TUNE Fan and Slime

Its been a great summer so far. I know a lot of times I do not make my blog really personal, but sometimes I just feel like writing. All summer I have been working on spending a lot of time making new designs, promoting my work, and creating new products for the online store. Ultimately I'm preparing and anxiously awaiting my next trip to Japan later this summer. While blogging, working, etc, I have been intentional on keeping up with my favorite blogs, and street fashion web sites, not only to keep up with what's new, but to be inspired. (For example the ridiculous amount of updates on my tumblr last month).

One thing I've noticed recently that a lot of bloggers and street fashion web sites are posting images of people with unnaturally colored hair. Sure, there are always kids who choose to put blue, purple, or green in their hair, but it seems especially within the past couple of years, Its been popping up on the blogosphere a lot more. Growing up, unnatural hair color was always a bit frowned upon. I can understand why, as most of the people I came in contact with had it done in a way that looked really cheap and trashy. However, recently I've seen a lot of really cool hairstyles that mix bits of color into hair.I love it when its done tastefully.

As a lot of you know, I'm not only really inspired by street fashion, (especially in Tokyo) but by the late 80's, early 90's, and grunge-y Nickelodeon types of cartoons.
In the latest issue of FRUiTS magazine, a lot of people particularly had green in their hair. Personally, I love it! Its like the Nickelodeon slime/ninja turtles look incorporated into daily life.




One thing that keeps me interested and constantly looking at Japanese street fashion is not only the fact that it is always changing, but mostly because a lot of it is just kids that truly want to mix their hobbies, inspirations, and even favorite items into their style. Personal expression can be fun when its not about impressing somebody by the brand you wear, but wearing what you truly love, because it is an expression of you.

These new illustrations are inspired by things such as the early Rugrats cartoons, FRUiTS and TUNE magazine, New Wave 80's surf and skate textiles, Oversized glasses, and SLIME! Why not?

New Items in the Online Store!

NEW ITEMS IN THE ONLINE STORE! Check them out at the Lactose Intoler-Art Official Online Shop


http://lactoseintolerart.bigcartel.com

Tavuchi and Her Bear Bag Illustration

This is a new illustration I did of the awesome Tavuchi, owner of the "Spank!" used/vintage clothing stores in Tokyo, Japan. I'm sure most of my followers are familiar with Tavuchi and her shops if you read my blog often, but if you are new, Tavuchi is a very influential person in the Tokyo street fashion scene. One thing that I like so much about Tavuchi is that she has always stayed true to her concept of late 80's/early 90's cute, with her own personal twist. Many people have become fans of her stores and personal style not only in Tokyo, but internationally as well. It is amazing how when street fashion trends change, she is not defined by them, but still adapts and makes something interesting and relevant to people in Tokyo today. However, she is definitely a trend starter as well, as you can see many people on street fashion web sites and magazines that love what the "Spank!" brand has become, with a tribe of followers who also make it their own. The inspiration for this illustration is the matching green streaks with the green patched bear. I imagine it as an unzippable belt/fanny pack with stuffed animal parts patch worked together. I would love to see someone make it! If anyone does anything like this, I can possibly feature you on my blog, and could even deliver it to Tavuchi for you! :)



Recently, Tavuchi was also photographed by FRUiTS magazine wearing a Lactose Intoler-Art necklace. The issue is the July issue (7/11, no. 168). Pick up your copy locally if you live in Japan, or at Japanese book shops such as "Kinokuniya" in major cities around the world. The Lactose Intoler-Art necklace Tavuchi is wearing It is currently sold out, but please check out my other original necklaces here at my OFFICIAL online shop: Lactose Intoler-Art Online Shop
http://lactoseintolerart.bigcartel.com



LINKS:

Tavuchi's personal blog: http://yaplog.jp/spank-tab/
Tavuchi's DROPTOKYO blog: http://droptokyo.com/blogs/
FRUiTS Magazine Official Online Site:http://www.fruits-mg.com/index.html

My Left Hand Hurts!

Today was a free day for me! Right now, I'm preparing to go back to Tokyo as soon as possible..With Tokyo in mind, I've been spending a lot of my free time connecting with friends in Japan and figuring out plans, as well as constantly looking at street fashion images and any kind of art related to Tokyo.. Last night I had the itch to create some new work around 3AM, and spent much of today working as well, because I was so inspired! I don't know if any of you can relate, but sometimes creativity can come in bursts, where you want to just keep drawing/designing/singing/writing, etc without stopping!

So that's why my left hand hurts. Ha.

I plan to go to Tokyo by at least August. One of my plans is to work with a volunteer organization that is directly connected to helping people that were affected by the earthquake and tsunami which recently happened. I also can't wait to see my friends, and hopefully make new friends and conections as well! Here are some of the new illustrations I've came up with within the past few days.

Tavuchi+Lactose Intoler-Art Featured

Recently I sent a thank you package to the amazing Tavuchi to her shop in Koenji Japan, to thank her for being so amazing and getting into FRUITS magazine for the second time. The package consisted of 80's treasures and things that I hoped would match her taste that I had found, such as pinback buttons, glasses, and some small vintage clothing pieces as well. I also included a necklace I did that was inspired by Tavuchi's stores and concept, and before I knew it, she was out walking the streets of Harajuku not only wearing the buttons and glasses I sent, but the necklace as well.

Suddenly, FRUITS magazine uploaded an image on their twitter of Tavuchi filling out the form to be in FRUITS magazine. She told me that other sites snapped her as well. So far, Tokyo Fashion (www.tokyofashion.com) is the first one online to upload the pictures. Be sure and check them out!





Tavuchi also did a cute mini-photoshoot on her own blog. Thank you! You can access her blog here: http://yaplog.jp/spank-tab/


I'm also excited to announce that the official launch of my online store is on its way! There are some items currently for sale, which you can purchase at http://lactoseintolerart.bigcartel.com







I want to thank Tavuchi for not only representing my work all over the world, but for truly liking my work. For the people that I am actually inspired by to like my work is a dream come true. Look forward to more Lactose Intoler-Art in the near future!

Purple Hair!

Sobakasu

**Please expand images for highest quality!
"Sobakasu" is the word for freckles in Japanese. On this newest illustration, I was inspired by that. My sister has always had lots of freckles on her face, and for some reason I always thought that was unique, and really cool. I remember seeing an old section in a Japanese magazine from around 2006 where Japanese girls were drawing freckles on their own faces as kind of a make up trend. I've heard some people say that freckles mean somebody is weak, but for me, I think it is really cute and attractive when girls have cute freckles! So to all the freckle faces out there, this illustration is for you! I also wanted to do a couple of new photo illustrations. The one with two girls on it is at one of my favorite places to walk around and watch people in Tokyo, called "Cat Street" in Harajuku. A lot of street fashion photos that you see are taken right here on this street.

アートスタイル+Lime Green Lips

This morning at about 4:30AM I suddenly had creative juices flowing through my brain, and I made a couple of new illustrations. They are both kind of inspired by the idea of "Aato-kei", or "Artistic style" as I've mentioned a bit before. Its kind of a concept that I think could do well in Tokyo. I've seen some people with similar style in TUNE magazine, but its very rare. Elements of paint splatters, overalls, late 80's, early 90's, and geometric shapes. Lots of oversized proportions and big glasses, miss-matched, and colorful. Think previous art movements like the early Bauhaus movement and those unique styles you see kids wear that go to art school. These two illustrations do not necessarily match that concept, but they still contain elements of "Artistic Style." Who knows, maybe it will be the next Japanese fashion subculture tribe.

New RIDSNAP Illustration

One of my FAVORITE Street Snap web sites as many of you know is http://www.ridsnap.com . Their scouts always find the people and trends that are on the most cutting edge end of Tokyo style. Tonight when I was checking their site, I noticed my friend was on the site! I was really excited to see her. We became friends through Tavuchi, as she was one of her regular customers. I decided to do a new illustration of her here!

Be SURE and check out RIDSNAP at http://www.ridsnap.com if you haven't been yet.
リッドストリートスナップ) 新しいイラスト


**Photo credit RIDSNAP

Happy Valentine's Day!

New Art first featured on www.madewithjapan.com. Be sure and check them out! It's been awhile before I've had a post with new illustrations. After Tavuchi left, I've been busy trying to keep up with the online store, as well as making new stuff to sell locally. Let me know what you guys think about these specific illustrations. What do you guys wanna see more of?

Made With Japan

Hey guys! I just wanted to announce something that I'm VERY excited about. Right now and in the near future, I am going to be working with a project/web site, called "Made With Japan." Made with Japan is a bilingual web site that features people, places, artists, designers, and shops that influence or are highly interested in modern Japanese culture. The web site hopes to make people aware of a side of Japan that most people may not be used to seeing.

My new section of the web site is up here:
http://www.madewithjapan.com/news/2011/lactose-intolerart-made-with-japan-new-artist/

I will be contributing as time goes by. I was excited to get chosen after submitting some of my artwork to them after reading a great article on a store I love called "Nincompoop Capacity."

I am thrilled to be working with Made With Japan. Please continue to check out my posts there and what I'm doing. This is just another avenue to spread my love of this aspect of Japanese culture with the world. Thanks to all who have helped make this possible, I will keep everyone posted.



よろしくおねがいします！

On the Street

Street Fashion Illustration-Hairbuns-Badges-Purple--The Virgin Mary-Shibuya-Drinking Juice-Tabi Boots-Inspiration

新しいイラスト NEW Illustration RIDSNAP inspiration ストリートファッションイラスト

I've really been loving RIDSNAP's street fashion shots lately. I decided to do an illustration of one of my recent favorite

If you guys don't already know of RIDSNAP, check them out at http://www.ridsnap.com



今私はfurryのファッションが好きです.彼女のスカーフは素晴らしいです.The colors are great. I like the accent of orange cheeks and the orange button.

New Illustrations

I hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday Season. I have had the pleasure of going back to my hometown and just relaxing with the family. After my art show and getting lots of merchandise prepared, I really needed it. I'm really excited that two local shops are now carrying my work. I'm hoping that the online store will come soon as well. For anyone around the Oklahoma City area, check out DNA Galleries in the Plaza District, or Bohemian Spirit Vintage on West Britton Road (I had blogged about this shop before.)

I've really enjoyed a lot of the street fashion shots from RIDSNAP lately. I've noticed a lot of this early 00's look coming back. In Tokyo, it seems that once something is outdated, its cool again. The high platform Converse shoes were inspired by pictures I've seen online, and came into this illustration. I'm also really liking all of the unnaturally dyed hair on kids too. I hope you like these new illustrations. Someone had posted before that they were having trouble with comments. If anyone experiences this, it would be great if you could shoot me an email, and I will try to get it fixed.




*Also to note: I have decided to shut down my other two blogs to the public because I now have a TUMBLR. THIS BLOG will remain, it is the main source for my illustrations. I want a blog with original content though, and I felt like the other blogs were mostly just images, so I want to post them on my tumblr AS I'm inspired and as I go, connecting it all together. Check it out at http://lactoseintolerart.tumblr.com

Follow me!

Photo Illustrations

KATAKANA CRAZY!

Recently, I've had so much going on getting ready for the art show. I'm so excited, and I have gotten so much stuff made. Its been super exciting getting to spend time just making tons of art. I really get a thrill out of it. I'm still working towards getting my degree though, so I can get over to Japan as soon as possible to live that "live there for at least one year" dream.

In the meantime, I sit in class. I sit in class and doodle. I just sit there and think about design concepts and stuff I can make later. I sketch thoughts, but everything comes out into an illustrated image.

So today during one of my really long classes, I just started thinking about how cool Katakana characters look. For those of you that don't know, Katakana is one of the 3 writing styles in Japanese writing. It is used for foreign or non native Japanese words. I've noticed a lot of the street style sites and conceptual clothing shops have started integrating a little more of Japanese culture and pop culture into things that they are wearing, specifically katakana on bags and on buttons.It could have easily been mistaken for awhile that most of the trends in Tokyo are taken from completely new brands, but more specifically vintage or used American clothing. It is interesting to see how things hit their peak, and then there seems to be a need to shift back to the culture they are part of...Which makes sense to be suddenly seeing anime and Japanese symbols into what many could say is remixed American fashion.

Wow. I didn't mean to go into all of that. I'm writing a research paper on something kind of similar to that, so that's probably why. The point is, with all of this art show/design/nothing in mind, I sketched tons of katakana. And here it is in my art. I hope you like it.


Oh, and I finally got my copy of the new FRUiTS magazine with my bag in it. I was super excited to see the picture of Tavuchi-san holding it...But it was kind of funny because it said in Japanese "Bag: Brandon's." Hahahaha. Too bad it didn't get "Lactose Intoler-Art." I can always hope for next time, right?

おにぎり！Onigiri Guy

おにぎり！おにぎり！おにぎり！おにぎり！

Tokyo

Well, I have been in Tokyo since July 8th. It has been an AMAZING experience as usual.

This post doesnt really contain any new artwork, but some exciting news.

Some of you that are familiar with Japanese street fashion may know of the famous Tavuchi-san. She is the owner of select used clothing shops, and has been featured on basically every well-known street fashion publication and web site. She is famous for introducing American late 80s early 90s style vintage into street fashion culture in a way that is relevant to Tokyo fashion subcultures today.

As some of you know, I did an illustration of her before I went to Japan. I ended up emailing it to her, and she loved it. So, I had a custom tote bag design ordered for her to give as a gift to Japan, because we would meet.

Im glad I did. She ended up showing lots of cool street fashion kids the bag, I was so happy. The coolest thing that happened though was this....

Some of you may know fo the magazines STREET, FRUiTS, and TUNE. They are probably the most famous street fashion magazines in Japan, if not the world. FRUiTS has been a revolutionary part of changing fashion culture in Japan. FRUiTS features pictures of just women on the street, TUNE with men on the street, and STREET featuring international street fashion.

I ended up meeting the owner of all 3 of these magazines, Mami-san. She was incredibly kind and supportive. The coolest thing that happened was she ended up taking a picture of Tavuchi-san holding my bag with my illustrations on it, to hopefully be in FRUiTS! I will keep you guys posted on that status for sure.

I am looking for more and more ways to get my art out to the world. My dream is to sell my designs on products in very select shops in Tokyo, and maybe even around the world. What are you guys thoughts? What is something you would like to see with my artwork on it? Products? Any collaborations? I currently have some stuff in the works. Would like to get your opinions. Here are some pictures from the day I met Tavuchi!