Taul “Toy Crusher” Waters is a Jacksonville, Florida–based artist whose practice evolved the way street knowledge usually does: illegally, obsessively, and with a sense of humor sharp enough to draw blood. He cut his teeth in graffiti and illustration, learning early how to communicate fast, loud, and without permission. That foundation expanded into graphic design, painting, digital illustration, and blogging—each medium treated as another surface to disrupt, remix, or interrogate. His work balances discipline with defiance, blending professional execution with the residue of alley walls, sketchbooks, and long nights spent refining ideas that refused to behave. Taul draws inspiration from hip hop culture, drum and bass rhythms, science fiction, horror, skateboard graphics, and the kind of absurd life experiences you only understand after surviving them. More recently, his exploration of synthography has pushed his visual language into stranger territory, where machines collaborate in the chaos rather than clean it up. Darkly comical and deliberately confrontational, his work invites viewers to laugh first, think second, and then realize they’ve been implicated the entire time.
I've been listening to a ton of Alan Watts lately - which isn't anything new if you know me - but his series Ecological Awareness kinda sparked the subject matter for this illustration. No idea what I'm going to do with these yet. Really, I've been known to start these things and not finish them, so...
‘Terrifier 3’ – Damien Leone Just Filmed “One of the Most Insanely Horrific Scenes” of the Franchise
"Filming has been underway for the last several weeks on Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3, the next installment in one of the most popular new horror franchises of the modern era.
Coming to theaters later this year from Cineverse and Bloody Disgusting, Terrifier 3 aims to raise the bar even further on the gruesome exploits of Art the Clown, and Leone has taken a little break from filming this morning to tease an insane sequence the team just got on camera.
Damien Leone tweets from the set of Terrifier 3, “Can honestly say we just filmed one of the most insanely horrific scenes of the Terrifier franchise and you’ll never believe who couldn’t handle it on set 😬😂 🤮 the bts is hilarious. Can’t wait for you all to see!”
Considering 2022’s Terrifier 2 had people throwing up and fainting in theaters, well, it’s safe to say that nobody is prepared for the uncut brutality of this year’s sequel. Stay tuned for more.
Art the Clown is slashing his way through Christmas in the upcoming third installment, with David Howard Thornton back as Art and Lauren LaVera returning as adversary Sienna."
I'm just going to go ahead and say that if what they're saying is true, we've come into a new era of film. The scene they're attempting to go further than made me turn away in disgust until I thought it was over, and I hadn't done that since I saw some of the scenes in the Hannibal show.
Some films are smart when it comes to plot and progression. Some films are funny when it comes to character personality, odd situations, or slight misfortune. Igby Goes Down is all of those:
This movie was shown to me by an old cohort when I was stationed in the Keys and I honestly didn't know what to expect beforehand. At that time I was watching a bunch of Japanese Horror and French shock films (if that's even a term), so I was skeptical I would even remain interested after the first 10 minutes. That turned out to be completely wrong. I'd rate this in my top 10 of most hilarious flicks I've had the pleasure of viewing. The characters are SHARP, each presenting personality traits and idiosyncrasies that are odd yet relatable. It's a smart film, so I'm confident you all will enjoy it.
A few of my line work study illustrations are up for grabs if you're interested in getting your hands on some of my work. These are hand drawn and vectored by yours truly; signed, framed, and prepped to hang. Drop an email at mechdirective@proton.me to get in touch.
Just so you know, quitting caffeine will bring about an unruly headache that lasts for what seems like a fortnight. Goodnight!
So...it's been a minute - which is a complete understatement - but before I get started running my mouth again, here are a few of the things I've been up to since the last official episode:
Old Soul
This is a marker rendering I did for a classmate from when I attended The Art Institute of Jacksonville (I have some odd stories from that House of Weirdos, but more on that later - we have a whole slew of nonsense to cover). I did this with Microns, Sharpies, OTR Markers, Prismacolors, and Copics...like an old man should. Shout out to David Webster and Anna Miller for all the jewels of drawing wisdom. I still have miles to go, but it's a lifelong venture and a meditation.
52 Tactical Slaps, Balloon Monk, SNAX.3, Trinity
These are a few of my more recent vector illustrations. One of the best things I got out of my time at The Institute was a thorough introduction to the nuances (and subsequent pain) of digital illustration. It's honestly something I should've been exploring on my own before I decided to pay thousands of dollars for it. The thing is, when you were a stubborn purist like I used to be, stepping into the digital realm seemed like "selling out". I've come to learn in my old age that that is a bullshit term.
Shout out to Graham Young for the thorough, military style digital training and also to Jet Belleza who was THE DUDE who pushed me the most to go digital in the first place.
Rumbling Text
In The Wild
Then there is, of course, what most of you know me for. Not many of these have been executed since about 2016 or so (at least not any that anyone knew about). The first one is part of a production that I had the honor of being a part of for NightHawks alongside WERMS, ASMA, KES, CENT, and Campbell.
Nighthawks
Shout out to Triclops for letting us get loose. The second one is part of a character I did for the long time homie The Infader for a venture he was a part of that, in all honesty, I'm not sure what came of.
"It's easy to fall off. It's twice as hard to get back on." - Clyde
In 2011 I enrolled at The House of Weirdos in a 3 year Graphic Design program. I ended up having to take a year off in the middle for health reasons, but came back and finished in 2015. I'd be lying if I said the entire experience was negative; the faculty and the other students were the best part of it. However I'm pretty sure everyone's heard by now just how shady that organization was, so I'll refrain from the mudslinging.
From 2015 (after I graduated) to 2018 I worked in print and, while that was a different and unique experience in itself, it turned out to be yet another path I probably should've refrained from taking. I did make some great connections and learned a ton about printing though, so I'm not really complaining.
That brings us to what I call the Wild West era - from 2018 to now...
Yee Haw
At the beginning of 2019 I ended up leaving the design and print world. I've managed to keep busy under the radar mainly drawing and posting on social media but, not a whole lot of public appearances. I think it's safe to say that, for those of us fortunate enough to make it through the events of the subsequent years after, life's been a little strange ever since.
In the beginning of 2023 - out of sheer wonder and curiousity - I took a leap and stepped over into the synthography world and have been learning an immense amount about that technology, it's mode of operation, and the many uses it has the potential for.
Now, before everyone pulls out their art history manuals and art law degrees, I fully realize it's a major point of contention in the art world at the moment. I'm not here to debate or evangelize. Time will tell. This doesn't mean I've ceased to draw, paint, and vector. It's just another creative outlet and another tool in the tool box. With that being said, if you'd like to keep up with the constant stream of how I'm using my strange brain to create in that medium, you can check out my Threads feed.
So, it's not often you run into a bizarre flick on Tubi that's actually good. Don't get it wrong, there are a ton of bizarre flicks on there, but watching most of them feels like listening to a toddler describe their synopsis of The Shining in a language you don't understand. This one, however, actually kept my interest for more than the first 8 Minutes:
I'm not sure if it's because I now qualify for AARP, or if it's just the legitmate insurmountable barrage of general information that's out there, but I seem to have a penchant for sleeping on hilarity like this:
in Haunted Places, Stories/by Charlie Hintz
"The Christmas Tree Ship sank into the depths of Lake Michigan near the shore of Two Rivers, WI during a devastating winter storm on November 23, 1912.
Once a beloved symbol of the holiday season hauling a load of fresh-cut pine trees bound for Chicago on the rough late season waters, the Rouse Simmons became a watery grave 165 feet beneath the waves. But that hasn’t stopped her ghostly crew from trying to complete their voyage and deliver their final load on Christmas morning.
Quick facts about the Christmas Tree Ship:
The Rouse Simmons was a three-masted Great Lakes schooner built in Milwaukee in 1868
The ship delivered Christmas trees from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to Chicago
Captain Herman Schuenemann was known as “Captain Santa“
The ship sank during a winter storm on November 23, 1912
The crew and passengers, an estimated 16-23 men, were all lost
The shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Two Rivers, WI in 1971
A phantom bell has been heard tolling for those lost
The ghost ship sails on Christmas Eve
The grave of Captain Schuenemann‘s wife Barbara smells of pine"
A Holy Grail of Graffiti, Gordon Matta-Clark's 1972-73 Archive of Photographs Resurfaces
CONTROL Gallery, Los Angeles // March 01, 2024 - April 13, 2024
"In the summer of 1972, a 29-year old Gordon Matta-Clark began to photograph NYC's exploding graffiti movement. There are many significant things to consider here. One, this pre-dates the style we would begin to recognize as "graffiti" as documented in later books like Subway Art. This is an innocent time, an origin story, and Matta-Clark was capturing it with the sense innocence but acute interest. Matta-Clark himself was approaching architecture and urban space as the canvas for his own significant body of work. He is known now, famous for, his site-specific works, claiming unused or forgotten space, and transforming into something different. He was socially engaged, a rebel, an activist. Space and how to use and who uses it was important. And maybe that is why Gordon Matta-Clark turned his attention to documenting graffiti and the way the wall writers were using and claiming space, because that was so vital to his own practice. For such a renowned artist to explore graffiti in its infancy, was quite extraordinary."
I'll go ahead and leave it there. I'm sure you've picked up on it by now, but I wouldn't suggest reading this blog if you don't have a whole lot of time to waste. :)
