Straight Up! Art Pop-Up Solo Show

One week from tomorrow -- ONE NIGHT ONLY -- my pop-up solo show at Leon Loft inside Leon Speakers, presented by the Ann Arbor Art Center. Unearthing some original pen & inks, wild test prints, and a VOTE design that you'll be able to screen print yourself and put in your window during election time! Tunes provided by Mariah BBc and myself. Put it in yer calendar! Send yourself a letter to remind yourself! Carve the date into your arm! Freeze yourself with directions to thaw you out at the show! Get wild! Get loose! Get some art on your walls, some grooves in your ears, or just come to say hi! Event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1761626213932066/

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True Detective OG Art and Prints Up in the Shop

It was 2015 and I had 24 hours to draw this True Detective piece. A glow in the dark screen print was due in a week for Bottleneck Gallery's When the Lights Go Out 2 art show and the tv series was nearing it's end. Being a rabid fan of the show, I had to wait until the final ep to draw something. Yes, fandom was already flooded by fan art, but I knew I could do something different -- and something that represented the whole series. And when that final ep ended, I got to work.

Now I may be in the minority when I say that I love the way the show ended. No, I get it. But I loved it. Was moved by it. Rusty and Marty coming to terms with the unfuckable shittness of the world and their cosmic place in it. It confronts death and loss head on while delivering the nearest to Tobe Hooper Chainsaw world we've seen in quite some time. Rusty breaking down in the end affects me deeply, but I love that Marty helped him find hope, cuzz that's what buds are for.

So yeah, cue to me feverishly working out the design through pencils then inks and then Sharpies -- AND THEN I had to prep it for print, including halftones and TWO glow layers (even if one didn't really glow as much as acting like a gloss layer). Needless to say, VGKids were accomplices in all of this, waiting with baited breath at getting the file and kickin' out screens in days time so we could print. Looking back, that's just nuts. It honestly just makes me tired thinking about it.

Fast forward to the art show -- it goes well (despite a selling snafu that said it was immediately sold out). I've sold the remaining prints here and there. Never put up the final pen and ink until now. Some remaining prints are now up in the shop as well. Threw up some other prints in the shop as well, so if there's something OTHER THAN THEY LIVE, ED2, and DJ BRUCE that yer looking for of mine, check out my Etsy page. Alright, onto finishing up two freelance gigs this afternoon. Gonna check out Citadel as well, thx to the high praise from the very great Pure Cinema Podcast, who just ran an EPIC John Carpenter 2-parter well worth checking out.

#truedetective #bottleneckgallery #jeremywheeler #artoftheday #instaart #art #creative #penandink #screenprint #glowinthedark #vgkids #hugepost #fuggit

Samurai Jack inspired prints for Hero Complex Gallery

For Hero Complex Gallery's Blacklight Show, I tackled one of the most dynamic shows on TV -- Samurai Jack. Inspired by that and Japanese block prints, these two prints were created and then screen printed by VGKids. Prints available here: https://hcgart.com/collections/blacklight

 

And here's the process video, created in Procreate and Photoshop.

Book Illustration for 826michigan's A Lantern of FIreflies

Had the pleasure of providing this double-paged spread to 826michigan's newest hardcover book.

From 826michigan...

A Lantern of Fireflies: An Illustrated Treasury of Tales of Adventure, Discovery, and Magic is the latest student publication from 826michigan, featuring twenty Huron High ninth-graders and a class of second-grade students from Mitchell Elementary. The students produced the collection of bedtime stories—they wrote the stories that they wish they'd had when they were younger.

Each of the stories has been thoughtfully illustrated, with input from the student writers, by a different artist, including the Caldecott-winning Erin and Phil Stead, Jon Klassen, and Dan Santat among many others. Award-winning children's book author Mac Barnett has written the foreword and Oliver Uberti has designed the cover and end papers, as well as contributing illustrations.

The resulting book is sure to take young readers along for journeys they’ll wish to repeat again and again.

Available here

Refractive Art Show

Pete Baker and Jeremy Wheeler Present:

“Refractive”

A collaboration of graphic work by Southeast Michigan artists at the The Ann Arbor Art Center. On display from Wednesday, May 27th to Sunday, June 7th.

Artists Include: 
Scott AllenErin Anderson-RuddonBang! MediaPeter Baker Photography, Aaron Bobzien, Lucy CahillDoug CoombeSteven Emshwiller, Peter Breese, Paintings by Jason GibnerHelen Gotlib Artist,Christina HuffCorryn JacksonJen Munford Tattoo/ArtistLouis Perchikoff,Chris SandonMatthew ShlianDylan Strzynski Fine ArtistTHE BANG!,Fred ThomasTavi Veraldii and more...



In optics, refraction is the bending of light through a particular medium. As we see it, the artists taking part are bending the perceptions of the world around them through their own creative endeavors... Reflection, not facsimile.

Subject matter varies from the personal to the abstract, historic to pop cultural. Through it all, the work represents each artist’s lens of inspiration.

This short exhibit represents an exciting turn for the Ann Arbor Art Center, as it reflects an artistic culture that has remained mainly unseen in many established circles around Washtenaw Country, despite several of the local artists’ International reach.

Refractive’s roots come from its curators, Peter Baker and Jeremy Wheeler, Ann Arbor-based artists and promoters whose work with Tiny Expo, The Bang!, Winter Doldrums, and Vault of Midnight show a love for creating dynamic events throughout the area over an extended period of time.

For further information, and to arrange an interview please contact: info+refractive@elevatedworks.com.

GENESIS - Animatrix Tribute Art for Bottleneck Gallery

Here's my tribute art to the Animatrix's Second Renaissance Pts. 1 & 2 short film for Bottleneck Gallery. Original is a pen & ink wash on Bristol and the prints are 2-color on metallic paper and screened by VGKIDS. The art details the politically-charged robot revolution as scripted by Andy and Lana Wachowski. 

Pen and ink wash original is 17"x14" (click through to the buy it now page)

Metallic prints are 24"x18"  (click through to the buy it now page)

And here's a process video of the art and the printing...

DJ Bruce for Hero Complex Gallery's Kung Fu Theater Art Show

When the opportunity hit to make a piece for Hero Complex Gallery's Kung Fu Theater art show, my first idea was to make kung fu back patches - complete with adhesived backs. Once I revisited Enter the Dragon and saw that moment where Bruce is at the communications room, the project changed considerably. A few snaps getting the right angle on my 1200 Technics turntable proved that you could overlay one on top of the other and make something universally cool.

BUY the print here and head to Behance to check out the process behind the piece.


Carlito's Way Print for Hero Complex Gallery

My piece for Hero Complex Gallery's I Am The Law / Life of Crime art show celebrating Carlito's Way, a favorite flick of mine. The art is based on a pivotal scene when Benny Blanco left alive by the former smack kingpin of the streets, Carlito Brigante. As reformed businessman stares down his old self in a seedy red stairwell and lets the young punk from the Bronx live, he unknowingly makes the one decision that will hault his clock as it ticks down to paradise. In the end, he almost gets there, and you want him to so bad that it hurts. That's Carlito's Way. That's Carlito's Journey. He cares about his friends. He loves dancing. Loves to tell off dudes while eatin' steak. He loves Gail. He loves the idea of paradise and leaving everything behind. You want him to so bad. And then you remember that the film started with him on the gournay, so that's where it must end. Carlito's Way, man. Too damned good.

 

The art started as a piece in 2008. It didn't get too far. It sat for six years as other projects came and went, reminding me every once in a while that my work wasn't finished. In prep for the Hero Complex show, it was picked back up again. This time a more graphic approach was taken, clean & rough at the same time. The clock was added to reference Carlito's race against time in his pursuit of paradise, then it was just a matter of playing with elements to see how they interacted with each other. The result is an 18"x24" print that stands on its own. Isn't a montage (to some poster collector's chagrin). And something that speaks to what I connect most with the film. I'm sure it won't be the last Carlito art I make.

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True Detective Print for Bottleneck Gallery

For over a decade, I used to write movie reviews for The All Movie Guide. I don't anymore and now relish the freedom of not being forced to share my opinions. That said, every now and then I guess it's okay to chime in and share my thoughts on something. This time, it's True Detective. I love the series. It struck a deep chord with me. Not since my Mamet obsession have I been this in love with a writer. Not since my DePalma obsession have I fell so hard for a long shot. And watching these real life acting buddies act their asses off made me shed tears and applaud. I love that it's a buddy story. I love that it comes down to a character arc. I love that it's basically two ex-cops storming the Texas Chainsaw hideout at the end. I love that not every plot point is neatly tied up. I love that the cult aspect turned out to be nonsense. I love that the series ducked when we thought it would jive. I loved going down rabbit holes only to figure out that it was all red herrings and that this was just a pure pulp tale. Moreover, I love Rust and Marty.

When the opportunity to be a part of Bottleneck Gallery's When the Lights Go Out 2, the only way to go was True Detective, but I felt I couldn't do it justice until I saw how it played out. From the airing of the last episode to when I left for SXSW, I had two days to complete the art, one of which I had to work at VGKids, my printer and comrades in arms. Thus my breakneck race to do this thing justice that I loved so much began. When you see the print in person, you'll notice some extra graphics laid into the image in the form of a gloss -- that was us trying to push the printing a bit further and add a different type of glow. Though it didn't work out the way we wanted, it does add a sort of mystery to the print that I think fits the series. At least that's how I look at it. For fans of the show, hope you dig it. This one's really for Rust and Marty though. Love those dudes. Love that they're buddies now. Here's to best buds and the roads they travel to get there. 

Prints for sale at Bottleneck start at 12pmEST Friday March 21st here, then in my online store after that.

Print in regular light.

Print in regular light.

Print in the dark.

Print in the dark.