Thru The Gateway...

So I ended up with a happy accident on this little series of photos. As my new Nikon proved to be a piece of shunk for the third time in a row, I turned to my iPhone to capture the first idea I had for the Peyote photo I had just set up. The iPhone shot turned out pretty neat-o so I decided to ditch my elaborate and studious setup with the full rig and go completely hand held via my Hipstamatic app.  So with no further adieu, enjoy a journey through… The Gateway

Pot

Pot

Peyote

Peyote

Mushrooms

Mushrooms

Acid

Acid

Syzurp

Syzurp

Crystal Meth

Crystal Meth

Bath Salts

Bath Salts
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Video Shorts DVD  &  I Dedeuce It's A Deuce


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Come get a copy of my Toy Video DVD for $10 in my shop!!   ...and enjoy this new video of ‘I Dedeuce It’s A Deuce’

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One thing leads to another...

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Resin toy designer and illustrator, Joseph Harmon, is one of my favorite artists you need to get into. I’ll forgive him for living in Indiana, a state which has been behind some of the worst driving experiences of my life. Which leads me to wonder how much an artists locale has an impact on their art. And one could argue Joseph’s trippy and intensely humorous characters are a subconcious reaction to said traffic and the state’s insane, unbridled love for truck driving.

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Over a year ago I saw an article featuring Joseph’s figure Lydia, the cyclops plant with squid-like tentecles, and I knew it would be a perfect fit for my ‘Gateway’ series featuring plants transformed by the effects of drugs. Joseph was totally open right up front and offered to custom paint the figure to the color scheme I had in mind. All this may seem pretty simple but this kind of friendliness is a rare thing amongst the artists in the toy world.

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Later on Joseph reached out to me to photograph the Lydia toy that he had made for me for a book that is coming out at the end of February featuring Joesph’s work and a whole slew of well known toy designers titled, We Are Indie Toys, by Louis Bou. Enjoy Joseph’s art look for another posting once the book is released.

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Never Tatsed So Bad

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Dang, what it be my kidz? YO who took this photo? Not me! How cute is this? This was taken by the toy designer, Paul Shih. He sent this to me when we traded some prints after the NY Scarygirl show for Nathan Jurevicius. I adored his print and reached out to him in hopes for a trade. It all went down great and I love looking at his print on my wall everyday. And I love this photo he took. Probably could give me a run for my money if he kept at it.

This is the piece I traded Paul for, it’s so cool!

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Here’s the video I had made for the show… enjoy


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PLAYED IN CHINA

In the middle of 2013 I was contacted by a Chinese magazine doing a feature on toy photography. I was pretty excited and glad to be a part of it. Little did I know my photo, Coffee Is A Drug, would grace the cover. The questions I were given were in pretty broken English and after having the article translated there were a few things that were interpreted a bit off, but all-in-all I’d say it was a fun and interesting experience. Next stop, Japan ;)

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It's Always Cloudy In Philadelphia

Here’s a great video from Friends With You. These guys really know how to have fun with art.

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Tripped Up...

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I can’t really describe the feeling I got one late night this past October when I went back into our dimly lit sun room and sawed of the foot of this Ronald McDonald figure. It was a combination of this really macabre, psycho, serial-killer feeling mixed with a healthy dose of surprised, fresh amusement and twisted joy in the lengths I have gone for a laugh. Even heading to McDonalds at midnight to buy a 20-piece box of nuggets was a bit off-putting. And yes, I ate a few of them with Bar-b-que sauce.

See the finished piece titled,
McBetes in my new series 3 of photos.

A little side note: So I shot the video of the nuggets and then left the nuggets in the fridge for at least a week before I photographed them. They looked exactly the same as they did the night I brought them home. I imagine that would have remained the same for at least a month. McGross.
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I get by with a little help from my friends

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“This goes out to you know who you are...” -Doom!  Sometimes there’s a toy I just can’t find on my own and I come across a collector who has that hidden gem. These toys in the image above were all borrowed from such cool collectors who I’ve enjoyed getting to know along the way and in the process from concept, collecting, to capturing the final image.

Recently after shooting that tiger Labbit I had the awkward experience of reaching back out to the collector to share the finished product in which a baby tiger had to pick out the older tiger who molested it. Pretty heavy stuff when you’re typing it out in an email trying to explain that it should be funny, or cute... A couple weeks went by with no response from the person I borrowed the Labbit from. I was like, yeah, I get that, not what she had in mind. Finally she responded and loved it! Phew!

That said, if you are reading this and have some far out, hard-to-find toys, I’d love to hear from you. I offer to cover shipping for the borrowed toys both ways, guarantee their safety, and send the owner a signed #1 print of the edition. Think about it.
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Killer Klown Kustomz

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Get a load of these Klowns!!!  I came across these awesome custom clown figures, based off of the klowns from the cult movie, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, on Ebay a few months ago and knew it was time to start featuring custom toys in my photography. It’s a door that needed to be opened. There’s an entire world of custom toys that I’m just becoming more aware of and really impressed by.

These custom toys were done by a recently married couple, Amber & Maurice Guy! They call themselves Horror House and are known for making replica props for classic horror films such as 'Halloween' and 'Friday the 13th, as well as several other munny's. If anyone is ever interested in anything, or is looking for custom orders please contact them via email.
lilbitsxx@yahoo.com.

You can see one of their clowns in a new photo in my third series titled,
The Greatest Show On Earth. If you’re a custom toy artist and would like to see your figures in my work, hit me up.
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Down The Rabbit hole

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In the spring of 2012 I reached out to Nathan Jurevicius and shared some photos I had taken of his figures. This can be a really rewarding and exciting experience not knowing how certain artists will react. Nathan responded really positive and threw out the idea that he would enjoy seeing a photo featuring just his figures as I tend to mix up my photos with lots of different artists’ toys. I was all for it and came up with the idea of doing an Alice In Wonderland photo considering he had figures resembling the infamous rabbit, Mad Hatter and a slew of wild creatures that would fit the theme. But there wasn’t a clear choice for a blonde Alice. I wishfully asked Nathan if he would create a new figure to fit the role but instead I ended up getting some yellow paint and customized one of his existing figures.

The piece was included in a huge tribute show to Nathan’s amazing Scarygirl creations for his 10 Year Anniversary on Halloween in NYC at Toy Tokyo’s Underground Gallery. This show featured the who’s-who of the toy designer world and I was honored to be a part of it!

There will only be 5 of these that will ever be printed so pick one up before they’re gone!
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Scale Model

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In the summer of 2012 I shot the album cover art for my friends in the band, Scale Model. I made friends with the founding couple, Meg and Dave Johnson, in Chicago and even went on tour with them slapping my bass. (pick actually) They moved down to Nashville a half year before my wife and I in 2010. And they helped paved the way by hosting us while we looked for a place to rent. Scale Model has really gotten their sound fine tuned and have become a really impressive pop-rock band to see live. Expect to hear more and more about them in near future.

Dave, the lead guitarist, has been making custom guitars for years now and was just featured in Premium Guitar magazine and in an upcoming issue of Guitar Player for his clear, lucite guitars that their band wields on stage. Even the guitarist and signer for Jeff The Brotherhood plays one of Dave’s lucite creations and has done so on Fallon and Conan! Way to go Dave.

Shawn, their bass player, and I have become great friends and have been kicking back about every other Sunday watching The Walking Dead. Can’t wait for tonight’s mid season finale!!! Anyhoos, here’s to the future success of really great group of friends and musicians who deserve some more limelight. You can hear their latest ep on Bandcamp, here.
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You Got Sanbarnied

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Don’t ask me how or why, just smirk and laugh. I know it’s gross, and a little too far over the line for even me. Somewhere, somehow after the big Sandusky scandal made news I must have saw a Barney toy and though how much he looked like Sandusky and the rest as they say, on an old Conan sketch, was “IIIIIIINNNAAAPRRROPRIATE!!!”

And then after I watched a friend of mine get some roman candle fire balls shot down his back this past fourth, I shouted, “you got Sanduskied” to which everyone laughed and repeated and then laughed some more, and I thought silently inside my largely unformed and immature brain cavern, that’s what I’m gonna call my photo. And once I found that little kid with the dinosaur shirt it was game on!

So here you go. This one is gonna hide out here on blog in hopes in doesn’t get me fired from day job, lol.
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Put It In A Box... They'll Love it!

Here’s a gem I’ve had buried for a bit... SNL Digital Short fans this one’s for you ;) Happy Father’s Day!

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Pop Worlds Collide, History Made

Two great minds pop alike. Recently I featured another artist’s work in my piece, MOMA, Dada, Gaga? (seen below). That artist’s name is none other than Troy Gua, a pop god making his mark the art world by doubling up numerous pop icons in his Pop Hybrids series, and by creating “portraits at the speed of technology” in his Colorbandz series. He has even taken his craft into a world much like my own by creating his own little Prince toy figure that he has created tons of props and signature clothing for that he then photographed in his Le Petit Prince series. When reaching out to get Troy’s blessing to feature his The Burt and Ernie piece, I found a kindred spirit that I instantly bonded with! Lookout world!

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Above you can see a crazy hybrid photo I made by fusing both of our self portraits, and below that his Portrait of Ernie and Burt as Colorbandz™.
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Ken Fight Club raises $ for AIDS/HIV

I’m proud to announce that I was able to help raise over $500 in an art auction with the Cascade AIDS Project, or CAP, with my photo, First Rule Of Ken Fight Club... Don’t Tell Barbie! Thanks to my new friend Miguel Fernandez, of the Wilmerding Art Group, I will be doing a number of upcoming shows on the west coast later this year and then beyond. I met Miguel through an art sale on Fab.com and since then have bonded over our love of pop art and world domination, or something like that ;)

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CAP's mission: To prevent HIV infections, support and empower people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, and eliminate HIV/AIDS-related stigma. “The largest contemporary art auction of its kind in the Northwest where we raised over $570,000 to fight HIV/AIDS. For over two decades this event has raised critical funds to help Cascade AIDS Project in serving its mission. We hope you’ll mark your calendars now for the 24th Annual CAP Art Auction on April 27, 2013, when we do it all again at the Historic Memorial Coliseum.” For more information visit this link.
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DAWN OF DAYTONA

Aw man, it’s here, the season finale of the Walking Dead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here’s a fun little photo I tweaked out in P-shop to make it a bit more dramatic ;) Happy Zombie Night! I’ve uploaded this a bit juicier so you can download it as your wallpaper. Taste the blood!

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SPRING SALE & LOWERED PRICES!

It’s 2012, there’s only so much time before the zombies eat your wallets or something horrific. So I’ve lowered my prices on all of my prints and decided to have a month long sale in honor of the robins and blooming buds.
Use code:
SPRINGBIRDS2012 for an additional 33% off.

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Earth Movement: San Fran

I was so fortunate to be asked to be part of a art fundraising show called Earth Movement in San Fran this March at Kokoro Studio! The shows centers on the forces of nature and features a who’s-who of toy designers in collaborations with young emerging artists and a few special guests including Gary Baseman, Luke Chueh and myself to name a few.
The show will be raising money and remembering the 1 year anniversary of the Japanese tsunami of 2011.

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I did a whole play on the Japanese 5 Elements. A somewhat loose interpretation to say the least ;)


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Spirits of the Mountain

So I’ve been meaning to put this post up for a while now. I’ve been Michael McDonald’n as I Keep Forget’n... Anyways, my great bud Jeremy Brautman from Jeremyriad.com brought a print of mine to Bigfoot’s show a few months back titled, Spirits of the Mountain, where debuted his cool new Fujisan figures. We gave him a copy to keep and he signed copies for me and Jeremy. So very, very cool.

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100 Problems

In honor of Black History month I’ve finished up this new farce. It’s my play on Jay Z’s, 99 Problems. This dude’s lady is definitely his 100th problem!

100_Problems
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I Heart Pop

Thank you Warhol!! Happy New Year!!

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Swingers On A Train

If Hitchcock and Jim Henson and Charles Schulz were alive today, I’m sure I’d be getting a letter! I kinda couldn’t resist it. Kermit just kills it for me. This is a b-side of a black and white photo I took entitled Strangers On A Train.

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2012 Calendar!

Don’t freak out... but 2012 is almost here! If you ever needed a calendar, this is the year!! Time to see what so many ancient cultures and religions saw coming in THE FUTURE!! I looked into the future and saw lots of people farting. This pup is sold out but I have a couple copies left if you’re interested. Email me.

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Jokes...

A bit simple, but this is the first funny toy photo I took back in 2007. This was before I even owned a vinyl art toy. I have a part two photo for this planned where Optimus and the cyber woman in the photo are standing over three half robot, half human babies. Optimus stands there denying they’re his.

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Spies Remix Video!!!!

Check it out. This is a stop-motion animation video I made for a song I helped write for a band I was in in Chicago called Readysuits. The song is called Spies. I then remixed the song and had a friend of mine, Christian Hage, add all the tight special effects. You can hear more Readysuits at: myspace.com/ readysuits/

Song: Spies (remix) Artist: Readysuits from Ryan Roberts on Vimeo.


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It's A Trap

Welcome to Rex. I plan to do a whole blog series of this dude. Stay tuned.

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The Hair, It Talks To Me...

So here’s a lil’ treat for ya’s... This is what I would call a B-side photo of a Bigfoot photo I recently took. You’ll have to wait a while for the Bigfoot image but I thought you might enjoy this. It’s kind of hard to see but he’s selecting a hair cut from a book. It’s titled, “Number 49... Wonderful Choice.” If you look real close you can see them holding scissors.

Number_49---Fantastic_Choice
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Mmm... Tastes like summer

Alright, time is passing me by and I’ve got to get rollin’. I’ve got so many new ideas and toys to shoot. It’s time to start crankin’ it up and out. Hit me up if you have any ideas for toys photos or any weird ideas in general. About this photo, I own this blue robot. Trying to sell him axchually. My birthday’s coming up... um.... would love those Daft Punk figures! (Photo: Daniel & Geo Fuchs)

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Welcome To The Terrordome!

Hey friends, Hey world,

The new site is up! Still making tweaks but it’s almost there. That said, I’ve been hella-busy in Nashville since moving here from Chicago last July, 2010. Tons of new photos and new videos. The videos are turning out great. So yeah, things are looking up. I should have some tasty new merch to purch on the shop page soon. As well as brand new 3D photos.

Ryan Roberts Toy Photography Studio
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