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strongstuff
  • LATEST
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STRONGSTUFF x BRIGHT IDEAS CO.

a few weeks back, my wife suggested that we keep our seven-year-old son, daschel, home from school for national take our daughters and sons to work day.  i loved the idea. along with my wife giving him a glimpse into her day, i thought that we could run a small sale on my site, pack the orders together and maybe mess around in adobe illustrator a bit. then, while out on a run this past sunday morning, the real idea hit me; why not let his newfound love of drawing superheroes shine? from there, i pitched this idea to him:

create sketch cards of ten of your favorite superheroes on 4"x4" bristol cards. i'll follow your lead by creating cards of the same heroes and we'll sell them as sets on my site during TODASTW day. we'll pack and ship whatever we sell, split the profits (after taxes... another learning opportunity!) and learn how to save a portion of the money.

he dug the idea AND WAS OFF TO THE RACES. as of this writing, his ten cards are done, while i still need to finish five of mine. he even came up with a company name, "bright ideas co.". my hope is that this exercise will help him to see firsthand how ideas can become reality with a bit of work.

our sketch card sets will go on sale around noon EST on thursday, april 28 in my shop.

you can take a look at all of our mad creations below.

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thor.jpg
blackpanther.jpg
hulk.jpg
rocket.jpg
venom.jpg
vulture.jpg
wolverine.jpg
spidey.jpg groot.jpg cap.jpg thor.jpg blackpanther.jpg hulk.jpg rocket.jpg venom.jpg vulture.jpg wolverine.jpg

 

 

Wednesday 04.27.16
Posted by tom whalen
Comments: 4
 

NORTH AMERICAN POPLAR BEETLE

here's a brand new design i cooked up especially for mondo's upcoming “house party” gallery exhibit. the show will feature over 100 artists, all creating original pieces, all for $200 each. kind of insane.

i wanted to engineer a piece that is a showcase for scrollwork. looking to the animal kingdom for reference, i narrowed my choices down to a fish, a deer (antlers are fun) and a beetle. in the end, i couldn't pass up the opportunity to create those wings.

check out the process gallery below for detail shots and to see the crate i built to get this guy safely to the show.

house party opens friday, march 18 at the mondo gallery in austin, tx. you can read all about it here.

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Wednesday 03.16.16
Posted by tom whalen
 

BUST’D 2 : BUST’D WITH A VENGEANCE

i'm excited to reveal/tease the first few images from my next solo show at gallery 1988, "bust'd 2 : bust'd with a vengeance".

a sequel to the first bust'd show (held back in october of 2014), this exhibition will feature a whole new assortment of 8" x 8" screenprinted pop-culture-inspired busts, themed print sets, original sketches, 1/1 metal prints and a bunch of my wooden sculptures.

it all kicks off at the opening on march 3 in los angeles. hope to see you folks there.

••••••••

OPENING : thursday, march 3, 2016
TIME : 7–9 PM
LOCATION : gallery 1988 west
ADDRESS : 7308 melrose avenue, los angeles, ca 90046
AVAILABILITY : items remaining after the opening reception will be available online the day after the opening.

Monday 02.08.16
Posted by tom whalen
Comments: 1
 

CLOSEUPS

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the jpeg images that i show on my site can't hold a candle to the actual screenprinted posters that they represent.

so, here are some closeup shots (jpegs, ironically) of a few of my recent prints.

Tuesday 02.02.16
Posted by tom whalen
Comments: 1
 

TEDx PHOENIXVILLE : DESIGN

i'm honored to have been asked to contribute to the colonial theatre's TEDx salon series.

the evening's theme is "design", so i've curated a selection of TEDx talks that strike a chord with me. i'll also be giving some behind-the-scenes info on a few of the more drama-filled projects that have kept me awake at night.

it all happens on tuesday, january 26 at the colonial. hang out with BYOB drinks starts at 6:30, program starts at 7. see you there.

Thursday 01.21.16
Posted by tom whalen
 
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all images © tom whalen 2025