I have had the pleasure of working for CBS Big Brother – Our House Productions, since Season 19 (2017). I started off with doing illustrations for the BB Comics competition but have been fortunate enough to work on other parts of the show! (check out my BB Comics art in my highlights on Instagram.) I have created comp illustrations to help envision game play as seen in HOH and Veto competitions, some on screen graphics and images for décor and game play bits and pieces! I can’t show my comp illustrations but I think it is safe to share some art I created that aired on TV.

This past season I created a retro car illustration for set decoration in one of the bedrooms. My car was the blue one in the middle. A fantastic artist named Tom Nguyen created the other two cars. In the briefing, we were told to create an image in the style of legendary art director Art Fitzpatrick. If you are a car enthusiast (or are old enough) you probably know who he is! Do yourself a favor and check out his huge body of work!

My car is an amalgamation of a few different models of classic cars. Since the image appears on TV, they didn’t want to work about copyrights or usage from specific companies. I don’t want to say which cars I took inspiration from but it was three different ones!

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Celebrity Big Brother Season 3

Celebrity Big Brother Season 3 aired from January 26, 2022 to February 23, 2022. The Houseguests were: Carson Kressley, Todd Bridges, Shanna Moakler, Mirai Nagasu, Todrick Hall, Chris Kirkpatrick, Chris Kattan, Cynthia Bailey, Teddi Mellencamp, Lamar Odom, and Miesha Tate.

The winner was Miesha Tate and America’s Favorite Houeguest winner was Carson Kressley. Runner up was Todrick Hall.

I can’t show my comp illustrations but the on screen art I did was incredibly fun to make! I love Photoshop and did my best with the window of time I had to create parody covers for an HOH competition! I was given a briefing of what to create that generally had a sketch or mockup of what the producers wanted.

The other posters I did not do were created in house by the producers themselves or other contracted artists. Tom Nguyen did an amazing job creating the ‘animated’ movie posters. Doing caricatures of Houseguests in parody posters that had an interesting twist to them!

The HOH Club competition gameplay had the Houseguests trying to figure out what the extra added ingredient was in the celebrity endorsed cocktails! The nasty tasting beverages had them sipping and then grabbing a card from the wall and place it in front of them of what they tasted was the gross added flavor! I created the images/graphics for the cards mainly in Adobe Illustrator and a touch of Photoshop. (Not all shown below.)

I look forward to seeing what future seasons of Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother will be! I may share more of the art I have created that has aired on TV.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my website and blog!

Big Brother and Celebrity Big Brother are property of CBC  Productions – Our House Productions – All Rights Reserved ©2000 – 2022. Unauthorized use or reproduction is strictly prohibited.

I decided I would illustrate the astrological signs and sell the art on T-shirts on my Etsy store HappyLovebird. (happylovebird.com). I finally finished them all and I have to say it was fun creatively to interpret the signs in my own way!

I had a friend who is an expert in Astrology help me with some details with them. If you are interested in learning more about your sign check her out HERE!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

When I am not busy working on projects for clients or chipping away finishing my own children’s book, I enjoy making graphics for a couple online stores I have!

One is RobbGoblin hosted on RedBubble and the other is HappyLoveBird! I am currently working on a series of astrology illustrations that have become graphics on T-shirts.

With the help of my friend Roslynn, I am working through them all! I have five left to illustrate! If you are interested in Astrology, check out her Instagram at @astrologyairheads Give her podcast a listen to as well! AstrologyAirheads

If you would like to see how they turned out, checkout MY instagram at: @happy.lovebird

Thanks for checking out my blog!

The yin-yang has been a symbol that I have always liked. It holds profound meaning. There are many natural dualities to life. Things that cannot exist without their opposite. Light and dark…what is one without the other? The design is simple and clean. It seems to be  in perpetual motion. I think it is timeless and beautiful!

I have created a shirt in which the yin-yang is composed of binary. The outer ring is binary as well with an explanation of the yin-yang. I made this shirt because when I Googled “binary yin-yang T-shirt”, I could not find one! Sometimes I make shirts just because I think they would be cool and want to wear them!

I also have created a yin-yang made out of the bonsai tree. Now this design, I know is not all that original. Still, I wanted to make a version of it for fun and so I could wear it! 🙂

Check out the Binary Yin-Ying shirt HERE!!! (UNISEX)

Check out the Bonsai Yin-Yang shirt HERE!!! (UNISEX)

Check out the Bonsai Yin-Yang shirt HERE!!! (Woman style)

Is there a Yin-Yang concept you want and can’t find online? Let me know! I’ll design it with you!

Thanks for checking out my blog!

This year for my dad’s 78th birthday I made him a design to commemorate his favorite cars he used to own many, many years ago! I think it is cool to think that he was a drag racer! I got the idea from the commission I did for my cousin. She had me create art for her husband for his birthday. You can check that out here! The Sun Drive Inn – Tom Senko

I put the art on a t-shirt for him as well as made a framed print.

Several years back, I worked for a company named TivoliToo. While there, I had the opportunity to work on a lot of fun projects. I like how I was able to work with other talented artists to create fun and interesting sculptures!

One such project was a totem inspired sculpture that incorporated animals native to Minnesota. The sculpture sits at the MSP Airport at a store called Minnesota State of Nice. They sell clothing, souvenirs, books and a number of good gifts!

I think the sculptors and painters did an incredible job! They are truly talented!

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In 2017 I was asked to work on a 90 page graphic novel. The Switch: Electricia written by Keith Champagne and artwork by Tom Nguyen. Keith and Tom both are comic book veterans and have worked for Marvel, DC and many other big name clients in their careers.

The Switch: Electricia started out on Kickstarter and was successfully funded! For those not familiar, Kickstarter is a crowdfunding site where backers can donate to make creator owned projects a reality. As soon as different levels meet their funding, higher levels unlock and act as an incentive to encourage more crowdfunding. The excitement from being funded wasn’t the end for Electricia, shortly after, Dynamite soon picked it up and published it!

What was my role with this book? Keith and Tom needed back up! They were both working on a number of other projects all the while working to complete this one. The back up they needed was a colorist! Tom was going to be the main artist for the whole book including colors (he did the first ten pages and the original blue cover), but a 90 page book isn’t a small endeavor! I came in to help meet the deadline so publishing could go on as planned!

I learned a lot from working with Keith and Tom on this project. They are great to work with and we’ll see if there’s a sequel in the works!

Pick up a copy at your local comic book shop or through Dynamite or Amazon!

Personalized Merch!

I have created illustration and design for a number of projects. One particular type of project I have been doing more and more of is customized artwork and graphics for T-shirt and merch! 

Friends, family, clients alike have worked with me to make their ideas into a reality and something memorable to share! Shirts and clothing for group gatherings, team sports, nostalgic reasons — whatever it may be!

Below are a few I have worked on recently.

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CSP Gang 2020

Here’s a cartoony graphic I created for a friend’s horse riding group. The art represents an inside joke that only those who were there and ride horses may understand. I am not going to try to explain it because I am sure something would be lost in translation. It was funt to try to capture expressions and illustrate something challenging.

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The Sun Drive Inn – Tom Senko

My cousin surprised her husband with a gift of an illustration of a few of the classic cars he owned from years gone by. The Sun Drive Inn was the place to hangout and to drag race!

I had fun trying to get the feel of an old poster and mix that with the feel of Auto Show art.

(More about The Sun Drive Inn)

Via Barbara Hering Sworski:

Sun Drive Inn – 28th & Central Avenue NE, Mpls. Circa 1954

Est.1954 by Warren W. “Bill” Nelson (RHS June, ’46), partnered with Ray Truelson (RHS June ’46) in a drive-in restaurant called the Flat Top Drive-Inn in the late 1940s. After his first success, Warren later opened the Sun Drive-Inn on Central Avenue in Northeast Minneapolis. It became the place to go in Northeast Minneapolis where the Sun Burger was popular with the crowds. Few will remember the early days when Warren would hire country western singers to sit on the back fence and play on sunny Sunday afternoons. Many, though, will remember the Sun in the 1960s with the lines of cars snaking through the lot and the drone of the many V8s on Saturday nights. People also came to see the billboard featuring original art work by local artists that reflected the turbulent times. It has been many years since the Sun has been in operation.

Photo courtesy of Gary Jevnager & rhs1962.com

https://www.facebook.com/oldmpls/photos/975090149177827

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The WELLER PAC

Every year part of my family does a fall tour where they pay their respects to those who have passed on and then enjoy the company of those still here. I think it is a great idea to pay respects and teach the young ones about family that they didn’t get to meet while creating new happy memories!

They visit:

The Sheridan Memorial Park 

(a park where my uncle Howard Weller worked hard to create. Read more about it HERE.)

Hillside Cemetery and St. Michael’s Cemetery

A place where many family members rest.

Pleasant Valley Apple Orchard and Waldoch Farm

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JUDO Tomoe-Nage and JUDO Kata-Guruma

I have been lucky to be commissioned to do artwork for a regular comic book convention fan who is a great guy and friend. He is also a Judo competitor and I am sharing some of the art designs I created for him. Judo characters inspired by Street Fighter art representing a couple of Judo throws! Tomoe-Nage and Kata-Guruma

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Check out where I am selling my art on products!

MCTATTEES.com

RobbGoblin.com

HappyLovebird.com

Do you have a group event or an idea for a gift for someone special?

Contact me and let me know!

Thanks for checking out my blog.

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I think I speak for a lot of people when I say one of the many things that have been missing from our lives during the pandemic is LIVE MUSIC! Seeing live shows are a lot of fun and a way to unwind after a stressful work week.

As I think back to seeing live music, I am reminded of a couple illustrations I did for some great local bands!

Pat Higgins and Darren Hensel are killer musicians that play in a few bands but teamed up to do a fun side project called HIGGINS & HENSEL. They are an acoustic duo that plays everything from the 50’s to today. I also designed their logo on their poster!

Pat has been a friend since we were in high school. He got a hold of me in 2018 to do some promo art. He wanted an eye-catching illustration that they could use online and to post in various venues with upcoming dates of shows.

It was fun to create because he wanted me to make it wacky so people would stop to look at it! I did caricatures of them riding T-rex dinosaurs while playing guitars in superhero outfits while they were chasing ice cream cone people and the T-rexes were shooting lasers out of their eyes! Pretty wacky if you ask me!

Darren is in a band called WHISKEY STONE and wanted to do a similar thing. WHISKEY STONE consists of Christina Rayne (vocals), Zach Spicer (drums, vocals), Jeff Lungstrom (bass) and of course Darren Hensel (guitar,vocals).

For WHISKEY STONE, the poster has Darren dressed as a Canadian Mountie playing an electric guitar with super electrified strings, Christina as a superhero with a tambourine blazing on fire  as her chickens fly through, Jeff playing a melting cheese bass guitar while dressed in a top hat and tux…on his upper half and Zach shirtless but wearing Zubaz and a hat like a stuffed animal mascot they bring to shows and his drum sticks are glowing like magic wands!

I have a lot of fun working on these types of projects where the client asks me to just create something fun and wacky!

Hopefully in 2021, we will see the return to live music and all the social interaction and gatherings we used to do!

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Back in 2010 I was contacted by The Minneapolis Club to do artwork for their pub. The Minneapolis Club is a private club located in downtown Minneapolis. It is a historic institution that has existed since 1883. Many big name locals have been members of this elite club.

While cleaning in one of their attics they came across a book called Amiable Libels – More than One Hundred Sketches of Minneapolitans by Francis Marion Wing (Frank Wing) and Charles Lewis Bartholomew. 

The book Amiable Libels – More than One Hundred Sketches of Minneapolitans was just that! A book full of inked drawings of famous or prominent Minneapolitans. For the pub artwork, they wanted to take some copies of Mr. Wing’s art of Minneapolis Club members from the 1916 era and have me create art of the present day members.

I was honored to be asked and humbled to say the least. I was amazed with Frank Wing’s work! He was a true draftsman. There was no way I could do him any justice but it was my job to do my best! 

Below are some samples of Frank Wing’s artwork. (I had scans of only a few pages for my reference.)

Here’s a few samples of artwork I created.

I learned a lot from doing this project. I am not sure if the art is still hanging in the pub but I was glad to have been a part of it.

The book is available on Google Books HERE.

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