Well, I made it. Five years and several thousand dollars later, I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in Painting & Printmaking, but not without learning to hate the graphic design and business departments along the way. The decision to get a painting degree was hands down one of the best decisions I made in my life, as I met some of the most creative (and all around best) people in the world. Unfortunately, not all of us graduated at the same time, but I’m certainly looking forward to going back next year to do it all over again with the rest of the group. Here are a few pictures from graduation, feel free to check my Picasa account here for some more pictures and the higher resolution versions of these.

I found this on Conor Harrington’s blog, and was too cool not to pass on.

Call me a skeptic, but there’s no way on earth this thing is real. Anyone that uses spray paint wishes for a store that’s open 24 hours a day. Whether you’re painting on the street or on canvas, for some reason it seems like the majority of our work is done at odd hours of the night. Enter Graffomat, the always-open vending machine for cans, masks, and caps.  From their website:

GRAFFOMAT will supply you with all of your favorite state of the art graffiti supplies such as markers, caps, gloves, and everything else that the graffiti writer needs. Including ski masks! Forget about the times where you would run out of paint in the middle of the night and there would be nothing you could do about it. Graffomat is here for you 24 hours a day, located easily accessible on almost every street corner in your neighborhood.

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It’s been an insanely busy couple weeks. Between preparing for graduation, solidifying plans for a couple shows, and tying up some business loose ends, there hasn’t been a lot of free time for new paintings. And by that I mean it’s basically all I’ve filled my extra time with. I have 8 paintings currently in various stages of completion, which has to be some kind of an all-time record for me. I’m experimenting with a few new subjects, some of the same, and adding new styles to the mix. Honestly, all I do is play.

Here’s a quick glimpse at 6 of the 8 templates in various stages of completion. I’m teetering between the fear that I’m giving too much information and not enough, so I guess that’s a good place to be.

Here we go. Another Shepard Fairey show, another divisive debate over who hates him, who loves him, and who respects him. I fall into the latter category. I like his work, but after a while it feels a tad formulaic. Every now and then, a new piece comes out that I’m all about, but usually I can take it or leave it (although, admittedly, I don’t always know the full details of the backstory behind the piece).

The guy is sort of an expert on portraiture. Like many other great artists of today and centuries ago, it is a great honor to have him create a portrait of you. He now tends to do art that is driven by some kind of cause, whether it is political (American or otherwise) or for some kind of non-profit organization. If that’s enough for you to hate him, check yourself first. Fairey is drawing awareness to things he believes in through his art – he puts a lot of himself out there for people to judge. I can’t say I agree with all of his platforms, but I have a lot of respect him for putting it out there.

The real problem seems to be the view that he’s a sell-out. Please, take your hipster bullshit out of the scene. Shep spent the better part of the past 20 years building his brand from the ground up, from his simple yet infamous sticker campaign to large murals wheatpasted up throughout the world. He’s well aware of the storm of opinions he stirs up. In his own words,

“Because I’m straddling the line between all these different worlds – the fine art world, the street art world, commercial design, fashion – I think I’m a target for a lot of narrow-minded people who just aren’t comfortable with my multi-platform approach.”

The difference between me, you, and Shepard is that he is a highly sought after artist recieving high-profile commissions, where mine and yours are much smaller. Whether it’s the poster he just did for the 2010 Grammy Awards, book covers for 1984 and Animal House, the Walk the Line Poster, or the cover of the Smashing Pumpkins latest album, he does a lot of largely circulated commercial imagery. And the Obama “Hope” poster he created that really got everyone jocking him? He did that on his own – the Democratic party contacted him after it was created to use the work for Obama’s campaign, at which point it was widely distributed. Many people believe he was initially commissioned for this piece, which he was not. Again, simply doing what he believes in.

Last week, he finished up a mural in Manhattan for his May Day show coming up this weekend to close out Deitch Projects. Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly), the mural was quickly vandalized by some disrespectful kid looking for a cut of the fame – whether you like the artist or not, going over is pretty senseless. It’s also very strange to see his work behind police tape in an investigation, when he’s been the subject of a lot of litigation over the past year (arrest in Boston, AP photo infringement).

On a more positive note, some artists with a lot of credibility stepped forward to offer their support and respect. COPE2, EWOK, and INDIE hit up the side of the wall, a nice show of support from some big names in the scene (COPE2 and Shep also did a mural in the Bronx, more on that here via 12oz Prophet).

Point of this long rant is that you might not like all (or even any) of his work, but at least give the guy the respect he deserves. He’s still a huge part of the scene despite his success (also one of the key figures in actually creating the modern scene as it exists today) and he’s a great philanthropist . People that know me might be surprised to know that he’s certainly not my favorite artist (probably not even in the top ten), just like Notorious B.I.G. might not be your favorite rapper. However, he deserves a lot of respect for being a pioneer and is one of the grandfathers of street art. And because of that, he probably understands it all better than you or I do anyway.

“If that’s how they express their view is by vandalizing my mural, that’s fair. I assume that they think that putting a bullet hole through it is a clever interactive addition, which I actually agree with.”
-Shepard Fairey

The ingredients list on this old can of latex paint was pretty reassuring, especially that last part.

Late last Thursday night, I was cutting stencils for a new painting (now complete) when I got careless and sloppy, resulting in three stitches and a trip to urgent care. Like any reasonable person would do, I grimaced, wrapped the cut in a paper towel, taped it up with blue painter’s tape, clutched my finger for about 15 minutes, finished cutting the layer and went to urgent care 8 hours later.

Stop reading now if you hate blood. Keep reading if you want to see me in pain.

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Finally, a video that was made just for me. This artistic gem incorporates New York City, old school video games, bright colors, and the general craziness that you’d expect from such a combination. Completely awesome – do yourself a favor and watch it.

Banksy’s highly anticipated film “Exit Through the Gift Shop” is opening in US cinemas on April 16th in select cities and opening in other cities shortly thereafter for a very limited release. A five minute preview was just released, and it’s safe to say I’m really excited about this. Thinking of driving up to LA for the midnight showings on the 16th, who’s down? Release schedule after the break.

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A big reason I wanted to start adding more personal posts to the site was to share things that inspire me and artists that you should know about as well as studio updates. I found a couple gems on Wooster this week and thought they were definitely worth sharing.

First is C215. I’ve been following his work for a while and he’s always been really pushing the capabilities of stencils. The amount of detail he is able to get in his portraits on the street is unreal. Now, he’s really changed up his style and is pushing in a new direction that I think will bring him a lot of attention and success.

C215 - Toulouse (Blagnac)

C215 - Paris

Older piece by C215

Also, Mobstr had some fun in Newcastle. Apparently these images are from 2007, but it’s pretty funny nonetheless. Mobstr’s work is very location specific, so having a dialogue with the Newcastle City Council shouldn’t be too surprising.

Couple of things to update on:

SDSU Student Award Exhibition

I have a piece showing in the San Diego State University Student Award Exhibition, which is showing right now in the SDSU Flor y Canto and Everett Gee Jackson Galleries on campus in the art building. The reception takes place on Tuesday, March 23rd from 5-6pm, come by and say hi.

WRHWK in the Flor Y Canto Gallery

SDSU Student Award Exhibition

Just finished a new piece called DYNMT on Wednesday night. This one has been in the works for a few months, but finally got it out.

DYNMT in progress

DYNMT, 36 x 24, completed 3/17/10

I did this

Thanks to the quality of Pacifico’s cardboard box manufacturers, I managed to turn a 12-pack into an 8-pack plus broken glass. My advice to you: don’t trust those handles, the studio will appreciate it.

That’s Not All Folks

Due to the awards reception for the student show, I will not be showing any pieces at “That’s Not All Folks.” I did an installation in that space that will remain for the show and there will be a lot of great work showing so if you come to the awards reception, make the short trip across the bridge to check this show out, you won’t regret it. Some setup shots:

And some parting words of wisdom…

(handwriting reads, “unless your work sucks, of course”)

If happiness could be packed into a cardboard box, taped shut, and shipped to someone’s doorstep, it would look a lot like the box I just got at my front door this morning. I bought a 24 pack of Ironlak paint from 33third while I wait for OinkArt to restock. 21 of the cans are Ironlaks, 3 are Montana Hardcore (ran out of Ironlaks?), and they also sent me a free can of Montana 94, which is Montana’s low pressure paint. I absolutely love the Ironlaks but I’m looking forward to pitting them against the 94 can. Montana vs. Ironlak comparison will come next time after I get acquainted with all of them in the studio.

Thumbprint

I participated in Thumbprint’s monthly benefit show on Saturday that runs through today (March 10th). This month, it benefitted YMCA’s Strong Kids Campaign, which promotes healthy family habits (sidenote: Stef’s organization, Perfect Match, will be the charity organization represented next month). The show was a lot of fun, so thank you to everyone who came out!

After the show, I dropped by Kleen House downtown (920 E St, San Diego, CA 92101) because I picked up a card they had on the table at the gallery. To my hard-to-contain giddy excitement, I discovered that a pretty extensive selection of Ironlak paint, graffiti tools, original art – honestly a very rad place that I’ll be frequenting often.

Student Show – March 23

I went back in to the studio that night after the show, armed with a small contingent of Ironlak cans to finish up WRHWK #3 to submit to the student show at SDSU. RNWY, WRHWK, and BRNBBYBRN were all submitted, and I was fortunate enough to have WRHWK accepted – the show opens on March 15th and the reception and awards ceremony takes place on March 23rd at 6pm.

Ironlak

This brings me to my first impressions of the Ironlak paint that I used to paint the WRHWK piece that got accepted. Put simply, the paint is great. For the uninitiated, it’s a low pressure can, meaning there isn’t a lot of “wind” when you’re painting. This becomes very important when painting multiple layers of stencils, and I was very pleased with how crisp and clean the lines were after layers were put down. Paint comes slow and smooth and is pressure sensitive. The paint dries very quickly and has a finish that’s not quite matte and not quite gloss – sort of a semi-gloss, but regardless, it’s a very nice finish. The only other graffiti paint I’ve spent much time using is Montana Gold, which smells like nailpolish and I honestly can’t stand. Rusto Painter’s Touch has been my paint of choice for the past two years, if only for the fact that it’s inexpensive and very convenient to pick up (every Home Depot has it and the color selection is decent). In comparison, Ironlak has a very unique smell. A few have described the smell as “coconut” and others as “banana.” The masked scent is much appreciated, believe me, but the jury is still out on whether the scent is just too strong. And they’re not exaggerating when they brag about coverage – this paint covers other layers extremely well. Knowing now that Ironlak is available at Kleen House downtown if I’m pressed for time is great – I’ll certainly be buying a lot more Ironlak from them as well as 33third, and hopefully Oink sometime soon. Definitely looking forward to Ironlak Reload.

Frames

I’m currently toying with framing my finished paintings for added effect. I think it’s kind of fun to see wheatpaste and stencils presented in such a formal way, so I’ll be doing more of this in the coming weeks. Here’s a couple of sample shots (excuse the cell phone quality):

A long time ago, I swore to myself that I’d never use green as a background color ever again. For some reason, I’m never happy with how it looks. Sometimes I look back at older pieces and think I could have picked a better color here or there; in green’s case, every color is better as far as backgrounds go.

About three weeks ago, I broke that rule and planned a piece with a green background. I ended up picking different colors for the piece (which hasn’t been started yet), so I’m scrapping the green canvas I prepared in favor of a yellow background prepared for WRHWK #3. This will be the last green background you ever see – I’m keeping my promise this time.

I also swore I’d never buy another metallic color – ever. They smell terrible, coverage is miserable, and they take forever to dry. I went back on that today when I bought a frame that I didn’t particularly care for in it’s purchased state. Since they don’t make gaudy chrome frames, I painted my own. It’s gonna be fun. Just waiting for it to dry at this point before I put BRNBBYBRN in.

I’m preparing a few pieces for a couple of shows coming up – attaching wire to hang them, numbering and dating, and painting the edges the way they should be.

Finally, I think it’s time to change the filters in my respirator. On a related note, I should be wearing my respirator more often.