Awesome Artists We’ve Found Around The Net: Josh Gilbert

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

For years, Awesome Art We've Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net." In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at [email protected].This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of… 

Josh Gilbert

Josh Gilbert is a Milwaukee native and UWM art program graduate. He has been featured in the book Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art From the Underground, has participated in multiple pop culture-themed art shows at LA's Gallery 1988, and has numerous designs available on TeeFury. He presently spends way more time tweeting about movies and all the Stephen King books he hasn't read yet than making art, and maybe one day he'll fix that.

JoBlo: What got you started as an artist?
Gilbert:  Basically I picked up a pencil and started going at it. My first "published" work was a stick-figure Starship Enterprise that was printed in the local paper.

Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
Having grown up with Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Timm's aesthetic was then and still, today is an influence, as well as the legendary Jack Kirby, although I wouldn't realize it until much later. Michael Turner, Mike Mignola, and Frank Miller also became heavy favorites in my college years.

Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
I'm a big fan of Drew Struzan's spiritual successor Paul Shipper, as well as industry giants like J. Scott Campbell, Alex Ross, and Jim Lee. I routinely look forward to seeing new work from the Cavity Colors Team, Nathan Anderson, Half-Hazard Press, Loish, Brianna Garcia, Chogrin, Danny Schlitz, Bella Grace, and Laz Marquez, Matt Ferguson, to name but a few, and of course my tattoo-artist sister Rachel Falkowski, Inkstress.

What advice would you have for budding artists today?
When the creative urge strikes, don't procrastinate, sit yourself down and dig into whatever's on your mind, but also don't feel like you absolutely have to be making something all the time. Burnout is one of creativity's worst enemies – avoid it at all costs.

What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
Between assorted poster concepts and TeeFury hopefuls, I'm focusing on developing my own future tattoos. Some more art shows at Gallery 1988 are on the agenda, and I've recently been in contact with a specialty Blu-ray distributor to possibly produce artwork for their upcoming releases.

Being a fansite, we have to ask you… What are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
My all-time favorites include Sergio Leone's westerns, particularly The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly; the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies make almost yearly viewings; watching Jaws is a sure bet over the summer; I'm of the mind The Abyss: Special Edition is James Cameron's best film; the works of Hayao Miyazaki see regular rotation, and I've taken to revisiting Man of Steel and Batman v Superman several times a year.

Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Josh as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / Twitter / DeviantArt / Etsy / TeeFury /Teepublic / Prints 

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Back To The Future Part III

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance )

Captain America

The Dark Crystal

Django Unchained

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Her

Highlander
Justice League

Mallrats

Mario: Mushrooms In Hell

The Mask of Zorro

Randall Flagg

The Running Man

Science Fiction

Skyfall

Tron

Twin Peaks