Battlemouth

My goal throughout this series has been to shine some light on a scene that is both important to me, and I think, the rest of the world. It is through the emotions portrayed in their work that we catch a glimpse of something better than the current times around us. One area not really talked about as being hit hard in the recent financial crisis, is the independent art scene. I find a lot of people don’t truly understand the dollar amount that can go in to any one work of art, not to mention the time and effort needed on the part of the artist. The dedication an artist must show to their work is unparalleled, the desire to create art is only preceded by the need to sell their work, so that they may continue creating. A truly vicious cycle in a time when art is forced to the bottom of collectors lists by things like outrageous energy bills and steadily increasing food prices. One can only hope that the powers at be will put a stop to some of the outrageous price gouging of the people of the world. But while we wait for that miracle to take place, I have decided to try to do my part by at least helping some of the very talented artists I have come to admire greatly, continue to do what they love….create.

The following is a short re-cap of some of the places you can track down our previously mentioned artists as well as some fantastic additions that should be recognized as well:

Kat Brunnegraff – http://www.kat-scratch-fever.blogspot.com/ Twitter- @katbrunnegraff
SmallandRound – http://www.smallandround.com Twitter- @smallandround
Motorbot – http://www.motorbot.net Twitter- @Motorbot
Phoneticontrol – http://www.phoneticontrol.com Twitter- @Phoneticontrol
Drilone – http://www.drils.com Twitter- @drilone
Reactor88 – http://www.reactor88.com Twitter- @reactor88
Loveandsandwhich – http://www.loveandsandwhich.etsy.com Twitter- @loveandsandwhich
64 Colors – http://www.64colors.com Twitter- @64colors
Huck Gee – http://www.huckgee.com Twitter- @huckgee

I know there are litterally pages and pages of additional names that should be added to that list, but I am only one man with one computer. If you would like to be added to the list feel free to email me at aaron@battlemouth.com and I will do my best to sway the Battlelords into doing our bidding! Also feel free to drop a comment at the bottom of the page to let us know your who some of your favorites are, we love to hear from you!

To cap off this little series I managed to score a brief interview with Mr. Huck Gee to help spread the word about some of his upcoming releases! We here at the mouth that is battling are big Huck fans and are very pleased he has given us the time of day! Please extend to him the same courtesy you do us and check out his upcoming projects!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Interwebs….we give you “7 Questions with Huck Gee”

1. Who is Huck Gee?

Illustrator, print maker, backroads bomber, skirt chaser, floor shaker, toy hustler extraordinaire…

2. What path lead you to the designer toy medium?

My roots in graff took me from lettering to character design to my fascination with HK & Japanese Pop Design… and somewhere along the way stumbled over the stuff Michael Lau, Eric So, BrothersWorker, etc were churning out. It’s been a natural evolution of my creative passions.

3. How do you split up your time between your designer toys, clothing line, and jewelry line?

…and prints, and illustration and custom toys and commercial gigs and on and on and on… I split it up by working about 12+ hours a day. Ha! I wish I was kidding. No rest for the wicked.

4. What was the inspiration for your upcoming 20″ Dunny release?

Skulls, death, motorsports, awesome & cute.

5. Who would win in a street fight, you or Kozik?

I would have to defer to Kozik, he didn’t get as successful as he is without knowing how to hold his own. Unless we’re talking street cars… cuz I’ll stomp all over his 350Z if that’s the case. *chuckle*

6. Your custom work is absolutely, no doubt some of the best…do you have a favorite custom artist?

I try to not list favorites… there’s so much talent out there. And I know if I listed off a few of my faves, I’d miss a dozen or more that deserve just as much recognition.

7. If one of your works was to come to life, which would you want it to be?

My Gold Life world. I want to live there. Just outside of town, in a little cottage by the lake.