You found me??????

Well now, you probably found my shirts or ties through a Google image search or the like. You'd be better off going to http://www.ScatterbrainTees.com to find what you're looking for. See you there! Meanwhile, here are my Dapper Fox Ties:

Screen Printed Neckties - Abraham Lincoln

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.

A return to the lily pad

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

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

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

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)

Displaying shirts

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)

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...