New Starburst designs.....

Here's a new Vertical format alternate colors.  Just having fun and needing some Starburst variety.

Also added this Moai/Tiki version to our eBay sales.

Starburst Penguin: An update

Okay, I must admit a sleepy penguin, however "cute" called out to me. She (or he) needed a strategically placed prop of interest so.....A Franciscan Earthware Starburst grand mug seemed to fit.

Now, go have some hot chocolate.

Tiki Starburst Retro Modern Atomic Splendor

Just found another site with lots of retro modern coolness. She has some real class and of course, lives in Tyler Texas.....just a hop skip and jump from Big D.

Any-who......The law of attraction seems to be heavily at work these days. Retro fabrics abound and my atomic Kitty muse is paying this daddy-O lots O visits.

I'm jazzed because I have happened upon the Franciscan Starburst China on eBay.....and felt suddenly VERY behind. Where have I been? So I have "acquired" some new pieces, not without a little grief to my bank account, no less. But I just couldn't resist anything that looks like George Jetson would have eaten off of it....let alone Donna Reed.

Okay enough.

Inspiration Part 2

People often ask us what inspires us to draw or paint certain things. That's an easy question with lots of answers. But it can be clearly boiled down to doing what we enjoy and what we surround ourselves with.

Of all the subjects, art is our own personal entertainment. It is derived from the stimuli we interact with everyday such as world history, pop culture, tv and movies and so on. Dan is an avid teacher and Bible and Theology Historian. His fascination has become an inspired part of the business at Peeler-Rose teaching parents and children the importance of peace and inclusion. Inclusion is a concept that bleeds over to our various art subjects, all of which is intended to touch the lives of mnay people, no matter what age group they may fall into.

What inspires art at Space MOnkey? All the above. At Space MOnkey we have a sense of creating happy spaces whether in your mind or in your home. Our art automatically evokes a feeling of forgotten childhoods and a the retro past of roadside Americana. We know that people love and are inspired by a visit to the zoo or your favorite comic book shop. We combine so much of what we love into out art.

Dan Peeler and Charlie Rose have worked together for over 26 years in the film and TV business as both animators, graphic artists and puppeteers. Currently the team creates cartoon-styled graphics, classical illustration in both digital and fine art fields.

The team connected as business partners back in 1983 having formed their children’s entertainment company (Peeler Rose Puppet Shows) after many successful years as co-producer/animation director from 1968-1978 for 22 animated segments for Sesame Street and the Children’s Television Workshop along with board member of the era, Bill Cosby.

The team fine-tuned their cartoon abilities producing animated commercials for Kelloggs, Dr. Pepper and many others.

In 1989, they combined the animation and puppet companies to form Peeler Rose Productions LLC, developing and producing programs for many clients including, The Disney Channel, PBS and The Learning Channel. The half-hour format programs began in the mid-1980s with one animated short teaching about racism called Oliver Jones for Simon & Shuster.

During this same period, Peeler and Rose designed and facilitated children’s and family workshops in puppetry and art. The next milestone came in the early 1990s when we were contracted to re-design Chuck E. Cheese plus the entire cast of supporting characters, and to create their first Corporate Character Style Guide, which is still in use today.

Capping this list, the team co-produced and directed a live-action puppet/costume character series with famed singer/songwriter Bobby Goldsboro on his hit TV series Bobby Goldsboro's Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon for PBS and the Learning Channel, still airing on the Inspiration Cable Network in various markets.

Peeler and Rose are currently the Artists-In-Residence at the Old Jail Art Center in Albany, Texas; Partners-In-Education for United Church of Christ and members of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators).

Comfort food, comfort art

Since I was very young, I have always drawn or had a pencil or crayon in hand. Today, the crayon is more likely a mouse with the wire still attached, but I'm still drawing pretty much the same stuff; cartoons, super heroes, plants, flowers, shrubs and non-sense art; also known as abstracts.

I've spoken with many artists who grew up in absentee father homes. Dad lived with us, but he was present to eat, sleep and yell. We never knew what kind of mood Dad would be in so my siblings and I would retreat to our bedrooms, when not eating dinner or watching TV.

TV. There lies the most common theme in so much of my thoughts and art. TV had so much influence, most days I can barely escape it. Not that I try. TV was the escape we needed because 1960s television was all about escape. Who knew? It's old news now, but for me, if I wasn't watching TV, I was drawing on inspiration. Characters add fantasy situations that stayed in my head long after Mom and Dad finally divorced. But there is where my training as an animator was born. The art time for me was comfort time. A time to retreat and dig deeply into all the things that protected me from the reality we had survived.

My first TV experience happened very young before I had a brother or sister. It was the George Reeves' Superman. Although I don't remember much in the way of dialog, I remember he flew, he had a cape and he was real. I never saw the comics or cartoon incarnations until much later. So, Superman became one of my first super hero obsessions, followed a few years later by Batman, an even bigger obsession. Just before Batman hit the airwaves, we moved to Northern California; Vacaville, California to be exact. Dad worked for the "flying colors," Braniff Airlines. These were some pretty good times. We'd run inside every time we knew Batman was about to come on. 7:30 pm PCT. Dad hated Batman, more than that I think he may have hated anything we liked on TV which was pretty much everything until Sanford and Son. We all watched that, but you can forget Bewitched, the Munsters and My Favorite Martian.

The mid-1960s also had a slew of Saturday morning cartoons, which was pretty much the only time you could watch any cool super heroes. It was probably here my mind exploded and my life as a decent, normal person destined to be a car wash worker was over. The cartoon parasite had drained me of my free will to the point that all I could think about was becoming a character designer, color-stylist and later, a full fledged animator.

My world revolved around times I could get away with drawing instead of homework and painting instead of sleeping. It was my wonderful world of color all rolled into my head.

Today, I'm still extracting those images and finding there a lot more room for new things. But all roads lead back to the retro future where people fly, coyotes fall off cliffs and never get hurt and little boys can grow up to live there dreams every day.

See and buy Charlie Rose's Superhero inspired work at here, at The Space Monkey Shop.

Surely you've not forgotten about Space Monkey, that cute, loveable, cuddly monkey from space that brings color, fun, and light to boring places, have you?

Space Monkey will brighten up even the darkest night with his whimsical, fanciful, and beautiful art, but now, he can be worn, and bring all this goodness to you! Now, you can show off Space Monkey with anorganic shirt, a hoodie, a bib, an organic onesie, a water bottle, even a messenger bag! There's so much to choose from, it's bananas.

Soon, we'll add more art & more gear that will have you going ape. Think Beatles meets Space Monkey...enticing, isn't it?

Days of Deborah Painting details

In the Days of Deborah

Deborah was a prophet who judged Israel within the time period between Joshua and Samuel, before the people had a king. She sat under what became known as the Palm of Deborah in the hill country of Ephraim. All of the people came to hear her wise counsel and judgments, and the land was at peace for forty years.

In this depiction of Peace in the Promised Land, besides Deborah and her Palm, you will find:

• The hive of industrious bees. Bees were symbols of wisdom in Deborah’s day and her name means “bee” in Hebrew.
• A child carrying a jar of milk, which along with the hive, reminds us that the Promised Land was called the Land of Milk and Honey.
• Two children dancing in the background in front of a representation of the Tree of Life; reminders of another idealized time.
• All of the young people are God’s Children of Israel, who are the hope of the future nation.
• The older boy shepherding the goat is Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz and future grandfather of King David.
• The little girl with her back to us is Hannah, the future mother of Israel’s final Judge, the Prophet Samuel. Here, Hannah pauses to take note of wise Deborah’s good example.