SNAP INTO THIS ILLUSTRATION, OOH YEAH!
There are some people in this world that just scream “draw me.” And then there’s Macho Man Randy Savage—who leapsoff the turnbuckle and demands it.
I recently had the absolute pleasure of illustrating the Madness himself in a commissioned piece, and you better believe I went all in. I chose his early pink-and-yellow gear (because peak ‘80s wrestling should look like a highlighter exploded), and I captured him mid-flight, elbow cocked, coming right for ya. If you ever had the joy of watching Macho Man sail through the air with all the grace of a sequined missile, then you know exactly why I had to draw him this way.
A Little Madness Goes a Long Way
Randy Savage wasn’t just a wrestler. He was a force of nature. The voice? Gravelly perfection. The promos? Unhinged genius. The in-ring ability? Unreal. He could go from top-rope acrobat to technical wizard in the blink of an eye, making every match feel like the main event.
But here’s a fact that might surprise you—before he was snapping into Slim Jims, Savage was swinging for the fences. Yep, Macho Man played professional baseball! Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals right out of high school, he spent a few years in the minors as a catcher. When an injury took him out of the game, he did what any reasonable person would do—reinvented himself as one of the most electrifying wrestlers of all time.
A Flying Tribute
This illustration is my love letter to one of wrestling’s greatest performers—a guy who made everything larger than life, from his wardrobe to his elbow drop to the way he said, “DIG IT!” And if you have a favorite athlete, musician, or pop culture legend you’d love to see immortalized in art, you know where to find me.
OHHH YEAH!
Super Over It Mario
Crammed a bunch of older game references in. Available at my shop on apparel and other super good goodies.
I feel like a middle-aged, Italian plumber wouldn't be all that excited to be fighting evil dragons and anthropomorphic mushrooms year after year...
George Newman, Director of Channel U-62
I recently painted this portrait for Gallery 1988's Crazy4Cult show. UHF is one of my favorite movies of all time. I knew as soon as I saw the list for the show's eligible movies that I couldn't resist painting Weird Al Yankovic as George Newman.
The painting sold on opening night of the show and as a ridiculously fun and mind-blowingly cool bonus, Al retweeted the painting as well as reposting the picture on his own Instagram! I had to take a moment to breathe...
So here is George Newman, Director of Channel U-62:
The painting sold on opening night of the show and as a ridiculously fun and mind-blowingly cool bonus, Al retweeted the painting as well as reposting the picture on his own Instagram! I had to take a moment to breathe...
So here is George Newman, Director of Channel U-62:
After a lot of coercion by my Twitter friends (I'm @itsbillmain on Twitter) I'm releasing this painting as a print as well through my TeePublic shop. So if you want Al on your wall, on your shirt, your kid's shirt or even on your phone, I'd say this is probably the safest way to do it.
Check it out HERE
Catching up with the ABCs of Pro Wrestling...
Oh man, it's been a while, blog.
Let's catch you up on the ABC's of Pro Wrestling
Let's catch you up on the ABC's of Pro Wrestling
The ABC's of Pro Wrestling - B is for Bodyslam
Hiya kids!
It's Bill Main here with another installment of your favorite Rat Fink-y, weirdo, pro wrestling, t-shirty, ABC booky fantastic-ness!
Whew...that was a mouthful.
When thinking about what piece of wrestling terminology or move might best encapsulate the letter B, I wanted to go super classic. Even people with a passing knowledge of pro wrestling will be aware of the friggin' BODY SLAM! Say it with me now folks, "Baaaaaaahhhhhhdeeeeee Slllllllaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmm!"
Ahhhhhh. Thanks for indulging me in that. What are these illustrations gonna end up as? Definitely a book, hopefully some t-shirts. Got any other ideas for things you might like to see these bad boys and girls as? Let me know in the comment section!
Check out my illustration for the letter A here
It's Bill Main here with another installment of your favorite Rat Fink-y, weirdo, pro wrestling, t-shirty, ABC booky fantastic-ness!
Whew...that was a mouthful.
When thinking about what piece of wrestling terminology or move might best encapsulate the letter B, I wanted to go super classic. Even people with a passing knowledge of pro wrestling will be aware of the friggin' BODY SLAM! Say it with me now folks, "Baaaaaaahhhhhhdeeeeee Slllllllaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmm!"
Ahhhhhh. Thanks for indulging me in that. What are these illustrations gonna end up as? Definitely a book, hopefully some t-shirts. Got any other ideas for things you might like to see these bad boys and girls as? Let me know in the comment section!
Check out my illustration for the letter A here
ABC's of Pro Wrestling - A is for Atomic Drop
Hey there everybody!
I'm hoping today finds you feeling good in your respective neighborhoods. Respect to Applebee's. I think that's an Applebee's slogan- maybe not. Either way, even though the answer is literally a few finger presses away- that will have to stay the way it is. Time is of the essence here folks.
All Applebee's aside, I started a new project! I'm making a children's book (of sorts). I probably won't be reading this to my kid till he's able to decide not to pile drive his schoolmates for fun buuuuuuut maybe your kid has more self control than I perceive mine will have. I digress.
The project is a collection of illustrations in the style of an alphabet book! Ultimately, I'd like to have it printed and bound and hopefully, have T-shirts made as well.
I loved going to the Pomona Swap Meet with my dad as a kid. When we'd go, I'd walk up and down the aisles of used car parts, checking out old carburetors, beat up fenders and lenses for headlights that no one makes anymore. Yet by far, my favorite thing about going would be when we would turn a corner and see good ol' Bert "The Shirt" Grimm slangin' Ed Roth's Rat Fink T-shirts! My dad would always buy me one (they were really fairly priced and Bert is an awesome salesman) and it started my love and obsession for all things Roth.
I bring you the first illustration from The ABC's of Pro Wrestling.
I'm hoping today finds you feeling good in your respective neighborhoods. Respect to Applebee's. I think that's an Applebee's slogan- maybe not. Either way, even though the answer is literally a few finger presses away- that will have to stay the way it is. Time is of the essence here folks.
All Applebee's aside, I started a new project! I'm making a children's book (of sorts). I probably won't be reading this to my kid till he's able to decide not to pile drive his schoolmates for fun buuuuuuut maybe your kid has more self control than I perceive mine will have. I digress.
The project is a collection of illustrations in the style of an alphabet book! Ultimately, I'd like to have it printed and bound and hopefully, have T-shirts made as well.
I loved going to the Pomona Swap Meet with my dad as a kid. When we'd go, I'd walk up and down the aisles of used car parts, checking out old carburetors, beat up fenders and lenses for headlights that no one makes anymore. Yet by far, my favorite thing about going would be when we would turn a corner and see good ol' Bert "The Shirt" Grimm slangin' Ed Roth's Rat Fink T-shirts! My dad would always buy me one (they were really fairly priced and Bert is an awesome salesman) and it started my love and obsession for all things Roth.
I bring you the first illustration from The ABC's of Pro Wrestling.
A comic that basically recounts my childhood in one sitting
A wonderful friend recently asked me to participate in a little collective of artists and writers creating all ages comics. The group, called The Slumberland Digest, posts nightly installments of comics so your dreamy head can go to sleep on a good note. Follow them, as there are little differences my comic that you can only see on the IG. Here's a link: The Slumberland Digest
That being said, here is my pretty true to life comic. I was a Nintendo junkie.
That being said, here is my pretty true to life comic. I was a Nintendo junkie.
Major Tom, the Cat Happily Lost in Space
- Ground control to Major Tom...
He's taken his fish pills and he's put his helmet on. Boy does he look excited to be floating around in the vast unknown of space! Yet, he'd be even MORE excited to be drifting around on your walls at home. Tom would be right as rain if he were cruising on your nursery wall, kicking it in the kitchen or even bumbling around in your bathroom.Here's a small process of how Major Tom came to be. -
I always start with a small sketch in my trusty sketchbook! -
Sometiimes, that sketch is refined into a digital mockup so I can test colors and whatnot... -
The drawing is then transferred to birch plywood and cut out carefully with a jigsaw. -
After being sanded and primed (in this case with clear primer), the paint begins. I guess I wanted to start with the cutest part first this time! -
More refining and painting. Russian cosmonaut style!!! -
-
Pop them peepers!
-
Buttons and gadgets because....buttons and gadgets. -
What up gurl...?
Buy Major Tom here!
A little update
Wow! I haven't been updating my blog as regularly as I'd like to. Reason number one is going to be that my wife and I are going to have a baby!!! Cue the fireworks and cymbals crashing. Baby Main is due February 23rd and we're really excited to meet him. It's crazy how much I already love him even though I haven't officially met him. If you're at all interested in hearing more about our joyous news, please go and peruse my wife's WAY more updated and professional blog Sweet Lavender Bake Shoppe
In the meantime, I will try to update some more work here!
I was asked to speak at my old school, Calvary Chapel Bible College, by a good friend and former student. He wanted me to share about life, faith and Art and how those things mingle in the post-social media mayhem-ish world we live in. He teaches an Apologetics class at the school so the students were sharp. Probably much sharper than myself. Nonetheless, it was a really encouraging night and I think it was really fruitful.
In the weeks prior to speaking I was feeling pretty unsure of myself in respect to sharing. The old, "Oh, what do you have to share anyway?" monster kept popping up. It got me thinking some deep thoughts. Now cue Jack Handey.
Anyway, I was thinking a lot about how my struggle to walk in a way that's in line with my faith in Christ and according to God's word is 1. super irritating (I know what I believe but so often fail to live it out) and then 2. most certainly an opportunity for God to show His goodness.
So, although pretty frustrating, the struggle becomes one of the most potent bases for artwork. My sketchbook becomes a place where I can work out questions I'm having or play with ideas I find in scripture. Sometimes, these become finished drawings or paintings, sometimes they just stay rough pencils.
In the meantime, I will try to update some more work here!
I was asked to speak at my old school, Calvary Chapel Bible College, by a good friend and former student. He wanted me to share about life, faith and Art and how those things mingle in the post-social media mayhem-ish world we live in. He teaches an Apologetics class at the school so the students were sharp. Probably much sharper than myself. Nonetheless, it was a really encouraging night and I think it was really fruitful.
In the weeks prior to speaking I was feeling pretty unsure of myself in respect to sharing. The old, "Oh, what do you have to share anyway?" monster kept popping up. It got me thinking some deep thoughts. Now cue Jack Handey.
Anyway, I was thinking a lot about how my struggle to walk in a way that's in line with my faith in Christ and according to God's word is 1. super irritating (I know what I believe but so often fail to live it out) and then 2. most certainly an opportunity for God to show His goodness.
So, although pretty frustrating, the struggle becomes one of the most potent bases for artwork. My sketchbook becomes a place where I can work out questions I'm having or play with ideas I find in scripture. Sometimes, these become finished drawings or paintings, sometimes they just stay rough pencils.
 |
| From James 1:5-8 |
Matthew 17:20
I had this in my sketchbook for a long time and just recently did a quick paint over. Here's the inspiration for it: He (Jesus) said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Mr. E pity the fool that doesn't eat their vegetables
Seriously, he does pity those fools.
He's part of a little something I've been working on that's in the final stages. Updates soon(ish)!
He's part of a little something I've been working on that's in the final stages. Updates soon(ish)!
Notes from church June 23rd 2014
Oh hi there! When my wife and I go to church I love taking notes. I typically get a sketch or two done that corresponds to the sermon in some way. Interpreting the sermon visually as well as with traditional notes gives me a fresh way to understand the text.
Watch
The Twitter homie John Hendrix does this at his church too-his church notes blow my mind.
This week was Psalm 56:
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;fn
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;fn
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, thatfn God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Here's my sketch:
And here's the final image painted.
We attend RealityLA, here's a link to the sermon associated with this drawing:
The Twitter homie John Hendrix does this at his church too-his church notes blow my mind.
Conan O'Brien and his mad monster party
I posted a little sketch for the Twitter account @sketch_dailies yesterday. The prompt was #CONANHAIR so we had to hook it up with anything and everything as long as it had Conan's famous coif. Here's mine:
Cast Out
This is something I wanted to draw after thinking of one of my favorite vignettes from the Gospels.
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8:26-39
Other accounts from the Gospels flesh out different emphasis from this story but what strikes me the most prominently in this account is the authority by which Jesus commands the demons to come out of the man. It's been said that the specific death of these pigs, which were intended for food, did more for the people in this area (and us, by way of the story) than if they were eaten. Why? It shows, as a declaration, that Jesus has authority over the forces of darkness. Jesus also said, "In the world you will have tribulation (troubles). But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) He is able to free us from darkness because he has authority over it and has already overcome it.
Slave to Spirits
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy inGreek mythology. His name, thought to be a theonym in Linear B tablets as di-wo-nu-so shows that he may have been worshipped as early as c. 1500–1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks; other traces of the Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete. -thanks Wikipedia!
I really doubt that Dionysus worship has fallen off the popular scene guys. Have you heard literally any songs for the club? Not any club, The Club, the one that everybody sings about...
Dionysus is still alive and kicking in our culture. And just like so many of our ancient vices that have stayed with us through the years, ultimately the worship of it will lead to ruin. We get so enamored with the imagery of fun and joy even though we see the flip side being so many lives totally jacked up by alcoholism.
The apostle Paul, speaking to an audience in Corinth (a society that dealt with many of the same problems we do today) said, “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. Following Jesus has taken me from a life dominated by ritual madness and totally serving myself to a place where I can begin to echo the apostle saying, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful...and I don't want to come under the dominating power of anything."
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Oh hi there!
*insert apology for never posting to blog*
Yup, I'm back. It's been a while for sure but not for lack of busyness. That's busy-ness, not to be confused with business. But that's not a bad thing. We (my lovely wife and I) have been reevaluating our priorities as of late and it's been a time of good growth. So, that's about as transparent or deep into my private life as I get on my blog. Meet me in real life and we'll talk deeper, how about that huh?
Anywho, on the way home from Trader Joe's one day, I was listening to the song Way of the Wolf by the band Dynasty. It's a song that comments on the biblical Devil, the way he works and spreads lies- his modus operandi. The part that really stuck was how the wolf doesn't just flat-out lie in an easy-to-distinguish way, he spreads a counterfeit truth that sounds good. I had heard the song so many times but it hadn't hit me the same way. I started to think of visual ways to represent the ideas in the song that would not only be fitting to the meaning but also kind of fit the look of the music scene it came from. Dynasty is a hardcore band hailing for Los Angeles *represent* and so their aesthetic is going to look a lot different from how I'd approach the same idea if it were going to be in a conservative magazine article...although I'd probably still push that my way a bit. ;)
*insert apology for never posting to blog*
Yup, I'm back. It's been a while for sure but not for lack of busyness. That's busy-ness, not to be confused with business. But that's not a bad thing. We (my lovely wife and I) have been reevaluating our priorities as of late and it's been a time of good growth. So, that's about as transparent or deep into my private life as I get on my blog. Meet me in real life and we'll talk deeper, how about that huh?
Anywho, on the way home from Trader Joe's one day, I was listening to the song Way of the Wolf by the band Dynasty. It's a song that comments on the biblical Devil, the way he works and spreads lies- his modus operandi. The part that really stuck was how the wolf doesn't just flat-out lie in an easy-to-distinguish way, he spreads a counterfeit truth that sounds good. I had heard the song so many times but it hadn't hit me the same way. I started to think of visual ways to represent the ideas in the song that would not only be fitting to the meaning but also kind of fit the look of the music scene it came from. Dynasty is a hardcore band hailing for Los Angeles *represent* and so their aesthetic is going to look a lot different from how I'd approach the same idea if it were going to be in a conservative magazine article...although I'd probably still push that my way a bit. ;)
I dressed the wolf up in a sheep's skin but even under that he wears the robes of the clergy. Throughout history, the name of Jesus has been used by people to commit horrible acts. These men and women fleeced (in some situations, still fleecing) their flocks in order to get a little dishonest gain while purposefully misinterpreting or even ignoring the Scripture that one would assume they professed. Laid on top of a blanket of Scripture from the bible that warns against false teachers coming into the brand new group of Christians, the wolf holds a chalice of blood. Lots of good folks died because of some bad people. If you call yourself a Christian, know the bible. It's what our faith is built on and God will correct our always-going-the-wrong-way hearts through it.
Post-It Show 9 preview
It's that time of year again!
The Post-It Show 9 is right around the corner. Here's a selection of pieces I submitted this year. They're characters from some of my favorite games.
These are all painted with acrylic paint and ink on standard 3"x 3" Post-Its. The Post-It Show is held at Giant Robot 2 gallery in Los Angeles and is curated by the dynamic duo that is Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson.
The Post-It Show 9 is right around the corner. Here's a selection of pieces I submitted this year. They're characters from some of my favorite games.
These are all painted with acrylic paint and ink on standard 3"x 3" Post-Its. The Post-It Show is held at Giant Robot 2 gallery in Los Angeles and is curated by the dynamic duo that is Mark Todd and Esther Pearl Watson.
Banzai Pipeline
Heavy waves with a shallow, super sharp reef break. The Pipeline break is treacherous in Hawaii.
According to the great and powerful Wikipedia: "it got its name in December 1961, when surfing movie producer Bruce Brown was driving the North Shore with California surfers Phil Edwards and Mike Diffenderfer. Brown stopped at the then-unnamed site to film Edwards catching several waves. At the time, there was a construction project on an underground pipeline on adjacent Kamehameha Highway, and Diffenderfer made the suggestion to name the break "Pipeline". The name was first used in Brown's movie Surfing Hollow Days."
By the way, Surfing Hollow Days is highly recommended viewing material!
Here's a Hawaiian warrior, charging Pipeline with no fear in his eyes.
I've been thinking about the 60's and 70's Ed Roth and Roth industries T-shirts that my dad started buying for me as a kid and how that look definitely informed my decisions when drawing characters or even designing. For better or worse, I love drawing this way.
According to the great and powerful Wikipedia: "it got its name in December 1961, when surfing movie producer Bruce Brown was driving the North Shore with California surfers Phil Edwards and Mike Diffenderfer. Brown stopped at the then-unnamed site to film Edwards catching several waves. At the time, there was a construction project on an underground pipeline on adjacent Kamehameha Highway, and Diffenderfer made the suggestion to name the break "Pipeline". The name was first used in Brown's movie Surfing Hollow Days."
By the way, Surfing Hollow Days is highly recommended viewing material!
Here's a Hawaiian warrior, charging Pipeline with no fear in his eyes.
I've been thinking about the 60's and 70's Ed Roth and Roth industries T-shirts that my dad started buying for me as a kid and how that look definitely informed my decisions when drawing characters or even designing. For better or worse, I love drawing this way.