JULY 23, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 3:22 p.m.

Friends With You at the Crimes on Canvas Show
I've been a fan of the artist collective known as Freinds With You ever since I first laid eyes on my first "Malfi" at Newberry Comics in Boston in 2004. This particular one was a blue vinyl plush creature with a big red frown and X's for eyes. His tag read "Malfi will bring you Great Wealth or Death. Good luck and be careful." So far neither has happened. However, upon further research, I began to delight in the work of these interesting designers from Miami, whose past projects range from collectible toys to giant balloon creatures that they march along the beach in a row forming a giant blimp parade of happiness.

The crew made it to Las Vegas last weekend to share their happiness, wealth and/or death with the patrons visitng M Modern Gallery's Crimes on Canvas show at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Unfortunately, the amazing group show was only up for two days, but as luck would have it I was in Vegas that weekend with my boys in The Dimpled Balls (see photo above). We were there redeeming our Vegas trip as the winners of the AIDS Walk Open, a benefit miniature golf tournament benefitting AIDSWalk Kansas City.

For more on Friends With You see friendswithyou.com or www.myspace.com/friendswithyou. You can learn more about M Modern Gallery at its website at mmoderngallery.com.

JUNE 30, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 5:06 p.m.



101 Photoshop Tips in Five Minutes
Photoshop expert Deke McClelland gives us 101 Photoshop tips in five minutes. This one's for all you high-flying Photoshop nerds. Yeah, the music is bad, but it is certainly entertaining....and you might just learn something if you are quick enough. Click the image above to view the video.

JUNE 25 , 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 3:13 p.m.



Bernal Koehrsen Opens Show of New Work at the Blue Gallery in Kansas City
F.O.B.D. (ahem....that's "Friend of Bob Deck") Bernal Koehrsen has recently made a self-described "breakthrough" in his work. If you are familiar with the artist's earlier pieces, you will quickly notice the move away from the monochromatic and toward fulll color. Bernie has been working on both canvas and aluminum that is finished in his signature resin treatment. The results are just stunning. Best of all, the pieces are very reasonably priced. The show opens this Friday, June 27th from 6-9 p.m. at the Blue Gallery (118 Southwest Boulevard). Go to bluegalleryonline.com for more information on the show. Bernie's website is at burnknee.com.

MAY 9, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 2:11 p.m.



KCFX Portfolio Showcase
The Freelance Exchange of Kansas City is holding its annual portfolio showcase next Wednesday, May 14th from 5-8 p.m. at the Boulevard Brewing Company (2530 Belleview Ave., Kansas City, MO 64108) The event is free to the public and there will be beer, wine and appetizers for all who attend. Come see the work of area freelancers (inlcuding me) in the advertising, design, photography, illustration and copywriting fields.

MARCH 25, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 3:51 p.m.



Travis Millard in Juxtapoz Magazine
Imagine my delight as I flipped through the April 2008 issue of Juxtapoz Art and Culture Magazine to see an article on my friend Travis Millard, an amazing illustrator from Lawrence who now lives in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. And also imagine the pride I had in him remembering his roots in Lawrence, Kansas where he began his career. He mentions his first Fudge Factory comics, what he called "weird, one-panel things that mostly didn't make any sense", that we published in Micromag in the late 90s. Weird, maybe. But they always seemed to make sense to me.

Congratulations on the article Travis! Find out more about Travis' work at fudgefactorycomics.com.

FEBRUARY 28, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 8:47 a.m.

iPod Shuffle Fakes
Take a look at these "iPod Shuffles" I spotted at a recent trip to Chinatown in San Francisco. Almost exactly the same product in size and design (except for the cable connector, which looked like a firewire input and was located on the bottom side) and are (were?) available in three unique colors never offered by Apple–dark red, olive green and dark blue. The company that produced these even completely ripped off the "shuffle" icon and packaging.



JANUARY 31, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 2:45 p.m.

Original Design Gangster
This was sent to me by my friend Kelly. Those that know me well know there are more than a few similarities- from the same kind of glasses to the same color Mini Cooper. How many of the designers in the gallery at the end can you name?



JANUARY 14, 2008 Posted by Bob Deck at 5:39 p.m

Top 20 Albums of 2007
My favorite records of the year.



1. The Autumn Defense – The Autumn Defense (above)
2. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
3. Black Lips – Good Bad Not Evil
4. White Stripes – Icky Thump
5. Dungen – Tio Bitar
6. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
7. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
8. Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
9. Bloc Party – Weekend in the City
10. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
11. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
12. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
13. New Amsterdams – At the Foot of My Rival
14. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – 100 Days, 100 Nights
15. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum
16. Caribou – Andorra
17. The Beatles – Love
18. The Woggles – Rock and Roll Backlash
19. Blonde Redhead – 23
20. Bettye Lavette – Scene of the Crime