5/15/17

Trolls and Monsters

"Trolling is A Art"


 "Canned Monster"

Apologies for the massive gap between posts. Here are my two most recent paintings, including process gifs of my daily Instagram updates.

"Trolling is A Art" - was created for Gallery 1988's tribute to Memes.

"Canned Monster" - is my latest contribution to the Chuck Jones Center's annual Red Dot Auction.

10/2/16

Threads Artist Store now live!



I am super excited to announce the launch of my new Threadless Artist Shop! Now you can get my original artwork on apparel, art prints, and more; and all printed on demand!

Check it out for yourself at: mikebilz.threadless.com

New prints and shirts will be posted every month! So keep your eyes peeled for more updates.


7/17/16

Mike Bilz's Comic-Con Adjacent Extravaganza!


I'm going to be Comic-Con Adjacent this year!

My Comic-Con Adjacent Extravaganza is happening next Sunday the 24th, at the Chuck Jones Gallery in San Diego! Just across the street form the San Diego Convention Center, in the famous Gaslamp District.

Come and check out a curated collection of my original paintings and fine art prints. Including a brand new painting of Daffy Duck, and two new prints at special Comic-Con only prices!

New painting - "Socially Secure"

I'll be hanging out, signing prints, and maybe even doing a little live painting on-site from Noon to 3PM.




Can't wait to see you all there!

The Chuck Jones Gallery: 232 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA, 92101

Sunday, July 24 from 12 PM to 3 PM

Don't Run, We Are Your Friends!

"Don't Run, We Are Your Friends!"

My piece for an awesome group show for Gallery1988, called "20 Years Later". Celebrating the films of 1996 like Romeo + Juliet, Space Jam, Happy Gilmore, and of course Mars Attacks!

I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to paint one of these guys, and I even managed to work in a bunch of skulls. Bonus!

Here's a little process Gif of the piece...


The show is still on display for a few more weeks, so drop in and check out the amazing work!

4/30/16

This is me Now!

"This is Me Now!"

I got to paint a portrait of Eugene Belcher for a Bob's Burgers gallery show at Gallery 1988! The show opens tomorrow night, and will run for just one week, so hurry up and see it while you've got the chance. It's going to be an amazing show, full of awesome artists, celebrating a truly awesome cartoon!

Plus, I'll have limited edition prints on sale! Which is awesome!


For bonus awesomeness, have a quick process gif of this painting.


I post my process more or less daily to my Instagram feed, so follow me there if you'd like to see what I'm working on now.

The Bob's Burgers celebration show opens tomorrow night at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, come by and check it out!

3/24/16

Thirty Years Later...


"Somewhere That's Green"

"Thirty Years Later" opens this Friday at Gallery 1988, with tons of amazing artists showing work celebrating the films of 1986. Which, as it turns out, is a crazy list of amazing films.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to pay homage to the all-time classic horror/comedy/musical "Little Shop of Horrors", or the opportunity to do a send up of "American Gothic".

Here's a little process gif of the painting, including the early sketches.


If your in the LA area this Friday, drop by and say hi, it's going to be an awesome show!

3/19/16

Experiments in Gravity...



I had a blast working on these pieces last year, and now I finally get to talk about them!

I'm super excited to finally unveil a new set of prints I created exclusively for Six Flags! For now these prints are only available for purchase at participating Six Flags theme parks, so start planning your trips. (I'll keep you all posted if they do eventually become available online.)

More stuff coming soon, so stay tuned. And as always, apologies for the unusually long absence, but it will almost certainly happen again.

11/22/15

Kraken Process...

"The Kraken Strikes!"

Here's a little process gif of my most recent piece. I took a photo a day while I was working on it, so you can see a little bit of how the piece evolves over time.

Maybe in the future I'll do one of these layer by layer and show a bit more of the actual painting process.

11/21/15

The Kraken Strikes!

"The Kraken Strikes!"

My latest piece for Gallery 1988 is a tribute to one of my favorite video games of all time Shining Force 2. One of the most memorable fights in the game was when your party gets ambushed by a Kraken.

This is what it looked like...

 but this is what it FELT like...

Seriously, the fight is intense. It happens fairly early in the game, but it basically represents the point where the game stops playing nice.

I always loved this fight though, partly because it was so challenging, but mostly because it was so unique. Up until this point your fighting small bands of monsters, or the occasional army, but this fight was an army of one monster. The mechanics of the game allow for this monster to be treated as 11 different units all working together to systematically dismantle your team.

Plus the design of the Kraken was just so freaking cool.

Here's a video of the battle in question in case your interested. Fair warning, the video is chock full of swears and angry yelling. Like I said, it was a hard fight.


I loved working on this piece. It was sort of a rush job, less than two weeks from first sketch to finished painting, but that really forced me to be better with my time and commit to my choices. 

I really tried to push the contrast in this piece as well, partly as a time saving measure, but mainly as an exercise in working graphically. I've had a bad habit over the years of shying away from contrast in my paintings, never really pushing things all the way to full black in the shadows and full white in the highlights, so this was a chance to do just that.

Honestly, I really like how this piece turned out. It may be one of my favorite pieces to date.

I also took daily photos of this piece while I was working on it, and I'll be posting a process gif soon.

11/4/15

Crazy for Cult...

"Science Fiction Double Feature"

My latest piece is a tribute to an all time classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I really wanted to play up the idea of Frank N. Furter as the sexy, space faring, femme fatale. I also borrowed heavily from the colors and compositions of 1960's movie posters like Barbarella, to sell the camp and give it that classic sci-fi feel. 

This piece is for Gallery 1988's upcoming "Crazy 4 Cult" group show, celebrating the very best in trashy cinema. The show opens Friday, November 20th and will feature artwork from tons of talented artists all paying tribute to their favorite cult movies.



I'm super excited to be a part of this show, and I can't wait to see all of the amazing work. This is one of 1988's most popular shows, so get there early if you can.

10/12/15

Decisions, Decisions...

"Decisions, Decisions..."

I'm happy to announce the release of a brand new original print for the Chuck Jones Gallery, celebrating 75 years of Bugs Bunny! How large a closet would someone need to hold all those iconic costumes, I wonder? 

Each print is signed and numbered on gallery wrapped canvas. This print is limited to an edition of 75, so get one while you can. Click here for more info.



The Chuck Jones Gallery, has also created a limited edition print of my previous piece High Culture Hare. The edition is limited to 75, so get your orders in quick!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible, and keep an eye out for more prints in the near future.

6/12/15

Communism...

"Communism"

My latest piece for Gallery 1988's upcoming "Clue" group show. I just can't resist making a dumb joke, especially in painting form.

The show opens Friday June 26th, and is going to feature a ton of  great artists. Come by and say hi.


5/2/15

High Culture Hare...

 
"High Culture Hare"

This was my submission to this year's Red Dot auction, at the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. Looney Tunes cartoons were where I heard my first taste of classical music, opera, and Shakespeare. Everything I new about "High Culture" as a kid, I learned from Bugs Bunny. 

I took a quick photo of this piece once a day as I was working on it and strung together a little process gif. Pretty neat, eh?




By the way, a big thanks to everyone who participated in this year's Red Dot auction, it was an amazing show, and you all helped raise money for a great cause.

Update: This piece is now available as a Limited Edition Print from ChuckJones.com! Get yours while you can!

4/29/15

Red Dot Auction...


I'm excited to announce that I have a piece in this year's Red Dot Auction, a fundraiser benefitting the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity.

The official auction starts this Friday, but you can get a sneak peak at the artwork now and even place a bid! Check out the show here.

Because of the rules of this auction, I can't tell you which piece is mine, but I'm sure a few of you might be able to guess.

After These Messages...

"After These Messages..."

This Friday, Gallery 1988 presents Idiot Box! A celebration of all things television.

My submission for this amazing show is a love letter to some of my favorites cartoons. I tried to work as many little nods in as I could, some of them a little more overt than others.

Fun fact, The Ninja Turtles were the first thing I ever learned to draw. It's kind of amazing that it took me this long to work one into a painting.

The show is guaranteed to be fantastic, and I urge you all to drop by the gallery and see the amazing work for yourselves.

3/3/15

Algebraic!

"Greetings from the land of Ooo"

I just completed my new piece for Gallery 1988's upcoming Postcard show. Even better, I got to make it about one of my all time favorite shows, Adventure Time! 

It was super fun to try and channel the feel of old school travel postcards and mesh it with the style of Adventure Time. I really dig how the colors came out, it's so crazy vibrant.

The Postcard show is going to be really neat because not only will the original paintings be on display, but each artist is also creating a limited edition postcard run of their piece.

I'll post more info as I get it, but for now enjoy this mathematical new painting.

2/17/15

is this thing on?

"Pug Life"

I got to do a portrait of Ron Funches as a pug, and everything about that makes me happy. 

Gallery 1988's comedian themed show "Is This Thing On?" opens this Friday, February 20th, and it is going to be great. Gallery 1988 always puts on an amazing show, and all of the work I've seen so far has been spectacular.


1/23/15

Artists on Board - Kaumaha

"Kaumaha"

My latest piece is a new hand painted skate deck for Art Deck Co's recurring "Artists on Board" show. Keeping with the tiki motif of my last deck. I just really like the way they look on the boards, it seems like an appropriate use of the material.

I really like how this one turned out, the colors and contrast are exactly where I wanted them, and the form is really clear.

I don't have specific details on the show just yet, but I'll keep you all posted. Check back soon for more info.

11/9/14

"Genius at Work" now available as a limited edition print!


I am happy to announce that my Wile E. Coyote inspired piece "Genius at Work" is now available as a limited edition print from ChuckJones.com!

The edition will be limited 65 hand signed prints, so get yours while you can!

10/7/14

New Website Up and Running!


That's right, it finally happened. I've finally built myself a new website. What's more, you can actually see it on a mobile device! Will wonders never cease?

Check it out for yourself at www.mikebilz.com