Found Paper on Skate Deck

It's been about 5 years since the last time I participated in a Shoe Shine event... I was indecisive on the visual content I wanted to create, I started with paint and texture, but I ended up with a paper collage. All of the paper I used consists of ad posters and security envelopes.
I reclaimed all of the ad posters from walls around town... The ad posters get tagged with graffiti, the city paints over the tags with a soothing shade of beige, and I take it off the wall. I try to let some colors of posters' past show through during my removal, which is also what I try to do with my re-creation, I give them new life. New life and no advertising value, I read a quote somewhere that I can't recall now, but it compliments the idea of creation without an audience.

I have made a handful of "found paper" collages that I really haven't spotlighted too much. I'm still working on making them more impactful in person, I think I need more topography, more paper...

Happy Halloween

Have a good evening

October Catch Up

Having a full-time job again has been good... I can pay bills, buy food and gas, etc. without so much worry.  I haven't been blogging lately, but I've been actively Tweeting when I have a quick thought.

At the beginning of the month, I had the opportunity to submit artwork designs to Tyler Coomes aka Tycoon, he is a music producer on Dr. Dre's Aftermath label... Tycoon released "The Dark Side of Tycoon" (my last blog post), an album based on audio samples from Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." I drew up a few concepts for the cover art, all playing off of Pink Floyd's original artwork.

^^^This concept has the prism being wrapped with audio cables of various sizes (all black of course) and audio cables matching the colors of the rainbow exiting out.

^^^This one has replaced the prism with an MPC machine, which many beat producers have used over the years (a staple instrument in the hip hop biz), rainbow light or audio cables shooting out as before.

My concepts didn't make the cut...  Either one of these would have been fresh to create for the album, I still plan on making the first concept into a piece in the future, just for me~

The Bogeyman artshow (10-6-2011) at the MAC SPA was fun, it was my first time to show with Eric Matelski, an artist and friend that has been promoting 100+ artshows each year for the last 5 years...

The space looked great and Eric was grilling up fajitas for the patrons.
I didn't get a chance to meet Stan Yan, but I was still highly entertained by his illustrations, my favorite indeed!

Good times~

My studio-mate Delton invited me to help him bomb/tag a lobby for a wine tasting and release party. Infinite Monkey Theorem is a Denver-based winery, they just released their line of keg-wine called "Monkey Shine," a witty spin-off of the alcohol, moon shine...

We painted for 8 hours in the fumed out room, tags over tags over tags, multiple colors and styles gave the room an urban feel. Delton spent most of his time painting IMT's Monkey logo as the centerpiece to the madness...

The party was the following night of the Bogeyman show, on the rooftop of the historic "Ghost Building" on 18th and Stout in Denver, the cops stopped by a couple times so IMT was doing something right!

People were drinking wine out of mason jars in the spirit of the Prohibition days~
Last but not least for October, Delton and I came together on our first real collaborative art piece in two years! We rocked a Nintendo Entertainment System and converted it into a custom wall-mount arcade.

The finished piece consists of a CNC-routed acrylic cabinet, aluminum, MDF, flatscreen tv, and of course and original NES unit. Painted by Delton, and assembled by me. The unit was part of an 8-bit inspired artshow at Family Affair on Larimer Street in Denver. Please visit my Flickr page to see the piece built from start to finish. Thanks to Alexi for assisting us in the CNC-router department!

Delton and I have been discussing the rebranding of Broken Bread Arts, which we are going to be turning into Studio 72, this arcade unit is just the beginning of our collaborative efforts...  Stay tuned, and happy Halloween!

Dark Side of Tycoon

Tycoon vs. Pink Floyd... Free download! Have a good weekend and enjoy~
More info on Tycoon at www.tycoonbeats.com

Golden Seconds have arrived!

ZIn a previous post, I had mentioned the Golden Paints' Seconds program... Well, I filled out the online application, requested quantities, and BAM!!! 50lbs. of acrylic paint boxed up and shipped out to my studio!

I had to pay for the shipping (I still have to technically...), but I really don't care because I'll be paying less than $2.00 per 16oz. container... The Seconds color selection isn't the full spectrum of their normal colors, but I think if I requested more in the future I could stack different a wicked set of pro paints in a bigger range of colors. Awesome! This really made my day, Thanks Golden Paints!

Group Show at the MAC SPA

(facebook release)
THE MACSPA & ART PIMP PRODUCTIONS presents the BOGEYMAN group art show. OCTOBER 3rd through 29th 2011 at The MacSpa 1738 Wynkoop, Suite 103 Denver, CO 80202. Reception will be held Thursday, October 6th 6-9pm.

Bogeyman, El Cucuy, El Cuco, The Sack Man, BoBo, no matter what you call him or her, this amorphous imaginary being has been used to frighten children into behaving for centuries. Every culture and family has a different story of the bogeyman. The Bogeyman art show features artists’s own version of the Bogeyman.

Opening Art Reception will be held Thursday, October 6th 6-9 p.m.. This event is Free to the public. Artists will be on site, Tricks and Treats will be served. Reception includes a special record release and live Skype Concert by the band THE LONE GARAGE MASSACRE. Plus local artist and supernatural-mystery author Mario Acevedo will lead a $5 neighborhood walking tour at 8p.m. showcasing the spooky history of LoDo.

Special “Afraid of the Dark” Reception featuring Zombie Caricature artist Stan Yan and another chance to walk with author Mario Acevedo through Denver while learning about our city’s spooky past Saturday October 22nd 10 a.m. - 2 p.m..(Pre-Zombie Crawl). Guests will have a chance to become a Zombie. Stan Yan will be creating Zombicatures on site. Prices ranging from $20-$40.

The MacSpa Regular Hours are: Monday - Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m., Friday 9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. -12 p.m.

Bogeyman artists include: Kyle Banister, Eric Matelski, Tadd Moskal, Scott Ramsay, Jeff Erwine, Chris Schranck, Tony Zellaha, Kamla Presswalla, Harrison Nealey and more + special featured artists:
Cori Buchholz & her Crochet Zombie Dolls
Stan Yan, full-time Denver freelance cartoonist and Illustrator. Stan will have his zombie caricature drawings on display. (Stan will be on site for the Afraid of the Dark Reception Oct. 22nd 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the MacSpa to create personal Zombicatures for guests).

Any and all questions can be addressed by contacting Eric Matelski at ArtPimpInfo@mac.com 303-898-4350


TheMacSpa.com
Artpimponline.com

inspirations

Three-and-a-half years ago, my friend Matt and I (collectively known as the Magnet Mafia) took a flight down to Arizona with suitcases full of paint, painted magnets, and empty spray cans...  We exhibited our work on the inside and outside of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) for their May Magnet Month.  It was an awesome show and experience, we made a few friends and did a lot of art.  During our stay, we drove down to Phoenix for first Friday where we were pleasantly surprised with how much support artists received from their community.  Imagine Denver's Santa Fe Art District, except it was on Kalamath or Inca...  A real raw vibe!  This is where Matt and I met S. Arden Hill, hailing from Winnipeg, Canada...  Somehow we wandered into the vinyl toy shop where he was exhibiting and the rest is history!  Arden showed work in Denver at Abecedarian Gallery earlier this summer, good stuff.   I'm glad to be able to call him my friend and an inspiration with his latest editions of artist books...  Check him out-

http://ardenhill.ca/

2012 dates

So far I have 2 shows next year to look forward to...  I'm looking to do at least 4 though, hopefully do a little traveling art also, maybe D.C. or Chicago or S.F.

• Yellow Feather, Denver, CO (Unofficially) April 2012
• Dvsn West, Cherry Creek, CO (Officially) September 2012

Please email me if there are any places in particular you think I should show, locations and contact info would help too!  Thanks

Evan Siegel at Spark Gallery

 

www.evansiegel.com

The First Amendment

I've been holding on to this newspaper clipping for a while, dated April 3, 2011...  Street art and graffiti has become a popular genre of modern day art, and it's important for these artists that venture into the realm of the fine art circuit to be aware of their rights, at least in America.  I'm not really sure how it is around the rest of the world, but I know that Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Fafi, Os Gemeos and countless others have made big names for themselves by traveling and expressing themselves publicly.  They have probably all been in trouble before, but it never stopped them from showing their work in galleries and museums.  Good work, SMEAR!

something smooth to get the day going

Old School Vol. 6 DJ Chonz & DJ Dizzy-D by DJ Chonz

Plein Air

I went on a field trip with Delton yesterday and tried my hand at plein air painting...  It was sort of like live painting at events, with people all around asking you what you're doing or telling stories of their art experiences, but it's different.  I'm used to doing abstract work, but I really wanted to try to translate what I saw into something tangible yesterday...  Painting next to Delton makes my work looks like child's play, but I'll continue painting with him because it will only help.  Today is the last day of the Denver Plein Air Arts Festival hosted by the Golden Triangle Museum District, I'm not sure if I should get my piece stamped and try to submit it into the competition, I would rather submit an abstract...  Maybe I need another board to paint!

Golden Seconds

Golden Artist Colors is one of the premier brands of acrylic paints, they have a 'Seconds' program, meant to sponsor artists and non-profit art projects with good quality paints that simply aren't the colors they were supposed to be... I just applied for a donation, hopefully if it's approved the Wazee Union is going to get a much needed facelift! Crossing my fingers! More info: Golden Seconds Program

BTW, Thanks Alanna

another day by the lines

Right across the street from my studio is a series of train tracks... There's always inspiration on the lines, graffiti from all over rolls through daily!

beyond qr codes

Preview of Interactive Art Book by Stereo Abstract from Stereo Abstract on Vimeo.

I am currently working on a book showcasing a collection of my present artwork. I didn't want to add a bunch of text to the book itself, but I still want people to have an interactive experience... First I thought of using QR (quick response) codes on each page, which at first sounded awesome, then I found the "digital watermark" technology. The technology has been developed by a company called Digimarc, in the past it has only been used to copyright images regardless of any manipulation. Now with apps and codes and the internet, Digimarc is offering new options, Digimarc Discover is what I am going to use in my book... I'm pumped on the concept of the book itself, but this 'discovery' is going to make this book of mine pretty unique!

I want this...

thx to the highendlowlifes for this gem, too bad it's already out of stock!

LRG: Lifted Research Group | Shop - LRG X Ironlak Limited Spray Can

Stereo Abstract book?

I have been looking for a way to share more of my work with my friends and strangers alike, so I am building a book from cropped images of my paintings, it should be cool! What I like about this process is that I can control the composition of images beyond the original piece of art. The images take on new life and they will stimulate the viewer further. The next step is telling stories of what these new compositions mean to me, I'm actually really excited!  Here's a few previews of images I'm considering...  Which ones will make the cut?!

My plan is to have my book available for purchase from my Blurb account before Xmas...  Good gifts people!

2010 Estria invitational - Denver's Own Represent!

Very inspirational... Good job Jher!

Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle 2010 from Estria Battle on Vimeo.

Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle 2010



Documentary Short

Produced & directed by Thenmozhi Soundararajan



Interviews of:

- Estria Miyashiro

- Marc Bamuthi Joseph of Youth Speaks

- Nate1/MPC - 2010 Judge

- Crayone/TWS - 2010 Judge

- Jason Mateo / EIGB Producer

- Vogue/TDK - Oakland

- Siloutte - San Francisco

- Jher/RTD KOG (2nd Place Winner)

- Twick / ICP - San Franciscso

- Prime / 808 Urban - Honolulu

- Dime / Visual Element - Oakland

- VyalOne / KOD COI - (1st Place Winner) Los Angeles

- Weyland Southon / Hard Knock Radio



Sponsored by Youth Speaks Life Is Living Festival & Montana Colors North America

recent work

Here's a couple detail shots of some pieces inspired by street beggars...  Found paper, aerosol, oil stick, and dirt, on board.  More details soon#

ten years later

Yesterday, I took a brief moment to reflect on the WTC attacks ten years ago...  I'm not really sure how I feel about it today, but I know I was terrified when it happened.  So whatever angles or views people have on "who," "how," or "why," it hurts regardless.  R.I.P. to those that lost their lives that day, and R.I.P. to those (anywhere/everywhere) that have lost their lives to present day.

40West Arts

It looks like there will be a new arts district in the metro area, Lakewood to be exact, right across the street from RMCAD...  It could be big, stay aware and support our community!  www.40westarts.org -- do your part to help it fund!

The Big Draw on Westword's Blog

The Big Draw: No flyovers, no marching band, no more tears. And put a magnet on it.  Abecedarian Gallery and Magnet Mafia doing things again.

skate deck - almost final photo

This photo is before two coats of clearcoat.  Painted for the bridge to skate program.  I used a combination of mediums; pastel, aerosol, lacquer, acrylic, and metal powder.  The metal powder makes the surface magnetic while adding some interesting texture to the piece, lacquer was the bonder for the metal to stick.  click the image to zoom~

security envelope patterns

I've had an abnormal number of bills this year, I was pretty sad about them all until I noticed that every envelope isn't printed the same...  I have been saving the envelopes all summer and I'm getting ready to use them in my newest paintings!  I will probably make a handful of my own repeating patterns as well, but here's a preview of the 4 patterns I will most likely start working with.  Peace-


 
P.S. I searched to see what other people have done with security envelopes, here's what I found- http://tinyurl.com/3e9y5c7

Old friend

Good to see you again...

The Rad Dad Collective: HELP...London Fund Raiser For KING ROBBO

The Rad Dad Collective: HELP...London Fund Raiser For KING ROBBO: Robbo Still in a Coma


big it with a click

RD: You may have heard about the conflict between Banksy and King Robbo over the last fe...

old footage from broken bread gallery

thx to Eric Seetwist for the film

bridge to skate

I was invited to paint a skateboard deck for this organization...  My deck and others will be on display at Black Book Gallery for another week, if you're out on first Friday, stop by!

Here's a sneak peek.