Making the thing! Kickstarter Initial Funding Goal Reached! And More....

 Happy 2022! 

Boy howdy, what a complete dumpster fire of a couple years its been. 

But I refuse to lament, and continue to push forward and make cool new things. 

Example A: 

I made an Enamel Pin late last year. Meet "FlapJack - Classic"! 

I conceptualized the design in an insomnia-laden stupor in February of 2021 and began working towards its realization. I obtained an ipad with procreate and taught myself how to turn my designs into workable files, something that my work has been severely lacking in for decades. 

I listed 50 on my ko-fi shop: 

https://ko-fi.com/bkartmerc

And they sold out in four days! 

So I launched a kickstarter: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bkartmerc/the-flapjack-pin-color-variant-series

And I just reached my initial funding goal with 12 days to spare. 

I am eternally grateful that I have been able to get myself here. 

I take nothing for granted, and I know that life is only going to get more and more difficult as the years drag on. 

So I'm going to try and make as many good things as I can. I am restocking my stickers, my art prints, and I have grand plans to expand my brand in 2023. So many projects, merch and more on the horizon. 

And I hope you all join me on the weird, wild journey. :) 

Thank you, 

Brett Kelley - Professional Creative

You can follow me on Instagram at bkartworks

You can follow me on Facebook at "The Artwork of Brett Kelley" 

You can follow me here. 

You can follow my ko-fi shop at the link above. 

You can support my kickstarter right now! Until March 4th! Get your pins, stickers and art today! 

Riptide

I never learned to surf. 

And yet here I am swaddled in fathoms, 

combing with pink, raw claws pawing through waves as I stammer 

and suffocate, 

gasping for air through waterlogged lungs, 

flung from the warmth of the sand into the upper rungs 

of pungent, furious foam and salt, 

like brined blood bubbling up in my throat 

like so much rubble, 

you can only tread water for so long until your legs tell you 

there's trouble and yet, Here I am, 

panting, 

pleading with the sea trying to float, 

screaming to breathe, seething through salene teeth, 

as time turns fleeting with release climbing up my kicking feet,

soaked,

over ten times over with no sign of a boat in sight, 

my eyeline shows no one was right, but since no one can be wrong, 

our collective reality is simply our sorrow's song, 

ignoring the slamming whitecaps in our faces aching for relief

that never comes, even in tumultuous, fevered drowning, 

whether innocent or guilty we are still simply sounding like 

fish in an ocean's wake, 

corpses rotted and rolling up to shore, as seagulls sickly cackle, 

How many more spasms of air shall we struggle to take while the wake rakes against the napes 

of our backs,

trying to wake up but the pressure goes slack, 

looking for anything that could pull us back, but there's nothing, 

There's nothing, 

The land is on fire, the living are screaming in violent laughter, 

and the ocean suddenly seems like the most comfortable tomb, 

that I could ever hope to be buried in, 

The womb of the planet, take me back to the dark, the wet, the void, 

for it is a suitable place of rest for a man who never learned to surf, 

who was found wanting by the bored and brutal, 

may I find peace with the barrier reefs, 

the acid purging my bones of my flesh, turning me into a calcified, barnacled 

crucible worthy of discovery;  

I never learned to surf.

 

 

Tiny Sketchbook: Surreal Estate Edition

I have been fortunate to have been able to submit work to the Sketchbook Library in Brooklyn, NY over the years.

It's a fantastic organization with a number of amazing creative endeavors for artists to participate in.

I chose for this year to make a "Tiny Sketchbook" using my "Surreal Estate" concepts. Here is a small sample of the work from that project: 

The Sketchbook itself has about 60 pages total, and you'll be able to find them on the Brooklyn Sketchbook Website soon.

You can also see my very first Sketchbook submission here:

https://www.sketchbookproject.com/library/S178250

Pins, Podcasts and Pals!

If you have followed me in any capacity, you know that I frequent an amazing podcast comprised of my closest friends called Opinions May Vary. (omvpodcast.com)

This month I got to spend some time checking out Five Points Fest in Brooklyn, NY and it was a blast and a half!

Be sure to check out the link to listen to our near 2 hour recap of the event here:

http://omvpodcast.com/episode-377-with-brett-kelley-the-2019-five-points-festival-recap

I've been having a lot of fun exploring the enamel pin world, from artists to products and the act of turning 2D designs into 3D pieces of wearable artwork.

I've been sluggish with a myriad of projects lately, so I'm hoping getting stuff like this out will help get my art house back up and running.

More to come, I promise!

"Surreal Estate" (2017-Present)

Here's a new fun series that has materialized over the past month or two. Based on some throw-away sketches that were rooted in Bonebrook, this work has expanded to include an ecosystem of life. 

Made a "Surreal Estate" Vol. One Zine that is available for sale, Five bucks a piece! 

You can order them through the ways you can contact me: 

- Paypal

- Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/bkartmerc (this is new!)

- Other ways

Here is a sneak peek at some of my favorite pieces, with plenty more on the horizon: 

Here are a few other pieces that are from bigger pages, and will more than likely appear in the up-and-coming "From The Well" art book: 

Zines, Fiends and Drawing machines

Wanted to make a quick post about events coming up this month.

Saturday, April 13th at The Flywheel in Easthampton, MA:

2019 - Pioneer Valley Zine Fest

I am a big ole nerd about zines. I love collecting them, I love seeing pieces of work that are independent and true to form of a unique point of view. I enjoy the unfiltered ideas and creativity that zines can capture. Heck, I even wrote an article on them about a year ago: 

http://www.thalo.com/articles/view/1382/expanding_horizons_zines_and_zine_culture

This will be my first excuse to delve into zines and indie publishing, and I will be showcasing some fun work and ideas that are acting as a bit of a lead-in to my bigger project at the end of the month. 

No intention of blowing the spot, but be sure to look out for some art-centric zines, as well as a few more literary pieces as well. My collection of zine-based wares will be severely limited edition, and will only be available at this event, so be sure to snag them if you can! 

Back to it, 

BK 

"From The Well - 2019" Art Book!

After a successful debut in February at Comics-N-More in Easthampton, the "From The Well - 2019" Art show is primed and ready for its next evolution:

A collectible printed Art Book! 

A kickstarter campaign is slated for the beginning of April. The book will measure in at 7"x 10" respectively, clocking in with 34 pages including a front cover.

The Front Cover

This product will showcase a number of different illustration series I've been putting together since late 2017-early 2018, including the following: 

"Vernal Occipital" Series (Gothic Fantasy)

Been having a blast working on these drawings and pairing the whimsy and fantasy of flora and fauna and mashing it up with the gothic, grim skulls I've been drawing forever.

"Stellar" Series (Galactic Gothic)

This has been a bizarre, weird illustration series that I think will yield in either a pin or sticker set. Possibly some vinyl? We'll see.

"Ouroboros" Series (Occult/Gothic)

Been doing some very subversive linework dealing with some pseudo-socio-political overtones. They are interesting, and hopefully make a statement worth hearing.

"Creep" Series (Gothic Architecture)
Continuing my pairing of organic with mechanical elements of drawing and design. 

There will be several more, with each series having between 6-8 illustrations per segment in the book. 

A kickstarter campaign will be launched in the next few weeks once the book is scanned and properly quoted.

Campaign rewards will be vast and include various discounted art works, as well as new merch! Cannot wait to hit the ground running once the last few pieces fall into place.

Stay tuned!