Running with the clowns

I seem to be focused on clowns a lot lately. It is not that I like clowns. I'm not particularly afraid of them like some people, either. Perhaps it is my subconscious sending in the clowns. But that is part of the absurdity of how I feel at times. 

Remember temere ineptia. 

I do like the absurdity of clowns replacing the bulls in the "encierro" or running of the bulls. If you run in front of the clowns though I suppose the risk is greatly reduced over running in front of bulls who can overtake and trample you. What is a clown going to do you (unless it is a Stephen King story)?

Ahhh....the oxymoron of a being a sad clown. Artie, my Art AI friend seems to lean towards images of Pennywise the clown from IT when you ask for clowns (even the sad ones).

I guess "Sad Clown" isn't that far away from being "Bad Clown" after all.

I did experiment with some designs today that I haven't uploaded on teepublic.com. I was interested in trying to create something in a traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e style. Ukiyo-e literally means "pictures of the floating world." I am more familiar with the woodblock prints done in this style. I just couldn't think of a subject that would be unique as a Ukiyo-e design. I tried asking for a Japanese version of Grant Wood's "American Gothic." I want to call it "Japanese Gothic." Here are a couple of the results:

Both are super cool, but honestly not quite t-shirt material. They would make great posters, however.

Then I envisioned an Ukiyo-e version of Neil Armstrong standing on the moon. I didn't give this one a title. I suppose it could have been something like "Samurai Moon" or "One small step for a Samurai" but I kind of liked them without a title.

Again, they don't quite seem to be something you'd put on a t-shirt, but still I am intrigued. I am a bit hesitant to do too many in this style for fear of being accused of cultural appropriation. But then again I don't really give a shit what someone wants to label it. 

This kind of gives you an idea of the process I go through coming up with ideas. I find it very gratifying in the sense that Artie allows me to experiment without having to waste too much time on ideas that just don't pan out. 

In that vein, I did produced this one that I kind of like:

Now that is one hell of a t-shirt design.