April: AoM. Nick Pendleton.

It's time for a new artist. The month has turned and the style is shifting. Nick has done some freelance work for BitB in the past, including shirts like "Live Your Dreams" and "Sock Monkey" ...which hasn't made it to the presses yet, but it will shortly. After following his works, we knew he was going to be someone that we wanted to showcase. Style, artistic ability, and humor. Three things required to be a shoe-in for our selection commitee. Well. I'm the boring writer, let me kick things over to Rebecca Riot. She is the one that gets paid, I'm just the one that laughs.

- Tom

An Interview: Ryan Tymesen. BitB's Feb Featured Artist.

February. The second month into the year that has become 2011. Well, with a new month, we will always have a few new designs. This month we have the pleasure of featuring Ryan Tymesen, a Minnesota local artist. Well, I suppose we can get rolling with the interview. I hope you all enjoy the conversation and artwork this month!

This month’s featured artist is yet another Northerner which, in my book, makes him crazy. I don’t know how people handle all that snow. Geographical location notwithstanding, he’s also another of my folk—that is, the tattooed/tattooer type. It’s sometimes difficult for me to do these interviews because sometimes I like to talk smack. It’s easy for me to get carried away with bad-mouthing all of the negative things I see going on in that culture. BUT! We’re here to talk t-shirts and other assorted tomfoolery, not about me being a jerk, so let’s get to it.

Ryan Tymesen says that he’s been drawn (Get it? GET IT?!) to the process of creating art since the tender age of 2, when his grandmother would bring home giant rolls of newsprint from the school she worked for and unleash the kids on it with a mess of crayons and markers. The rest, as “they” say (whoever “they” are), is history and at this time Ryan says he’s done a little of everything from computer design to graffiti and of course, the tattoos. Clothing isn’t a new medium to him either. He tells us that in high school he would create new clothes by reassembling pieces of old articles of clothing or using things like bleach and paint or tears in the fabric to design a new look. He also made a little extra cash by airbrushing hats, shoes, and backpacks for people. When asked what inspired his designs for Bored in the Basement he said that while his offerings for this month do reflect the styles of art he’s familiar with, he can’t think of any specific inspiration behind them. In fact, he says he can’t think of any specific inspiration behind any of his art—he just puts “pencil to paper” (literally or figuratively speaking) and lets it happen. When asked about those styles of art he's familiar with, or rather, his favorite mediums, Ryan said he really can't name a favorite since he hasn't tried it all yet. Fair enough. He did however cite a specific fondness for graffiti and the artists who create it, noting that it is indeed a shame that most people don't consider that true art. 

I just couldn't resist throwing a few tattoo related questions into the mix, the first of which was "If you could tattoo any person, living or dead, who would it be?" Interestingly, Ryan's selection was Kat Von D, a popularly known collector of tattoos herself. He says that he once had the pleasure of meeting her in person and that she was very personable and friendly, also saying that she often lets her friends tattoo her and so that if he were to be adorning her skin with some permanent art, he'd like to think that means she considered him a friend. Again, fair enough-- she's a character, to be sure. I also asked him what he thought about the tattoo reality show trend (although that seems to have died down a little in recent years), and whether he thought they portray a positive or negative image of the industry and lifestyle to the viewing public. Ryan told me that in his opinion, the shows do a good job of making it more acceptable to be a collector and ink enthusiast.. although he does feel like they could show a little less of the drama that inevitably goes on in shops and a little more of the actual process and experience of tattooing and being tattooed. (I have to say that I agree with him, there.)

And of course, I also had to toss in a question that is largely unrelated to anything. I was curious to know what Ryan's anti-dream job would be.. You know, how most people say "If you could be anything in the world, do your dream job for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I feel like that's too easy, so I wanted to know the opposite-- What job could he never imagine himself doing, not in his wildest dreams, for the rest of his life because it's just so NOT him. His response? He could never be a politician, due to the fact that the job description basically requires one to lie on a daily basis. Interesting answer, Ryan.. and well spoken, sir.

Mr. Tymesen is not currently working in a shop, as he is completing training (on top of the 3 years and 145 hours he's already got under his belt) to satisfy Minnesota state requirements for licensed tattoo artists. He did however tell me that he's always looking for new artistic outlets and ways to expand his 22-years-in-the-making skill set and portfolio (which includes music as well as the visual arts!)  Anyone is welcome to contact him via Facebook by searching for his name in order to view pictures of his work and commission custom pieces-- be it for tattoos or other uses. 

Thanks again, Ryan, for allowing us to showcase your work as Bored in the Basement's February Artist of the Month! Good luck with completing your training and finding an awesome shop to work in.. although with your experience and portfolio, I doubt you'll have much trouble finding somewhere pretty quickly.

Until next time, Internets.

-RR

Umm... it's Marie.

Our Featured Artist for December is Marie Clipson, who has been a close friend to the Velure boys for almost eight years running now. Somehow, she still manages to keep partial sanity throughout it all. So we took the time out of our busy schedule (Call of Duty: Black Ops) to sit down and really pick Marie’s brain…

***Please note the words in bold have been changed for my own amusement during the interview***

BitB: How excited are you to be December’s featured artist?
Marie Clipson: Meh, obviously not as excited as you are.

BitB: How about you get us started with a little bit about yourself? How about a long list of things you like?

MC: It really sounds like you put no effort into preparing this… but let’s see… I like long naps at least one a day otherwise I get cranky. I enjoy my ribbon candy, plants, Koi fish, and dragons. I spend a lot of my time watching cooking shows however, I don’t like to cook and you will rarely see me cook. I also have a lot of respect for Life Alert and I really miss the good ole days.

BitB: Alright, that gives us a good base about the type of person you are, but how about some dislikes then?

MC: Well to start off I hate ketchup I don’t like being by it, don’t like the smell of it, and I don’t like being in eyesight of it. Only thing I dislike more than ketchup is clowns…  

BitB: Quick question then I will let you finish, what do you think of this picture of a clown juggling ketchup bottles?

MC: Ugh… Anyway I also dislike socks with holes in them, annoying kids in my yard, cooking like I said before, being too cold, being too hot, and technology.

BitB: You’re starting to sound like one mean, old lady… but hey who are we to judge am I right?

MC: No, you’re not right.

BitB: Can you trust a fart?

MC: I never trust a fart, especially if I’m the least bit iffy…

BitB: What sort of art do you enjoy?

MC: Well along with painting I get enjoyment out of making my own jewelry and glass fusing.

BitB: Who would you say influenced your art the most? Also, I know the answer to this so I’m going to go ahead and place your first two answers into the blanks here…

MC: Ughhh…. So the people who influenced me the most were Tom Velure, Ant Velure, and third artist not as good as Tom and Ant.

MC: You do know this is why I can’t have nice things.

BitB: Dually noted. So if I was a mugger and I was to theoretically steal your purse off your arm on the street, what am I likely to find in it?

MC: Nothing you would want. Most likely my reading glasses, Werther’s Originals, some balled up Kleenex, and a copy of Murder She Wrote on Betamax.

BitB: Okay, so winter is on its way to Wisconsin and you got a plane ticket to anywhere within the continental United States where you going to go?

MC: Florida, it’s warm there.

BitB: How does it feel to know that by the end of this interview, if people take the time to read it, that most people will think your well into your 90’s?

MC: Well that’s because you changed all my answers you assholes.  So whatever, I’m writing my own bio then.

BitB: Well that’s all folks! Marie is 25 by the way!

Now that the interview is over, let's show the people what they came to see!

As always,

Love,

Tom and Ant

BitB Crew

November, the month of tattoo.

It's that time again-- Bored in the Basement has a new Featured Artist and some new super-exclusive designs for you to feast your eyes on, internet! Fair warning: if you're the type of person who is of the opinion that tattoos are for criminals and circus freaks, you might want to go ahead and just bypass this during your browsing. (Then again, if you're that type of person, you probably wouldn't have made it to this part of the website anyhow. My mistake. Please, carry on.)

If you've decided to stick around, then please allow us to introduce Mike Latessa-- tattoo artist and, lately, t-shirt designer extraordinaire! He's local to Tom & Ant so that explains how they managed to talk him into designing the shirts for this month, but since some of you guys might not know who he is we subjected him to a round of asinine questions and have compiled his responses in one convenient location for your reading pleasure.

You'll notice that Mike's t-shirt designs are very tattoo-esque, and if you head over to his Facebook or Myspace you can see more examples of similar types of art. Mr. Latessa says that he has always enjoyed drawing but it wasn't until he spent a brief period of incarceration that a tattoo artist (who was a fellow inmate) took a liking to his art and began teaching him how to tweak his style of drawing to make it a little more appropriate for tattooing. Mike says he knew he'd found his calling in life, and after his release he set about getting himself the proper training and guidance on realizing his dream of becoming a tattoo artist. (Coincidentally, it was also at this point that he actually got his first tattoo, which he tells us was a "13" on his right forearm.) He managed to get hooked up with Kevin Rehbein who, Mike says, taught him all the "tricks of the trade." Mike worked for another shop for a while that ended up closing eventually, at which point he figured that was as good a time as any to open up his own shop! Quite an accomplishment and commitment, considering that some artists work for decades before ever owning their own businesses. He does say that in time he wants to work at another shop again for a few days a week, as well as run his own establishment. We'd like to wish him luck with that, as it sounds as if he'll have a very full plate!

When you go and check out Mike's work. Because you are going to do that, right? Right. Ok. Anyhow. Like we were saying, when you go and check out Mike's work, tattoos and drawings alike, you'll notice that the majority of his work is done in black and gray. He says that this is because, while he has nothing against color drawing or tattoos, he feels as if black and gray allows for more expression of emotion and drama. (So you can rest assured that when you're sporting your new t-shirt, it will adequately express how you're feeling at any given time!) He tells us that generally he draws in pencil but has more recently gotten into using charcoal and paints and would like to eventually begin to use airbrushing to create his designs and artwork. We also wanted to know if he'd ever done any type of designs that were specifically for clothing before, and what adjustments-- if any-- he had to make to his unique drawing style in order to make the designs more appropriate for screen printing. Mike says that no, he'd never done any designs for any type of clothing before and that it actually was quite an adjustment he had to make, being that he's extremely detail oriented.. Some designs just do not translate properly into a medium like screen printing. As you can see, however, he still managed to create some pretty visually stunning stuff for us this month!

To begin wrapping up our interview, we implored Mike to answer a question that had been weighing on our minds: for a million dollars, would he cut off his bottom lip? With the stipulation, of course, that he could not use his million dollars to have the lip reattached or reconstructed in any way. Some people answer this question very hastily, jumping at the chance to become a millionaire, without first considering the myriad tasks that your bottom lip is actually involved in. Mike, on the other hand, must have pondered his response for a moment because his answer was no. As he so wisely reasons, there are plenty of ways to get a million dollars that do not involve the loss of a bottom lip. Touche`, Mr. Latessa. Touche`.

And for our final question, we couldn't resist tossing an age-old query out, hoping on a wing and a prayer that Mike would be the person who could finally answer it for the world. No, we didn't want to know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, and we were uninterested in whether the chicken or the egg came first. Nay, our question was a simple one... "Did that hurt?" We waited with baited breath for an answer that, alas, never came.

We thank you for your time and your talent all the same, Mr. Latessa. (Also for your tolerance for our interview process!) As for you, internet.. Well, we see what you did there, and we've got our eye on you.

Until next time,
RR

Support Katalyst's new multi-media project

As we said before, if you were one of our Featured Artists on Bored in the Basement, we will continue to update projects that you may be working on or want promoted, and this is another potential project for Drew Blom!

Hmmm... the widget wasn't working, so here's the link!

They only have a little over $300 left to get the go on the project, so go take a look!

I would post all of the details here, but then you wouldn't go to the site to actually look at the project, so instead, I will just post the widget here, and you can go take a look!

Update!!! The project was funded! Thanks everyone!

BitB Proudly Presents, Michael Borkowski!

Mike is one of those people for whom talent just seems to come naturally. After developing a love of drawing at a young age, he went on to take some college-level courses through the art program at his high school. Other than that, he says, he has no other "formal" training. He tells us that he was lucky enough to form a relationship with some professional comic artists while still a teenager in high school and that their guidance along with on-the-job training he got while working with them were, for all intents and purposes, his schooling. This is a lucky break for anyone but especially for him, because it seems that his main career aspiration prior to that was to become a 3rd baseman for the New York Mets. He made no mention of whether or not he has an actual talent for the game of baseball, but does say that at some point he realized that being an amazing artist was likely a more realistic goal to work towards. Not bad, really, especially since he says that from his childhood, he had also wanted to find a way to turn his art into something he could get paid for.

When we asked about what other types of art Mr. Borkowski enjoyed creating, he told us that he really doesn't have much time for anything outside of the art he creates as his job. (Well, besides showing his loyalty to the Syracuse University sports program through his art.) Since he was gracious enough to take some time to create a few designs for Bored in the Basement, we figured we'd try to keep things as short and sweet as possible so that he could get back to entertaining the masses.. As opposed to humoring our ridiculous inquiries. We tried to get all of the important stuff out of the way first, so if Mike got tired of answering questions at least we'd have all the pertinent information. And since he knows more about himself than anyone else does, we're giving you all of his important answers uncut and unabridged, straight from the horse's mouth.

BitB: What changes, if any, do you have to make in your drawing style when switching from still art like Iron Man to animated stuff like the Venture Brothers?

MB: Basically everything I work on professionally isn't my personal style at all, whether it's animated or not. I need to make sure everything I draw for animation or the Iron Man books is "on model". It has to look like the reference material I'm given since I'm not the only person who works on these projects. Of course, some of my personal style does come through a bit. That's almost unavoidable.

BitB: With well-established and highly recognizable characters like Scooby Doo and the Gang, Iron Man, and Wolverine and the X-Men, when you first started did you feel like you were under a lot of pressure to live up to previous artists? Like maybe some nerd somewhere was going to cause a ruckus because Wolverine didn't look quite right when you drew him?

MB: Well, I have to draw them specifically how they're supposed to look. And in animation no one is really going to see my exact drawings. But I do feel pressure to make an action sequence as cool as it possibly can be.  Or pressure to make a gag as funny as it needs to be (or funnier). Or something scary or intense, etc.

BitB: Do you still feel any of that pressure now?

MB: Of course.

BitB: You did your first work on a major motion picture last year, for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. What were some of the big differences, if any, between animating for a movie and animating for a television show? Was it a fairly easy transition for you?

MB: It was a major difference and, no, it was not an easy transition for me. Thankfully I was surrounded by ridiculously talented, helpful and supportive people at Blue Sky Studios.

The main difference was the scope of the project. In television you basically stick to the script and board what's there. On Ice Age there's a little more freedom and time to explore each scene. There's also a lot of technical things that are done differently that I had to learn on the fly.

BitB: How did your partnership with Cartoon Network come about? Any plans to do art for other shows sometime in the future?

MB: I don't really have a partnership with Cartoon Network. I was hired by World Leaders (then Noodlesoup) to work on The Venture Bros. and by Warner Bros. to work on Scooby Doo. Cartoon Network airs those shows but I've never actually worked for them.

BitB: We don't want you to give away any secrets or potential future plans, but if you had the opportunity to do your very own TV series.. you know, complete and total creative control, what would it be like?

MB: I struggle with that. Sometimes I'd like to do a straightforward super hero show. Other times I'd love to do a whacked out comedy. Maybe a combination of the two?

BitB: What heroes/idols of yours have you gotten to meet over the years?

MB: A few. I was a big fan of Bart Sears when I was younger and he's actually one of the guys who took me under his wing. I try not to look at people as heroes or idols anymore, though. I've realized that we're all just people trying to do some stuff. Of course I still admire people for who they are and what they do. I just don't hold anyone up to such a standard as maybe I once did.

BitB: What is your favorite work environment, or the one in which you feel you're most productive? Do you have a home office set up? Do you listen to music to get the creativity going, or do you prefer complete silence? If you do listen to music while drawing, what's your favorite genre/band to listen to?

MB: I do have a home office. Usually I listen to music. I love Ben Folds, The Rolling Stones, Jenny Lewis and stuff like that.

BitB: Do you ever participate in any charity work, such as auctions?

MB: I did some sketch cards a few years ago for the March of Dimes.

BitB: What was your first paying job?

MB: My first paying job was helping out on a Namor toy design. Basically I just tightened up the drawing done by my bosses.

BitB: You're a big sports fan. Favorite teams? Are any of them more of a loyalty thing as opposed to how good the team actually is? (No offense meant!)

MB: I am a massive Syracuse University sports and New York Mets fan. I am a fan no matter how good or bad they are. In my mind, your team is your team through good and bad. If you can't be a fan through the bad times, you shouldn't be allowed to be a fan in the good times.

Now.. While all of this information is certainly compelling, we all know that there other things to life besides paying jobs and charity. For instance, erotic art. Who doesn't enjoy that? When asked if he'd ever been requested to create any art of this fashion, Mike tells us that although he has been commissioned to do some pieces that "got a little nutty" (his words), nothing that could ever really be considered erotic, like.. Oh, say, Wolverine in a g-string (our words.) Imagine our disappointment at this news. He did, however, make us feel a little better when he mentioned that he sometimes gives actual pen (or pencil) and paper sketches away on Twitter! If you would like to be privy to the next time he starts feeling generous, you can follow him at twitter.com/MBorkowski. He also does sketches like that at conventions sometimes, so if you keep up with his schedule on www.michaelborkowski.com and you're in the neighborhood of his next one, you should most definitely stop by and tell him that you'd like a sketch of Wolverine in a g-string.

We have saved for last a word for word transcription of Mike's response to our most important question, one that you readers should also ask yourselves sometime. The importance of preparedness in situations such as the one presented in this question cannot be stressed enough.

BitB: Your entire family has been massacred by the mob. Through careful surveillance and recon, you've managed to discern the location of their secret mob hide out. What song plays as you're busting through the door, ready to take bloody revenge on those who have wronged you?

MB: For some reason I keep thinking of "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones.

After you've broken your brain trying to come up with the perfect answer, go take a look at the sweet designs Mr. Borkowski came up with for us as October's Featured Artist. Stay classy, internet.

                                                                        -- RR

Comics, Cartoons, Illustrations, and just really cool stuff!

If you are following our site, or blog, you may know that we are very honored to have the chance to work with Michael Borkowski. He has worked on many many projects and shows such as Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated, The Venture Bros, and Dragon Tales, just to name a few. Michael is a very talented illustrator and artist as well. If you go to his website, he currently has his first sketchbook up for sale! Buy one, we did. Each sketch book comes with a personalized sketch of any character that you would like him to draw! Ok, where am I going with this might you ask, well, Michael is our Featured Artist for the month of October, and a few of his designs have been trickling in. I just figured that you may want to see what will be offered up for sale coming October first. Now, as always, these are just preliminary sketches, so they are subject to change. However, I think that you will be getting a good idea of what is to come!

Take a minute to click through the images, then leave us a note of what you think. We are also curious to see what you guys would like to see this printed on, cause you all know the winter chill is starting to approach. Wouldn't you like to see a hoodie with some of these amazing designs on them!

All images Copyright Michael Borkowski, 2010.

Stay tuned for more updates!

As always,

Love

Tom & Ant

BitB Crew

A Few New Shirts

We have been asking around for a few more artists to design a few shirts for us... and we have gotten a few bites. We have been looking to expand our selection and really trying to expand what we offer. With our featured artist of the month section, we are showcasing artists big and small, known and unknown. We are hoping to expand our designs from novelty to fully artistic and everything in between. The BitB crew would like to know what you, the customer or viewer, would like to see come to our website!

These two designs were created from a friend in Virginia, we love to support "internet" local artists!

Please stop by and take a look around if you haven't been by recently, we have had a few new artists!

as always...

Love you guys!

Tom and Ant

BitB Crew

We are back!

Finally, after a month of weddings, parties, barnburnings, and recruitments, we are back. We have quite a few orders piling up, and we have our little workers sorting out the mess.

If you haven't stopped by lately, you wouldn't know that we have a new featured artist! Jennie_Z has been gratious enough to come up with 5 new and original designs to brighten your world. As always, each print is in a very limited number, and they are selling quickly... so don't waste time, we won't be printing these again. Such shirts as Tri-Curious, Bite Me!, Motorboating, C. U. Next Tuesday, and Just the Tip don't come around everyday... make sure you give that message to the world! Each of these shirts are printed on high quality shirts to last a lifetime if not eternity*! What's that you say? You want to see/hear/read our interview with Jennie_Z? That could happen... there just needs to be a lot of radio internet editing... she's a foul mouth, but most of the good artists are.

We hope you have some fun with these new designs, we know we have

as always,

Love

Tom and Ant

BitB Crew

*Jesus wants one too.