'Ragin' Bull' artwork for Shuffle Up & Deal 2

Bovinyl partnered up with graphic wizard Aaron Keeling on the card artwork for the Shuffle Up & Deal 2 fundraiser for the Royal Canadian Legion. We narrowed it down to three designs and finally settled on the traditional playing card image (top image).

55 local artists will be designing the cards that will be transformed into a standard playing card deck (including the Jokers and the back of the cards). The original card art will be auctioned off at the 'Shuffle Up & Deal 2' fundraising event. Last year's fundraiser was a huge success with all proceeds from the sale of decks and artwork going towards programming at the Bowman Arts Centre.

Thanks again to Aaron for lending his talents to another Bovinyl art project.

'Headhunter Moody' custom by Ryan Fuchs (Canada)

We were very impressed with the 'Headhunter Moody' custom created by talented Edmonton based artist, Ryan Fuchs. This was the first time that Ryan has customized a platform toy and we hope that it won't be his last. Ryan is a professional graphic artist and photographer with a great eye for detail.

The 'Headhunter Moody' comes complete with head-dress, spear, shrunken head and other 'equipment' ... the 'headhunters' bubble butt and twig & berries definitely brought a smile to our faces. The only things missing from this piece are a drum beat and some chanting ... "ouga chaka ouga chaka ...". Ahhh ... National Geographic would be proud of these uncensored images. Excellent job Ryan! We can't wait to see what you'll come up with next.

For more information on the talented Ryan Fuchs, visit www.fuchscreative.ca.

Cuban Artist, Manuel, Working on Moody Custom

Well-known Cuban artist, Manuel, has started working on his Moody custom for an upcoming group show in Canada. Although Cuban artists are unfamiliar with the designer vinyl art toy movement, Manuel has shown that even 3D blank canvases can provide an opportunity for artistic expression.

We are very excited to see the completed custom and are very thankful that Manuel has made time to fit this custom into his hectic schedule. His unique and colorful style are quite evident in this piece.

Manuel's 'gatto' has definitely taken a curious liking to this unfamiliar object that has found its way into the studio.

Manuel Hernandez Valdes was born in Cuba in 1943. He has been a participating artist in many major events in Havana. His paintings have also been shown in Belgium, Mexico, Germany and Spain.

In addition to his reputation as a painter, he is also known as a cartoonist, ceramist, illustrator and humorist.

He has been honored with the Pablo Picasso Medal of UNESCO and the Journalism Prize - National Jose Marti.

His works are found in important private collections such as:

- Danielle Mitterrand Foundation
- Geraldine Chaplin Collection
- Mario Benedetti Collection

His paintings are very representative of the Cuban art that idealizes the human body and integrates nature - planting sugar cane, banana, tobacco etc. His characters reflect the gentleness and happiness of the Cuban rural-living environment.