Look who’s become a patron of the arts. I’m like a modern day Lorenzo DeMedici, but instead of commissioning portraits of the elite of the Italian Renaissance, I commission drawings of King Kong — a sublte difference.
A few weeks ago, some of the artists I follow on Twitter were offering custom illustrations at a discount. I’m cheap, and I love illustrators, so I pounced. Here are the new masterpieces added to art wing of my man cave…
If I was to ever make a T-Shirt for Cool & Collected, I think this would have to be it. Tom Krohne nailed it with this illustration of King Kong playing with some 80’s toys. How great is that? There’s the Ghostbusters firehouse, Castle Grayskull, and the TMNT Terrordrome and party wagon! In one hand, Kong holds a Cobra HISS tank, and in the other you might expect to see Fay Wray, but not here, nope! He’s got a grip on She-Ra, April O’Neil, and Cheetarah. Such a great picture — Thanks, Tom!
Kevin Cross drew this amazing pen and ink drawing of King Kong caught in a playful moment. I love it! It’s like Kong’s reliving that big fight he once had with Godzilla through the use of a hand puppet. The detail on this piece is fantastic and it’s really special to have an original piece of art of this caliber in my collection. Thanks, Kevin!
One of the nicest guys you will ever meet is Chris Tupa. A while back, from reading my blog, Chris knew how much I love the iconic 50’s space man, and sent me an illustration that hangs in a spot of honor in my man cave. Now I have two more Chris Tupa originals to join the collection. The King Kong picture above perfectly captures the iconic scene of Kong scaling the skyscrapers of New York City.
Chris actually painted a few King Kong illustrations and let me choose my favorite, which was the one above, but it was tough to not choose this one…
I told Chris that my kids wanted me to get this one of Kong chasing the Bananas in Pajamas, but they don’t have a Paypal account, so I got to choose. Chris, however would not let my boys down, and he sent this one for my boys to enjoy. Chris, you rock!
Words really can’t express how happy all of these drawings make me, and I strongly suggest that if you have some money to burn, hit up an illustrator for a custom drawing or buy one from their existing stock. You will have a one-of-a-kind item for your collection that is specifically geared towards your interests. Tom Krohne, Kevin Cross, and Chris Tupa all do commissions regularly, so if you like what you saw here, go visit their sites and get an original masterpiece of your own!
Awesome King Kong pics! You have a great collection! Thanks so much for the post!!!
Thanks again, Chris!
Awesome, indeed! I love the Kevin Cross piece because it is a reverse of something I have in my living room. I have an old Shogun Godzilla that’s missing his firing fist, so I stuck an old Donkey Kong puppet on his stump to hide it.
Ha! That’s great! I have a Raydeen with a missing fist, maybe I need to find a sock puppet for him. 😉
These are Awesome!
. . . and terrifying – how did they manage to get into my head and draw my dreams?