The Underground Peepshow is my current baby. With my love of pin-up fashions and all things erotic, I suppose it’s only natural that I would gravitate towards burlesque. Who doesn’t love a good tease, especially when it’s got a sprinkle of nerd?

The Underground Peepshow is a geek-themed burlesque series that we’ve started at the Toronto Underground Cinema. The first official show, Marvelesque was a Marvel-themed burlesque event that attracted over 550 audience members! Holy freaking crap! It truly was an awesome night to remember. Posing and designing the show poster for it was also a lot of fun, especially the afternoon I spent looking through countless classic comic book cover art just to get the right style. Work doesn’t feel like work when you get to geek out at the same time.

The Evil League of Sexy is the next instalment in the series. As this is a villains-themed burlesque show, I thought I’d channel the book covers of one of my favourite children’s book series: A Series of Unfortunate Events. Hey, Count Olaf was one wicked villain. Tormenting those poor orphans, how evil!

For more information on The Underground Peepshow and our upcoming shows, check out www.undergroundpeepshow.com. The site was also designed by yours truly!

Since I was a pretty young kid, I had always been exposed to horror movies. It didn’t matter that they were often Rated R and I was barely out of kindergarten, my aunt would let me watch them with her and the rest of my cousins. Admittedly, I was a pretty big wuss and every horror movie marathon always ended with me staying up all night because I was too scared to sleep. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the suspense and the gore. I remember watching Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS for the first time during a sleepover with my cousins. Freddy Krueger terrified the shit out of me as a kid, but man was he ever badass! I mean, who could forget the awesomeness that was the puppet scene from Dream Warriors? It still remains one of my favourite horror movie moments of all time!

The Toronto Underground Cinema contacted me recently with an exciting illustration job: I need to design the event poster for their upcoming big event. The original Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund is coming to Toronto and will be doing a live Q&A at the cinema. ROBERT. FREAKING. ENGLUND.

Instead of doing the usual all-out grunge and gore aesthetic that the series sports, the guys at the Underground wanted to add a more playful twist to the event. “A Dream Date with Freddy” was the chosen title, and from there I illustrated what I pictured Mr. Krueger would look like if he were to make up his own ad for a dating site. You’d tap that, right?

If you are a huge horror film fan in Toronto this summer, be sure to check out Robert Englund at the Toronto Underground Cinema on August 26th!

In light of the New Year, Come As You Are is hosting a Group Show called “Resolutions”, in which all artists invited to participate are to depict what their sexual new year’s resolution will be for 2011 in whatever medium they choose to work with. I opted to do a mixed media piece which I call: “Share the Love”. If more people in this world would just share the love, then we’d all be a lot less stressed out. I’m not saying everyone should necessarily set up a video camera and have random threeways with strangers and broadcast it on the internet, but if people would be more open to exploration and sharing those tender moments with a person (or people) they care about, that is sharing the love. Having a positive outlook on sex and diversity is sharing the love. Sex is a beautiful thing, and discovering new things with someone  special is such a wonderful way to express and… well, share the love.

If you’re in the Toronto Area, stop by Come As You Are (701 Queen Street West, just west of Bathurst St) and check out this awesome group show!

It’s a brand new year, so I figured a little bit of a revamp wouldn’t hurt. I have finally updated my online porfolio with the help of my good friend and code-monkey, Matt Carvery. It’s much easier to navigate now. Please check it out!

http://www.kimhurter.com

This is my latest custom, “If You Please”, which will be on display at the Almighty Dunny Show in New York City on December 11th. It will also be available for purchase at the show for $120. It is a piece inspired by and dedicated to my childhood cat, Simie, who passed away last month.

A little background on the “If You Please” Kitties:
Simie and Sevvy are Siamese² – that is – they are siamese cats (or bunnies?) that also so happen to be siamese twins. They share a brain and a bum. They enjoy playing trivia, singing karaoke and copious amounts of cuddles.

This custom was the first time I’ve ever worked with Apoxie Sculpt. Where have you been, my whole life, Apoxie Sculpt? It is by far the best sculpting medium I’ve ever used… easy to smooth out, easy to manipulate, easy to sand and best of all: no baking required. I had a blast customizing these two dunny’s. Thank you ADDEccentric and Chris Lacelle for converting me to the bright side and providing me tips and support while sculpting this.

New Yorkers.. be sure to check out the  Almighty Dunny Show at Halcyon [57 Pearl St] on December 11th-13th where there will for sure be a lot of great customs to see and purchase!