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We Play Loud is a hugely successful Indoor Playground for Kids situated in Orange County. I have created many pieces for this company including: murals, column paintings, logo branding, posters and flyers. I designed the logo and characters to help launch this brand earlier in 2014. Recently I painted several of their chalkboards and menu boards through out the venue. Cute kid friendly characters were the theme. I rendered them with paint markers and chalk to create a permanent fixture at We Play Loud.

Working with a company from the start up gives a client trust and for me this project has been very successful. I hope to work with WPL on many other projects containing my quirky characters and I know they’ll go from strength to strength in the next few years. When it comes to branding design these are the kind of partnerships that grow and last, perfect for client and artist alike.

French company B!LLS Watches licensed one of my pieces of art for cool interchangeable watch straps. Based in one of Europe’s fashion hotspots, this company applies cool art and company logos to several styles of watches. These watches are available throughout France and Europe and I am really pleased with the end product. This design has been featured on many products now including; shoes, speakers, t-shirts, a chair, cushions and watches. Great partnerships are rare and I am glad to say I have had some awesome partners.

Theses partners can present your work to markets and customers otherwise very difficult to reach. I have several partnerships and most have been a success, make sure you have good contracts and make solid contacts to avoid anything weird happening. I always stipulate that any changes or use of the art must be signed off by me before any product is launched. Last thing you want to see is your art mangled at the hands of another. Stay smart, go with relevant and trustworthy partners.

For many moons I have had sketchbooks. They serve as a place for me to empty the contents of my brain without any pressure or pull from an actual commissioned piece. A lot of what I put in my sketchbook never actually gets used for anything but it does serve as a good point of reference when I hit a creative block. I also post a lot of sketches to my instagram account so if you are interested you should follow me there.

I usually use pencils, ballpoint pens and other ink based pens laying around my studio. Nothing fancy. I like Canson marker paper and I also like lined journals and sketchbooks because they have texture already. I really enjoy using a ballpoint pen to crosshatch darker doodles. Characters with mischievous looks and naughty gestures captured by the dirty look of ballpoint  Smudged and full of mistakes, those mistakes can lead to greatness. I like dark subject matter but I like it subtle, I like the viewer to ask the question “is that cute little guy a burglar?” and the answer is usually “yes, yes he is”. Most of my character developments come with a weird back story, I don’t share those stories but that’s my point of reference a lot of times.

Doodling has always been in my life, sketchbooks have played a big part in that and I have many. If you are an artist you probably have many too. If you are an aspiring artist you should get one. Find which kind you are comfortable with and use pens and equipment that you like. No rules, just what captures your creative out pouring. Experiment and the first few sketchbooks will look crappy, mine sure did. Stick with it and enjoy the process. Sketchbooks of the great artists sometimes reveal a lot more about them than their masterpieces.

Over the years I have designed 500+ tees and many other products. What is strange is that once designed they kind of disappear into the world. However some awesome people let me know they have bought and supported my art. It is very cool and some even become followers and dedicated fans! Very flattering for any artist. As you grow as an artist and get more attention you notice your fans become more and more awesome. I have some great fans who buy a lot of my work, without these people my success would never have happened. So I am giving them all a big shout out.

I keep a folder on my facebook especially for these awesome individuals who take pics, share my work and are generally just all round awesome people. Seeing my art in the wild still gives me a buzz. I recall the first time I saw someone wearing one of the T-shirts I designed in Glasgow and although I got excited I was too embarrassed to approach them. Since then I have seen many people wearing wotto tees and every time I get very very excited. It’s overwhelming how much support that gives to me as an artist.

I have also been lucky enough to have my tees worn by some well known individuals like Kevin, from the Kevin & Bean Show, KROQ , some band members and a realty guy on some Millionaire reality TV show. Although it’s nothing to get too excited about it is fun to know that people that do not know or follow me picked up my tee simply because they liked it.

THANK YOU! to all my fans who share, post and mention me in any way. You have made my career fun and given me opportunities I otherwise would never have had.  You are all Awesome!

If anyone has any pictures to share shoot me an email and I’ll happily add you to the Facebook album.

We Play Loud Branding, Murals & Columns

For the past few months I have been working with a start up company here in Lake Forest, California called We Play Loud. We Play Loud is an indoor playground for children to run wild in. I created all of the branding for this company based on a set color theme and list of characters.

The Lake Forest venue has two 25′ murals for their birthday party rooms and 4 columns painted with characters. Each four sided column shows different scenes with the core characters. The two mural center around the main characters, two adorable koala bears. The background for each wall was hand doodled straight onto the wall. This was pretty nerve wrecking to be honest. Drawing directly onto a wall with no eraser tool so to speak means getting it right first time.

I was also asked to return to create 4 chalk boards, 2 for the cafe area and one for each of the party rooms. WPL have been a pleasure to work with and the project, while exhausting was one one of my favorites to date. If you live in the Orange County area I suggest checking this place out with your kids. It’s a lot of fun.

I recently invested in a batch of stickers from the awesome StickeRobot. I had some high quality vinyl stickers made of my logo and ghostie, a character that appears in a lot of my work. I also got a bonus sticker of my Calavera Twins design. Since they have arrived many people have made requests for them. I have sent out many batches and the photos are rolling in. The ghost is loose and being slapped all over cities. So far on in California but maybe soon out of state and maybe even globally.

It’s always awesome when fans share my work and spread the good word. My fans are so cool and always surprise me. It makes me smile to see little Ghostie turning up in a bunch of places. He travels well. Thanks again to anyone who slapped one of my stickers some place. If you want some, they are available in my store.

I was asked to design one of my stylized vector doodle designs for a large scale vinyl for the Design By Humans HQ office. This was a lot of fun and the process photographs were a real added bonus. This was the process and final result. A cool custom door doodle that is huge, it also encompasses lots of in-house jokes, inspiration and icons specific to the brand. The idea was to have staff members find something new in the art every time they walk through the door.

I discovered Dynomighty many years ago whilst shopping in a cool store in California. When they approached me for a team up I instantly said yes. Their wallets are eco-friendly and made from recycled materials. I have always been a big fan of their ethos and sustainable approach. Mighty Wallets can be found in stores world wide or purchased online.

Dynomighty contacted me and asked me to be a part of their new Collective range, a platform that allows artists to sell their designs on the iconic product. I was flattered and super happy to have my art featured on this forward thinking product. I have plans to expand the range and look forward to seeing my wotto doodles for sale around the globe. If you are interested in picking up a wallet head over to my store there.