JOHN LATHROP
I'm John Lathrop: human earthling, pop artist, and aspiring rodeo clown (that's me above, either meditating or sleeping, not sure which, but I need to do more of both). I'm the Founder, Creative Director, and Chief Artist of Plaid Design. OK, you got me — I'm the only artist at Plaid Design. I guess I just like using the word "chief." That OK with you, chief? Yes, you just got called "chief" in an artist bio (sorry, boss).
TL;DR version of bio: I'm John and I like to draw fun stuff.
As a kid, more often than not, I was outside, melting in the Central Florida heat, pretending to be Evel Knievel (minus the safety gear), jumping bikes over makeshift ramps with my neighborhood pals. And right off the bat, I'm dating myself because no one plays outside anymore, and what kid even knows Evel Knievel? But I am a HUGE fan of air conditioning, so I also spent a big part of my childhood indoors, watching TV and movies, reading novels, playing video games, and listening to music (the best music) while gazing at and drawing art, meaning I did a lot of copying — er, learning from — the masters; some favorites were (and still are) Bill Watterson, Berkeley Breathed, Mort Drucker, M.C. Escher, Andy Warhol, Peter Max, Salvador Dalí, KRK Ryden, Mark Ryden, and Shag. Consequently, my own art evolved from cartoons to hyper-realistic portraits to surrealist psychedelic scenescapes (usually involving talking llamas, cowbells, and/or anthropomorphic fruit). As a teen, I eagerly pursued work, earning commissioned murals, posters, T-shirts, and a weekly comic strip running in the local newspaper — all before graduating high school. I've since painted commissions for a myriad of global clients, including MLB legend Cecil Fielder and TV icon Bob Barker. Oh, and Bobcat Goldthwait owns my entire Shakes the Clown collection. Not bad for a Florida Man!
In the early 2000s, I was focused on my true main squeeze, music. Based on the need for cover art, I worked for years to master sorta' get comfortable with Adobe software while combining art fundamentals with an eye for good design, plus a metric butt-load (technical term) of trial and error, eventually becoming a self-taught graphic designer. Soon, everyone I knew who needed a logo, gig poster, or album cover hit me up for design work. And I took on all the jobs, realizing then how much I loved the artform. So in 2014, I opened my art and design studio, Plaid Design, officially migrating from the physical to the digital art space. Working digitally saves space in my studio and allows for endless customization potential ... but the real reason I do it is for that sweet "undo" function.
My love for both art and design, and my desire to somehow combine these worlds, led directly to the development of my art style, which I lovingly call Mod Pop Art. If you want a fancy word salad to describe my work, I'll throw it down below, but my one main goal with my artwork is simply to make you smile. And maybe chuckle. And feel good. That's pretty much it. I think smiles and laughs are pretty important, and exceptionally valuable in today's ridiculous satire-like existence (seriously, watch the news and tell me our world doesn't seem like Idiocracy and The Running Man had a baby). But here's that wordy description you maybe asked for but probably didn't:
In my mixed-media approach, I combine organically hand-painted digital artwork with graphic design techniques to create my vibrant, colorful clean-line style. Drawing inspiration primarily from pop culture, my graphic portrait and poster work breathes new life into classic and current references, putting a fun, original spin on pop surrealism, often with a twist of humor and absurdist parody. Also inspired by mosaic art, my geometric work explores patterns, shapes, and color, specifically the beautiful dichotomy between the harmony of meticulously gradiented monochromatic hues and chaotic randomness. The result, I hope, is bold and striking eye-candy, with a vibe that feels vintage, yet unmistakably modern.
For many years, I toiled away working various corporate full-time day-jobs while I ran my art business and released music on the side, the only real things, along with my family, that kept me sane. And though my wording may suggest these jobs were butt — to use the parlance of maybe not these times, but a time that definitely existed at some point — they were actually really good jobs. And I mean good in more ways than just keeping the bills paid and food on the table and all that jazz. To that point, most of my peers in the same role considered it their career, whereas to me, they were always just jobs. The significance of that kind of difference cannot be understated in the life of a somewhat young (well, at the time, anyway) adult person. And to make matters worse, most of the time these jobs ended in sudden, massive nation-wide layoffs, which is no fun for anyone. So after the last layoff, I made the leap: I was gonna be a FULL-TIME ARTIST! No more day-jobs! That change happened fairly recently, and I'm still alive to tell the tale, so I guess I'm doing OK so far.
I live in Austin, TX with my amazing wife and two badass boys; I've been here for almost 30 years, long enough to be one of those mean Austinites telling everyone to stay away and stop moving here (seriously, please stop). Along with commissioned art and design work, I've been selling my Mod Pop Art to clients all over the world for over a decade. Now that the boring bio is over, how's about buying something, eh? Rodeo Clown College doesn't pay for itself, you know!
(vintage Plaid logos, 2014 - 2017)
PLAID DESIGN
I came up with the name of my studio by shamelessly stealing from paying homage to one of my favorite Mel Brooks films, Spaceballs. Remember this scene? But the big question everyone has is this: Is Plaid Design a pop art or design studio? YES! It’s essentially a rare combination of both. Below are just a few of the things Plaid Design is all about:
The above are my primary specialties, but whatever your art or design needs are, I can take care of them for you .... hopefully. Look, if I can't (or just don't want to), I'll let you know that just ain't my bag (not in those words, I promise). I'll even let you know before you pay!
ART COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN! For something uber-customized that can't be found anywhere else on the planet (not even Trader Joe's), Mod Pop Art-ize yourself or your gal/guy/kids/pals/pets in any scenario, or commission a piece based on your favorite film, TV show, musical artist, video game, athlete, animal, etc. Better yet, go FULLY PLAID with a combo platter, like "Mateo's World"!
Head on over to the contact page and let's discuss your commission!