I’m Joe Tamponi, I’m 32 and I started working as a full time freelance illustrator three years ago, after spending three weeks in California. First off I want to suggest you something to listen reading this post, this album. Check out to this other post that analyze some colors from some punk rock covers!
I started skateboarding when I was fourteen, and surfing when I was sixteen. When I was a teenager I started with the wrong board and I was lost in a bunch of other things. Thanks to a friend in California some years later I re-started and fell in love again. But stop with the boring stuff.
I love drawing bold, eye catchy, super colored illustrations that make you feel like you’re in the 90s again.
Try to picture yourself, pushing that stunning Santa Cruz skateboard deck in a sunny road with a bunch of palm trees over you, with the Nofx pumping in your headphones. Thinking about nothing, heading to a flat spot to learn some tricks and kill some time with your buddies.
What I’m looking for in a successful artwork is to create something that looks like a vintage skateboard sticker. With all those flat colors and badass punk fonts. Let’s see some examples:
Vintage Skateboard sticker 
Vintage Skateboard sticker – Santa Cruz 
Vintage Skateboard sticker – Jim Thiebaud 
Vintage Skateboard sticker – Powell Peralta Steve Caballero 
Vintage Skateboard sticker – Santa Cruz Tom Knox
Take a look at these, and you can see what I love the most. In the 80s ( and even earlier) legendary graphic designers like Jim Phillips and Jimbo Phillips, Vernon Courtlandt Johnson, Kevin Ancell, started an incredible art style.
There were a lot of different branches I know, but their work inspired generations of young skateboards, illustrators and graphic designers.
But I always been that kind of person who loves a bunch of stuff, and something that seriously inspired me it’s all that poster art which came out from the psychedelic era.
For example the legendary gig posters of the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco from 60s/70s, by Bill Graham. I mean look at the composition and the color palettes of this stuff. they’re just incredible.
The study behind that fonts inspired by the psychedelic trips, the colors are vibrating, sometimes they’re hard to read, the composition looks like is moving into weird shapes.
So, as a freelance illustrator usually I like to do something in the middle. I love the psychedelic art of the 60s because of those flashy, drippy, bubbly psychedelic texts. But I also love the strong, bold lines of the punk-rock, skateboard, surfing inspired illustrations from the 80s and 90s. Punk rock badass fonts, popping eyes, flying slime and all that crazy stuff.
Humans Cry flying saucer by Joe Tamponi Illustrations & Graphic design inspired by skateboarding, surfing, punk rock & psychedelic art. 
Blue Skull by Joe Tamponi Illustrations & Graphic design inspired by skateboarding, surfing, punk rock & psychedelic art. 
Brap Star motorycle skull by Joe Tamponi Illustrations & Graphic design inspired by skateboarding, surfing, punk rock & psychedelic art. 
Rat Fink inspired art by Joe Tamponi Illustrations & Graphic design inspired by skateboarding, surfing, punk rock & psychedelic art. 
Calcium Dubs Mexican skull by Joe Tamponi Illustrations & Graphic design inspired by skateboarding, surfing, punk rock & psychedelic art.
When I was younger I was always adding a bunch of lines to my artworks and everything was super messy.Always struggling to find the way to catch the right thickness with a fair amount of details. It’s something that it’s always on my mind when I’m drawing. The perfect balance between a bold minimal piece and something detailed.
Well, the research and the study never ends, nothing it’s perfect, and it will never be. If you liked my works and you were already thinking about looking for a graphic designer to hire well, you should text me to joeitamponi@gmail.com let’s work on something awesome!