Play Date

Born in Los Angeles in 1960, this first generation Polish-American artist has become one of the most recognized illustrative artists of our age. Gary received a degree in Communications from UCLA, and worked in NYC as a commercial illustrator for 10 years. His illustrations have been featured in such diverse publications as the New Yorker, Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Forbes, Blab, LA Magazine, Reader's Digest, Atlantic Monthly and Newsweek. He created the artwork for Cranium, voted "Game of the Year" two years in a row by the American Internation Toy Fair and worked as the illustrator for "I Don't Need to Have Children, I Date Them: 23 Child Psychology Techniques to Use on Boys of All Ages". He has also been featured in American Illustration, AIGA, Print, The Society of Illustrators, Humor and The 100 Show. Although Gary has achieved reknown in many fields, he is probably most well known for his work as the creator and executive producer of "Teacher's Pet", a story based on his real-life dog, Hubcaps, which ran from 2000-2002, and was made into a full-length feature film in 2004. Gary has received many awards throughout his career, including the Emmy for Best Daytime The Japanese American National Museum presents Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, the first large-scale Hello Kitty museum retrospective in the United States. Organized as part of the global icon’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, the exhibition examines the colorful history of Hello Kitty and her influence on popular culture. Hello! includes an extensive product survey, with rare and unique items from the Sanrio archives, alongside a selection of innovative contemporary artworks inspired by Hello Kitty and her world. Hello! is curated by Christine Yano, PhD, author of Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific, and Jamie Rivadeneira, founder and owner of the Los Angeles pop culture boutique JapanLA. Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry. Depending on how much the paint is diluted (with water) or modified with acrylic gels, media, or pastes, the finished acrylic painting can resemble a watercolor or an oil painting, or have its own unique characteristics not attainable with other media.