Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Research on Control 2 (and R.o.C.1 revisited)


Research on Control 2 (22x30'' mixed media, 2010)



Don't ask me why these dudes are wearing spandex pants...

I did a few of these sketches quickly early on but
most of them felt too posed so i went bigger.

Research on Control 1 (40x30'', aerosol and acrylic on canvas, 2010)

Back again to get it crackin'! I've been busy lately working on a new series called Research on Control - remember the piece above from a few posts back? It was just the first in a series I'm doing on the struggle for control of public visual space, and I just put the finishing touches on the second in the series (top of this post). I needed to do this series to express concepts about control of public visual space that I've wrestled with for several years now and have never been able to properly articulate with words. Other than that, I'll try and let the work speak for itself. Completely unrelated video after the jump! This one goes out to all my DJ homies on the grind - I got you!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Colours Art Supply Mural




Almost done!




This was a mural I produced as a demo along with a tutorial yesterday, July 24th at the south Edmonton Colours location (7371 104st) in Alberta, Canada. I painted the piece and taught the lesson within about 4 hours. The owners of the building wanted something eye-catching because nobody could find the place, and they also wanted to provide customers with a tutorial on use of the Montana Gold brand spray paint that they sell. You know your man was more than happy to help them out! I started by giving the students handouts with a few tips on which caps to use when, and showed them how to hold a can to get more control as well as a couple techniques to practice to help their can control, then answered any of their questions as I started working. About halfway through I took a break and showed them some things they wanted to learn on a few scrap boards. Teaching was fun, and I'd be interested in trying it again - I feel like I learn a lot about my own process as I share it. Big ups to everyone that came out!! In terms of the mural, I wanted it to be legible but stylized and fun, and my time was restricted quite a bit by lesson length and budget. I used art supplies to represent some of the letters and stylized the other letters to try show the diversity in styles of art, and also so I could show my students a wide variety of techniques throughout the piece.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Few more works from Artwalk 2010


Welcome Home Deer (~6x12", Watercolour and India Ink, 2010)


Laser Bear (~12x10", Watercolour and India Ink, 2010 )

  
Fortune (24x6", Acrylic, 2009-2010)


              7x20" quick pencil sketch for an upcoming watercolour and india ink (2010)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Cycloptopus vs. Scuba Ninja






      What's percolatin'!? Artwalk went great, more photos later, but for now here are some process photos from the skateboard I started at Artwalk this year (and finished at home shortly after) - "Cycloptopus vs. Scuba Ninja" (Acrylic, 2010). The concept development behind this project was kind of freestyled; I just started mixing paint and throwing it at the skateboard to get a loose background, and basically just went from there with the first ideas that came to mind. I'm a cephalopod fan, like many people, as well as a fan of ninjas. I probably would have put a laser in here but they don't work well under water.
      Trying to document my art has been a bit of a problem for me so far, I don't have too much camera experience yet, so I'm always impressed by people that do it up right. On that note, I'm gonna take a page out of my homie Jarett's book and leave you with a dope joint off of the new Big Boi album - this one goes out to all the shutterbugs out there... do ya damn thang!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ_iZbcb1uw

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Rest In Power GURU











Photo credit: Anton Louden


This work was created with spray paint at the Hip Hop in the Park 2010 event as a tribute to Keith Elam, AKA Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal (GURU), a legend and major originator in Hiphop music and culture, and one of my favourite MCs. His presence is sorely missed - he was most famous for his seminal work with DJ Premier in the group Gangstarr, as well as for being a major force in Jazz-Hiphop fusion with his Jazzmatazz projects. Rest In Power GURU (1961-2010). Both pieces were purchased at the event and now belong to Khy of Locution Revolution - check his crew out after the jump.(http://locutionrevolution.com/home.cfm)

Strawberry Dark Chocolates











High heels for Nikki! She wanted something fun and bright with lots of pink, so I kept the colours simple and went for high contrast - a warm, rich, chocolatey brown with a strawberry ice-cream pink for the letters and a splash of extra flavour with the fresh strawberry syrup outline! I gave the letters lots of motion and direction to keep your eyes moving around the shoes, and tried to make them interesting and different from every angle. Lots of work but super fun!!

Raspberry Lemonades











Lizzy's Raspberry Lemonades. I did these custom AF1s for my homegirl Lizzy! Whoop whoop! She wanted some kicks for her hiphop dance class - the colourway is called Lizzy's Raspberry Lemonade, and the themes were spring/summer, freshness, and mad flavour! The swoosh is in a duocolour turquoise/silver, I wanted it to be the ice in the glass, and the whole shoe was finished with a satin varnish for a low-key sheen..

Earlier work...


Skateboard hand painted with acrylics for my friend Cabel, who is a drum thug.

A watercolour/india ink for the office of my friend Colin Spence, ESQ.









I did this lil bastard up for the first DSO event I participated in - we created custom Munny designs as a fundraiser. His name is Thrasher Zombie, all his accesories are hand crafted (including a mini aerosol can with an old school Krylon logo - word is bond), and his logo sticker was hand rendered as well. He was sold during the show, which was in 2009 at Foosh on Whyte ave in Edmonton, AB, Canada.





These are the first sneakers I customized - I did them for an event called Make It Kick that was put on by the DSO and the Eveline Charles Academy. The concept is called the AF1 Run Your Town, and the kicks were purchased at the show, which was in 2009 at the Eveline Charles Academy in Edmonton, AB, Canada.