Art by Richard Koehler

Art for the AIGA Flea market

2011-11-18T20:44:00.001-06:00

Creating more art to sell

T-Wrecks

2011-11-09T10:59:00.001-06:00

Ink marker on construction paper and geometric pattern in white india ink.

Ink & brush

2011-10-28T00:38:00.001-05:00

I bought some India ink and used it for the first time since college. It was fun to use but I was still being very tight with the brush work.

Custom Painting by Souther Salazar

2011-04-04T22:31:00.005-05:00

My amazing wife Christine bought me a painting by one of my favorite artists Souther Salazar. I started buying some of his sketches and doodles on Etsy.com and then my wife commissioned this piece where we requested our dogs to be drawn plus a bear (no reason there). I couldn't have been more stoked with the results. I like to think of his stuff as a young Pablo Picasso meets Radiohead.

Crunch Chum Crack Chow Chew Chomp!

2011-03-05T18:58:00.006-06:00

A local Dallas artist Brad Oldham commissioned me to paint these on canvas after seeing the plates I painted for a charity auction. They were a gift to his wife for Christmas, so in addition to planning and having a wedding, I was painting these late at night. It was well worth it though and I am proud of the results. Each one is one foot square painted with acrylic.

Birds and Cherry Blossoms

2011-03-05T18:17:00.003-06:00

This 8 x 8 painting was done for my friend's Liehao and Lisa's first born Alexis. They did not want a typical baby painting but something that she would always have in her room. This is a merging of the abstract with nature, a style I have been exploring for awhile. I think this is one of my favorite pieces I have done to date.

Illustrations for a Good Cause

2011-03-05T18:11:00.005-06:00

I did these two illustrations for a friend who is getting a kidney transplant and was trying to raise some money for the operation. Both are mixed medium pieces using different pens, markers, pencil and watercolor pencils.

Letter Sketches

2011-03-05T18:05:00.004-06:00

Some illustrations I did on letters to my nieces and nephews. It's fun to do quick illustrations in times when Im too busy to do any other art.

Random Doodles

2010-11-01T21:09:00.003-05:00

I started to do random drawings on my lunch break and have rediscovered the joy of mindless doodling.

Blue Plate Special

2010-09-29T09:59:00.004-05:00

My boss George asked me if I wanted to paint "a plate" for the AIDS Interfaith Foundation, so I said sure only to get a box full of 6 plates and some ceramic paint. I hadn't painted on a plate since kindergarten so I was stressed to have 6 plates to basically paint in one week. What is shown is the pre-fried look and in the end, they were much more saturated and glossy. Hopefully they were sold at a good price that would go on to help many people in need.

The Round 6 Poster

2010-06-02T23:21:00.004-05:00

I just designed this poster for Space12 for their upcoming Round creative event. Check it out if you can.

Abominable Etsy Store!

2010-03-28T21:35:00.003-05:00

Finally I a started the Abominables Etsy Store to sell my artwork and prints, plus future t-shirts and other unusual products. Check it out! Let me know if you want you'd like to see me sell.

Good for Grasshopper

2010-03-28T21:29:00.002-05:00

My friend Frances started a blog Good for Grasshopper for graphic design students that need help finding a job or advice to become a better designer. She started a category called 6 x 6 where she asked designer to illustrate their advice. Here is my 6 x 6 drawing I did.

Tee Designs!

2010-01-22T16:16:00.005-06:00

I'm finally getting to work on some tee designs. This isn't a final design, but it is a start. It's a five color print which could be quite pricy for the small runs I will be making on these. Comments please!

the round 4

2010-01-22T16:10:00.004-06:00

I will be painting at the Round #4 this January 29th from 7:30 - 10:30. At the end of the event my painting will be auctioned off in a silent auction. Come check out the live music, poetry, graphic design presentation and myself painting. I have no idea what I will be painting, but I will be painting something.

East Austion Studio Tour

2009-11-14T18:20:00.009-06:00

I took part in my first art show at Space12, part of the East Austin Studio Tour. I stayed up late the last couple nights preparing for the show, so Im happy it's all up. The first day is over and the response has been good! For this show I completed "Smogtastic" which I started three years ago and finally finished. I will post better pictures of this plus the "Heart vs. Robot" Series which were 12 pieces I made just for this show. I also posted a picture of graffiti artists at work on the outside of the studio. Thanks to all who came out, please come back often to see what else I am working on.

Munny

2009-05-06T00:50:00.004-05:00

This is a 4' munny I finished using markers and ink. Crappy photo, so I'll try to reshoot soon.

Cherry Blossoms and birdies

2009-04-08T00:25:00.003-05:00

My friend from work commisioned me to paint something with flowers and a Japanese feel for her first babies room. I was real happy with the turn out of this triptych with cherry blossoms and birds. Each panel is 12" squares.

The Interflavor Family

2009-04-08T00:04:00.006-05:00

Like the old saying says, some people like chocolate and some poeple like vanilla. Personally I like both and think they're better together. This is a painting devoted to my love of ice cream with some twists and sprinkles.

Beer, Hearts and Brains

2009-02-02T21:35:00.003-06:00

I lost my camera so I can't upload the last painting I did. I haven't had much time either lately to paint, so Ive been scanning in some sketches and playing with them in Illustrator. Pretty ridiculous...

Buddy and Rex

2008-07-31T20:47:00.004-05:00

I just finished this painting for my nephew. My sister commissioned me to do this 18" x 24" painting. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out since I usually paint for cartoon in look, but the realistic look was a nice outcome. My nephew was pretty stoked about it too.

Knocked the YOLK OUT!!!

2008-07-16T22:24:00.004-05:00

Another crazy idea that popped into my mind with two eggs boxing. I whipped out this 11" x 14" pretty quickly. I hope to paint a couple more in this series soon. Its hard to see but they are wearing NEVER CRACK brand boxing gloves. I'll post a better photo later, the flash distorted the image somewhat.

Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-azy!

2008-06-21T20:41:00.008-05:00

This is alarge painting (4' x 2') that I was inspired to paint, another one of those moments when I picture in my head popped in my head and I felt the need to paint it after a couple weeks of thinking about it. It seems like an overwhelming painting of despair, but it isn't meant to be taken like that. I will let the viewer think what they like. I few weeks later I made this wave that I cut with a scroll saw courtesy of my dad.

I've got the eye of a tiger...

2008-06-21T20:32:00.005-05:00

I think a trip to Urban Outfitters inspired this 80s themed painting, that plus the 3.5" diskettes that hold a whopping 512K. Ridiculous I know, make sure to check out the tiger braces.

Vin 48

2008-04-03T23:56:00.003-05:00

This is a poster I did for a good friend who opened a fine dining restaurant in Avon, Colorado (Base of Beaver Creek mountain and about 10 miles from Vail). It was a project that wasn't a planned project, that happened to turn out pretty good. It started with them asking me to add color to another picture and it turned into an illustration of their building, which one night later I used in the poster design. It has the old simple posterized style commonly used in the 50s and 60s. If your in Colorado, stop in and try the custom chef created menu. www.vin48.com

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

2008-04-01T00:00:00.004-05:00

This is a computer illustration for my newest nephew, Ben Wiliams. I have not decided if I will paint this or print it on some nice paper and frame it. He was born in December, so the sooner the better I think, plus my sister has already commissioned me to paint another painting for her other son Colin. I was happy with how this turned out in the computer though, plus I think its something that he would like for a long time

The Bible verse is from Jeremiah 17: 7-8 : But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

A partridge and a pear tree...

2008-03-26T22:15:00.005-05:00

A lot has been going on the past couple weeks and I have not had any time to do any painting or even do freelance work. Between helping my girlfriend move, SXSW, a bachelor party in Costa Rica, then my friend's wedding, plus Easter, I have not had a free weekend since February.

This is a four panel painting that I did for my mom for Christmas. I dont think these birds are partridges, but I needed a title and Im too tired to think of a better one. Its in a similiar style I did for my sister. Hopefully I'll have a chance to paint some shortly and finish a couple paintings.

Birds of a feather...

2008-02-09T00:23:00.001-06:00

A slight departure from my usual painting style, I thought this might be a cool painting with several cliches all together. Its kind of departed from a dove in its Mr. T starter kit to become a flock. I plan on painting a cityscape in the background eventually, possibly some more birds. One of my larger paintings to date at 3' x 4'.

Top of the Morning

2008-02-09T00:10:00.001-06:00

Just want to say I was sober when I thought of this idea and sober when I painted it, but there might have been a few drunken moments in between.

Wonder Woman! Part 1

2008-02-08T23:55:00.000-06:00

When I was leaving the gym the other day I saw this colored xerox copy in the bushes. Some little artist must have dropped. I thought it was pretty cool, so I grabbed it and plan on doing a painting around it. I don't know what yet, it might just be an ode to Wonder Woman. Maybe I'll paint her invisible jet on there, we'll see. Let me know your ideas!

Redonkulous

2008-02-08T23:34:00.001-06:00

Re•donk•u•lous (re-donk-u-lus) adj.
1. significantly more absurd than ridiculous to an almost impossible extreme; without possibility of serious consideration.

2. fitted to excite absolute ridicule; intentionally crazy and silly; completely absurd and laughable.

I thought my characters on these cans worked well. I found all these aluminum cans in my parking lot, so I recycled them in a different way.

How 'bout this guy!

2008-02-08T23:34:00.000-06:00

I was sitting here watching Letterman and Lenny Kravitz sing trying to think of a good title for this old painting I did a couple years back. Letterman walked up to Lenny and is saying good job and he points at the drummer and says "how 'bout this guy." I thought this kind of applied to this painting, thats not a subtle scarf. I want to do a third painting to make it a series.

Happy Campers

2008-01-16T00:46:00.000-06:00

I did this painting about 2-3 years ago. It originally started off as marshmellows that are leaving the campsite for a hike. I thought this was ironic in itself because marshmellows are usually known for being burnt at the stake when camping. I thought I was done, but I realized that I had another 8 inches to either cut off or paint on. I didnt have a saw and cutting wood with an X-acto knife is not easy, so I started painting. This idea of the flames bombarding the happy campers came out of no where. I went with it, framed it and have it hanging up in my place. Still one of my favorites.

The heat is on

2008-01-16T00:45:00.000-06:00

Holy Camper Conundrum! Whats a marshmellow to do? Hopefully more in the Happy Camper series to come.

I like cold beverages!

2008-01-16T00:44:00.001-06:00

Like the guy at the baseball game says, "Cooooooold Buuur, Cold Buuuur." That was my latest inspiration in this painting. I found an old board with paint flaking off, bolted it together, and started painting these little characters. For some reason I put some cool kicks on these guys. Maybe they need to run from the law or they're going to do a little break dancing. I don't know. To quote G Love, "Before you serve my drink please stick it in the fridge, because I like cold beverages."

Knuckleheads

2008-01-16T00:41:00.001-06:00

Few shots courtesy of Erica Ellis of my painting setup at the time and the KidRobot Munny I call Knucklehead. There is also a painting with him and his gang, "the Knuckleheads."

Animal Planet

2008-01-08T23:51:00.000-06:00

More paintings I did about 4 years ago when I was developing my painting style. These were gifts for my nieces and nephew at Christmas. When I was a kid, I always liked to draw animals, especially horses. For some reason I had model horses in my room all the way till I was a senior in high school. I look back on this and I'm embarassed. I wonder how many of my friends made fun of me for this and the possible reputation I might have had at school. Why didn't any of my friends just pull me aside and remind me I was 18 and still had model horses in my room. WHY?

Abstract

2008-01-08T23:32:00.001-06:00

A painting I was commissioned for. This is an abstract style I am working on. Each canvas was 12" x 12."

Du Du, Du Du...

2008-01-08T23:29:00.001-06:00

Another painting on cardboard that I did a couple years back of a shark character I was sketching alot at the time. I was calling him Chum, but I think I need a new name.

F-bombs and the IRS

2008-01-08T23:17:00.001-06:00

These paintings were experiments on trying to make myself paint faster. The top one is of my character "Brikhead" trying to defend against the F-bomb. The eagle painting originally started out as a release of my anger against the IRS. In the background I pasted alot of IRS documents that evenutally got covered up. There's alot going on, but thats life right?

Fire and Ice

2008-01-07T00:31:00.001-06:00

This is one piece that I will eventually cut down to be two different paintings. I have a sweet vintage gold frame that will look good on the flame character.

Finally!

2008-01-06T22:51:00.000-06:00

I always wanted a to have a web page to show my art, but I wanted to build a cool website all around these paintings. This I figured would take time away from actually painting, so I decided to post them here, as well as blog about them. Hopefully good things will come about from it. Please send me your comments.

Thanks,
Rich

All work copyright Richard Koehler