Because artists can work while starving but are useless when completely starved, OAuthentic's an SD-based e-shop promoting up-and-coming local creatives by screenprinting select works on natural tees/ bags/ etc., slinging them to the less-talented public, and returning 20% of the take to the garment's designer, who now kind of wishes he'd listened to Mrs. Johansen's lecture about math in the real world instead of doodling make-believe dinosaurs...even if that tricerastegaraptor is the reason he's getting a confounding percentage of money in the first place. Highlights from SD's underground include:
Chief Shark: From North County artist Rhett Kemp, this vice-ridden cartilaginous predator is donning a headdress, dreaming of a lime-spiked beer, obviously wielding a tomahawk, and a bit more obviously licking on some cotton candy, though don't bother asking for any as it's clearly an Indian Giver. And a shark.
SD Suicide: Because life clearly isn't the same without Bip Roberts in the lineup, designer Michael Elstad colorfully demonstrates what happens when a small, nose-less cartoon Pads fan ends it all.
Work Together: Depicting a super-lanky dude scaling a floating blob of body parts and faces, this piece serves as a fantastic reminder that through teamwork anything is possible without stepping on tons of people you'll never make it to the top. Unless you sleep with Bip Roberts.
Published: September 27, 2011 at 4:00am EDT