The master of uncomfortably comfortable, dirty, raw sexuality, tomfoolery and drudgery turns 67 today. Besides being a master of the awkward, Crumb is also a supreme admirer of blues, country, bluegrass, jazz, big band and swing music from the 1920s and 30’s. In honor of his big day I want to share some of his portrait work from our American Jazz Royalty.  Keep on truckin’ my man.

If you are even the slightest bit familiar with jazz music you are probably already familiar with the work of Reid Miles with Blue Note Records. His soulfully iconic imagery painted the visual for what was to debatably be Americas only original artform. It seems impossible to capture the flow, feeling and freeform of jazz music in a single image and yet, Mr. Miles hooked it up hundreds of times.

No words really. How is this dude not an internet phenom? Wow!

European graf writers, Insa and Inkie connects an old school paint to wall technique and the old school internet animated gif technique to drop something truly unique.  Pretty damn fresh.

Illustrator Scott Derby’s work always kicks ass always. These Sailor Jerry inspired tattoo illustrations depicting our favorite 80’s pop culture elements particular kicks ass. I think I need a Ghostbuster back piece now.

Absolutely amazing video directed by Anthony Vu detailing the process or telling stories, sharing stories and sharing emotion by artist Pascal Campion. Brilliant.

Artist Dalton Ghetti flips the technique and uses the pencil lead as the foundation for art in itself turning the mark-maker into the mark.

Our hands are highly underrated. Check out the stunning work by artist Guido Daniele that illustrates the agility, strength and elegant form of the human hand by the human hand.

My main man 50 grand. We go way back to the days of backpacks and ultra flat black. Family.

I wanted to pay my respects by way of the pencil. Our favorite curmudgeon will be sorely missed.

During my senior year at the School of Visual Arts I used to catch lunch with a fellow illustration student, Daniel Dos Santos,  who I felt was by far the most talented in the class. (You need to check his work, amazing) One afternoon Daniel began telling me about a new guy in the school that had these sketchbooks that were unbelievable. This conversation stood out in my mind because Daniel was so talented himself that it was intriguing to hear of the excitement that he was expressing about seeing …

Photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten kills this project. From what I was able to gather, there are no digital manipulations in this series. Her ability to play with size and setting utilizing such a delicate touch pays off in spades.

I have a high level of respect for professional illustrators who are able to make a good living hustling the pencil. The profession is similar to being a musician. A lot of people are pretty good, some people are great and a rare few are able to crush. Steve Brodner crushes.

Artist Dave DeVries has brought a variety of childrens drawings to life in what he calls, “The Monster Engine Project“. This idea kicks ass all over the place. Incredibly well executed, it reveals in great detail the twisted world that exists in a childs drawing. Often there is a disconnect with kids artwork and our ability to appreciate its value. The depth of creativity and the lack of boundaries illuminates a world that is only accessible to adults in our dreams… or nightmares.

Music videos don’t naturally cross my path in my day to day. I found myself sifting through some recently after a nod from my man Greg about the new J Cole video. It turns out that the guy who goes by BBGUN directs videos so hot they need a dab of preparation-H. You need to check these out. He is pushing a refreshing breeze into a artform that needed a breather.

The omnipotent Helvetica typeface strikes again. It buzzed around for a while with those name shirts. It made a big splash in the opening sequences of my beloved “How to Make it in America“. This time it is beautifully utilized in the new Jay Z video “Hello Brooklyn“. The production, SFX, animation and editting by Greg Solenström. The guy killed it.  Helvetica, Jay Z and Wayne Carter = the new Ashford and Simpson.

I hold a heavy admiration for people who can creatively and thoughtfully summarize. Life can feel so damn heavy and complicated. The work of Alex Noriega, an illustrator from Barselona, seems to boil the meat and fat right off the bone. I think is the job of the artist to challenge expectation within our culture and society in general. It are these expectations that provide the structure where our decisions in life are weighed against. If our path does not align with these generally accepted social expectations then we begin …

I understand people can get tired of standard methods of making artwork. There was a guy I went to art school with that only painted with packages of condiments. Truth.

I am amazed that there is a business model in todays digital age that involves manufacturing and distributing phone books. An article from The Willamette in Portland noted that the phone books that were delivered to their door weighed in at a little over 10 pounds! It seems that artists and pigeons seem to find some the best use out of the waste the rest of us create. Lucky for Alex Queral, pigeons do not have thumbs and therefore left the job of painstakingly carving portraits out of phone books …

I love working in watercolors. I love painterly executed animations. I’m kind of loving some weird retro post-pop.

During all those years of playing video games like Tetris we all took for granted the hard labor that went into the manufacturing of all those giant L shapes and squares and so forth. Photographer Marc Da Cunha Lopes (with French magazine Amusement) has dug deep and provided us with a behind the scenes glimpse into the inner workings of the “How Things Are Made” for video game elements.

It is decided.

In honor of the ridiculously kick-ass movie, “Exit Through the Gift Shop” (which is presently playing at the Colony in Raleigh – locals, there is no excuse. You need to see this movie.), I wanted to share my present favorite street art conglomerate “TrustoCorp”. These guys caught fame from making custom street signs and proficiently attaching them along with other city-official signs in major cities. However, most recently they have been manufacturing custom product packaging and stocking the shelves of grocery stores and bodegas with clever (and possibly delicious) food …

Earlier in the year I visited the Nasher Museum of art at Duke University. The museum was solid but one piece in particular truly stood out. It was an enormous self portrait sculpture than was hung up high so it was glaring down at you. As our eyes met, I knew it was love. Hot, angry, giant faced-love.

For the man that has everything…. except a life.

A series of photographs were created by French photographer Cédric Delsaux and 3D artist Pierrick Gueneugue depicting a Star Wars invasion of Dubai. I love mixing fantasy and reality. Don’t believe me? You should check out the nude self portrait I sketched up last week.

It is strange that with all of the technological advancements in communication, truly inspirational people seem hard to come by. I have felt that my generation lacked a strong, ethical, inspiration person to act as a social and professional mentor. I think my wait is over.

Most of you probably know that I am extremely attracted to the heat and electricity that is caused from uncomfortable situations. If these situations are public, even better. Cross-breed a yo-yo master,a Wisconsin morning television program and the genius of my man K-Strass with the flame of Andy Kaufman and you have pure gold.

There have been many sources of inspiration when it comes to determination and steadfast will to carry on. They usually come in the form movie action star, injury plagued athlete and the occasional rise of a troubled youth to a fruitful life of social bliss. I think we can all agree that “overweight movie critic from the 80’s” doesn’t usually come up on our radar for hardcore, tough as nails, ‘never quit’ troopers. Roger Ebert however, the guy won’t stop.
Before the internet and before we were interested in picking up …

This set of portraits kicks ass all over the place. A tip of the Kangol goes to the incredible Erika Iris Simmons. You keep doing your thing girl. Big fan.