Chet Zar: "Original Study"
Born on November 12th, 1967, in the harbor town of San Pedro, CA, Chet Zar's interest in art began at an early age. His parents were always very supportive and never put any limits on his creativity. His entire childhood was spent drawing, sculpting and painting. Zar's interest in the darker side of art began in the earliest stages of his life. A natural fascination with all things strange fostered within himself a deep connection to horror movies and dark imagery. He could relate to the feelings of fear, anxiety and isolation that they conveyed. These are themes which had permeated most of his childhood drawings and paintings and are reflected in his work to this day.
The combined interest in horror films and art eventually culminated into a career as a special effects make up artist, designer and sculptor for the motion picture industry, designing and creating creatures and make up effects effects for such films as, "The Ring", "Hellboy I & II", "Planet of the Apes" and the critically acclaimed music videos for the art metal band Tool. Zar also embraced the digital side of special effects as well, utitlizing the computer to translate his dark vision with 3D animation for Tool’s live shows and subsequently releasing many of them on his own DVD of dark 3D animation, "Disturb the Normal".
But the many years spent dealing with all of the politics and artistic compromises of the film industry left Zar feeling creatively stagnant. At the beginning of 2000 (at the suggestion of horror author Clive Barker), he decided to go back to his roots and focus on his own original works and try his hand at fine art, specifically painting in oils. The result has been a renewed sense of purpose, artistic freedom and a clarity of vision that is evident in his darkly surreal (and often darkly humorous) paintings.
His artistic influences include painter James Zar (stepfather and artistic mentor), Beksinski, H.R. Giger, Frank Frazetta, M.C. Escher, Bosch, John Singer Sargent and Norman Rockwell just to name a few.
"Chet's art is beautiful & scary. His style has a modern twist crashing into a classical approach. I think Chet is a master painter on his way to making a great mark in our little world. Wanna do something smart with your money? Invest in a Chet Zar painting." - Adam Jones (TOOL)

Artist website: www.chetzar.com

Tristan Schoony Schoonraad: "Boy Soldier in Carbonite"
White glass fibre life cast sculptural wall panel, 2010
Limited Edition of 10 World Wide

Schoonraad worked with Derek Jacobi in The King's Speech and was part of the Oscar winning creature crew for The Wolfman with Rick Baker and Dave Elsey. From Kate Winslet in Jude to Nicolas Cage in Kick-Ass the creative designer of prosthetics and special effects has worked with major actors and musicians amongst other professions, successfully merging the real with the unreal so that the eye never questions what it is seeing from one moment to the next.
Early WorkSchoonraad’s debut came in 1981 with Green Ice starring Ryan O’Neil. Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones, Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan andTroy followed, involving work with Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks and Orlando Bloom among others. In 2001, he worked on the film Black Hawk Down as a prosthetics supervisor.
He also made a life cast of Kristin Scott Thomas for The English Patient and endless casts for The Clash of The Titans and Casino Royale when he supervised the cutting in half of a Boeing 727.
The music world came calling after Robbie Williams requested his help for "Rock DJ", while Grace Jones asked for her head to be cast in chocolate, courtesy of Thornton’s chocolate factory, for her tenth studio album, Hurricane. Schoonraad also transformed Darkness singer, Justin Hawkins, into a devil for the video “One Way Ticket To Hell and Back” which won the Australian MTV Video awards for Best Rock Video. His video career lead to work with Björk on her track "The Hunter" plus Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Pete Doherty.
Schoonraad has often worked with his sons Tristan and Robin on various projects. They joined his company as technicians and mold makers. Tristan has showcased his work at prestigious art ‘car-boot’ sales including Brick Lane, the Big Chill, Mutate Britain “One foot in the Grove”, Tate the Biscuit and the Urban Art Show in Tokyo. He had his own exhibition of Boy Soldiers in London and has worked with Art Below involved in exhibiting in Parliament Square on the Plinth of Peace. Robin has been a key figure in the moulding of many of the creatures for Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire as well as special effects in The Last Samurai.

We are so happy and proud to have received a wonderful art donation by Calvin Lo. Calvin is a sculptor, and concept designer based in LA. He has worked on "Pacific Rim" as a sculptor, molder, and caster. He studied at the Art Center College of Design, Concept Design Academy, 3kicks studio, LAAFA, and Gnomon. He draws inspiration from his love for sci-fi, anthropology, science, and all other aspects of life. Currently, Calvin runs Impulse Refinery. To buy the donated sculpture: http://amfotoys.storenvy.com/products/6580192-calvin-lo

Siamo orgogliosi e felici di aver ricevuto una magnifica donazione d'arte da parte dell'artista Calvin Lo. Calvin e' sculture, concept designer di base a LA. Ha lavorato a "Pacific Rim" come scultore. Ha studiato all' Art Center College of Design, Concept Design Academy, 3kicks studio, LAAFA, and Gnomon. Prende ispirazione dal suo amore per lo sci-fi, antropologia, scienza e altri aspetti della vita quotidiana. Calvin gestisce Impulse Refinery. Potete acquistare la scultura di Calvin qui: http://amfotoys.storenvy.com/products/6580192-calvin-lo

Finally Mattia is out of the hospital! After weeks and weeks were Matti was battling with the surgery and a new pesistant infection, he did it, we are home! Nothing better to celebrate big victories like this one than have some new amazing art to show. The worldwide famous toy artist 64 Colors just donated these two stellar 3 inches customs. We have no words to say to all our artists how thankful we are :)

Finalmente Mattia e' uscito dall'ospedale ed e' a casa! Dopo settimane e settimane di battaglia tra operazione ed una infezione tenace Mattia ce l'ha fatta ed ora siamo a casa! E non niente di meglio per celebrare una grande vittoria come questa che avere nuovi customs favolosi. 64 Colors,  toy artist di fama mondiale, ci ha appena donato questi due meravigliosi 3 inches. Non abbiamo parole per esprimere la nostra gratitudine a tutti i nostri artisti :)