Narrow Way by the Naked Pastor

Well, I'm smack in the middle of the Bible belt in Tennessee this week visiting some family - it's the perfect time to introduce the shop and designs of my newest long-distance friend/colleague, David Hayward, aka the Naked Pastor. David is just starting out in the t-shirt business, but he's no stranger to illustration - he has a great blog called (surprise) The Naked Pastor featuring some really great religious discussion and original cartoons/illustrations.

So here's a little taste of the Naked Pastor. This design is called Narrow Way - it's an original design by David (but I helped him a bit in getting the vector drawn up properly for approval). David's designs are really thought provoking - I'm confident that more great vector designs will be coming from the world of the Naked Pastor, as he builds up his Illustrator skill!

Check out David's shop here: http://nakedpastor.spreadshirt.com, or visit the guest designs section at the Insan Art Store to get this shirt and check out all of our other guest designs...

Jay-toberfest!

So, this is the 3rd attempt I've made at writing this feature...I first started it on Friday afternoon before some friends were coming over for some grilling and beer. Things (for this blog entry, at least) went downhill from there. We ended up having a little Oktoberfest - lots of dark beer and plenty of sausage grilled over an open fire! By the time the night was over, I wasn't really in any condition to blog, so I planned on finishing this on Saturday. Saturday rolled around, we did a nice 12 mile bike ride and then decided to have Oktoberfest, part 2 - more dark beer, plus TWO kinds of sausage this time (and some other assorted grillin's - that's the spread from Oktoberfest night 2 in the photo to the left).

Anyhoo, no Oktoberfest part 3 today - we need a break! But, that doesn't mean we can't have a t-shirt Oktoberfest, right?

It's been a bit since I've featured designs from a our cool German friend, Jay, from Van Tribe. So here's five shirt designs by Jay - a little something I'm calling, "Jay-toberfest"!

Triple Skull & Lucky Skull
I know I've touted Tat2ts as the Master of skulls, but he and Jay are both heavily into the skull genre (actually, they do designs for each others shops occasionally). Jay's got quite a nice collection of skull designs including the tribal reminiscent Triple Skull and the Lucky Skull: skull + lucky clovers = great, unique idea (not to mention the dropping leaf - a beautiful touch).


Fist of Love & Hate
Jay has a really great graphic style that carries through all of his work, whether it be tattoo, tribal or even /graphic slogan based. One of my favorite non-tribal/tattoo related designs from Jay is his Fist of Love and Hate design. The design is so simple and clean, but the graphic itself and the message are so powerful!



Breeding Demon
A number of Jay's designs are tribal inspired (or mixed with tribal elements). I really like his Breeding Demon design because, frankly, it's quite clever.


Twinkling Dead Flower
Yes...he even does flowers - Jay's got something for everyone. Of course, it's with his own personal touch, twisting tattoo and tribal elements into one sweet, unique design. The dead flower concept is morbid enough for men, yet feminine enough for the ladies (and it's featured on Spreadshirt's brand new unisex tie-dye).

Grab these shirts today in the guest designs section at the Insan Art Store, or check out Van Tribe to see more great designs from Jay and others...

27 New Designs from Insan Art

Well well, it has been a month since my last feature and what a busy month it has been! Over the past few weeks I've been doing a number of things, first and foremost grinding the rust out of my Jeep and patching and painting it. That was crazy. Then, I've been working on a book for my good friend Van Wagner. In between everything else, I worked on a whole slew of new designs! There's 27 in all including 3 new slogan/text designs and the rest are symbols based on real signs. Here's a peek at 12:


Three New Slogan designs:

Give Me Unlimited Internet or Give Me DEATH - This design is for all of us out there worried about the recent news of caps on bandwidth usage.
WARNING: May Contain More Than a Trace of Nut: This one was actually overheard being said by a certain Colbert on his report - it's too funny and so true, I need one for myself!
BEER, Now cheaper than gas! "Drink, Don't Drive." - This one is pretty self-explanatory.



Plus, new symbol designs:


Various Animal Warning symbols including Moose Warning (from Maine), Squid/Stinging Marine Animal Warning (one of my ocean/beach favorites), Giant Insect Warning (those skeeters are a bitch), plus Bear Warning and Croc Warning (not shown)...


...various sport/recreational symbols including Technical Rock Climbing (and not shown are Climbing/Mountaineer, Kayaking,
Biking, Swimming, Hang Gliding, Swinging, Skiing and Spelunking)...




...various "warning" symbols like Jet/Plane Warning, No Pirates Warning, Radioactivity/Death Warning and the "Crotch Fire" Warning (plus, not shown are Cliff, Shock, Thin Ice and Tsunami Warnings)...


..........plus, one very special symbol design (green shirt, bottom right) that is honestly from a real sign. It is a Japanese Subway

informational sign. Look at it briefly, what's your first impression?


OK, ready for the spoiler? From left to right it means: Person with injured arm, person with a child, pregnant woman and person with an injured leg.

Yes, seriously. Not what it looks like, huh?!?



Hehehehehe...

Anyhoo...click on any shirt to go directly to that design
section in my shop, or go directly to the Insan Art Store main page to check out all of the new designs!

Inspiration: Lotus - 5 designs by Giltlotus

Back from Hickory Fest - spent a few days recuperating (I'll probably be blogging about the weekend on the Insan Art Blog, sometime next week) and now my husband and I are headed out for some camping, hiking, biking and rock climbing, in-lieu of the honeymoon we're supposed to be on this weekend in Ireland (decided not to go this year because of the economy). But, before I go, I better throw down 5 new shirt designs! Being in a hurry, I'm doing a 5 design quick pick and as usual, a perfect candidate for this is Giltlotus, our resident Sensei of lotus and Asian inspired motif. Let's see what's she's been up to:

Chinese Peony Swag - one color & multi-color
This design is exactly the kind of shirt design that amazes me - Gilt (aka Amy) has got an eye for creating these lusciously intricate vector designs that still somehow meet Spreadshirt's design requirements. She must put a ton of time into creating these tasteful, yet technically printable motifs. I absolutely adore the multi-color Chinese peonies, but the one color version is JUST as striking!



Wave Kamon & Japanese Snake Kamon
If super intricate designs aren't your thing, Amy's got you covered, too! She's got an amazing line of Japanese Kamon style motifs (another I blogged previously) that are simple, yet striking. The wave kamon is a beautiful, clean example of a contemporary spin on traditional Japanese styling. The snake kamon is a bit more high energy with it's crisp repetition and tribal feel.







India Paisley
Amy's got quite the collection of paisley inspired designs, too - singles, multiples, one colors and multi-colors. She also has a number that are inspired by different regions. While I love them all, I had to pick the single India Paisley as my favorite to feature here!

Well, here's the part where I usually tell you, "Go buy these in my store!" Sure you can still do that - my store.....or make your own.

However, I wanted to put the link to Amy's designs she has available in the Spreadshirt Marketplace as well. She doesn't have a full store at Spreadshirt right now, so I encourage you all to check out her Marketplace designs here, if you see something you like, just click on "place the design on a product" to get started designing your own shirt.

You can also visit Amy's other shop, Ming Tees.

Triple Feature from New Artist, Taikuodo

Introducing yet another new artist, Taikuodo (aka Andrew). Here's a quick pick - triple feature - power preview of three of his designs! Hehe.


Guinea Pig On Drugs
OK, I'll admit that this is my favorite of all Taikuodo's designs. I laughed so hard when I saw it!
Great concept. Great execution. Totally hilarious shirt.
'Nuff said.





Learn to Fly
This design stood out to me since I'm working on one that is a slightly similar idea. I think Andrew had the Foo Fighters in mind when he came up with this one. This is a really fun one to play with in the t-shirt designer - lots of great color combos to mess around with.





Love Machine
I love "Love Machine" because I'm a sucker for the triple 7's - my husband and I were married on 7-7-07 (more for the religious reference to the number). This design is a really cute take on traditional lucky 7 and slot designs. I'm curious as to whether the man is the artist himself?

Grab these shirts in the Insan Art Store, go make your own (under borrowed designs) or visit Taikuodo's whole collection here: http://kuoindustries.vze.com/

Summer Fun from new designers...

The blog is definitely due for a Summer feature and what better time than now to introduce 3 of our new featured designers? Here's a quick peek at our newest designers and a hot summer design from each...
- Summer: Everybody Loves the Sunshine by birdy27

Birdy27 (aka veggie27) is the master of slogan designs. I promised I would squeeze some in and check it out Veg, it didn't take me long! This summer design (which is available with multiple phrases), when paired with the chocolate ringer totally screams vintage. I think it just might be the 70's again every time I see it! The simplicity of the overall design and beautiful tri-color use evoke fond memories of classic iron-on designs.






- Sundown by lucentdesign

Although it's not a vector, I had to pick this one up - Sundown from lucentdesign. I love Japanese art and this design is a really nice twist on the good ol' "rising sun" motif, plus slap in the wings and you've got one hell of a modernization of traditional Japanese styling.
PS lucent, vector this puppy ASAP. It is such a nice design, I hate to see it ruined with digital printing.




- Bikini Girl by undrcentr23

Grab this Bikini Girl design by undrcentr23 and you can have a hot girl in a bikini ON YOU all day long. HA! But, seriously, this shirt is almost an instant beach classic, just add shorts, flip-flops and some shades and get ready for fun in the sun! To be completely honest, open this one up in the t-shirt designer (under "grabbed designs") and play with the colors - the design looks so neat depending on what color shirt it's on. Though I'm not usually into the orange and blue retro ringer, I absolutely adore it with this design - you can match the design blue color to the shirt, and the orange color shows through as hair - she's a fiesty redhead!!

So go ahead, grab one (or all) of these shirts in the Insan Art Store or make your own!

2x the Twisted Pleasure from Shivtees

If there's one thing I love about the designs from Shivtees, it's got to be the consistent theme of twisted sarcasm (I also dig the fact that ALL the designs maintain a very distinct style that is simple yet hugely professional!).

This first design from Shivtees is called "Gingerbread Cannibalism". The name alone is pretty catching. The design itself is SO simple, but has an extremely funny and hardy message. The gingerbread men make this shirt work for Christmas, but the sarcastic tone makes it a no-brainer for t-shirt loving jokesters to wear year-round.

This next design is "Freedom from Prehistoric Oil". I'm always looking for well-executed, environmentally-conscious designs, so this one stood out. However, I think that this design is perhaps a step above the rest of Shivtees' designs. The style is consistent with the rest of Shiv's designs, but rather than simply a play on words, Shiv takes this one and makes it a sarcastic view on a very real, very timely problem. As a design in the environmental genre, "Freedom from Prehistoric Oil" is SO timely and SO original that it stands out miles ahead of the rest of the "Earth Day" pack.

Catch one of these tees at the Insan Art Store or make your own!

Animal Double Feature by Aspa Shirts

Well, first I must apologize for missing yet ANOTHER week - I had totally meant to do a vacation post, but my lack of time got the best of me!

Of course, Aspa noticed I was gone - that's funny, Aspa is next up on the design feature queue!

So, my apologies for the wait and to make up for it, here's a double feature from Aspa Shirts.

First is the "Red Dragon" design (which I've changed to the green dragon since that's my favorite color). It was neat to see the development of this one - Aspa had posted several incarnations of it to the Spreadshirt Forum, knocking around different ideas and colors, while playing with the design requirements. I honestly love the wings - very batty! The fire is designed nicely too, giving it a very rich, dimensional feeling.

Next is "Crocodile" which comes in two versions: a "full" colored one (on the white shirt) and a "simple" colored one (on the tan shirt). Both designs are 3 colors, but the latter has much more of a minimalist feel.

I meant to ask about this, but the design immediately makes me think of the "Lacoste" alligator (or is it a crocodile?).

Both these designs are perfect for your favorite animal (or mythical creature) lover! Check them out at the Insan Art Store and as always, if you don't like what you see, you can make your own!

the Squid Shop Re-Launch by Insan Art

This may be old news since I re-launched it a week or so ago, but the The Squid Shop is all new and available at www.thesquidshop.com!!!

There is an all new section for photos of people wearing their shirts and hats (and I haven't received any yet!) - for a limited time, I'm offering a free lightweight mens or womens t-shirt with the Squid Shop graphic of your choice to the first person that sends me a photo of themselves (or someone else) wearing one of my Booty Hunter hats while hanging out the window of a broken down car (like Early in the show intro). See the "show off" section of the site for details.

Also new is the "beyond the hats" section. It contains designs inspired by the show, but not from an Early hat. Designs available include the "Sharif Badge" (sheriff star for those who spell correctly) and the "Git Yer Yankee Ass Off My Property" slogan.

AND, IMPORTANT NEWS!!! - Spreadshirt is finally offering white flex-fit baseball caps starting May 30th so in the beginning of June, look for hats available in the Squid Shop!

Get on over to the all new Squid Shop and get yourself some spankin' new squid gear (or make your own!).

Church: We Have Cookies by SpokenVisuals

Growing up I wasn't exactly "churched" (lol), but recently, I've become a fairly religious person (I married a preacher's son and I was Baptized last year before our wedding in a creek in the ghost town I'm obsessed with) and I find a lot of religious shirts and humor quite amusing - especially the geek/humor designs from Spoken Visuals.

That's why I totally got a kick from Spoken Visuals' design, "Come to Church, We Have Cookies". I had to laugh when I first saw it because it made me think of all the times I have personally used that line to get other people to come to church in general or just get new people at our church to actually stay for the cookies afterwards (OK, sometimes it's crackers, but free food is free food!)....

So, if you like the design, get one on a shirt at the Insan Art Store or Make Your Own. (and, if you're in the Mansfield, PA area on a Sunday, stop by the Mansfield First Baptist Church - we have cookies!)

Supergirl by CardVibes

One of my favorite designs I've seen from CardVibes lately is their "Supergirl" rendition. Cardvibes is known for some super-cool designs with a strong comic feel. I think this design so far is the best from CardVibes. It is a really cute, simple and original twist on an already well known design.

I have a friend that is totally bonkers about super heroes - to him, each one of our friends represents a different super hero - some on the good side (Justice League) and some on the dark side (Legion of Doom). As soon as he saw this, of course, he said he has to get one for a girlfriend of ours who he calls Supergirl (and coincidentally has a crush on...).

Get this design on a shirt today for your Supergirl at the Insan Art Store or Make Your Own!

Love My Planet by Gladditudes

Well, it is a little late for Earth Day, but Spreadshirt already took care of recognizing "Love My Planet" by Gladditudes for that (this design was featured in their Earth Day 2008 promotion - congratulations Glad!).

This is a really wonderful design, and amongst the plethora of Earth Day designs out there, this one certainly stands out for a reason. Like most of the designs I feature, this one is simple and original. It states it's purpose without any fancy bells or whistles, and though it is available in 2 and 3 color versions, it works perfectly fine in one color (especially a green design on a green ORGANIC unisex jersey shirt!).

As far as I'm concerned, everyday is Earth Day - so grab one of these shirts today at the Insan Art Store or make your own on one of Spreadshirt's many organic products (or non-organic products if that's what you fancy).

Thank God for PA & State Forest Boundary by Insan Art

Thank God for Pennsylvania! And thank goodness, the PA State Store is officially open!

Lots of new PA designs will be coming soon, but right now there are 9 available including the "Thank God for Pennsylvania" design shown at the right.

One of the designs I am most excited about is the "Pennsylvania State Forest Boundary" design. Last week I ordered some sample shirts from Spreadshirt, including a PA State Forest shirt. Well, I received the shirts on Thursday and I've worn this one 5 times since I've gotten it! It is a huge hit and with the silver flex option it looks just like the real thing!

I've included a shot of my shirt so you can see how the silver and black flex looks on a real product! The reflective quality of the print is quite difficult to photograph, so I tried to crumple it up a bit to show the metallic effect.

Check out the PA State Store today and make a statement about the state you love! As always if you don't see something you like, you can make your own (please follow the make your own link in the shop).

Electrodynamics by Insan Art

Well, last week was a busy one again and even though I had figured out which five shirts I was doing, I didn't meet my deadline!

So, to start this week's five off is "Electrodynamics" from me, Insan Art.

This design was inspired by a book a friend of mine was toting around called "Principles of Electrodynamics". I thought that the cover graphic looked a lot like boobs, so I decided to do a design from it. I mean, what goes better together than geeks and sex humor?

Even if you don't think it looks like boobs, it does make a nice geometric/abstract design...lol. The design is also available with the text "I Love Electrodynamics".

So, check it out! It's available at the Insan Art Store and if you don't see something you like, you can always Make Your Own!

PA State Store (preview) by Insan Art

Another busy week here in the world of Insan Art, another bulk post.

I opened a new Spreadshirt store recently called the PA State Store. I did this for 2 reasons: first, I had a number of Pennsylvania related design ideas that I felt warranted the opening of their own storefront and second, I've been toying with the idea of creating my own matching front end sites for my existing shops, but I wanted to try it first with a test shop.

At the moment, I'm still building the pages on my end, but things are getting close to completion. I hope by tonight I'll have the bulk of it working and online.

If you live, work or play in Pennsylvania, I have a shirt just for you! There are 9 designs available now (with many more on the way) including:

- The Liberty Bell, available plain or with the slogan "We love to show our crack"

- I Love PA, a take on the classic "I Love NY" design

- the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, available with the slogan "Our Canyon Is Just As Grand", or plain - the white tank shown uses the plain PA Grand Canyon design, plus custom text that says "Pine Creek Gorge". Custom text is completely optional and can be added or removed using our shirt designer!

- PA State Forest Boundary Marker, this one is pretty self explanatory. I wanted one on a shirt, so I thought, hey, maybe someone else will, too. As an added bonus, you can choose to have the "gray" portion printed in silver so it will look just like the real thing!

- Hike PA, available in male ("guy" - shown) and female ("girl") for those of us who would rather properly represent the woodsy ladies! Plain versions of the hiker figures are also available if you'd like to use your own custom text and perhaps advertise your favorite PA trail.

So, mosey on over to the PA State Store (if you're there before 11:59pm tonight, I do not guarantee all links/pages will function, but browsing by apparel type/design and ordering will be up and running).