Jim Mahfood Discusses The Bubble Gum Gangsters And Inspiration For His Latest Release Futuristic Dragon

Jim Mahfood aka Food One is an artist/funk soldier residing in LA, working professionally in the fields of Illustration, Comic Books, Advertising Art, Animation, Body-Painting, Murals, Gallery Shows, and more. Current projects include art chores on the ‘Everybody Loves TANK GIRL’ comic book mini-series, custom limited edition bottles for Bed Head, and the new animated short ‘D.I.S.C.O. DESTROYER’, which premiers this year on the relaunch of MTV’s Liquid Television.

1x: Tell us a little bit about this piece, anything immediate you like to highlight?
Jim Mahfood: Psychedelic visual funk madness!

1x: Was this piece part of a recent theme, series or show that you had? If so how did it fit into that given grouping?
Jim Mahfood: Yea, I have a crew of girl characters called the Bubble Gum Gangsters and this girl is part of that crew. They get magical powers from this special bubble gum they chew and then go on crazy psychedelic adventures.

1x: When was this piece created and what materials were used?
Jim Mahfood:
This piece was drawn in October of 2015 using pen and ink on Bristol board. Digital colors were done by my homie Justin Stewart.

1x: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?
Jim Mahfood:
I don’t overthink things, I just sit down, turn on some really loud music, and draw whatever’s in my head at the time. It’s named Futuristic Dragon after the T. Rex LP with the same title. I was listening to lots of 70’s acid rock at the time.

1x: How long did this piece take?
Jim Mahfood:
Probably a day.

1x: What is unique about this piece?
Jim Mahfood:
All my pieces are different from each other, they each have their own funk and flavor to them.

1x: Why should people buy this print?
Jim Mahfood:
It will definitely brighten up your home or apartment. It will give you magical Bubble Gum Gangster powers!

1x: Describe this piece in one gut reaction word.
Jim Mahfood:
PsychedelicFunk.

1x: When did you first start creating art?
Jim Mahfood:
  As soon as I could hold a crayon.

1x: Are there any artists (new or old) (visual sonic or otherwise) that have been inspiring you as of late?
Jim Mahfood:
Oh yea, of course, always! Too many to name though, it would take 23 pages to type it all.

1x: Give us a rundown of what went down for you in 2015? What were some of the highlights for you?
Jim Mahfood:
This past year we began making the Grrl Scouts pilot for Ron Howard’s production company (check it out below + here YouTube!), I was also finishing up the Miami Vice: Remix comic book series and making all the promo videos for that (check it on my YouTube channel!), being part of the 21st Century Tank Girl graphic novel, illustrating the Howard The Human comic book for Marvel, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Grrl Scouts…We made the pilot, released a new Print, and a new Mini-Comic. On top of that, rocking top secret design work for Sony and Dreamworks, successfully exhibiting at 12 different comic book shows across the country, and hustling every single day of the year like a true O.G.

1x: Any new projects on the horizon for you as 2016 gets underway that you want to share?
Jim Mahfood:
Yes, a brand-new Grrl Scouts comic book series for Image Comics, top secret design work for Sony, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t talk about yet.

I’m doing a killer art show with Lauren YS at the end of 2016 which should be quite dope!

1xRUN: Where else can people find you?
Jim Mahfood: jimmahfood.com + Merch StoreFacebook @FoodOneArt – Instagram + Twitter @jimmahfood