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Jonathan Queen

@jonathanqueen

577

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28.3K

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1959

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Painter, toymaker and collector.
For commissions, email me through my website.
See my art toys @graveyardshifttoys

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After driving my mom to Nashville to visit family we took detour on the way home to see the Wayne White exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
What a rewarding visit. Before I knew who Wayne White was by name, the 11 year old me discovered his artwork and puppetry skills through Pee-Wee’s Playhouse in the mid 80’s. Fast forward to his documentary “Beauty is Embarrassing” and I felt a kindred spirit, being an artsy southern kid growing up in a sports centric environment.
The best way to view artwork is in person with your own eyeballs. This was such a wonderful experience to see his work in person for the first time, to witness the museum guard work the puppets, to see the hand painted areas over thrift store reproductions, to see brushy paint strokes become sky and land as you back up, and to see reclaimed objects transform into new sculptures.
My three favorite pieces and why:
1. the large puppets making the title piece, “Revenge of the Knoxville Girl” shows the artist’s rich knowledge and appreciation of musical history and insightful commentary on what’s come before.
2. the “Nobody” sky painting with the plowing farmer at the bottom. The rusty maroon paint color of his silhouette engulfs him in the atmospheric light and makes him feel more distant and present in the space.
3. “I am a human” words painted in a wooded landscape that was the least finished and most painterly of the series. This sums up the show for me, balancing a love and appreciation for nature and our past, while striving to curate a space and make a special mark that becomes more relatable because it doesn’t merely mimic, but expresses a personal vision.
I send out a huge thank you to @waynewhiteart for the inspiration and the endurance to keep pushing creativity forward in exciting ways. Also, thank you to @knoxvillemuseumofart for hosting this exhibit.

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14 days ago

Here are the three main stages of my creative process. I start with objects that I want to paint together, then set up a still life that gives me the observational information needed. Lastly, I pull it all together with paint and finish the concept based on what the painting requires instead of merely reproducing the setup. Once varnished this painting will be going to Australia for a small works group exhibition. More details soon.

#paintingfromobservation #vintagetoys #narrativepainting #acrylicpainting #studioprocess

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16 days ago

Around 16 years ago I made this toy mashup using an Italian squeak toy and a broken talking Pee-wee doll. With a rotary tool and two-part epoxy sculpt I made the nose, neck, and jaw articulation, then repainted it with acrylics. Unbeknownst to me Paul Reubens had played Pinocchio in Shelley Duvall’s Fairie Tale Theater. And there was a larger Pee-wee ventriloquist doll that had a movable jaw. I thought I was being so original! But in reality we are all influenced by our culture and we each bring various influences together. There is bound to be some overlap of ideas.

I was really happy with how this custom toy turned out an I painted him in a narrative still life entitled “Exploring the Wilderness”. Last year someone offered to purchase this mashup toy and recently I decided to let go of this character who has been a faithful studio companion. He is currently traveling south to an amazing collection in Florida.

Trying to make a living as an artist is difficult because I like to hold onto custom sculptures I make to use in my paintings as a way to remember the painting itself. But the reality is, I need to let things go and continue to make new objects. Now that I have been selling bad kid toys for almost a year I think it’s easier to let go of another 3-D object I created.

I shared about this custom toy after Paul Reubens passed, but I wanted to talk about him one more time as a bon voyage. If you made it this far, thank you. I appreciate your willingness to share my memories of how this character came about.

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17 days ago

Three weeks of traveling has caught up with me, so sorry about my congested voice, but I’m happy with this little solution to a design problem I had.

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24 days ago

As promised, here is a video showing the movements of my first ever kinetic/ interactive sculpture. Other than the nose, gloves, and teeth which are sculpted from two-part epoxy, everything else is made from reclaimed items. I learned a lot through this process and will hopefully make more elaborate pieces in the future. For now I’m holding on to this sculpture with plans of painting their portraits.

#customtoysculpture #kineticsculpture #vintagemarionette #supermariobrothers #littleshopofhorrors

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2 months ago

I am honored and humbled by my inclusion in the new book “MASTERS SOFVI”. To be clear, I am a novice in the art toy world. A huge thank you goes out to @overrun134 , a collector and now friend who was asked to write a feature article titled “The Prodigy of Art Punks”. It focuses on big name toymakers and artists inspired by Rat Fink and lowbrow art. Thankfully they decided to include some newer up and coming artists as well.

My first realistic toy painting was 30 years ago.
My first customized toy for a still life was a few years later. Over the decades my various creative jobs and personal ideas have driven me towards creating original characters. The decision to manufacture Bat Kid grew over the past few years and his first release was September 2025. My lifelong love of masks has inspired me to start making costumes for toys. Producing the Bat Fink masked figures felt like a natural step in my creative direction. I am grateful for the timing that this toy can be included in a project that features what simultaneously like a recent discovery and a lifetime in the making. Many thanks go out to Hisashi Obara and everyone involved in the making of this book!

#sofvi #customarttoy #lowbrow #ratfink #sofubi

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4 months ago

Another @graveyardshifttoys Bat Kid has joined my collection! I’m a big Devilman collector so when my friend @jonathanqueen paints a Devilman colorway I must have it! 🦇🖤

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#devilman #devilmancolorway #batkid #graveyardshifttoys #jonathanqueen #sofubi #softvinyltoy #collector #toycollection #toycommunity #gonagai #pachidevilman #devilmanfigure #devilmancollection

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4 months ago

A few months ago I was asked to paint a portrait of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I finally had the opportunity to put all my focus into it. This week I recorded time lapse videos of about half the process. It still gives a good overview of my working methods.
The grid viewfinder establishes my composition and I use it while making the underpainting. The sections of time lapse show how I refine my paintings, building contrast, then harmony, back and forth until it feels right.
My fascination with toy manufacturing makes me want to feature details like the neck cylinder which helps the creatures head swivel easily, instead of obscuring it.
Thanks for looking! I will share the finished painting with varnish next week. If you are interested in commissioning me feel free to DM or email me through my website link.

#creaturefromtheblacklagoon #vintagehalloweendecor #acrylicpainting #vintagetoy #toyportrait

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5 months ago

Ten years ago I started to paint this subject but was completely exhausted after the Kenner toy mural and I left it unfinished. A collector friend told me a year ago he would buy the painting if I finished it. So much has happened in my life I felt like a different person approaching this old subject. It was by complete accident that I finished it just before Valentine’s Day.

I will share a better image of this finished oil painting after varnishing and a trip to the photographer.

#heartmodel #tinman #anatomicalheart #vintagetoy #stilllifeoilpainting

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5 months ago

I just found this draft showing how I set up props safely to paint from life. I didn’t want to compromise the devil head, the motorcyclist toy, or the Edward Hopper artbook.

This painting “Sunday Morning Patrol” was painted specifically for the BLAB! show curated by @blabworld last September and is still available through @coprogallery Reach out to them if you are interested in any of my available works.

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7 months ago

Devilkid by @graveyardshifttoys @jonathanqueen purchased from @toyartgallery at @designercon ❤️‍🔥

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#devilkid #batkid #devilman #sofubi #gonagai #devilmansofubi #sofvi #toys #collector #collection #dcon #toyartgallery

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7 months ago

Born in ‘75 I don’t remember a time without Star Wars but I will never forget the first time I saw MOTU toys in the store.
As an adult I greatly appreciate the effort that went into making these characters: designing, sculpting, color palettes, oil paintings on the box art and gouache portraits on the card backs. I was hooked and I know this line influenced my path as an artist.
These portraits are a mix of fan art and a thank you those artists who made my 80’s childhood so enjoyable.
#motu #toyportrait #acrylicpainting

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7 months ago