The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Ashley Anderson Edition

Atlanta's one and only Ashley Anderson recently surprised me by sending me the poster--of his crazy, sprite-filled collage titled "Cabana Fever" (below)--that was showcased in a recent issue of Young Foxy & Free magazine.

As much as I love the poster, I thought it might be cool to offer it to one of you via the second Gay Gamer Giveaway™. After mentioning this idea to Anderson, he said he'd send another so I could keep one for myself and give one away. Awesome, huh?

A few details about said poster before I get to how you can win it: It's approximately 18 inches by 23 inches. Also, it's been signed by Anderson. Oh, and it'll be shipped rolled up and in a tube (as opposed to folded and stuffed into an envelope).

Winning this particular giveaway is just as easy as the last one, by the way. Just leave a comment below between now and the end of the day (let's say 11:59 pm Pacific Daylight Time) on Friday, May 25. I'll announce the winner of this oh-so-fabulous poster on Saturday morning.

Those who don't win may want to check out Anderson's society6 shop, where art prints, stretched canvases, stationary cards, iPhone skins and t-shirts featuring this image can be purchased for as little as $12.

See also: 'Ashley Anderson's Cabana Fever'

Ashley Anderson's 'Cabana Fever'

Remember how I introduced you to the "Alien Goose of Love" a couple of weeks ago? (If not, you'll probably want to check out this post before continuing on.)

Well, artist Ashley Anderson just shared (OK, so he shared it a few days ago) the full, final product on his Flickr photostream and, boy, is it a doozy. Don't believe me? Click on the image to the right and take a good, long look at it.

The piece's official title is "Cabana Fever," by the way, and it's currently featured (as a pull-out poster, I believe) in the latest issue of Atlanta's Young Foxy & Free magazine.

Sadly, I can't tell you at this time which games Anderson, who's also based in Atlanta, plundered to find the sprites that make up this crazy collage. I'll ask him to spill the beans--via his Facebook page--shortly, though, and then share the details here, OK?

Any of you who really like "Cabana Fever," by the way, might like to know that prints, stationary cards and iPhone cases/skins featuring Anderson's illustration can be bought via society6.com.

See also: Previous Ashley Anderson posts

'Alien Goose of Love'

What's an "alien goose of love," you ask? Why, it's the ... thing showcased in the image below (as well as here), that's what it is.

Also, it's a small part of a collage that Atlanta-based artist Ashley Anderson is working on for Young Foxy & Free.

Anderson recently took to Facebook to comment on this much-anticipated (by me, at the very least) project:

"This constitutes about one-sixth of a collage I've been working on for Young Foxy & Free. If you like this, you will have an absolute conniption at the sight of the whole thing!"

The cropped image above is the "this" Anderson is talking about in his Facebook quote, by the way.

Anyway, keep an eye on this blog--or on Anderson's blog, Facebook page or Flickr photostream--for more information on this sure-to-be-intriguing piece of art.

It's like the sexy, wacky Out Run spin-off I've always wanted but never got to play

What do you think of when you look at the digital collage below?

When I first saw it, I thought of an only-in-my-dreams Out Run spin-off that features a wacky splash of Parodius. I'm not sure how such an idea would work as an actual game, mind you, but I'm sure it would be amazing if handed to the right developers.

Anyway, enough about me and my odd ideas. Instead, let's delve deeper into the aforementioned collage, which was produced by Atlanta-based artist Ashley Anderson.

It's one of three pieces that were commissioned by the owner of a local pizza joint, by the way. Although the commission fell through, Anderson completed the series anyway.



The one above is the series' first and is titled, "Memory Beach, Part 1." According to Anderson, it's about "an octopus who drives to the beach to forget about his ex-girlfriend, who has cheated on and/or left him."

Anderson doesn't say on his blog where he found each of the sprites that appear in this piece, but he does say that the "Japanese pornographic mahjongg video game industry" is responsible for the girl and the lipstick. (He also says he learned to operate a Famicom emulator while working on the "Memory Beach" series, so I'm guessing a number of the sprites were pulled from Famicom titles.)

For more behind-the-scenes info on how Anderson produced "Memory Beach, Part 1," check out this blog post. To order 7-3/4-inch-by-7-3/4-inch prints of it, check out Anderson's etsy shop.

See also: Other posts about Ashley Anderson and his art

This GameBoy is outta this world

Is there a point to the piece below, or is it just supposed to be pretty? I actually posed (via Flickr) that question to guy who produced it--Seattle-based artist Cory Schmitz--but I have yet to hear back from him. So, for the time being I'm just going to assume there's an awesomely pertinent story behind this celestial collage.

Get a better look at Schmitz' "NASA Game Boy" here

Even if there isn't a point to it, though, and the piece is just supposed to be cool to look at, I'll be perfectly fine with that--because the piece is cool to look at, don't you think? Really, I'd hang a framed print of it in my office if I had one (a print, not an office).

GameBoy collage on masonite

The folks at Nintendo sure know how to design a slick piece of hardware, don't they? Case in point: The original GameBoy.

Honestly, I think it's the most attractive piece of portable hardware the company has ever created. The original GameBoy's only competitors, in my opinion: The DSlite and the DSi.

I'm guessing artist Laura Kelly is of a similar opinion, as the following collage--titled "Game On"--is the only one in her rather extensive portfolio that was inspired by a game system.

To see more of Kelly's art, pay a visit to her Flickr photostream or her website, lauralkelly.com.