The term “Bombs Away” has long been meaningful to Oswald, he said. “It's kind of like my carpe diem, live-in-the-moment kind of thing.”

He felt such a kinship with the term he even had it tattooed on his shoulder during a trip to New Orleans about 12 years ago. That was five years before he would start his T-shirt line. His first shirt was commissioned by Blue Seven, he said.

After finishing college at Oklahoma State University and moving to Oklahoma City, Oswald said he started seeing a wave of Oklahoma pride among his artist friends and acquaintances. That was just what Oswald felt he needed: pride in where he lived.

“I wanted to do something that would make me feel more a part of the Oklahoma City community,” Oswald said. “I wanted to be proud of where I came from. I wanted to embrace my roots and see where that could take me.”

Though he considers himself an artist who makes T-shirts, Oswald's shirts really are expressions of his artistic nature. The designs are as cool and interesting as his paintings.

In his painting, Oswald uses mixed media of acrylic and ballpoint pen to create whimsical yet slightly disturbing paintings that lean toward fantasy, fairy tale and absurdity.

Where to find them

Bombs Away T-shirts are available at Blue Seven and DNA Galleries in Oklahoma City, at Stash in Norman, The Rage in Ardmore and The 18th Block in Lawton.

For more information about Oswald and his Bombs Away line of T-shirts, go online to Bombsawayart.com.