JON-PAUL KAISER for #ByeBye2016Hello2017
(Insert-left: Sketch of an idea JPK had for The Bat Man, with a super-literal costume. Full Image)
TOYSREVIL: How was 2016 for you? Share with us your most triumphant moment in 2012. Any disappointments you’d like to share with us?
JON-PAUL KAISER: Personally 2016 was a good year for me, despite the craziness of world politics the looming fear that's creating! The year started out well, then from June onwards everything seemed to step up two gears at once; working on the Arcane Divination series with J*RYU was an amazing experience and was the most involved I have ever been in the design and direction with a figure series, immediately after this came Singapore TGCC, which went beyond my expectations. The Convention itself was so well run, and as a guest I felt so well taken care of. The event itself was fantastic as well; getting to meet so many enthusiastic fans, followers and supporters and so many friendly faces from the toy and art scene there.
JON-PAUL KAISER: In November I attended Designer Con for the third time, this time splitting a booth with J*RYU in the large hall. Again this was an overwhelming experience with so many new faces dropping by the booth to check out my work, as well as solidifying some future plans with J*RYU.
TOYSREVIL: What is your most favorite toy, or piece of art you've seen in 2016?
JON-PAUL KAISER: For me the toy of 2016 is the Byron by Shoko Nakazawa, specifically the Baby Byron gacha, which is perfect! I have a mini-obsession with these figures and have easily painted a couple of dozen of them this last year.
For my own customs, the 20" F.A.D. I painted for my booth at STGCC was a personal favourite. With the sheer size and detailing it was a pretty mammoth undertaking, but the challenge was worth it for the end result.
TOYSREVIL: What are you most looking forward to in 2017? Any plans for your work, for the new year you can share with us?
JON-PAUL KAISER: 2017 is lined up to be a big year! There are more conventions planned, especially to new areas I haven't been to yet, though I can't confirm just where these are to be yet ... There's the Arcane Divination Dunny series with Kidrobot and J*RYU, which is massively exciting and the line-up of other artists involved, and the scope of what I think we've all achieved under Jesse's guiding hand is incredible!
I'm also involved with the Strangekiss relaunch and have a figure in the works with Martian Toys, which are both exciting.
And finally I'm having a joint show with J*RYU this year. We're close friends anyway and this has been an idea that has been fermenting for quite some time. I stayed at his house during DCON and we solidified the idea we had and started to put it all the plans together...
(Images of JPK’s Dunny designs for Arcane Divination
- found in Issue #42 of Clutter Magazine!)
TOYSREVIL: Share with us, WHO you are and what you do?
I'm Jon-Paul Kaiser, AKA JPK. I'm an artist from the UK who makes 3D figures look like they just stepped out of a comic book page.
www.jonpaulkaiser.com
Instagram @jonpaulkaiser
Twitter @jonpaulkaiser
