Obscure's Look Back on 2013

Being a fairly new artist, 2013 was very important for me.  It was incredibly busy, which made it very stressful at times, but it more importantly allowed me to share my work.  I was able to participate in nine group exhibitions, and show examples of my work at four conventions, two of which I was an exhibitor.  In addition to all of that, I had the chance to do some commission work.  It was my first year participating in group exhibitions, so I was completely humbled by the chance to participate in so many shows.  I was especially proud to be welcomed into the Toy Art Gallery’s family of artists.  I was able to create some of my very best works, participating in these shows, including “Bad Bad Ganesha” for Beefy & Co’s, “So BadAss, It’s Good” custom show and “Numa-Ju,” which was my custom Pollen Kaiser for Toy Art Gallery’s anniversary show.  

I also spent time making customs to develop signature styles to add to my repertoire, including my take on the ever-popular Dia de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead and my “From the Mind of Madness” series/collection.  I discovered a very inexpensive 7” Hello Kitty DIY at Michael’s and created my first Dia de Los Muertos custom and my love for this particular genre was born.  I knew that I had something special with this custom.  Hello Kitty was already very popular and sugar skulls are currently one of the most popular art forms, so to bring the two together was only natural.  I know I wasn’t the first to bring the two together, but I definitely found my own unique take on the concept. 

I went on to create numerous other Dia de Los Muertos customs, including my 31” Darth Vader, which I premiered at Comikaze Expo and then at Designer Con.  Given its size, it was an instant attention grabber.  This concept had been done many times already by various artists, including my friend, Denise Vasquez so I knew I had to make sure, that my version was my own.  I was glad with the positive feedback I was receiving on the piece, but I was completely humbled when someone actually bought it.  The compliment was more special, because that someone that bought it was another artist.  To go beyond special, that someone was none other than, Sket One. 

SketOne, holding his Vader de Los Muertos

Dia de Los Muertos Customs



I knew then, more than any other time, I was on the right track.  I closed my year out with two morecustom 31” Vader de Los Muertos’, a few additions to my “… Madness” series, and the Blamo Anniversary show at Toy Art Gallery. 

"From the Mind of Madness"

 As I look back on my 2013, I sometimes regret that I don’t have one niche that gets all the viewers to stop and say, “Hey that’s Obscure’s work.”  I know that it’s an artist’s niche that gets him/her recognized, as well as gets patrons to collect his/her work.  On the other hand, I strive to be diverse and multi-talented.  I am not saying that I think I am better than any other artist because I don’t limit myself to a specific style, because I know I’m not.  I know that many of them have very long commission lists that keep them very busy.  I wish I had more people collecting my work.  One of my goals for 2014 is to expand the reach of my work, by participating in shows across the country and in other parts of the world and develop my current concepts.  I’m already off to a good start.  Here’s to another great year!  Stay tuned…