Porter Flea Holiday Market 2013

I headed up to Nashville, TN, for last weekend’s Porter Flea Holiday Market – it was rainy. And cold. And I had a cold. But I didn't let that stop me - the Flea was fantastic as always, with huge crowds and plenty of holiday cheer to go around! I love getting the opportunity to join in with other artists to sell shirts and meet new friends and fans along the way. Many thanks to organizers Katie, Brent, and Jessica for tirelessly making magic again and again.

As always, photos are below – check ‘em out. Click here, here, and here for a look at previous adventures in Nashville!

The table set-up. I wanted to add some height for the Flea, and I think it turned out
pretty sharp. The show was Friday evening and all day Saturday this time around.

A wide shot of the space at Track One. Grimey's provided awesome music all day.

My good friends Barb and Dave saved the day while I was feeling under the weather.
I can't thank them enough for makin' sales while I took breaks for cold medicine.

God bless America, and God bless TOOMASOOBA.
Oh, and the below happened, too...I need to work on my moves.

Fall 2013 Makers Fair

This Saturday marked my sixth experience at the TAMF and, for the first time, a bit of rain showed up in the afternoon – but that didn't dampen the spirit of the (massive) crowds, no sir. Partnering with Shreveport Regional Arts Council's UNSCENE event this time around, the Fair was large and in-charge and awesome as always. I've said it before, but it's amazing to have an event like this in my hometown. I've done fairs far and wide, and this one is always a highlight!

Many thanks to Kelly and Garrett and all those with the Texas Avenue Community Association who make it happen. Below are a handful of photos from the day.

Here's the TOOMA booth along with my TAMF neighbor & friend Kelly Rich.
Read about her shotgun house project NORLA here! She's making things happen.

The Queensborough Elementary Flag & Drum Line marches through the Makers Fair.

Pete eats fire. Nathan drops beats.

I've had prime booth space these past few fairs and I'm glad for it.
Jake and I will defend TOOMA turf to our last breath, so watch out.

New fan Gavin poses with his Roddy print – cool face paint, even cooler kid!

Look at the joy in Jack's face as he hangs out at the TOOMASOOBA table. I love it.
This might just serve as my new promotional photo – what do you think?

Re-Imagination

As the lines and colors and attitudes of TOOMASOOBA characters evolve, I sometimes retire a "classic" design that's a bit outdated and replace it with a newer illustration that matches the current aesthetic. But don't worry, friends…like any good horror movie villain, they always come back! Below is a look at two of my earliest creations dating back to 2009 who were recently re-imagined and are available online once again.

Roboy, 2009 and today.

Owlivia, 2009 and today.

Big (and better) difference, huh? Perhaps you'll see more TOOMA veterans let loose on the world again in the coming months. Glad to have RoBoy and Owlivia back in action!

Rhino Birthday Party

Rhino Coffee recently held their one-year birthday party, and TOOMASOOBA was there to help celebrate! A handful of vendors and bands were asked to join in for an evening of caffeine and revelry — Index Drums, Day Old Blues Records, Art Punch, Engine, Joshua Powell, Jacob Disedare, and Kyle Craft were some of the talented makers and rockers doing their thing.

The place was packed throughout the evening — it was a great time. I debuted a couple of new shirts and prints, spread the TOOMA word with folks who hadn’t encountered my art before, and, of course, I also had plenty of coffee. If you happen to stop by, might I suggest an Eastside Latte or Iced Thunder, perhaps?

Rhino is a cool, independent business that supports the local community (and vice versa) — I’m glad they’re thriving here in Shreveport. Here’s to many more years!

A rad hand-drawn sign to announce those involved.

I was glad to be set up inside, where there was air conditioning. I was not
so glad to be photobombed by James of Day Old Blues.

Kyle Craft doing his solo thing. Listen to his music and thank me later.

Index Drums representing on the back patio.

Engine performing - these dudes are amazing. Buy their music now!

Shoppers checking out the TOOMA action.

PRINT Workshop

Five Shreveport artists were chosen to join in a two-day screen print workshop with Modern Multiples’ Richard Duardo in mid-August — and I was one of 'em! It was awesome learning from a master (plus he's a really cool dude). The workshop was offered as part of the current PRINT exhibit at Artspace featuring seriographs by Richard and other print makers and designers, including street art rockstars Cryptik, Shepard Fairey, and Banksy! Whhhhaaaattttt?

The exhibit is up through October – so go check it out if you’re in the area! You can also view Richard’s artist talk for all the behind-the-scenes info. Definitely worth checking out (crank up the volume).

Many thanks to Shreveport Regional Arts Council for making this happen, and to my fellow UNSCENE Street Team artists: Ben Moss, Taffie Cragon Garsee, John H. Lomax, and Jeormie Journell. See more photos on my Facebook album. Rock on!

Our playground - a recreation of Richard's early workshop space.

Ben and John making magic as Richard looks on.

Experimenting with spray paint on our demo prints.

Drying racks.

Richard during his artist talk - this is some of his "pop schlock" work, as he calls it.

The gang - it was honor to work with these talented artists. Left to right:
Jeormie, me, Ben, Britt, Taffie, Richard, and John.

Happiness Happens Day

With coloring sheets and t-shirts in tow, I headed out to Happiness Happens Celebration Day in Bossier City this past Saturday. The event was put on by Holiday Lanes (in cahoots with the Secret Society of Happy People) and it was a really fun time – bowling, bands, bubbles, hula-hooping, activites, plus TOOMASOOBA coloring pages and free stickers for all.

 My table was outdoors and, no lie, the crayons began to melt after several hours. Holy cow! August in Louisiana ain’t no joke, friends. Below are several photos of happy people being all happy and such – take a look!

Robin put on the event...and chose some great colors for Eureka, too.

A couple of little dudes putting their own spin on RoBoy.

More TOOMASOOBA coloring!

I did not envy the folks rocking out these mascot suits, let me tell ya.

TOOMATUNES Vol. 1

When the time came to find music for our TOOMASOOBA mini-doc, I knew just where to turn — my long-time friend and talented musician, David Brooks. I've known Dave since 8th grade and we've always had a great creative partnership...and before I knew it he had written an AMAZING original soundtrack for the film.

It was so amazing, in fact, that we thought to offer it as a FREE download on Bandcamp! Listen below (and put "0" in the price field) to grab the ready-for-iTunes collection. It not only features the four songs from the doc, but a handful of demos and experiments that led us to the final recordings. Oh, and as an added bonus — 3-year-old Jack Bailey kicks off the collection with a TOOMASOOBA battlecry. I think you'll like it. Download, listen, enjoy, and share!

AHA Moment!

Back in May, I was invited to participate in the Mutual of Omaha 2013 AHA Moment Tour when they rolled through town — and of course I accepted! I shared my passion for art in an Airstream trailer decked out like a mobile studio. It was pretty rad.

Will my TOOMASOOBA ramblings end up on TV? Probably not, but the video is up at their website nonetheless! Check it out below.

Color Schemers

Believe you me, judging the TOOMASOOBA coloring contest was a tough task — but myself, Hector, and Tinker sat down and picked out some favorites! Below you'll find the winners — thanks to everyone who came out to the premiere and a special thanks to those who sat down to put their own spin on TOOMASOOBA characters.

Want to download and color some pages yourself? Well then, click here — Share your work and maybe it'll end up on the website or blog!

Evie's "Blue Fire" Claymore.

Alan's Eureka got big points for adding the spaceship!

Billy's Hector reminds me of David Bowie for some reason.

Hayden's RoBoy brought in a lot of cool patchwork color!

Launch Party Success!

Whew! Between the Shreveport Farmers Market and last week's mini-doc launch party, June has been packed — but I wouldn't have it any other way.

When I decided to create a video for TOOMASOOBA at the beginning of this year, I'd planned to post it on Facebook and that would be it. My girlfriend, however, suggested having a viewing party — and it was a great idea. What I'd initially envisioned as a gathering in my living room for 10 people ballooned into a crazy-awesome time in an amazing venue with well over 100 in attendance.

We had a packed house!

I was even able to raise awareness in town about my work and make an impression that wasn't possible before — I appeared on a local morning news show and was featured in a couple of newspapers as well.

I won't bore you with the details, but a lot of hustle went into the evening and I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends. Many thanks to Chris Lyon for producing the mini-doc, David Brooks for creating the original music, Krystle Beauchamp and LaToya Hemphill for making the event (and food) happen, Neil Johnson for the awesome space, Nathan Pizar for being an audio-visual beast, James "Rex" Gilcrease and Mark Flentge for running my merch table, Renzi Center for spreading their mission at the show, and Brandon Oldenburg for sharing kind words while introducing me before the premiere.

My friend (and creative dynamo) Brandon hangin' with Kid Cupcake.

Can't forget my super-cool sponsors, either: Fairfield Studios, Middlebrook Bakery, and Aw, Snap Photography. I was over the moon with the way things went and I truly, truly appreciate the support — now to keep the momentum going!

Below are more photos (you can view a full gallery on Facebook). Did you miss the premiere? No worries, you can watch TOOMASOOBA: The Birth of a Brand right here on YouTube!

When Seth draws TOOMASOOBA, it's always awesome.

A handful of coloring sheets from the evening...contest winners will be announced soon!

Not sure what's going on here with Dylan and April, but I like it.

Hangin' with Ty — he's a good artist and a cool dude.

The McDades represent TOOMASOOBA!

The Mini-Doc is Here

After months of prep with Perennial Media and a hugely successful launch party last Thursday (more on that later this week), I'm finally able to share the mini-doc online! Check out TOOMASOOBA: The Birth of a Brand below, and spread the word to your friends, enemies, lovers, fighters, second cousins, and favorite pets. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out...I hope y'all enjoy.

Farmers Market 2013

I’m back at the Shreveport Farmers’ Market for the first time since 2011, and it’s been great so far! Really hot, but great. The first day’s attendance was at an all-time high of over 12,000 folks (not all of ‘em made it by the TOOMASOOBA table, though). It’s fantastic to see the Market flourishing in our community — I’m glad I can be a small part of it.

Two weeks down, two weeks to go for me — you still have a chance to come by on the 15th and 29th of June if you’re in the area from 7 am to noon. It’s the prime location for all your produce (and TOOMASOOBA) needs. Photos below!

The talented Mollie Corbett stopped by to take this rad photo.

James "Rex" Gilcrease helped out behind the booth this past week, just like old times.

Close-up Claymore.

Also...this is happening soon near the Farmers' Market. Yessss.

Mini-Doc Teaser

Below you’ll find a teaser for the upcoming mini-doc called TOOMASOOBA: The Birth of a Brand (you can read a bit about the filming here). We’re having a premiere party locally on June 20th, and then it will be available online for all to see...it’s been a lot of fun it putting together with the help of my cohorts Chris and Dave and, well...I hope you enjoy the quick glimpse at what's to come!

Spring 2013 Makers Fair

Despite an initial threat of rain, Mother Nature had mercy on our artistic souls and weather for Saturday’s Spring Texas Avenue Makers Fair turned out great. Also great? The hometown crowds, the exhibiting artists, the music, and dang near everything else. Many thanks to new event ringleaders Kelly and Ivy and all the volunteers who helped out — y’all rule. For a trip down TAMF memory lane (and other shows, too), click here. Photos below!

New shirt! Bibs! Coloring sheets! Other stuff!

Totally excited about something at my own booth. Don't you wish you knew what it was?

Best moment of the day: I met a little dude named Seth who really liked my work.
I talked with him and his mom for a bit, signed a print, and gave him a button and magnet.
His mom later emailed me this art he created — "Toomasupa", a combination of
characters featured on the website. I was floored. Seth, you rock!!
Thanks so much for the drawing!

Batman & Robin

I’ve been going through old (or “classic”, as I like to say) art files for the upcoming TOOMASOOBA documentary and ran across the below drawings from a four-year-old Jeremy. I think this could be considered one of my first masterworks (along with this image, too). And yes, my love for Batman & Robin has endured to this day.

Look Ma, no arms!

Robin (if you couldn't tell).

Down in Deep Ellum

Last weekend I headed over to Dallas to check out the Deep Ellum Arts Festival — I’d never been before and my buddy David Pound from Tennessee had a booth at the show (Click here to see more awesomeness). I figured if he could drive 12 hours to get there, I could drive two and a half, y’know?

I met David at the Porter Flea last summer and we quickly became “art bros”, so it was good to see him again...I even gave him a TOOMASOOBA version of one of his characters on Saturday (photo below). The crowds were snapping up his sculpture work like crazy and the festival was a great time. Such a great time, in fact, that I might just sign up for next year!

Street-level view (and, in the lower left corner, my thumb).

Customers crammed into David's booth space.

The TOOMASOOBA version of "An Untwained Eye". I tried to pick a
sculpture that I could do justice to - mission accomplished, I think.

The official unveiling of said TOOMASOOBA version.

Stopped to do a little chalk street art later in the day.