SUPER IAM8BIT Video Recaps!

Dig this awesome video coverage of the SUPER IAM8BIT opening reception!





"We've had enough of the lackluster. Trust us, we get the type of games you can't rent at Blockbuster!"
- Dave Gum

I'm Making A Comic!

After a whole lot of hullabaloo and poppycock, I'm finally working on a comic story of my own. It's a one-shot, surrealist-adventure story called "Auris Infinitum." I'll be debuting this book at Wizard World Anaheim and the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, in a month. Be sure to keep an eye on this blog for regular updates and progress shots.

"Whaddya mean there's no more? ALL the rations? Sound the alarm! There must be a stowaway!"
- Dave

Silkscreened Posters for Sale!

So I was digging through the Hiredmeat Archives, and I unearthed a hidden cache of silk-screened concert posters I did way back at the start of my career! I was creating this poster art before anyone at Image or IDW Publishing ever knew who I was. These prints were actually a big part of how I got folks attention at conventions, before I had any books out. I'm pretty sure having these on-hand is what got me my earliest comic jobs, which ended up becoming the roots of my now illustrious career! Thanks, posters!

And in honor of all they've done for me, I refuse to let my remaining stock of posters just rot away in dry storage. I'd like to find these guys & gals homes, be they with collectors, music-lovers, re-sellers, or whoevers! My stock includes 11 posters in all, with each design available in varying numbers. I'll be posting them here in small batches (*though, you can peep the entire selection on my Gigposters.com page*).

Pricing, dimensions, and general info are listed beneath each poster image. Each print is numbered and signed by myself and the printmaker. Shipping will be calculated on a per-order basis. Please inquire if interested in wholesale prices. If you have any questions, feel free to write them in the comments section of this post, or direct them to dave@hiredmeat.com. Ordering info is listed down below.

Sasha & Digweed / Chemical Brothers
3 colors / approx 11" x 28" / rare
$30

Jane's Addiction / Live / Femi Kuti
6 colors + metallic copper ink / approx 11" x 24" / extremely rare
$100

Cake / Spoon
6 colors + blacklight inks / approx 12" x 25"
$25

Incubus / Hoobastank
6 colors + metallic silver & copper inks / approx 11" x 24" / rare
$30

Place an order simply via Paypal, using my email address: dave@hiredmeat.com. In the message field, please include the details of your order, as well as your current mailing address. Check here for snail-mail ordering instructions. Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery of your item(s).

"Aliens trading machines for diesel engines!"
- Dave, The King Gum.

PS -- Each poster order will include a free handbill or two, while supplies last!

Sweet Revenge!

It's been a strange, gnarled day of me battling my printer, getting attacked by a cat, and listening to incredibly loud music. If you haven't checked it out, yet -- or even if you HAVE -- you gotta dig on my friends' Jane Dope and Food One's BEAT BEE SESSIONS. Volumes 1 and 2 are online now, and are about the most incredible music mixes I've heard in years. So badass and funky... so righteous and raw.

I finally had to give up on the HP beast, and heed the call of the freelance hammer. The pics above are the linework and color study of a website illustration I'm doing for a delightful independent baker, starting up her own business. Yum!

"Baby, I am black. But only from the waist down."
- Gum

ps-- Okay... I'm actually black all over :)

First New Painting of 2010

"Evil," pencil drawing on canvas

So I'm kicking off 2010 with a visual bang! I've been slugging it out with a couple self-written comic projects, making new freelance moves, and digging deeper into my latest series of "Dangerous Women" fine art pieces. In line with the latter, the above pic is the sealed pencil drawing for my first painting of 2010 -- "Evil."

The piece is a tribute to Evil-Lyn, and will be on exhibit at Gallery1988LA's "Under The Influence: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe," which opens Friday, January 8th. Evil-Lyn was always such a badass bitch on the He-Man cartoons, and even in the movie. I mean, remember that whole Dolph Lundgren whipping scene?! So I wanted to show her at her finest, rocking the mad witchcraft she's known for. I'm pulling lots of musical (and I guess visual) influence from Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. And I'm also feeling very inspired by the works of the American Impressionist, John Singer Sargent. Check the pic below, to see what I mean.

At this point, I've done the drawing in a soft pencil on a pre-stretched canvas. Then I've sealed it in with an acrylic matte medium. The sealing in is where the uber-fun begins, because that's where I start to build up my tones and shading.

Unfinished version of Madame Pierre Gautreau
by John Singer Sargent

I'll be posting more step-by-step shots of this throughout the week, so stay tuned.

Happy New Year!
- Dave Crosland aka King Gum

OK Red OK

"No one noticed as The Soviet gave the whispered 'all clear' to her blood-thirsty brethren, waiting patiently offshore in their sleek, shark-swift galleons..."

Red sky at night, sailors delight.
- King Gum, over and out.

New Work in PAPER PUSHERS @ Gallery1988SF

"Morning Study Tina" (uncut)
8" x 14" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Bedlam" (uncut)
8" x 14" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Stone Faced"
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Those Things'll Kill Ya."
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Grimace and Bear It"
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

"Devil Exhale"
4" x 6" / mixed media on watercolor paper

These six, brand-spaking-new pieces will all be on display in Gallery1988SF's PAPER PUSHERS exhibition, which opens up TONIGHT! It's their annual group show of works created on paper. My submissions display the new "King Gum" style I've been developing in my paintings, sketches, and drawings. Feels nice to finally get some of this stuff out into the world!

I'll be in attendance at the reception, along with a good number of the artists involved. Come kick it with some real live creative folk, and get your Holiday swerve on! I promise not to touch you... unless you want me to.

Nya-ha-ha!
- Dave from the poop deck

ps -- See flyer image below or visit www.gallery1988.com for details!

Out of the Brimstone

This is a sketch I started, literally, years ago. I think I was doodling it during a calm moment during a comic convention. Anyway, I finished it up, scanned it, and thought I'd share it with you fine folks on the Interwebs.

Ahoy!
- Gum.