The Iniquitous State

Faile's "Stories of Love in Key Foods"

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:36:00 +0000

The purchase that finally broke the bank. I have sworn not to buy any more artworks and I mean it this time...

I am relatively new to the Failemania and was lucky enough to win the Q for this print. It is HUGE at 45 x 34.5 inches!! My oh my how am I going to frame this monster??

But I fell in love the moment I unrolled the Key Foods on my table. The amount of work, the deep colours (ok, my camera phone sucked at capturing colours) and the way the girl is staring at me made me a happy happy owner of this massive piece of art.

Now, I have to save up for another 6 months to be able to afford the frame... as well as to buy a big enough apartment to house this beautiful monster.

Happy happy!

Touma, Devilrobot and Kaijin toys

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Okay, I think I have overdone it when I was in Tokyo. I bought a Devilrobot Smery, a Touma Tudo and a Kaijin Steel Fairies toys as well as bought online a GID Touma Gaburin. I guess I am crazy about Touma toys but I have so many I have no place to display them any more...

Who am I kidding, give me MORE!!! :-D

Miss Bugs Dumbo print

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:28:00 +0000

Just received the Dumbo print by Miss Bugs and I love it! The silver ink on black background is pretty cool and you can see the reflective effect from the photo.

My first Miss Bugs print and definitely not my last. :-)

My Touma-mania at STCC

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:44:00 +0000

The first Singapore Toys & Comics Convention was held on 28-29 June and I had to beg my wife to let me go. :P

Ever since my baby is borned, I do not have much time for toys, to be honest, but the STCC flyer was advertising about Devilrobots and Tokidoki appreances so I wanna go have a look (I'm a Tofu fan). Amazingly it was super packed where 140,000 people showed up. I did not know Singaporeans are into toys, comics and games (video & card).

While stumbling past the girls-swarmed Tokidoki's booth and the families-packed Nintendo Wii stand, I chanced upon a booth with the signboard "Toumart". To my delight, Mr Touma was here in STCC in person!!!

I am a big fan of Touma, owning at least a hundred of his toys (yes yes yes, in numerous colourways) so you can imagine me geeking out when I saw him with his assistant Yuki in this convention.

I basically went berserk, buying all the Touma toys I could get my hands on in the convention that I do not own, just so I can get Touma to sign and scribble on them. Since he would only sign and draw 3 pieces each time, I think I had queued 10 times to get him to sign and draw 20 toys!

All in all, I bought 2 Grabbits (Red + Rust), a PeeGee, a Squeezel, a Bongo and a Slither, and he signed and scribbled on all of them. Not only that, on the second day of the convention, I brought along some of his old toys and he was kind enough to sign and scribble on all of them! Those included a Giant Skuttle (people thought I am crazy hugging that monster around in the packed convention hall), a Skuttle, a Skuttle-X, a Boo, a Baboo, a Boobie, a Toolie, a Zugan, another PeeGee, a Talon, a Goon, a Gaburin, a Fangwolf and an Aniballoon.

20 toys together, and he drew on my convention brochure and on my Touma calendar too. Sweet!

Yuki-san is Toumart Art Producer and since Touma does not speak much English, Yuki was kind enough to share some information about upcoming toys that Touma is launching (Ultraman Touma toys???) and he was translating for Touma when Touma asked some questions concerning where I bought my Touma toys (One-Up & Fewmany shops in Tokyo, sir) and whether he should have STCC exclusive toys if he returns next year (OH YEAH PLEASE, SIR!!!)
Very friendly and nice people, Touma and Yuki, though I think Touma was a bit camera shy without his Knuckle Bear mask on.

I really did have a blast meeting one of my favourite artist and toy designer in person. Hopefully Touma will consider coming again next year for the STCC and I will buy more of his toys from now till then!

Fun weekend indeed!

P.S. Will try to post pics of all the toys he drawn on in a future blog post.
P.P.S. I forgot all about Devilrobots when I was geeking out over Touma. Did not get them to sign my Tofu toy. Heheheh.

"CNY Und Erotik" by BAST

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:06:00 +0000

I have never realised how big the Und Erotik print is till we have it displayed flat at the framer.

This is the biggest piece of artwork I have ever own. And the framer is charging me ridiculous price for the custom frame (which I paid anyway, with a grunt of disgust though).

And it is hard to discribe the beauty of this piece. The red on gold is beautiful, but it is the glitter that BAST have covered the Und Erotik with that makes the print sparkled under the lights of the framer shop.

A 1/1 piece and I can't wait to get it framed asap.

BAST (and a little bit of Faile)

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:12:00 +0000

Ever since Blaine Fontana declared that he will be taking a break from solo exhibitions in 2008, I thought that I can relax from artwork purchasing for a while.

As a fan of both Daniel Danger and Dave Kinsey, I am a regular reader of the thegiant.org forum (It is a forum that is primarily a Obey fan forum) where DD and Kinsey have their own artist threads. While scanning through the various artist threads, one particular artist caught my eyes.

BAST.

BAST is an artist that pasted his artworks on the streets of NYC. His art is so messy and sometimes dirty-looking that I guess some people might even find them ugly.

But somehow the weirdness and grittiness of his art appeal to me.

In Singapore, grafitti is banned and the police classify grafitti as vandalism and take a tough stance on "vandals". The last time a vandal was caught, not only was he given a prison sentence, he has to be caned. (Hence the famous "Singapore cane" that you might have heard about in the old ECW hardcore shows). Thus street art is something really interesting to a Singaporean like me who is not exposed to grafitti art. (though Juxtapoz has been slanting towards this art movement recently)

I find Banksy amusing (but too expensive), I find Obey nice (but nothing really special) and I am not even sure whether Kinsey is a street artist (I really like his prints regardless).

But I somehow really really like the insane images BAST are putting out.

So, I spent a few nights reading up on the guy and he has his fans at wallkandy (excellent forum), faile.co.uk and thegiant (and of course his haters at expressobeans lol). His bastny.com site is a joy to view (though I hate missing out on his late batch of print offerings in Jan since I only discovered him in Feb).

And I bought two of his prints.

Thug

Cash Baazar (this photo from expressobeans is actually the piece I bought 4/4)

And I have a special "Chinese New Year" Und Erotik coming.

Regular Und Erotik

A sneak preview of my CNY Und Erotik that is coming my way. (Supposed to be red on gold but it looked silvery in the photo)

The Cash Bazaar is a truly amazing piece. The multiple layering on the piece is crazy. Every corner you stare at you will discover some minor details you have never noticed before.

BAST original paintings are too expensive for me (and those beautiful ones are too big for my apartment) and so I have to focus on his prints. BAST will be having a show at Jonathan Levine Gallery later this year and I am looking forward to hopefully scoring a small OG or get my hands on any prints he might have!

I am worried about how this will affect the direction my collection is going. Because of BAST, I have started paying attention to Faile as well.

Faile is more popular than BAST. And I can understand the appeal of Faile. Anyone who has a love for comics will like Faile artworks.

I just have one print (no photo yet, waiting to go to framer) that I bought on impulse. My credit card is still suffering from my recklessness. :\

Bunny Boy Blue

Mine is as dirty as the one shown above and I love it! However I believe I will not be buying more Failes since their pricings have since rocketed thanks to those crazy rich Brits buying up their originals in the last few street art auctions.

I think I will concentrate on getting more BAST. :P

Artworks of Netherland (David van Aspen)

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:05:00 +0000

Recently stumbled upon a series of cool artworks by a mysterious artist named "Netherland" and fell in love with his retro-cool super-weird stuff. David van Aspen is the owner of DVA gallery and had created a series of resin pieces that reminded me of those pictures you would have seen in the 70's. I went crazy buying up his stuff but apparently there are other fans as well since some of the pieces I inquired about via emails with him or the galleries can be sold in between correspondence!

I will be keeping an eye on Netherland's new works.

From top to bottom: Dance II, Scoot, The Getaway, Evel's Last Stand, Gossip

"Red Indulgence" by Kit Tan

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:18:00 +0000

Visited an art gallery in Singapore a few weeks ago and I was so tempted to sell my car just to get the above painting by the local artist Kit Tan. I have been a big fan of Kit Tan ever since I spied her paintings that were displayed in Singapore Art Museum for the UOB Award show.

Unfortunately my wife threatened divorce if she finds out I exchange the family car for a super cool painting. My explanation that the painting is a appreciating asset as compared to the car being a depreciating liability does not fly with her. Yes dear, the painting is not going to bring you from point A to point B.

Sigh...

"New Beginnings" by Andy Kehoe

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:20:00 +0000

Lab101 Gallery is closing and their last show was called "Happy Endings". Andy Kehoe contributed a piece "New Beginnings" which I found very meaningful given the title of the last show.

Apart from the significance of the piece, the main reason why I bought the piece is because I really like the little acorn creatures. I hope to see Kehoe integrate the acorn creatures into his future artworks.

Open Air

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:47:00 +0000

OPEN AIR from knox on Vimeo.

"A Pound and A Bear Hug" by BASK and Tes One

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:43:00 +0000

Took some time to hang up this HUGE artwork by BASK. I absolutely love this painting. It is hard to see from the photos but I am impressed by the paint brushstrokes and layers of the different media. BASK painted the whole thing on a wooden table-top.

Definitely will be buying more of his paintings in the future.

"Hope Rests In Quiet Fields" by Andy Kehoe

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 04:54:00 +0000

I have told myself not to buy any more Andy Kehoe's stuff. Owning 2 paintings and 4 prints of his is enough.

But once I laid my eyes on his latest work at Thinkspace Gallery, I can't help myself.

Cool piece huh?

"Obstacle Movers" by Blaine Fontana

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 07:39:00 +0000

Blaine Fontana has a new giclee screen on wood called "Obstacle Movers" that I am trying to purchase. I like the glossy resin finish on the surface.

He also has 2 new prints called "Irregular Fauna #2" and "The Nestkeeper is Waiting". Time to add to my Fontana print collection. :)

Peter, Bjorn & John - Young Folks

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:25:00 +0000

This song is nothing but kickass!!! Stumbled upon the video on MTV Asia late one night and was totally blown away by the song.

What an infectious tune.

"Move So Far" by Brendan Monroe

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 02:42:00 +0000

I have just received the "Caretaker" painting by Brendan Monroe and I have admit: this is the best, most beautiful piece of artwork I have ever seen and owned in my life.

It is hard to describe but the colours, the texture, the visual and even the frame added up to one masterpiece of a painting that I absolutely love. Now I am such a big Monroe fan, I am on a hunt to own more of his artworks.

I managed to secure the above work "Move so Far" by Brendan. Even though in terms of visual impact, this piece is not as impressive as the "Caretaker", the title as well as the image of a little fella moving his tree home on his back brought a smile to my face.

Storm Clouds by Jeff Soto

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:38:00 +0000

This sucks. Jeff Soto's new show at Jonathan Levine Gallery is held at the same time as Blaine Fontana's show at Lineage gallery.

Unfortunately I have to decide between buying a painting from Fontana or saving it up for a Soto.

And I chose Fontana.

How I wish that I am rich and can afford "Land of the Free" (shown above) piece from Soto. Not only is it beautiful, now it is sold and I am regretting not buying it when I had the chance.

At least I saved US$4000 and bought a Fontana piece. Sigh...

"Arturism" painting by Alex Pardee

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:14:00 +0000

Alright. Brendan Monroe's "Caretaker" painting will be displayed in my baby's room. This Alex Pardee's "Arturism" piece will NOT be displayed in my house at all.

I love Pardee's insane artworks. But I have this feeling my baby (and perhaps my wife) will freak out or get disturbed if they see his pieces.

Guess I will hang this piece in my office, since most of my colleagues are freaks anyway. It is like they have just stared into a mirror or something.

The painting is drawn by Alex Pardee, inspired by the book "Geek Love". I will check out the book this weekend.

"Caretaker" painting by Brendan Monroe

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 09:59:00 +0000

A painting by Brendan Monroe that was created for a show at Little Cake Gallery to benefit the NYC animal shelters. I am pleased to secure a piece from Mr Monroe (I have always love his alien symbiotes paintings) as well as contribute to taking care of animals.

"Thunder Clouds over a Flower" by Jeff Soto

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:36:00 +0000

The new "Thunder Clouds over a Flower" Giclee by Jeff Soto is a real beauty. How I wish I have the US$350 to drop on this.

Doktor A MAD*L Collection

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 17:44:00 +0000

I have been waiting for nearly a year for Doktor A, a talented artist and toy customizer, from the UK to produce my commission. Not only did I got my Headgear mad*l from him, I were fortunate enough to score his Rapture mad*l from an auction and received his Stitches mad*l as a gift.

Really love Doktor A's works. His customs are the gems of my mad*l collection.

My Blaine Fontana Mini-Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 17:07:00 +0000

I am proud and happy to have done up my "mini-gallery" of paintings from my favourite artist Blaine Fontana. "The Science of Retirement", "Pieces of 9" and "Zealous" pieces look beautiful displayed beside each other.

After completing this set-up, it is time to start working on my opposite wall for another Blaine Fontana set-up. Hope to get some beautiful pieces from his upcoming show.

Sleeping Prince

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:37:00 +0000

My little baby boy has decided to wait for his dad to return home in Singapore from Athens before he popped out. Good news for me as I was fortunate enough to be in the delivery room to see his birth, but bad news for my wife who has to endure 2 extra days of labour pains in the hospital :P

We decided to name him Leonidas. I will have to send him out to fight a wolf when he's seven.

"Wooden Warrior" MAD*L by Motorbot

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 03:41:00 +0000

My Framed Andy Kehoe's Prints

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 05:15:00 +0000

Got back my framed Andy Kehoe's prints and I am thrilled. I have choosen the frame that complemented very well with the designs and colours of Kehoe's artworks, methink.

The only issue is I have ran out of wallspace for my stuff. :(

I met Nekonoko in Tokyo!

noreply@blogger.com (lordlupus) — Thu, 17 May 2007 12:02:00 +0000

I was shopping in Fewmany store in Tokyo over the weekend and bought a couple of Kaiju For Grown Ups and Touma toys.

While paying for the stuff, I spied a couple of custom Nekonoko toys on display. There were 2 girls at the Fewmany counter and I told them I wanted to buy one of the customs.

I had no idea why the girls started giggling and conversing in Japanese. I asked them what is so funny and one of the girls pointed at the other and said "She's Nekonoko."

I was delighted and told her that her toys are cute. I bought 2 more of her toys and asked her whether she could sign them. Not only did she signed them, she scribbled some drawings on them as well.

Nekonoko is a very nice person (shy though). I asked for a photo and she obliged. After that she even gave me one of her prints for free.

Now I am a big fan of Nekonoko :D