Casper Warren Art

Colored pencil fiend, comics maker, & lover of all things book shaped. Online shop: Caswarrenart.bigcartel.com / Instagram: @holytheft / email: [email protected]

[caswarrenart]

Hello, welcome to my art blog! 🍵🌈 My name is Casper. My pronouns are he/him and they/them. I'm a Midwest US artist and teacher based in Minnesota. I make a wild variety of mixed media, analog and digital illustration, comics, collages, paintings, poetry, prose, and photographs. I make mostly original work. My commissions are open.

Click here for my online shop! (my art prints, originals, and handmade cards, envelopes, buttons, and patches)

After 15 years of sharing my work with the internet, I am no longer active on social media. This is due to GenAI art theft and old school theft of my work, which has sunk my sales and chilled my motivation to make or share anything at all 😢 However, you can still sign up for my newsletter via my website so that you may hear from me occasionally. My website also contains a calendar of all my upcoming events.

I was once most active on Tumblr, but you can find me on Instagram as holytheft. Feel free to contact me on Tumblr or at [email protected]. I read and appreciate all your tags, comments, and messages!

You can find art that has been described for screen readers under #described. All my personal posts are under #cas posts, and all answered asks and responses are under #cas replies. Other useful tags include #comics, #publications, #commissions, #writing, #caspers bookbag and #fanart!

REBLOGS support my work. Don't repost my work to other sites, this is still art theft and it actively damages my ability to make a living. Do not feed my work to any AI generator. Do not use my work for anything without first asking and receiving my permission to do so. Community organizers and teachers are welcome to email me regarding the potential free use or donation of my work for political, charitable, or educational causes.

Thanks for visiting my page! 💖

[caswarrenart]

Please join us this Sunday night, 12/14 from 6pm-10pm at Eagles #34 (2507 25th St E, Minneapolis, MN 55406) for an all-ages, pluralistic holiday party + market ✨ Many artists such as myself (Casper Warren/ @holytheft on IG) will be selling prints, zines, gifts, stickers and more. There will be a piñata effigy! Artist Levi Moos will be lighting his hormonukiah (menorah made out of testosterone bottles) at 7!

Masks required and provided. We will be collecting donations for Southside Harm Reduction and TC Trans Mutual Aid, see list below for requests. There will be other fun stuff happening at Eagles concurrently, such as tango and country dancing (which apparently brings in a lovely queer crowd) and karaoke, so there will be plenty of fun things to do. The restaurant serves food till 9. Poster by me. More info and complete artist list here. Donation request list and further accessibility information below.

Donations sought include:

Clean Winter Clothing & Jackets (especially sizes large and up)

Emergency Blankets

Gloves & Hats

Winter Boots

Tents

Lighters

Hand, Feet, and Body Warmers

Gatorade

Drink Packets

New socks and underwear 

Hand sanitizer

Tarps 

Base layers

Accessibility information: the venue is wheelchair accessible and there is a parking lot. The event is in a bar with most patrons not masked, but in the room we've reserved we will be wearing masks. Mask breaks for eating and drinking can be outside or in the bar area.

[caswarrenart]

Wondercat - a colored pencil portrait of my girl, Bella 🧡 

[caswarrenart]

Myself and my sign, made in support of Minnesota Environmental Justice Table’s mission to #ShutDownTheHERC and #StopTheBurner! The so-called Hennepin Energy Recovery Center is the #1 point-source producer of toxic air emissions in Minneapolis, and the producer of 51.89% of all dioxins in Minnesota. These emissions have been detrimental to the health of North Minneapolis residents, who are predominantly BIPOC and/or low-income, for decades. As a result, this community suffers from the highest asthma rate in MN. Lung and heart health has been heavily on my mind since getting long covid. I’m not from North Minneapolis, but I stand in solidarity with their community. We all deserve clean air. It’s a basic human right, and we have the power to make it happen. Graphics and tweets shared from MNEJT, ID in alt text. Learn more and sign up to support the movement here.

[caswarrenart]

I know a lot of artists are antsy about art theft right now (myself included, I literally just had a terrible nightmare about fighting the physical manifestation of AI, The Mitchells vs The Machines style…). I can’t claim that any of these things can prevent it. But here’s a few things I’ve found useful:

Opening a free account on Pixsy.com. This website does a decent job at letting me know when my images have been reposted. 99% of the time, the results are just Tumblr-copying zombie websites that just repost everything that is already here. But, it’s sensitive enough that it alerted me when my old college posted my work. They were harmlessly using my stuff as an example of alumni work- but I was glad to be in the know, AND they had mistakenly credited my deadname, so I was able to reach out and correct that. I would have never have seen it otherwise. The website has subscription options, but you can ignore them and still use the monitoring services it provides.

Reverse image searching my most widely shared pieces on haveibeentrained.com. This website checks to see if your work has been fed to AI.

Looking up legal takedown letters and referencing them to draft a generic letter for my own use. This takes a bit of the stress off what is already a stressful and often time-consuming ordeal. Taking time to craft a Very Scary, Legally Threatening, Yet Coldly Professional Memo has been worth it.

Remaining careful about what and how I post online. My living depends on sharing my work, so I have to post it. I’ve learned through trial and error how to post lower resolution images that still look good, but aren’t easily used for anything beyond the intended post, and of course, strategic watermarking. Never, ever post full res, print quality stuff for the general public. Half the time it ends up looking unflattering on social media anyways, cause the files get crunched for being large. I try to downsize my images, while set to bicubic smoothening, to head that off. Look up the optimal image resolutions and proportions for individual sites before posting your web versions. For some work, cropping the piece, or posting chunks of detail shots instead of a full view, is a more protective measure.

Look out for other artists! Reach out when in doubt. Don’t steal from others. Learn the difference between theft, and a study/master copy/fanart/inspiration. Don’t assume that all posted art has the same intended purpose as a “how to” instructional like 5 Minute Crafts. Ask permission. Artists are often helpful and supportive towards people who want to study their work! And, the best tip-offs I’ve received have all been from other people who were watching my back. Thank you to everybody who keeps an eye out for my work, and who have been thoughtful enough to reach out to me when they see theft happening 💖 y’all are the real MVPs. All we have is each other.

[caswarrenart]

Art vs Artist 2022 🍀🪲 ☀️

[caswarrenart]

Tomorrow! See ya there 🌙 (I also have an online shop for those of you who aren’t local)

[caswarrenart]

Happy Hobboween! Here’s a pumpkin as Bilbo Baggins’ cozy hobbit hole

[caswarrenart]

Life update. I’m very excited to be able to return to selling my art in-person, and to be teaching classes again. Pictured is the wonderful Pride themed fest at Omni Brewing last weekend where I was really feeling the love from our local queer community, my students’ work from my first-ever clay class yesterday (so excited to be exploring clay!), and my next festival tomorrow in Minneapolis (hosted by @wide_eyed_outside and @thelandingstripmpls from Instagram)!

It’s been a long, slow, boring, and often discouraging road to recovery, and most days when I’m able to do anything at all, I end up accidentally over-doing it. It sucks. My covid-induced heart complications and long covid have made it clear that they are not a passing fad. I’m so grateful to those who have been there for me, who have sent compassionate messages, and who have ordered art. I’m working on sending out orders and catching up with messages at a healthy pace. It’s really been the little things that have been getting me through this time. Thank you for the patience and kindness 🎃

[caswarrenart]

O lawd he comin

[caswarrenart]

Sketchbook Longhorn

[caswarrenart]

(Photos of my positive test, myself, and my art above)

To shop for my art go here . Hopefully I’ll only miss one big festival, but there’s a chance I could miss up to five. I was really really counting on that income coming up. Thanks

Update: going to the hospital 😞

[caswarrenart]

TL;DR: I got covid, I went to the hospital with complications, I got out, but now I have to rest for about 2 weeks and heal. I’ll be losing income and receiving hospital bills. I’m a disabled artist, contract teacher, and gig worker. I scrape a living from multiple hustles and have no safety net. I need help. I’d really appreciate folks sharing and checking out my art shop or tossing a coin to my Ven-mo at @c_art

The membrane surrounding my heart is inflamed and full of fluid. It’s a rare covid complication called pericarditis. The booster previously gave me a milder version that resolved itself. It should be highly treatable with rest and anti inflammatory. In the meantime, I’m extremely tired. Covid had me fighting high fevers, which set off my tachycardia. My heart was racing like I was running a marathon. For days. I need to rest and not work (I am also still fighting covid). My chest and heart hurt but I think the worst is over now that my fever has finally subsided.

To recover, I’m going to have to cancel all my big Oktoberfest shows + a bunch of classes I was going to teach at the beginning of October. I didn’t get any classes in September and a financial crisis within the nonprofit I work for has delayed my last paycheck.

I’m fortunate to live in a state that believes in healthcare for all. Without the help of the state of Minnesota, I would not have sought care. However, I don’t know what the final ER bill will be. I got an EKG, heart ultrasound, xrays, and blood tests, and I imagine all of that won’t be cheap.

Thanks for reading. I wanted to give an update to assuage any worry- I probably won’t be very reachable as I’m healing. I’ll be okay with proper rest and medication. I deeply appreciate any help to get me through this time.

Casper Warren Art

Original artwork and handmade items from Minneapolis illustrator, author, and designer Casper Warren.

[caswarrenart]

Hey all, just wanted to give an update-

It’s now been exactly a month since I became symptomatic. I’m doing better, however, I am still dealing with heart trouble and now long covid (which has really just multiplied existing health problems- I was already disabled). I’ve been able to return to some work, but it takes a lot out of me. I’m in the process of getting a lot of tests done on my heart to figure out what the continuous issue is. It’s clear that the problem is not going to go away quickly or easily. I have to be very careful about how much I do in a day due to heart pain, arrhythmia, and extreme fatigue. I’ve been able to breathe a little better though.

I am honestly dealing with a mountain of bills. I’m working as much as I can right now, but the support I’ve been getting from my art has been absolutely essential. I’m working on sending out orders now that I’m better. Also- the kind notes that you all have sent to me have meant so much more than you could imagine. Thank you all so so so much for your kindness.

[caswarrenart]

Hike drawing of Two Step Falls on the Baptism River, Tettegouche State Park, Minnesota, on Anishinaabe land

[caswarrenart]

Please share and/or contribute if you can 🌼 ID in alt text

[caswarrenart]

i love your work! ! omg !! may i ask what brand of coloured pencil and oil pastels you use?

Thank you very much!! 🥺🥺🥺

To be honest, I use mostly the lowest quality, cheapest stuff around. This is for several reasons:

1) I used kid-grade stuff growing up, and never developed a taste for the more expensive stuff. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 2) I find that most expensive art supplies are deeply overrated anyways. If you can’t afford what I have, please don’t be discouraged. Never let anyone tell you you MUST have a specific product to make art. 3) I remain a starving artist 🥲 I can’t sustain an expensive practice. I have rescued a lot of my supplies from the refuse of other artists 🦝 it’s important to consider what I can afford to replace before I develop a shine to it 4) Using expensive materials makes me very nervous; if it’s too precious, I will never use it at all. 5) I make art out of junk all the time. My most recent illustrations were made on cardboard I found in the trash. It’s extremely gratifying to make something out of nothing, and it’s also eco friendly.

That being said, I do wish I had better oil pastels. The ones I have right now were rescued from the trash. They were part of a generic kid’s art set. I rarely use oil pastel, so I’ve yet to be able to justify investing in a better set, though I’d love some 🥲

I have a bazillion colored pencils of many brands and qualities. I have had most of them for many years and have forgotten their source. Many were gifts, some were handed down to me, others I scored at garage sales. I use a mixture of higher quality, soft, waxy types (primarily prismacolor) and cheap, hard types (crayola, roseart, and other kid grade brands). I return to prismacolor and crayola repeatedly.

If you’re starting out in pencils, I would get a few kinds and experiment with what you like. Don’t break the bank on a bunch of prismacolors or watercolor pencils before you’ve tested them out. Don’t be afraid of mixing material or using it in a way you aren’t “supposed to”. That’s how I found my technique. Sometimes I need the luxuriously soft and blendable prismacolors to achieve a certain outcome. Other times I need cheap crap pencils with hard leads that won’t blend, so I can layer them cleanly, or cut through the more waxy layers to produce more defined mark-making.

I will say that prismacolors have been worth the investment for me, personally. Just make sure you’re extra extra gentle with them, as their leads break like CRAZY. Not all of their pencils are created equally, I tend to go for the ones with the most opaque colors so that they show up on toned paper. I also buy prismacolor col-erase pencils whenever I see them on sale. These are fantastic erasable colored pencils for sketching. Beginning my process with color by using col-erase made me really start to focus on color in my work.

Hope this helps 💖

[caswarrenart]

For the chaotic el gee bee tee kyews out there

[caswarrenart]

My favorite time of year is when the sunflowers bloom in the wildlife reserve 🌻

[caswarrenart]

Ah thank you! Well, I have good news for ya. I sell prints of this piece and many others over on my website:

Casper Warren Art

Original artwork and handmade items from Minneapolis illustrator, author, and designer Casper Warren.

I keep my prints as accessibly priced as possible; most are $10. Shipping is a flat fee of $10. Local pickup is free to those near me in the Twin Cities. I also sell framed prints and originals, however, I can only post so many things on my website at a time, so for those, you’d need to send me a message and we’d discuss it. The original of this particular painting was sold last year.

I scrape by making a “living” off my art, so every sale counts. I deeply appreciate your interest in supporting my work! 💛