Where are you from?
Suburbia, Pennsylvania
How long have you been designing?
Since I was a kid. I did some cartoons for Thrasher mag and lots of designs for local skate shops. I've been involved with the publishing industry for 25 years.
What connection did you feel with your charity J/P HRO?
A human connection. I was just amazed by the spirit of a people who have dealt with every kind of horrible tragedy; successive dictatorships and violence, abject poverty, devastating deforestation and soil erosion, powerful earthquakes, and to top it all off, cholera...fucking CHOLERA!--yet they've remained strong, vibrant, hopeful and together.
I was blown away by Sean Penn's commitment and, let's face it: balls, to take on problems in the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. Oprah recently donated funds and profiled the efforts there, and the Nobel committee will soon be honoring him as well. But it never hurts to continue to raise awareness. I'm frustrated that more people here don't understand or help these people, who are a mere hour and a half from our shores.
Tell us about the design? How did it come to be? What inspired it?
First off, I fully support all efforts to protect our oceans, and whales in particular. But it is a play on the slogan "Save The Whales", which I have always found a tad arrogant and specific to the human perspective. The whales would be fine if we just stopped killing them. So I decided to put the shoe on the other flipper, as it were. I imagined an anthropomorphic whale, perhaps a cross between Hugh Hefner and Winston Churchill, at his country club, bragging to his fellow club members on his latest philanthropic endeavor, to save the poor humans.
How would you describe your style of design work?
Early influences and inspirations were underground comix artists like Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, and Robert Williams. Or fantasy artists from HeavyMetal magazine, such as Mobius, who recently passed away. Then artists like Man Ray, Andy Warhol, Red Grooms, David Hockney. I was also interested in the more primitive styles of Reverend Howard Finster, Gary Panter and J. Otto Seibold. Later, in so-called "Outsider Art", or Street Art. This led me to a greater appreciation of my Grandfather, Russell Campbell's artwork (some of which appears as a tribute in The Wonder Years' video for "Came Out Swinging", and from whom I derived my current handle).
Right now I love the work of Chris Ware. His sketchbooks are amazing and his comix are quite cinematic in timing. I love James Heimer's work, obviously, and David Aronson's too.
Finally, let me just say this: Every band touring in the past 50 years owes a huge debt of gratitude to "Big Daddy" Ed Roth, his Rat Fink character, and his airbrushed T-shirts at car shows, races and events from the 50's and 60's. From the smallest singer-songwriter to the Rolling Stones, every act that sells a T-Shirt. Without that income, many small bands can't survive, especially in the digital age and the death of radio. Ed Roth started all that.
What do you do outside of art?
I enjoy flower arranging and Boggle tournaments. Although, I don't compete. I'm just a fan.
Where should people go to check out your work?
http://thisisshallowwater.tumblr.com/ and hopefully in the future at Phantom Hand in Philly.
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