mobii

1. Congratulations on winning the first Japanfluence Challenge, which was a tshirt one, with your tee Samurai Origami can you tell us a little bit about this piece.

When I saw the description of the challenge, and the word “play”, origami was the first Japanese hobby or play thing that came to my mind. I hadn’t ever seen origami instructions on a t-shirt before. I gave it a shot and it seemed to be unique and quirky enough that it might interest people.

2. You have a lot of characters on your tees, Mobii Art, Bye Bye Kitty (lol), Orange Lion, Blue Bunny, Mah, Puk Puk all very cool and kawaii, what inspires you (and your daughter) to make these characters come to life?

Orange lion, blue bunny, and all the other animals are my daughters ideas. But, as she is a 15 year old Thai teenage girl, I have absolutely no idea why she does anything that she does. She is busy playing games with her online friends now, and refuses to be questioned (sigh). As for me, some of those are just gags concerning already known charaters like hello kitty. But the ones I have created are an effort to find an interesting character that I can build a comic, cartoon, or a children’s picture book around. I haven’t found it yet.

3. I Love Geisha, I Love Hentai, Beware of Pantie Theives, Ninjas Ahead… all what i think the Japanese would called Message Tees, have you been to Japan? I love how your work portrays it as a crazy fun place!

I was in Japan for a very short time. Way too short. Asian humor is the craziest thing, not just in Japan, but anywhere over here. The way they seem to look at what’s funny is so straight forward. I don’t understand why they think some things are funny, and some things aren’t, but their interpretation of it is fascinating. I must admit though, that the geisha / hentai stuff evolved from the fact that I think Japanese women are astoundingly beautiful.

4. Cherry Blossoms, Sakura and Sunset are two obviously Japanese inspired nature pieces, but you also have other flowers…… is nature and your environment a bit stepping stone for your art?

My wife is learning photography. Due to this, we take little trips so she can practice, and get new photos. She seems to like taking photos of flowers the most. I take a few once in a while, and then play with them in photoshop, or Painter X, and see if I can give them an impressionistic painting look or some thing. I like photos, but they don’t have texture. Paintings seem to have more depth, and substance. I would like to do more works like that in the future.

5. What’s your favourite piece in your body of work?
Each one of them is a favorite, while I am doing it. I am proud of the more serious works like Sakura, because even though the process can be done in 30 minutes by any 5 yr old, it still makes me feel like I am actually producing something artistic. I just do the goofy t-shirts to make myself laugh, and to make a few bucks. Luckily, some of them make others laugh too it seems. Life is taken way to seriously.

6. This Group isn’t just about photos of Japan, but its more about a style, a composition, an inspiration. What is your favourite thing about our unique group, what do you take away the most?

I put all those nouns under the topic of “flavor”. I love the fact that everyone in the group senses japanese flavor a bit differently. Look at how varied the responses were to this challenge. Seeing the wonderfully creative ideas and unique views of my friends there like Mingtees , and others, on a daily basis, gives me a constant boost of inspiration and stiffens my resolve. Everyone there is so supportive and ready to assist anyone who has a question, or needs an opinion. Japanfluence reminds me of why I do what I do. Oh, and it gives me an excuse, to download pictures of pretty Japanese girls, that my wife will accept….. barely. Haaaa!

i want that lion as a pillow~~