling art & merch, and avoiding sleep like The Plague. But, unlike previous years, this time I will NOT be setting up at a table.

Comic-Con Schedule
For anyone attending Comic-Con proper, you can catch me at the Oni Press booth at 12 noon on Sunday, July 24. I'll be one of the many artists signing during their Kids Day "Yo, Gabba Gabba!" Blowout! www.comic-con.org, www.onipress.com

TR!CKSTER Plans
If you're in town for the Con, you'd be crazy not to check out Tr!ckster, the simultaneous, creator-owned con that's happening across the street. I'll have merch available in their retail space, including the brand new art book WRECKING SKULL and the Puffed TPB. And I'm exhibiting several original works in their gallery. I'll also be on hand at Tr!ckster off and on, in case I'm needed for any live art or symposiums. www.trickstertrickster.com

Guerrilla Art Strikes
Since we'll both be free from the confines of a booth, longtime colleague Jim Mahfood & I have decided to rock Guerrilla Art Strikes during this fine Con Week. We'll be setting up renegade "studios" from Wednesday through Sunday, on a bar patio, by a hotel swimming pool... or maybe even on the bed in your hotel suite!

Jim and I will post our Guerrilla schedule (time, place, etc), between the morning and early afternoon of each day. Fans & collectors are welcome to show up and commission drawings from us, discuss our creative process, buy us drinks, propose marriage, etc.

Keep up on our exploits via the usual social networking suspects:

Dave Crosland
www.facebook.com/DaveCroslandArt
www.twitter.com/DaveCrosland

Jim Mahfood
www.facebook.com/FOODONEART
www.twitter.com/JimMahfood

"They say the good die young, so I added some bad ass to my flavor to prolong my life over the drum."
- King Gum Crosland

C2E2 Drawings & Wrap-Up

The pics above are some of the drawings I whipped up, during C2E2. Much gratitude to the collectors who commissioned me for the works.

Things are finally settling back into normalcy, now that I'm back home from the show. Simply put, the convention ROCKED! Buckets of thanks and appreciation to the fans, friends and colleagues who were involved in all the fun & mayhem of last weekend. And big-ups to Reed Exhibitions for greatly improving on the show for its second year. I'm already looking forward to C2E2 2012.

Lastly, thanks to the city of Chicago. I've been visiting you pretty regularly for nearly a decade, and -- in summer and snow -- you've always been good to me.

"I love you more than I care about myself! I love ya, hate ya for what you're doin' to my health!"
- King Gum

YO GABBA GABBA! Comic Book Time Art Preview

If you love the funktastic cast of YO GABBA GABBA! then get ready to enjoy them in comic book form! This Wednesday marks the release of "YO GABBA GABBA! Comic Book Time," an oversized, hardcover anthology of short stories featuring everyone's favorite boombox-dwelling monsters and their tangerine DJ friend.

This volume includes a 10-page tale written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and illustrated by yours truly, titled "Muno! and The Case of The Vanishing Inspiration!" In honor of the book coming out tomorrow, I thought I'd share the above preview of the finished artwork from our story. I had a blast painting these, and am super-excited to see the finished product in print. Speaking of which, it looks like I'll have a few copies of "... Comic Book Time" on hand at my C2E2 table (K3). So be sure to stop by and check out the goods!

To buy "YO GABBA GABBA! Comic Book Time" online, visit OniPress.com and Amazon.com.

"When I was small... they called me the leprechaun."
- Dave, aka King Gum

Gabba-Love From the Ol' Alma Mater

Well I'll be a funky monkey's uncle! My Alma Mater -- The Columbus College of Art and Design -- just posted a flattering piece about me on their blog. Check it out here:

Alumnus’s illustrations featured in Yo Gabba Gabba! anthology

Many thanks to the Alumni community folks. I'm so, SO blushing right now!

"... if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you neeeed!"
- King Gum Crosland.

On The Slate - 11.10.10

It's been way too long since I posted on here. I've been all over the place, since returning from Los Angeles, last week. Luckily, I've been making art the whole time! The pics above include (in this order) -

1. My woefully overdue pinup for CHOKER (by Ben Templesmith and Ben McCool, Image Comics). I've been attacking this thing off and on, for months. Painting can be such a different process for me, than drawing. But I try to learn something new with each piece. And this pinup has been a crash course in glazing techniques.

2. Warm-up paintings. Since painting is usually an adventure in layering, it helps me stay on point by painting several pieces at once. So while I'm doing the CHOKER pinup, I'm also painting random faces, and pulling strange stunts in my experimental sketchbook, Little Clouds.

3. The Love Growl, drawn in Mat From France's amazing travel journal. After seeing his, I totally endorse travel journals as a way to track your adventures abroad. Hell, I might even start taking a travel journal with me to the supermarket!

4. Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm drawing a sweet Muno mystery tale, penned by the one and only Kelly-Sue DeConnick. The pace has been a little hectic, but I'm having a blast. I've actually penciled the story twice, now. I wasn't pleased with my first take, so I redrew it at a bigger scale. With more room to move around the pages, I was able to draw with much more fluidity. One of my professors (David Groff) told me, "Don't be afraid to scrap a piece and restart it, if it means you'll get a better product in the end." And he was right. Plus, I've been out of comics for too long, just to come back with the weak sauce.

"I like my asses fat, not flat!"
- The King Gum.