The Art of Michael Phipps

Fox 13 Etsy Feature Focuses on My Shops

2011-03-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to be featured on Utah's Fox news in a story about Etsy. Max Roth and a cameraman came to my studio and spent two hours interviewing and filming me, eventually paring it down to two 3 and 1/2 minute bits. I was happy with the positive spin and that the more embarrassing things I said didn't make the cut. You can see both segments here:

http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-etsy-experiment,0,5506194.story

Screen Printed Neckties - Abraham Lincoln

2011-02-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Even very conservative dressers seem to be able to get away with wild looking neckties. It's a way for a man to wear something a little more "out there" without overdoing it. That's one reason I thought I'd branch out and screen print art onto ties. It's a different format than a shirt or even most other 2D artwork because the "canvas" is so skinny and long. But artistic challenges often bring about great results. I've got several designs now, but I'll save some for future postings. Some of them are carry-overs from my shirt designs, like this Abraham Lincoln Tie that is far and away my best seller. Coming up with a shop name was easy- it was just one letter switch from my shirt line to Scatterbrain Ties.

Yes. I paint, too!

2011-01-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

When I tell people what I do, I start by telling them I'm an illustrator who does book and CD covers and such. Yet so much of my time has been devoted to working on my graphic shirts in the last while (as evidenced by most of the posts here), that the painting has taken a back seat. Yet that's what I intend to make my focus, which should happen over the next few months as I have four or five projects I need to work on. Here's a recent photo of a work-in-progress that proves that yes, I paint too!

Indiscipline

2011-01-26T06:48:00.000-08:00

Are there any song lyrics that really resonate with you? That almost seem like they were written for you, or even BY you?

In 1981, the experimental rock group King Crimson released an album with a new, but still very creative sound. Interlocking guitar parts in odd meters, Indonesian percussion, and several spoken poetry parts were part of the new Crimson.

The album was called Discipline, and had both a title track and an anti-title track, Indiscipline. It's in the latter piece we find lyrics that were based on a letter written to Adrian Belew by his then-wife Margaret, concerning a sculpture that she had made. The first half goes like this:

"I do remember one thing.
It took hours and hours but..
By the time I was done with it
I was so involved
I didn't know what to think.
I carried it around with me for days and days..
Playing little games
Like not looking at it for a whole day
And then.. looking at it.
To see if I still liked it...

I did!"

Yep. That's me! When I do a painting I play LOTS of little games. Squinting one eye, blocking a portion of it with my hand, looking at it in the mirror, turning it upside down, or standing way, way back. I can't always answer "I do" about whether I still like it or not. In fact, sometimes during the process I hate the piece from being so involved. But it's these little games that help me see a piece in a new light.

Queen City Deplorium

2011-01-25T07:38:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you send someone a signed contract and $375 worth of merchandise to sell in their store, and then they pretend you don't exist? Well, Queen City Emporium has had 80+ complaints filed to the Attorney General of Missouri in the past few weeks. These are from people all over the country, including me. How and why did we collectively take action in such a short period of time? Well, let's start with our very one-sided email correspondence that took place over several weeks time:

Me: I haven't had any updates for a while about my Tshirts. Have they been selling at all?

Them (Queen City Emporium): Silence.

Me: Please respond to my previous email if you would. I'm getting a little nervous.

Them: Nothing.

(At this point I find out third hand that their internet has supposedly been out which, by the way, is no excuse given that I'm sure at least one of them had it at home)

Me: Here's hoping your internet is back up....

Them: AT&T was finally able to get our internet hooked up yesterday mid-day. Ahh...the joys of technology & 140+ year old buildings. I'm wading my way through emails and updates.

Me: Ah, best of luck. Thanks for letting me know. I'll wait for my turn- thanks!

Them: Nada.

Me: Hello?

Them: Zip.

Me: Please PLEASE respond to me. I feel like you're giving me the runaround.

At this point I received a reply with another excuse for not writing. In it they told me a check had been sent, but to this day I have received nothing.

Feeling frustrated with this and one other consignor, I turned to the Etsy forums for advice, but I kept the names anonymous. To my surprise, someone posted that they had started a thread about "Queen City Emporium" and how they had refused to return his girlfriend's items (which total $800) or pay for those items that had sold. I went to that thread only to find out that there were already several other vendors who had also been scammed, and before the end of the night the total was over 30. Things escalated during the next few days as more and more people discovered that they weren't alone in their frustrations with the QCE. Reports were filed with the FBI, the Better Business Bureau, and many others, and at this writing over 80 people have filed with the Attorney General of Missouri.

The media was contacted and a number of stories aired on the evening news in Springfield the following Monday and Tuesday, including one story that featured yours truly quite predominantly. The store hasn't opened since and we wonder what will happen next. I do feel sorry for the women who are at the heart of this mess, but every time I try and imagine that it was just a matter of getting in over their heads, I hear another story like these:

One vendor reported trying and trying to get payment until they finally sent a token check for $10. It was made out to the wrong person. When she asked for a new one, they sent it, minus the amount used for postage!

Or what about the man who went to pick up his wife's items (after having frustrations similar to the rest of us). When he stalled in the store to count the items before leaving, they called the police on him!

One person gave this report on Etsy: "Very disappointed with this seller. Placed order on 9/25/10 for jewelry cords; on 10/7 I sent an email asking if she had sent it and got no reply. I made more attempts and on 10/25 I received a package with a USPS Delivery Confirm label attached (for proof of delivery), it contained 4 insignificant buttons. Not what I paid for or ordered. I have no recourse from Paypal."

That package was sent without the real item, and with a delivery confirmation label for no other purpose than to keep them from being able to file a complaint with Paypal. This post ends here because I truly am speechless.

A return to the lily pad

2011-01-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

Back in high school I was known to many as the guy who draws and paints frogs. I always thought it was a bit inaccurate as I had a lot of other subject matter as well, but looking back I can think of at least three paintings, two pencil drawings, and a number of pieces in my sketchbook that had frogs in them. I guess I was in denial because I didn't want to be viewed as some sort of one trick pony. And yet I was.

One day I was with a friend who had to get something from his art class after school. I was carrying one of my frog paintings, and the teacher asked to see it. I had a different art teacher, so I was surprised when this man disappeared into a closet, pulled out some flower still lifes, and proceeded to try and encourage me to paint things like this instead. I can't remember how I responded, but I remember thinking he was crazy and how glad I was I didn't have him as a teacher! A painting of a frog on a rock really isn't that "out there", so imagine what he would have thought of something REALLY creative.

Fast forward to college where I don't think I did any frog artwork. I'm sure this was at least partly intentional as I didn't want to run around in circles. But with the passing of another ten years, it was finally time to slide back into the pond scum and draw some frogs again. I can remember why I liked them so much- those big eyes, long toes and legs that bend back and forth a surprising amount of times. All the frogs of my past were well-mannered and friendly. These are frogs with sinister intent. Why? Because it makes for a cool alliteration: "Five Fashionable Frogs Forge False Friendships".

(And yes, it's on a Tshirt)

Circuit Board T-shirt

2011-01-21T10:02:00.000-08:00

I've always been fascinated by the artistry of computer circuit boards. The one side looks like a miniature futuristic city, and on the reverse there's a hypnotizing maze of copper and green (which in itself is a great color combination). As I understand it, the copper lines are screen printed onto the circuit board, so screen printing a similar design onto a T-shirt seemed like a good idea to me.

Not having to worry about function, I created my own design in Adobe Illustrator and burned the images onto some screens. I tried all sorts of color combinations, but ultimately decided I HAD to use metallic inks to get the coolest effect. After spending nearly $50 per quart on both copper and silver inks, I struggled to figure out how to make theme look just how I wanted on the shirts. Well, after hours of trying all sorts of tricks I got it right. Worth resurrecting a blog after a year of inactivity to tell about it? I hope so!

Find it here: PhippsArt Tshirts

Listen to Your Shoulder Angel

2010-01-29T21:46:00.001-08:00

I've been nominated as a contender for best Valentines' gift on Etsy.com, so now people are voting for their favorites. The top five will be specially featured on the site, and I'm at number 8 right now. Please go vote for my Angel & Devil shirt here: http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=91 If you don't yet have an Etsy account, you just need a username and a password to join. Thaaaaaaaaaaanks!

Abraham Lincoln Shirt

2009-12-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

Abraham Lincoln helped keep the U.S. together through civil war and introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery. Sounds like he deserves to be on a shirt, so here it is...

Who Killed This Blog?

2009-11-27T20:28:00.000-08:00

Whoops, a bit of a lapse between posts, I see. So much for my blog-related resolution! (See my Jan. 14th post. Or rather, don't.) I won't make any promises or predictions as to whether this will be resurrected. I'll just let time be the judge-- and you, depending on at what point in time you have found this sorrowful note. If there is a great deal of time betwixt the date of this message and the date of your arrival here, and if this post remains at the top of the page, then this blog has truly suffered an ignominious death. Sniff.

Frownland

2009-03-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Lyrics often work so much better in the context of a song than on paper. That's the case with those that follow, but they work better if you imagine them being sung in a bluesy, gritty tone. This is from the opening track to Captain Beefheart's bizarre and amazing work "Trout Mask Replica":

My smile is stuck
I cannot go back t' yer Frownland
My spirit's
made up of the ocean
And the sky 'n the sun 'n the moon
'n all my eye can see
I cannot go back to yer land of gloom
Where black jagged shadows
Remind me of the comin' of yer doom
I want my own land
Take my hand 'n come with me
It's not too late for you
It's not too late for me
To find my homeland
Where uh man can stand by another man
Without an ego flyin'
With no man lyin'
'n no one dyin' by an earthly hand
Let the devils burn 'n the beggar learn
'n the little girls that live in those old worlds
Take my kind hand
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back t' yer Frownland
I cannot go back t' yer Frownland

Always manages to take me out of a frownland.

You only write when you need us...

2009-02-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

One of the foremost T-Shirt sites on the internet is Threadless.com. A few things set them apart from the other sites that rule the search engines. The first is that generally their T-shirts are of a higher caliber than other T-shirt sites (speaking of the designs). The other thing is that all the designs are user-submitted. There are hundreds of designs constantly up for voting by T-shirt fans, and the ones that do well end up getting printed. Pretty cool, eh?

I decided I'd put myself up for potential public ridicule and submit a T-shirt. The problem was that if I had an idea good enough to possibly get chosen, I'd want to keep it for my own web site. So I chose an idea that's been in the back of my mind for a while that doesn't really fit the "look" I'm going for on my own site. So please, go on over to Threadless and give my design some love (in the form of giving it a high vote - you'll have to choose a user name and password). Leave a comment under it as well if you feel so inclined (and if you're feeling friendly).

So what's my concept? Well, argyle and Space Invaders- together at last. Of course! The black one is based on the colors of the original game (but toned down a bit!). The other is a subtler color scheme.

Here's that link again: Michael's Threadless Submission

ScatterbrainTees.com

2009-01-30T05:59:00.000-08:00

After much deliberation I have decided on a winner for the URL contest. The chosen URL for my T-shirts is ScatterbrainTees.com. There were some really good suggestions, a few of which beat out the winner when shared with select friends and family. But ultimately I had to choose the one that sat the best with me. Funny thing is, the person who submitted this one is... myself. Um, isn't this like one of those parables where a seeker of knowledge ends up back home at the fulfillment of his quest, or finds his answer in a mirror? Um, let me get back to you on that one.

But, as promised, there are still some prize winners. I mentioned in the rules that if I chose one of my own ideas (and no, I didn't KNOW that I would) that I would still draw three runners-up to win one free shirt each. And so I did. Congratulations to Gabi, Beth and Nate & Dani, who have all been notified by email.

Now, if anyone read my new year's resolution post about being a "reformed blogger", you'll know I've already broken it. But so you know, I did spend a good deal of my non-blogging time creating the ScatterbrainTees website. I hope that's a pretty good excuse.

"Buy Handmade" T-Shirt

2009-01-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

I'm still mulling over the URL ideas for my shirt site. Given how picky I'm being about this, you may be surprised when I end up with something ridiculous like anadromouscow.com (no, that is NOT the winning entry!). It's a hard decision (see previous two posts- contest still open!).

Meanwhile, I realize I've neglected to post my most recent shirt creation. This one is geared towards fans of the handmade movement- people who prefer to support independent artists over large corporations with mass produced items. Being that I sell on Etsy, I thought that a lot of the sellers (and buyers!) there would enjoy this.

Various styles and sizes of this shirt available at http://phippsart.etsy.com.

$100 T-Shirt Giveaway Update

2009-01-19T12:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who's entered the contest so far (see previous post for details). There are some really good entries that are being seriously considered, but I'm still hoping for a few more entries before I make my final decision. Remember- think "out there" and crazy. I'm currently leaning towards the more off-the-wall suggestions, but there is at least one "safe" idea that has my consideration, so you never know!

PhippsArt $100 T-Shirt Giveaway

2009-01-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

It's fun to give stuff away. When I grow up I wanna' be a philanthropist!

But for now I am giving away $100 worth of shirts to one winner, and one shirt to a runner up. Whoever can help me come up with a PERFECT URL will be given $100 worth of T-Shirts! To encourage more people to enter, two randomly chosen entrants will also be given a free shirt.

Here's what this is about: I'm already selling my shirts online within Etsy and Artfire, but it's time to start my own URL as a place to sell my shirts. Initially it will point people to those shops, but at some point it will be a store in and of itself.

My problem (and this is where you come in) is that I can't decide on a name! My first thought was that it should have a name relating to wearing art: wear art, wearable art, yada yada. All the best URLs along those lines are taken. So now I'm trying to just think of something off the wall- something creative and bizarre. Example: prostheticbraintees.com (That one's a little long).

Here are the details:

1) TO ENTER:

-Please send your entry to:

contest [type the @ symbol with no spaces] michaelphipps.net

-Leave a comment to this post (if you want) but please don't post your URL ideas here!

2) Deadline: The sooner the better! The contest ends when I have decided on a URL. At that point the runner-up prizes will also be chosen. If I think of the URL on my own, I will draw 3 total names for runner-up prizes (one free shirt each) from the entries (must be at least 20 entries). I want to have this URL chosen ASAP, so expect this to be a short contest!

3) PLEASE check to see if your suggestion is taken before submitting it. Simply typing it into your browser does not necessarily tell you! Go to register4less.com (or somewhere similar) and type it in. You can do several at one time. I am only interested in URLs that end in .com

4) Extra stuff: You can suggest multiple ideas (which will increase your chances of winning the main prize) but will only have one entry for the random runner-up prizes. I reserve the right to reject entries that seem like you're "not even trying" and not even include them in the runner-up drawing. Example: ihopeiwinyourstupidcontest.com

Winners may choose any shirts as available on http://phippsart.etsy.com
The grand prize winner will get FOUR total shirts, whether the total (including shipping) is above or below $100.

4) Hints: Here is some more information on what I'm really looking for:

The name should DEFINITELY be catchy, easy to spell, memorable, creative, and unoffensive.

It would be NICE if it is also short.

It can end in "tees" , "tshirts", "garb", "wear" etc. but doesn't have to!

One of the most popular t-shirt sites on the net is www.threadless.com - I'd love to have something that simple and creative. Remember also that it can be REALLY off the wall! quixoticcabbage.com? Sure!

Good luck!

Radio Interview

2009-01-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

I'll be interviewed today on BlockTalkRadio about my art, screen printed shirts and about the Handmade Movement. It airs at 9:00pm EST on www.blogtalkradio.com/blockheadrod

Tune in and hear me fumble through my first ever radio interview! Expect long, awkward delays, constant searching for every-day words, incoherent and irrelevant answers, and sorry attempts at humor. What could be more fun?

A Reformed Blogger

2009-01-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Ah, a new year. Time to resolve...stuff. Last year was my first as a blogger and I didn't do extremely well. From when I started in April to the end of the year, I posted all of 21 times. That's just over two posts a month. This year I've resolved to post every weekday (starting today, silly!). Does this mean this blog will fill up with mindless, inane, drivel? Well yes, but now there will be MORE!!! This is just one of many resolutions I've made this year. This one comes right after "gain ten pounds of muscle by pure will".

Shiny, expanding forehead shown three times in Utah paper...

2008-12-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

I've been featured in one of Utah's two major papers "The Deseret News" as part of an article about Utah based sellers Etsy. They even featured three pictures of me working in my studio. You can see two of them and read the article at http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705268568,00.html

Its a positive article, although they did mislabel a picture of a frog as being mine (friends from High School might laugh at such a mistake).

(Image courtesy Stuart Johnson, Deseret News)

It's a curse!

2008-10-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

As an artist your name becomes your business identity. Suddenly it matters that you have the most popular boy's name of the last many years. Before it just meant things like figuring out that 13% of your French class shared your name. Now it matters. There are a number of other Michael Phipps with web presence, and a few of them are even artists. Fortunately Phipps isn't extremely common, though. The main problem with the name, however, is that people tend to glance at it and see it as a similar, more common name. I think back in school that more substitute teachers called out "Phillips" than "Phipps" over the years.

Now there is a worse problem. Another common mistake is for someone to glance at my last name and see "Phelps". This didn't used to be a big deal, but now that "Michael Phelps" went from slightly known to ultra-famous, I can't travel the web without him being brought up. I have nothing against him, but that doesn't mean I want to talk about him with everyone I meet. Now if someone leaves a response to this post and says "Michael Phelps? Who?", I'll be their new best friend.

Bye Bye Birdie

2008-09-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

I started a thread on Etsy asking for help in naming my new shirt (seen above in one of its four styles). Kind of by default I simply called it "SNIP". When I changed it to one of the names below, a bunch of people told me I should have left it! So...I changed it back. Nevertheless, here are all the suggestions. Which one do you like?

My notes are in red...

no strings attached
down to the wire
Severed connections
dont fly with scissors!
Snip... let the birds do the flying
cut-the-wire....
end-communication....
Cut it out
chirpy-chirpy-snip-snip (Goofy but I like it!)
Cut to the Chase
bye bye birdy (Hee hee)
Off Line
very cool shirt btw (It WAS suggested, albeit jokingly)
Lorena Bobbitt shirt (Had to look this up. Oh yeah, HER. Next...)
nsa = no strings attached
cut above the rest
Evangelin shirt
Quick! My Mother-in-law is Calling!
Dropped Call
Cut Loose
Flying Without a Wire
Call Screening.
Fly away Peter, fly away Paul.......
It's time to cut the strings!
Sproing (Another favorite of my own because this shirt really is about what is GOING to happen)
going wireless
like birds with wifi...
breaking habits
The Birds.. The Scene They Didn't Show You
Live Wire

My Thoughts as Pressed Flowers

2008-09-12T03:19:00.000-07:00

When I have ideas for a new piece of art or a bit of music I'll often write them down on tiny papers which end up going through the wash or getting pressed like flowers in crisp pages of unread books. One such idea for a screen print was written down a few years back and has finally seen fruition on a T-shirt. The idea is that of a scene consisting of a lot of "potential energy"- where a lot of chaotic movement is possibly about to happen. The shirt is, of course, for sale here: http://phippsart.etsy.com.

Parsecs and Filigrees

2008-09-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

I recently held a contest in which contestants had to wax poetic in order to win a prize. The following poem by http://sierrapelonacrochet.etsy.com was the clear winner, and was inspired by the shirt design above (click to see the listing in my Etsy store)

(Note: I couldn't get past the first line without pulling out the dictionary [i.e. looking at the dictionary widget on my computer])

the psychedelic eye sings
of parsecs and filigrees

its unblinking gaze is
a witness to auroras and migraines

such a solemn orb,
yet it does not weep

and on the shortest night
when you awaken from sleep
you'll find this mystic eye
regarding you, gauging you,
as it calmly goes about
creating order from chaos

Stay Focused on Mindless Media

2008-08-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself getting distracted when trying to numb your mind? Read on...

Years ago a friend and I were going door to door (not an easy thing for me) and ended up in a very peculiar house. The resident told us about an invention he was working on and brought us to a room which housed the said innovation. He opened the door and we beheld a room full of gadgets and wires, connected with doodads and whatimazoots of all kinds. It reminded me of the kind of thing that used to be common in 80's movies, where gears, conveyors and ropes connected to household gadgets would go through a huge process to produce a piece of toast or feed the dog. I'm not sure what this particular thing actual did, as the door was quickly closed, perhaps to keep us from stealing the idea.

Now to the subject of the post title. I noticed that there was a round, black sticker directly in the middle of his television set- I'm guessing it was about the size of a nickel. When asked what that was for, he replied that it was so he wouldn't be distracted while watching TV! True story.

So the obvious question is, why don't TV sets come with this feature as a default? Also, why isn't there a pizza-sized black dot in the middle of the screen at the movie theaters-- what if we get distracted by a thought not related to the movie? Why don't kids wear horse blinders when they play video games? Otherwise they might catch a glimpse of a family member in their peripherals! Why don't cell phones alert their owner when they haven't sent a text message in the last 10 minutes-- what if they become aware of the friends they're actually with !?!

Thought of your own idea like the ones above? Leave it in a comment below this post!

Odd Jobs, Part 3

2008-07-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

One of the positives of being an illustrator is that there is the potential to reap financial benefits from previously created work. Such was the case ten years ago after I had stuck my somewhat disconcerting self portrait onto promotional postcards and sent them out into the world. (This painting now serves to remind my kids that "daddy is watching", although the lack of glasses and the presence of bangs makes it a little less recognizable to them. But when I can afford lasik- look out! I don't intend to get plugs, however, to solve the other problem).

Back to the original train of thought-- I soon realized after sending these postcards out that it was a poor choice, as I didn't intend to make portraiture my specialty. Not to worry, though, I didn't get any jobs from the mailing. Well, not any NEW jobs. Besides the inconsequential "you're on file" return postcards, I did get one magazine exec to write and ask permission to use the image I sent in their magazine. The price was $350, and for not having to do any additional work to make it happen I thought that was a pretty sweet deal.

Big...mistake.

Your probably asking, "what was the magazine?" I'm not about to tell you. I did check it out AFTER sending back a contract and became more wide-eyed than I am in the painting. The magazine was a sleezefest and I was glad to not find my mug within its pages. Maybe it happened in the subsequent issue.

I hope not.

Every once in a while, one just needs to create a blog post that's even shorter than the title, and that time is now...

2008-07-05T22:51:00.000-07:00

I'm not likely to patronize businesses with those gimmicky blow-up figures out front.

Odd Jobs, Part 2

2008-06-26T03:16:00.001-07:00

Admittedly, this job isn't very "odd" in and of itself, but you might find the ending of the story intriguing. I give you permission to laugh at me as I have had time to get over the shame and hurt...

Sometimes people who need an art related job done will contact universities in the hopes of finding young talent (read: cheap talent). I responded to a few of these requests in my college days, and this particular one was to paint a mural in a downtown hotel restaurant. The need for a new mural arose as a tornado had twisted its way through downtown Salt Lake City and destroyed the old one. It had also taken out several trees from the neighborhood of my youth, but I digress. Anyone who grew up in Salt Lake "knew" we could never get tornadoes because of the mountains. But there it was.

I put off making my proposals for the mural and ended up showing a few ideas I wasn't really excited about. Mistake number one. I also told the owner of the hotel that I thought they needed a new logo because "no one I've talked to likes your current one". Mistake number two. (I'm quite surprised I was so bold!) My main reason for being so rash is that I was to incorporate their hideous logo into my mural, and I didn't want it blemished so.

They wanted me there when the restaurant was closed, so I painted at night. After a few weeks it was complete, and I neglected to take any pictures of the finished product. I figured I could come back some time later and take care of that. Mistake number three. Within a year the restaurant had been bought out and become a sports bar. My mural was replaced by a wall of sports figures. When I first saw it I stared at their cruel faces for a while and wondered if my painting was hidden beneath. I may have to wait for another tornado to ever find out.

Odd Jobs, Part One of _____

2008-06-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

As an illustrator I am finally at a point where, for the most part, the jobs I do are mostly in line with my ultimate goals as an artist. In other words, I do actually turn down a few jobs, which in the past year include house sketches for a real estate web site, graphics banners for a DJ, and jobs whose time to pay ratio would work out to about $4 an hour. Really.

'Twas not always so, (and who's to say what lies ahead). Initially an artist has to take any job that is even remotely related to art. At first if the client even knows how to spell "art" you're pointed in the right direction.

Let's look back on one of those first freelance jobs...

After graduating with my art degree, I thought moving near one of the art capitals of the world might be a good idea. So off we drove to Connecticut so as to live near New York City. When I finally broke free from the warehouse job that I was forced to get upon arriving (as I couldn't find anything art related), I spent some time down in "the city" trying to promote my work. One day I went alone to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sat in a large open area, surrounded by Greek statues (or were they Roman copies?). I was sketching one of them when an older man approached me and asked if he could buy me lunch and talk about my art. Free lunch and a potential connection? Of course!

Well, it turned out this man was a Brooklyn-based dentist, and he had some grand scheme concerning a dental invention, which was basically a robotic arm that worked inside the patient's mouth. There at the table he proceeded to arrange his silverware and other objects to resemble his invention. Before I knew it I had committed to come to his office in the near future to draw up the plans. I went home with a pit in my stomach, wishing I had firmly but kindly said "um, no thanks"! But I hadn't, so I found myself in Brooklyn some time during the coming week.

In a way it was still kind of exciting- going to Brooklyn for the first time in my life to draw for a mad dental equipment inventor (he wasn't so mad, but it makes for a good story). I remember going in and briefly meeting his wife, who seemed to me very sad, and who disappeared into the back. I began my labors as an artist while the dentist showed me his prototype on his poor assistant. Yet all this time I knew that I'd be telling him that this would be our only session. When that time came he put a lot of energy into trying to change my mind, but eventually sadly sent me on my way after offering to pay me for the work that I had done that day. In retrospect I should have made the break before coming that first time, but it can be hard to say "no" to someone who wants to use my skills, even if they don't REALLY include dental instrument design...

More to come...

Psychedelic Eye

2008-06-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

I've finally put up a new shirt design after several weeks of nothing, so here it is! When I started drawing it it was supposed to be for both men and women, but it turned out rather feminine-- so no luck for the guys. I may still try to do a second version for men later on...

Here's the shirt.

That which hath shaped me...

2008-05-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of my previous post "A Little Too Personal", I'm going to allow (force?) you to peer into my past to see a small bit of what has shaped me and potentially my art (this story though? Probably not!). Now I can't give you a really good reason as to why I've chosen to write the following tale today other than that it came to my mind earlier and it's moderately funny.

I've had a friend, Phillip, who I've know since I was four. His house was right on the edge of a canyon, and one could see past the great gulf to the city center and the capitol building. Phillip's yard was a kid's dreamland- swings, trees, terraces, and forts. But down below was a dangerous pit of skunks, rattlesnakes and kidnappers hiding in the bushes.

One day a new boy showed up in the neighborhood- we'll call him Pete. He was a little older than the two of us, which to us meant he was very old and large. He liked to come over and play with us (i.e. execute authority over us). One day I found a play gun in a trash pile, which I brought up to Phillip's house. Pete broke it. This was typical of the new order.

I was not happy. My favorite place in the world was now terrorized by this bully. Still, I went there hoping he wouldn't show up. Sometimes he didn't. Here's what happened one time when he DID.

Pete led us down into the forbidden depths of the adjacent canyon, ready to make us do his bidding. At one point he noticed there was a very large ribbed pipe leading far up to the road above, so he made us follow him up it. Along the way he opened a container of Play-Doh and told us to eat it. Granted, every kid knows what Play-Doh tastes like, but being forced to eat it on a treacherous climb up the canyon walls was something different. At long last we came to a point where the pipe traversed a large, round pit. Pete proceeded, but Phillip and I jumped off and made our escape around the perimeter! We ran as fast as we could go- back to quench our green, salty tongues.

This is the last memory I have of Pete. He did soon stop coming around, but there were many more bullies to come in my future- ready to karate chop my neck or flatten me with the dodgeball and make me wish I was just being forced to eat Play-Doh.

Instruments of War, Part III

2008-05-21T02:45:00.000-07:00

Well, you do want to hear a happy ending, don't you?

(Please read parts one and two before continuing.)

Due to a number of concerned readers, I've found it necessary to report that the recipient of the accordion-induced injury from part II is doing just fine. In fact, his mother recently purchased an "Instruments of War" shirt for him (see part I) and it was received with "hoots and hollers"* and instantly adorned.

[*exact words used as reported to me. I'm not generally inclined to say "hoot" or "holler". Thank you.]

Instruments of War, part II

2008-05-13T00:24:00.000-07:00

Please look at the previous post, "Instruments of War", before reading this.

One viewer of the image from the said post tells this sad tale:

"Here's the story, and it is TRUE!

My son (age 11) and his friend (also age 11) were playing around on my computer. Apparently, there was an exciting play to make on this game. The boys simultaneously yelled, "Alright!" and then the accordion that I have displayed on the top shelf above the computer fell off the shelf.

The accordion landed square in the middle of my son's face. It broke his new glasses, and left quite a huge goose egg between his eyebrows."

I'll let you draw your own life lessons from this. One more thing... she also mentioned that her husband plays the banjo...

Instruments of War

2008-05-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

My latest T-shirt design:

Mankind can be so cruel...

A piece to appear in this year's Spectrum Fantasy Arts

2008-04-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

I recently learned that my piece "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will appear in the book "SPECTRUM 15- The Best in Contemporary Fantasy Art", to be release later this year.
This piece was created for The Pioneer Theatre Company's production of the play.

Here is the Spectrum Web Site --See "about" and "books" sections.

Prints are available at my Etsy shop.

Click the above image for a larger view.

A little too personal

2008-04-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

Now for a few fun facts about Michael Phipps that will help you get to better understand the artist. ALL of the following , err, "fun facts" are true except ONE:

1. I lived in England at the age of 9, and had one line in the school play: "Come with me. You can't stay here. You've got to move off these parts." Not much of a flow, is there? Well, a tall, popular girl in the grade above me mocked my stony delivery. Fast forward a few decades- my sister calls to tell me she saw her former classmate being introduced as Simon Cowell's girlfriend on American Idol. How appropriate. And yes, I know I may have spelled his name wrong. I'm not going to look it up.

2. I have twice jumped out of a plane and lived to tell the tale. This coming from someone who has never jumped off a high dive.

3. Two of my friends and I added an extra name to our own to be read at our high school graduation ceremony. My bonus middle name? Elishma. My friends' names were Shmool and Eureka. My parents took it well.

4. On my honeymoon my wife and I went snowmobiling in Yellowstone. We started out far too late and ended up on a beautiful (but eerie) drive over the moonlit hills of snow and steam, trying to get back to the lodge. The snow was falling hard and I had to strain hard to see ahead. All of a sudden a buffalo was merely a few feet in front of us and I BARELY swerved to get around it. If we had of crashed, you'd be reading that buffalo's blog right now.

5. I once looked into the fridge only to find a gallon of lemon juice sitting on the shelf. I proceeded to pour myself a glass and {{GAG}} it wasn't juice- it was ammonia. I coughed and sputtered, drank a lot of milk, plead for my life, and so on. If I had of drank too much you'd be reading that buffalo's blog right now.

Okay, so they're all true. Most of them didn't end up sounding too unbelievable, so I decided not to add a fake one. Oh, and don't assume these represent the 5 most significant moments in my life, just a handful that happened to come to mind at the moment.

The Ali'i Warrior- New Book Cover

2008-04-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

I recently finished a book cover for author Jon Shute, who is self publishing his new book "The Ali'i Warrior. Kudos to him for his hard work in getting his book out (he's almost there), I'm sure it's been a lot of work and a lot of money. A second Kudos (and a thank you) to him for wanting to get a proper illustration for the book cover, as opposed to finding some clip art or filling the cover with REALLY BIG TYPE. There was a lot of mental energy into deciding what would go on the cover- whether to pick a specific scene, a collage of images, or something symbolic. The end result is sort of a scene from the book (though not quite) with a lot of important symbols from the book. Enough with the talk, though, here's the cover (sans the type):

I consciously tried to add more color than I am usually wont to do. It's strange that sometimes I try to do so and I end up muting them too much all the same.

Displaying shirts

2008-04-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, I need opinions here- which t-shirt display method is the most appealing? I guess the real question is, which is most helpful to a potential buyer on the web? I've created a poll on the right- vote there and leave a comment here if you vote "other" or for whatever other reason. Thanks!

Shirt laid out flat?
Hands shirt at Etsy

On a mannequin?
Women's turtle shirt on Etsy

Or on a human?
Men's turtle shirt on Etsy

I'm switching to fashion design (Okay, not really)

2008-04-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Starting out a career as an illustrator has been exciting and challenging. I've had a steady stream of work since making the plunge over a year ago, but the finances can still cause a lot of worry- I'll get paid for a job (usually late) and be okay for a little while, but the graph (as I see it in my very visual brain) starts its immediate descent.

All that to say that I needed some kind of steady income to act as a financial base in between jobs. It needed to be something art-related and something I could be passionate about, so I decided to put artwork on shirts by way of screen printing. Though I paint in a very detailed and meticulous way, I do like doing more graphic (err.. bold, not violent) images, and it's a way to relax a little in between the more mind-consuming painting jobs.

Starting up a screen printing shop can cost thousands with professional equipment, so instead I enlisted my friend Dan (a common ally in creative ventures) to help me build something. Well, here's a picture of the press, albeit without any screens attached:

I've been using it for the past week now and it works wonderfully. The fruits of my labors can be seen at my Etsy site: http://phippsart.etsy.com

So far I've just used some of my existing artwork, but I've got a few new things planned for the upcoming weeks, including a maternity shirt. I never thought I'd be designing maternity shirts...

Michael Phipps, the anti-blogger

2008-04-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

I've been anti-blog ever since I heard the name. Examine the following list of words:

Bog
Bleah
Bleak
Flog
Blog
Clog
Log

Fits right in, doesn't it? It sounds like a slimy lump in the back of my throat. Well, I'm trying to set aside my bias against the word itself, and see if writing about my art (and perhaps a few other things) proves fruitful, fun, or otherwise worthwhile.

Blog Haiku:

bleak bog of foul verb
like rotting log or sink clog
flogs my feeble mind

Well, that was fun.