For the past few weeks I have been trying to figure out a way to bend my shapes without compromising the sharpness and quality. After many unsuccessful attempts I finally figured out a method of arcing my shards in any way I want, which really opened some doors to some different compositions and ideas I wanted to explore where previously I was limited to keeping things in a straight line.

This new piece, entitled Munich, is designed at 18 x 24 and will eventually land in my online store. You can see a detail right here.

Store update: Things are going very well with getting the shop off the ground. The coding is just about complete and I’m currently hooking it up to Paypal. Hoping for a launch relatively soon.

My good pal Mike Holmes from here in Halifax recently started up a stream on Flickr, showcasing some of his illustrative poster work and his two weekly comic strips This American Drive and True Story.

Last year he was published by Oni Press with the 160-page graphic novel Shenanigans (written by Ian Shaughnessy) which he pencilled, inked, gray scaled and lettered. He also developed and shot this innovative music video for the song Tonight Tonite by the Superfantastics, inspired by the Sesame Street’s teeny little super guy.

In short, Holmes is a creative machine and if you haven’t heard of him, you will.

I have mentioned my inspirations in previous posts, but I have been meaning to make a more specific entry about the subject. My recent works have been heavily influenced by television promos from the 1970s from networks like NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS. Some of these bumpers were created before the computer was used to animate in 3D space, while others were created at the dawn of computer generated graphics. Networks wanted to create bright and bold animated logos with the charm of 70s design.

The above graphic is made of simple snapshots of some of these wonderful animations, and it is easy to see the spectrum being used in bold and creative ways. NBC was really the front runner in my opinion, using the spectrum to animate their peacock logo.

Check out these YouTube clips of promos from NBC 1971, NBC 1978, NBC 1979, NBC 1982, ABC 1960s and the awesome Hanna Barbara logo. Enjoy.

In the late 80s my father got a used Commodore 64, complete with a shoebox full of big black floppy discs loaded with copied games. The best family computer of the era. Even though I had a Nintendo at the time, I spent many hours at the computer desk noodling with games like Othello, Hot Wheels, Henry’s House, Impossible Mission, Jumpman, etc. It even had a primitive poster and banner making program which was my first experience using a computer to make art for me and my friends.

I have many fond memories of the 64, and this art piece, aptly named Commodore 64, pays homage to that great system with it’s hilarious ink-ribbon printer and adorable 2-toned blue screen. You can see a detail here.

Inspiration for this piece, Varo Special Presentation, was pulled directly from the CBS Special Presentation promo that was used in the 70s and early 80s. I remember this bumper being used before all of my favorite holiday cartoons and that rare occasion when I’d find Star Wars being aired on cable tv. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation when I saw this loud promo appear.

It was fun to add some perspective to the abstract shapes, as my past pieces have all been relatively flat. Adding different angles to the pieces allows them to play off of one another in a different way, bringing about a different atmosphere. Another small note, I had been using the Avant Garde typeface for a little while now and completely by chance, it is the same one CBS used in their bumper back in the day. Go figure.