Karl Frey Illustrations

Play Cards Like a Woman

Squirrel Snail

Skull Crab and Crystals

Forking Bull Combined Mark Logo Treatment

Mushrooms with Eyes

Beetle with Snapdragon Pods

Forking Bull (iconic Logo)

This piece was done by painting a face on white adhesive vinyl that was prepared with a spray gesso. I used gouache with oil glazes over the top. I then cut the face apart into areas of similar color and pealed them off and rearranged them like stickers with space in between.

This rather odd image was made from a sketch I did in front of my apartment in Pasadena. It's a nice mixed metaphor for the cocktail of most young people's lives, colorful yet self-destructive.

AAAAARRRRRHGGG!

The first rule of Fight Club T-shirt... You can hardly make out that this is two guys fighting. I believe violence should be celebrated by pop culture but obscured in heavily stylized design. Here's a detail: !http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/3682357-2-fight-club-detail-2.jpg!

Whoever said that you can never be too obvious must of designed this shirt... and he did, 'cause it was me.

Holiday Card (Rhino)

What madness hath the garden wrought that bests the vibrant jewels of earth, the candied jellies bedecked in robes more grand than rules the heart

The message we all need sometimes...

“ I believe in a world where we can make and share art that will help us find our way back to one another.”

“ I believe in a world where we can make and share art that will help us find our way back to one another.”

“ I believe in a world where we can make and share art that will help us find our way back to one another.”

Cute Cryptids are the best cryptids...

The Muses: Pop as an invitation to contemplation In my ‘Muses’ series, I portray the nine emblematic inspirations of Love (Billie Holiday), the Epic (Bruce Lee), History (Homer), Music (Louis Armstrong), Tragedy (Kurt Vonnegut), Spirituality (Maya Angelou), Humor (Mark Twain), Dance (Martha Graham) and Cosmology (William Blake). I’ve depicted my subjects on rag paper with watercolor and wax crayons while obscuring their faces behind nonsensical graphic texts meant to somewhat frustrate the viewer, obstructing personal connection to the likeness. To me, this illustrates the energetic dilemma of meaningful creative communication amidst the quicksand of mass media consumption and instant gratification. http://www.karlfrey.com

I wanted to make an artwork with the message I need to remind myself of... now more than ever.

This shirt is designed digitally from adapting a conceptual piece of origami. It certainly reflects the times and our newly cautious relationship with money. Here's a detail: !http://images-0.redbubble.net/img/art/size:ularge/view:main/3919984-2-bear-market-2-detail.jpg! ...And a kind, bearded stranger: !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.4990694.1.flat,550x550,075,f.bear-market-sample.jpg!

Who can fully comprehend the immeasurable impact of this one pious and ridiculously prolific cryptid of a man? For a composer of such complex and intricate mastery to comport his personage with such humble and spare simplicity is a conundrum for the ages.

The Muses: Pop as an invitation to contemplation In my ‘Muses’ series, I portray the nine emblematic inspirations of Love (Billie Holiday), the Epic (Bruce Lee), History (Homer), Music (Louis Armstrong), Tragedy (Kurt Vonnegut), Spirituality (Maya Angelou), Humor (Mark Twain), Dance (Martha Graham) and Cosmology (William Blake). I’ve depicted my subjects on rag paper with watercolor and wax crayons while obscuring their faces behind nonsensical graphic texts meant to somewhat frustrate the viewer, obstructing personal connection to the likeness. To me, this illustrates the energetic dilemma of meaningful creative communication amidst the quicksand of mass media consumption and instant gratification. http://www.karlfrey.com

The Adventures of Mary Grizzle Illustration

We get by with a little help...

The Muses: Pop as an invitation to contemplation In my ‘Muses’ series, I portray the nine emblematic inspirations of Love (Billie Holiday), the Epic (Bruce Lee), History (Homer), Music (Louis Armstrong), Tragedy (Kurt Vonnegut), Spirituality (Maya Angelou), Humor (Mark Twain), Dance (Martha Graham) and Cosmology (William Blake). I’ve depicted my subjects on rag paper with watercolor and wax crayons while obscuring their faces behind nonsensical graphic texts meant to somewhat frustrate the viewer, obstructing personal connection to the likeness. To me, this illustrates the energetic dilemma of meaningful creative communication amidst the quicksand of mass media consumption and instant gratification. http://www.karlfrey.com

Here I attempt a portrait that is energetic, colorful, and showcasing the subject's undeniable beauty while also capturing her steely resolve and determination towards her beliefs and social causes.

Halftone Separated Graphic Illustration

The Muses: Pop as an invitation to contemplation In my ‘Muses’ series, I portray the nine emblematic inspirations of Love (Billie Holiday), the Epic (Bruce Lee), History (Homer), Music (Louis Armstrong), Tragedy (Kurt Vonnegut), Spirituality (Maya Angelou), Humor (Mark Twain), Dance (Martha Graham) and Cosmology (William Blake). I’ve depicted my subjects on rag paper with watercolor and wax crayons while obscuring their faces behind nonsensical graphic texts meant to somewhat frustrate the viewer, obstructing personal connection to the likeness. To me, this illustrates the energetic dilemma of meaningful creative communication amidst the quicksand of mass media consumption and instant gratification. http://www.karlfrey.com

I just couldn't resist...

The Unicorn (Alone)

Part of my Angry Elementals series

“ I believe in a world where we can make and share art that will help us find our way back to one another.”

“ I believe in a world where we can make and share art that will help us find our way back to one another.”

“ I believe in a world where we can make and share art that will help us find our way back to one another.”