Cameron Tomsett + 4 Colour 8 Bit

After running into the owner of 4 Colour 8 Bit on Saturday night, he convinced me to head over to his store last night to check out a reception for an art show featuring Cameron Tomsett and friends: Rob McLarty, and Ben Weeks. Although the lure of Tomsett’s work, and the general geekery that takes place inside 4C8B were attractive, I must admit that I was originally drawn towards the promise of an open bar. Despite a slow opening, the space seemed to liven up as more comic, gaming and art enthusiasts made their way in to check out the 8 bit nostalgia.

The inspiration for the work was explained as follows: “the paintings are a nod to early video games that had detailed, tightly executed cover art but its monsters became rectangles with legs when they were played. It was always something of a mystery how these games would look and play based on the cover. The Robenron Gaming system is hoping your 8 bit imagination runs wild.” Cameron graciously allowed me to take pictures of his work, which you can check out in our newest Flickr set. Do it now!

In my formidable years, I was a video game junkie, so this series really hits home with me. I can totally relate to buying a video game based solely on the amazing cover art, and then stretch my imagination to deal with screens of random moving polygons. Tomsett’s colourful and playful work is truly amazing, and certainly qualified for inclusion in Hollywood’s famous I AM 8-BIT exhibition. Moreover, these paintings would probably bring a huge smile to the face of any retro-gaming fanatic on your holiday shopping list. With that in mind, why don’t you head on over to 4 Colour 8 Bit, and check out Tomsett’s creations in the geek-tastic surroundings of comic pulp, fantastic action figures, Threadless tees, and much, much more! I’ll be back soon to check out their upcoming Street Fighter tourney.