Saturday, October 20, 2012

Not Forgotten

Not Forgotten (approx. 8ftx5ft, aerosol, 2012)


True Bboy (8inx10in, watercolour, ink, acrylic, 2012)

Rest in Power to Jarrett Bortscher, a member of Edmonton's breakdancing community. I didn't ever have the pleasure of meeting him, but he was well known for bringing mad game and energy every time he danced. The Bboy community in Edmonton is pretty tightly knit, thanks in particular to the Cypher Wild crew, and cats like Lunacee, Jeff Poppin' Fresh, and Creeasian ('The DJ Creeasian who just won back to back Redbull 3Style competitions in Edmonton, and plays Fridays and Saturdays at the Backroom, you ask?' Yes.) Jarrett had Asperger's, which is on the autism spectrum, but was not the type of person to let anything stop him from doing what he loved. A true Bboy, as well as a friend and inspiration to many, Jarrett will be missed and not forgotten. Creeasian got at me to create something for Jarrett's family, and True Bboy is the piece I created. I was inspired by the stories of Jarrett's breakin' abilities and commitment to bringing high energy and flavour to every cypher. Working on this piece got me thinking about loss, and how it can be a bitter, tragic part of the human experience we all share. For me at least, sometimes communicating helps; sharing the weight of a loss can often be cathartic. Just after I'd finished Not Forgotten at the legal wall up here, a lady walked up behind me, sobbing, and said she'd just lost a close friend and basically didn't feel like sticking around anymore, and the piece meant something to her. I really didn't know what to say at all, I said something corny like "I'm glad it meant something, I hope you feel better" and by the time I could muster anything more intelligible she'd walked on. Wow, I didn't mean for this to be a depressing post at all, so let's just enjoy the hell out of all the people we like. I should have just said that right off the bat!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Portraits

Geordie LaForge (approx 8ft x 7ft, aerosol on wall, 2012)
(photo by the homie Nutly)

(in progress)
(photo by Nutly)

What's crackin? Here are a couple aerosol portraits I knocked out over the weekend up here in Edmonton. Above is a portrait of LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordie LaForge from Star Trek: The Next Generation that I painted last sunday. You already know I'm a nerd like that. I chose LeVar Burton because he was one of the cats I looked up to as a kid. His character Geordie on Star Trek: TNG was unlike any other Black character I'd seen on TV — well-respected, tech-savvy, professional, and an integral part of the team on the Enterprise. What a boss! I'm proud of how this piece came out; I've been working hard on my portrait game, but this one was definitely a challenge, especially with a bit of wind and limited colour selection. By no means did it end up perfect, but I feel like I'm getting better! 

 Lots of people have been asking me lately if I use stencils or markers or an airbrush or anything like that, especially for the more realistic looking stuff — just to set the record straight, it's all free handed with spray paint only, it's more just about practice, thinking in layers, and understanding the medium. The LeVar Burton portrait took me about 5 hours to paint, and the one below took me about three and a half.


 Portrait Demo #1 (8ft x 4ft, aerosol on board, 2012)
(photo by Tiffany aka Zombiffany)


(in progress)
(photo by Maigan van der Giessen)

The black and white portrait above was created for an aerosol demo I did at Colours Art & Supply on the south side here in Edmonton last Saturday. The piece iteslf will be moving between Colours art stores, likely every few months. I learned a lot while doing both of these portraits, hopefully conveyed some knowledge, and happened to get a lot of props from passers by as well — thanks for all the love Edmonton! 





Monday, October 15, 2012

Rewind



 One World (60x48in, aerosol on canvas)
(photo by nutlydotnet)

Politic Live (60x36in, aerosol on canvas)



Yo! I'm back with a few blasts from the recent past — above are the two pieces I painted at the Alberta Culture Days Block Party this year, followed by a snapshot of the Nexen event I worked in Calgary. The top photo is of a piece I painted as a demonstration during part of the Block Part event, which celebrates family, diversity, and the local arts scene. Shoutout to Nutly getting some record of the piece in the low-light situation as I had to hand it over to the event organizers right away. The second photo is of the piece I painted live onstage while Politic Live played their set. It was just over 45 mins from start to finish, so my concept was to paint important words and phrases from the group's extensive history as the fill for the letters. PoliLive was backed by a full band, Quordal Fusion, who were killin it too, and the whole stage was shaking as I painted this! Peep their jam Throwback, grip the new album Ellipsis on Itunes, and go check them out when they're in your city! The third image is a bunch of shots taken by my man WiserOner at a Nexen/United Way event in Calgary. Myself and eight other artists were hired to run around encouraging about 300 employees in white plastic coveralls to paint each other. We started by lining up about 20 employees shoulder to shoulder, then painting a big piece across the front of them that read 'YOUNITED', which is a current United Way tagline. We had about 10 minutes or so to paint it, so we worked pretty efficiently as a team to set all the letters up and paint all of the (often awkward) nooks, crannies, and folds of the suits on our human canvasses... Then, we ran through the crowd getting them stoked about painting each other, usually by painting them first. It ended up being a fun and hilarious event, and I met a bunch of sick local artists I hope to see again hella soon. Peace to Wiser and Léa, Angel, Cody and Kai from Light&Soul, Matt, Toner, and Cendrine! 


Next, below you'll see the eight collaborative pieces we came up with for the Kaleido festival's Exquisite Corpse event in September. During the event, we each had an hour to paint 1/4 of each piece using ink, water, and only 3 brushes. We couldn't see what anyone else was painting until the end of the event, so before we switched canvasses to do the next quarter, the co-ordinator came and covered up what the last person just did. It was a fun project, and meeting and working with Kristen, Adam, and Kris was all good times! I think my favourites are the last two. I've been painting non-stop all weekend so I've got many new things to show very soon, but for now I've gotta run out and start a big halloween themed production with the homies Kurls and Demer. Stoked!!













Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Gettin' Fresh in the Clubhouse

Carlton Says... (Get Fresh) (approx 8ft x 6ft, aerosol, 2012)

Yaaooo! I've been meaning (Mingin') to show you these photos of my work at The Clubhouse, a not-for-profit arts organization here in Edmonton. They commissioned some work from me and a couple other artists as a part of their Culture Days celebration — they're one of the selected spaces for the festival, and will be showcasing several bands, an arts workshop by my man Ben, and much more! Check them out at 9510 105th ave above the bottle depot. Alberta Culture Days runs from Sept. 28-29th and is free and family friendly, so come check it out at the Clubhouse (after, of course, you come see me painting live for another Culture Days event on 104st and Jasper ave — I'll be painting a canvas live from 4:30 onwards, and also will be painting a piece live during Politic Live's set!). The portrait of Alfonso Ribeiro (aka Carlton from Fresh Prince) that I painted definitely seems to think you should come hang out!



CAPS feature wall (detail) (aerosol, 2012)

This here piece is one of my contributions to the feature wall, a collaboration with a local arts advocacy group called CAPS. You'll be hearing more about them soon, but for now, come see all the art we made — Ben, Bernie, and Miles all dropped some heat in here.


CAPS feature wall (detail) (aerosol, 2012)


Clubhouse Bar (aerosol, 2012)

Lastly, here's the bar I painted. OK, I gotta run — I'm due in Calgary for a United Way event tomorrow, then back on Friday to get my Culture Days on! Catch you soon homies!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Walk & Don't Look Back

I'm The Toughest (R.I.P. Peter Tosh) (approx 8.5ft x 4.5ft, aerosol on billboard, 2012)


The whole billboard about 3/4 finished

Yo homies! I've had an eventful week — on Tuesday I finished a mural along with Joker from Ihuman (see: last post) which is getting a little internet love, so far about 1000 likes on facebook and a ton of shares and comments. Jonathan, the main writer and producer we worked with on the project, is a hella cool guy, and let us do whatever we wanted on the billboard we were originally supposed to paint. I did a greyscale portrait of the Reggae legend Peter Tosh, and Joker repped his old graffiti name and crew. I'm proud of how the portrait came out, and although I still have tons of work to do on this area of my game, I'm excited to move forward and step it up! Peep this classic (and hilarious) video of Peter Tosh choppin it up with a wild-eyed Mick Jagger back in the day right here. Ok, that's it for today, I'm painting a pair of murals for Edmonton's The Creative Clubhouse tomorrow so I've gotta get myself sorted with supplies and that. Thanks for comin to kick it! One Love. 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Global TV Mural: The Process


Yo homies! Here's the mural I finished yesterday for GlobalTV's new campaign. I was contacted by Ihuman, a local group I've worked with several times in the past, to create some brand-conscious graffiti-influenced artwork (basically I'm a huge sellout is what I'm saying...jokes) to be used for what was originally to be a GlobalTV billboard. TV moves quickly, so the timeline to get things done was pretty tight! Ihuman also asked that I mentor one of the youth they work with, Joker, during the creation of the mural itself. There were some definite challenges throughout this process — the billboard we were supposed to paint on originally was blocked off by some roof construction crews working in the area, so we had to think on the fly. Luckily, Jonathan, one of the head creatives at Global Edmonton, pulled some strings and got us clearance to paint directly on the GlobalTV headquarters here in E-town! Another challenge was working collaboratively with a new artist — Joker definitely has some experience, but we have pretty different styles, not to mention that it's never easy working off of someone else's sketches, so props to my man Joker for getting it done! Also, on the second day of painting when we were doing a lot of the detail work, the wind picked up a ton, making it hard to work with gradients, a big part of this particular piece. A few last-minute changes to the design (moving the chopper over, making the logo a bit bigger, handpainting the logo for a more hand-made look as opposed to a stencil or vinyl) were accommodated as well, which made things a tiny bit trickier. In the end, everyone at Global loved the new piece, so all was well. I can't help but pick at tiny little things I wish I had the time to touch up, but it was important to make sure the piece was a group effort, not just my own creative impetus, and so I told the annoying little perfectionist in the back of my head to shut up for now. Below, check out the sketches, from my first four initial concepts, to the digitally coloured version of the one they chose (with some revisions regarding legibility and placement), to the final, approved sketch. Shout out to the homies Jonathan, Randall, Rhonda, Phil, Ashley, and everyone else at Global who came out to watch and support! There was a film crew on us for a big portion of the production, so they'll be editing it up right away and airing it soon. Nuff props to the man Touch, a local musician who's group Global commissioned to put a song together for the campaign. Touch was kickin it with us while we painted, and Global shot a mini-music video for the track, which is fire by the way, and should be released soon! Peace, and thanks for rolling through!









Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Kaleido Festival 2012 pt.1



Ayo! I'm back with a photo of one of the pieces I painted last weekend at Kaleido festival on 118th avenue. The photo is by my man Nutly, Edmonton's hiphop documentarian who's on his Henry Chalfant game for real. For those who don't know, certain areas along 118th ave have historically had a reputation for being tougher areas of town. Over the past few years, a lot of amazing work has been done to pull 118th ave together as a community and erase that reputation for good, and the motto 'we believe in 118' has been placed in business and community centre windows all down the ave. I painted this piece to help support the movement, and if Kaleido fest this year was any indication, things on 118th are coming along pretty damn well! I also painted several Exquisite Corpse style pieces in collaboration with 3 other artists, and am just waiting on the photos to come out. Catch you soon!

Friday, September 7, 2012

More Work + Etsy Shop!




Yo! What's happnin'? How's life?? Here's a quick update on what September has in store for me: I'm painting a few things at Kaleido Festival, which is this weekend. Raps On Wax Off, a hella dope fundraising event for Hip Hop in the Park, is next weekend (peep the poster I made above). Basically various local musicians are getting various body parts waxed, chosen by the most generous bidders, to raise money for next year's Hip Hop in the Park. I'm also collaborating with Ihuman on a big new project based in part on the Aerosol Academy program I designed earlier this summer, I'm performing at Culture Days here in Edmonton as well as an event in Calgary at the end of the month, and to top it all off I'm trying to finish a challenging commissioned portrait as well. Life is good!


One Love (48x36 in, 2012, aerosol on wood)

Gaudly (30x40 in, 2012, mixed media on canvas)

Here are a couple pieces I finished fairly recently. One Love was the piece I was working on for the brief Global TV spot promoting Kaleido Festival this year. Gaudly, the second piece, is a reconstitution of an older piece (can you tell which one?), and was purchased at Artwalk this year.

I also wanted to mention that I've opened a new shop on Etsy — you'll be able to buy prints of my work here, as well as occasional original pieces. There are prints in the shop at the moment from two of my favourite pieces. The prints are 12.5x17.5in on quality photo paper and are suitable for framing — they came out amazingly sharp, and are a great deal at the price. I won't be doing prints of even close to all of my pieces because ensuring a quality print means getting professional quality photos and printing done, but if you see something on my blog or in real life that you really want a print of, let me know via email — ajalouden@gmail.com — and I'll try my best to hook it up! 




Seasons Change

 Sara's Piece (2012, aerosol, acrylic, and ink on canvas)

Sara and her mom Lianne with their new piece.

Yo! Here's a piece I put together for as a commission last month. Sara wanted a large piece, a portrait, so we decided to do it in the style of my Research on Control series. I took a few liberties and experimented with the colour palette in the portrait a fair bit, and am happy with the results — I learned a lot doing this piece, and have another top-secret acrylic portrait thats been in the works for quite some time coming soon...



Rock the Rails 2012 demo piece

So I've spent part of my summer designing a program, called the Aerosol Academy, to teach youth about the history, cultural relevance, and legalities of graffiti. Using a custom workbook, they first learn about the history of the art form, then get to try out some of the tools and techniques, first on paper, then on canvasses or boards. At the end of the program, we again review the legality of graffiti — what it's legal for them to paint on and what they'll probably get in trouble for, and where the nearest legal wall is, or how to get one set up. At Rock the Rails last month in Leduc I introduced a super condensed version. Here's how it went...

Rock the Rails 2012. After running around all morning getting supplies for the Aerosol Academy Mini Camp, I get to the site at around 2 pm. It's nice and sunny out. I start prepping all the boards with basecoats and setting up the easels. Around 4:00, the wind picks up. Hella. We start putting everything away, and a big section of the sky turns green. Everyone starts taking pictures cause it's so freaky lookin. Then, intense lightning and thunder. Everyone runs to their vehicles and GTFOs. Intense hail and winds for like 2 hours. Then all of a sudden, at like 7pm everything clears up and it's all good, Rock the Rails 2012 skateparks competitions are delayed, but the Battle of the Bands is good to go, and the bands start to throw down. Kids start signing up for the Aerosol Academy, and I start giving them plastic jumpsuits, a quick walkthrough of the mini-workbook, and cans of spraypaint, then pointing them at 8'x4' sheet of plywood on easels. Other youth come over and check it out. More kids come with consent-form-signing parents in tow. I largely ignore the demo piece (above) I'm trying to paint as I'm too busy signing kids up. And stopping them from trying to figure out whats wrong with the nozzle by staring into it and trying to spray. The plan was definitely to do something a lot more structured, but considering it was hailing out half an hour before, a little rolling with the punches was required. Everyone had a great time regardless — we actually ran out of boards to paint on, and could have used more paint too, so despite the intense weather and tight timing, the event was hella successful! I wish I had some more time to finish the demo piece I did (shown above), there are definitely a ton of things I would have like to clean up, but it's all good. Congrats to Smile for the Bullet who took home the top prize in the Battle of the Bands!  


 Untitled (diptych) (2012, aerosol, housepaint, acrylic)

Lastly, here's a diptych I painted for my mom while I was down in Calgary for the long weekend. Seasons are changing where I live, and that's what these paintings are about. Aiight, thanks for coming by homies! I'll be back again to get it crackin' soon. 



Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Zombiffany

Zombiffany: The Shaolin Zombie 50's Housewife
(comic book cover, digital and traditional media, 2012)

OH SNAP! Is that a Shaolin Zombie, or a housewife from the 50's? Both?! Good Lord, have mercy, that can't be a bucket of BRAINS, can it?! What kind of comic book is this!? Does this comic book even exist? Only time will tell, my friends. As for the cover art, I created it using a combination of digital and traditional media. It's all an homage to my hella good friend Tiffany Tate, who loves zombies, B-movies, and 1950's culture. I know, she's awesome. She's also an extremely deadly illustrator. Zombiffany probably takes out her victims with a combination of deadly Kung Fu (like 5 Deadly Venoms deadly) and fierce wet towel whipping from that washcloth. Then she takes their brains back home to her zombie family. Zombiffany: Bringin' home the bacon brains. Word up. Have a gander at the original sketch below.



FPG3: Album Art

FPG3 (cover)

FPG3 (back)


Ayo! I'm back to share some album art I recently finished for Doobyis, a local musician. FPG#3 (which dropped today, get your copy right here) was a little more solitary and contemplative than the last instalment, and I wanted to reflect that in the cover art. D is alone in the lab with a pen and a pad, honing his craft and gettin' his 10,000 in. There are lots of little details taken from the music, like the posters on the wall (MF Doom, Ghostface, and B.I.G.), Soundcloud up on the computer screen, a Nas CD on the table, and Doobs rocking workboots and a green hat with a D, to name a few. For the back cover, I went with some hand-rendered type to represent the DIY self-made style of music Doobyis makes. A few key lines from track #2, "The Wreckage", inspired the visuals for the backside. This was a fun project — Doobyis trusted me with a lot of creative freedom and enough time to get the job done right, and I'm really proud of the results. A special shoutout goes to my man Jarett, whose critiques were invaluable throughout this piece, and my man Bmoney, for teaching me to keep my files tight — this project was drawn by hand and then coloured digitally, so with all the layers involved, not being a sloppy worker was a huge help to me. 'Till next time, onwards and upwards homies!

Friday, August 31, 2012

Shame on me!

Twerk Laser (12x12in, aerosol on canvas, 2012)

Ok — shame on me!! Leaving for so long without a single update, without even announcing the winner of the Broken Arrow contest!? Ridiculous! To be honest, I haven't been feeling great for the past while, but that's definitely no excuse. Well, now that we're here, onwards to the Broken Arrow contest results! The mystery prize, Twerk Laser, can be seen above. Please give it up for the winner, one Alex Ross of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This was actually a hella tough decision. I was lucky enough (thanks so much everyone!!) to get a ton of thoughtful, well articulated, original and insightful submissions. I was totally overwhelmed by both the number and quality; I was driven into the lab like a madman wanting to create more work, stronger work. Alex's submission got the win because it was poignant and concise (something I often struggle with in my own writing), and powerfully honest. It gave me a totally new perspective on Broken Arrow, and the Singularities series in general, and how it could be read. I really want to thank everyone again for sending something in, I learned so much about the work I create through how you saw it. I've read all the submissions at least 9 or 10 times, some more, and so many people putting time, energy, and thought into their responses is seriously gratifying and hella motivating. Much love!

Broken Arrow (36x24in, aerosol on canvas, 2012)


I don't have room to share all of the submissions in full, but I wanted to share excerpts from a few of my favourites (I've left any minor spelling or grammatical errors in):


"...seems like a cave painting that was left in Neverland. A story that would be passed along almost as an urban fairy tale. Something that would be discovered post apocalypse. Where the street artists were the cavemen and the lost boys are us."


"Yo this painting gives me a reminder of my long struggle with addiction and alcoholism. The tan backround is the blindfold of alcohol and how little i see and enjoy in life when i drink, it seems calm and has the appearance to have a greater message, but it doesnt. The real joy and journey through life is along the arrow, with all sorts of colours representing balance in life. Too much of anything makes you an addict right, life is dull with only a few colours, too rigid and stagnant. I like how its got flow, still water stinks. I need to remind myself to always move forward and have variety. For me, my arrows been broken, split and gone all sorts of different angles. Each break in my arrow has led me places i would never had known exsisted that have made me a better person. So far, the arrow keeps goin, i just cant forget whats in my background or i might just be blindfolded again."


"To my eyes, I see some tags and graffiti on a wall somewhere that's been painted over (presumably by some social authority, suggesting all sorts of narratives about power and marginalized expression). The sharp lines and bright colors overlaying the the staid tan layer resemble the geometry of a circuit board, suggesting that digital tools offer a means of combating wheat colored repression. Most importantly, while the color palette revealed by the transformer-style circuitry is probably brighter and more saturated than it was prior to being painted over by the tan, it's not an entirely new palette. In other words, the tools of the digital age don't fundamentally alter the original expression, but increase its power and make it much harder to paint over and sweep under the metaphorical rug. All the oblique angles suggest that the circuitry is dynamic and growing... In other words, it's just getting started." (Snap, homie!!)


"It reminds me of what Jimmi Hendrix would see while tripping out on acid while doing a live show."


"I get an almost Native American feeling from the brown and tan colours in the piece, tagged "thieving s(w?)ine" as if in retort for the land that the white man has stolen from them, and indirectly created the art form that is being used to create the piece itself."


"The first thing that stands out to me is a theme of chaos among order; specifically I immediately noticed that although most of the 'circuit' lines seem to follow a clearly defined path/pattern, there are a few that are not entirely parallel with their neighbors. The fist stands out next, representing to me resistance, rebellion and non-conformism. The overall design is reminiscent of a circuit board and similarly-derived themes (e.g. Tron), signifying transmission of information and automation of calculation - building blocks in human advancement. Bland foreground colours with bits of words I can't make out are reminiscent of Soviet-era opression, and I imagine a cicuit-shaped Band-Aid being ripped away to reveal the bright, colourful existence that lies beneath - the future. Perhaps this suggests that it is communication/transmission of information that is the vehicle in beginning the dismantling of oppressive regimes. Although the circuit lines in the top right are still composed of straight lines, they are some of the only angles in the piece that are obtus (greater than 90 degrees), making them seem nearly organic compared to the carefully structured other lines. It almost looks like an eagle's wing to me, symbolizing liberty/freedom. The location of this 'wing' so close to the defiant fist further suggests rebellion/defiance for the sake of freedom from oppression."


"What I see in it is essentially the growth and evolution of consciousness.  It's always there, but only can be tuned into on certain frequencies, rhythms, and codes.  Everywhere that has not been transmitted into it is still there (the tan, textured background), just not nearly as vibrant or soulful as the rest of the environments or entities that enable consciousness.  It's almost as if it is there, but after it's searching for patterns, or ways to organize itself, the consciousness reveals that it's really just created it's own pattern of consciousness in the process." (Deep!)


"When I look at this painting, I can't help but feel pumped. Like, as good as you feel when you win a contest. Yeah, that's exactly it. It makes me feel like a winner. Of contests. The bright colours and sharp lines that really solidify that for me, they have the same internal energy made even more invigorating but also anxiety inducing by the neutral yellow that is quite predominant in the piece. Although it's not completely neutral, so sorta like when someone first tells you about a contest and you get visibly excited but you don't want to get fully excited like you just know that if you get your hopes up that it'll really suck when you don't win because it'd be the best feeling ever to win without a doubt, the best ever, and your trepidation shows but it what truly it shows is that you're not letting yourself fully feel your inner, lurking, more excited excitement in anticipation because you're pretty sure you're talented and funny and attractive enough to win. The painting shows that though. The inner stuff." (this made me laugh so much! and relate)


"Looks like the airport at Area 54 with the desert floor in the background and the CIA's idea of camouflage on the runways."


"The vertical lines that taper off in a 3D skyline type of a way at the top, and are decorated with billowing banners and a fist (representing glamour and power respectively), portray the current rap major labels, the Def Jams, Cash Money, Aftermath ect., and, compared to the surroundings, its the most interesting thing happening by far. I can't really begin to accurately guess what the lettering behind or in the building actually says, but for my purposes, I'm seeing that as reading something close to "Thieving Inc.". That green script inside the tower might read "Evil" though too, that could work.. Anyways, its got the semi official lookin circular stamp shape encircling the towers, so it all represents the industry in my eyes. Everything about the lines has a very high-tech feel to it, like circuitry, which is appropriate because the commercialization of the Hip Hop culture has always been very much based on technology; be in cassettes, CDs, or now MP3s (and headphones), the big leagues were/are making most of their skrilla off of selling the actual plastic the music was printed on, not the music. It's the reason that the industry is having trouble making money now that no one wants to pay 14 bucks for a piece of plastic that cost the company 2 dollars, of which 1 dollar  actually went to the artists pocket. But that's another rant..."


My man Doobyis also recorded a fresh track called The Breakthrough as a submission — check it out after the jump! Thanks again for coming thru, and a big big-up goes to all those that had a chance to submit something to the contest. I'm in Calgary over the weekend but have a TON of new work to share once I get back — no months-long hiatus this time, I promise! 

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Quadruple Update

Cason (48x36in, aerosol on canvas, 2012)


Rock the Rails founder Jason aka Cason recently took an opportunity to move on to something bigger, and some of the other staff in Leduc wanted to give him a token of their appreciation, so they commissioned a painting from me. I gave them a deal on it because I worked with Jason last year at RTR and it ended up being a really good time, so I wanted to help out. There are some top-secret inside jokes and references hidden in this one, but my lips are sealed!


Untitled (detail) (12x18in, aerosol and acrylic on canvas, 2012)


My lil' sister Sara loves teacup pigs, and since it was recently her birthday, I had to hook a sister up. Unfortunately these things cost like a couple grand, so with the help of The Googles, I found a reference photo and painted one instead, then took a bus down to Calgary to surprise deliver it at a sushi house! Happy bday sis, much love! Thanks to Nana and Opa for covertly smuggling me in from the bus station...


Ashley's Mailbox (aerosol and acrylic on mailbox, 2012)


This mailbox was my first foray into the art of pinstriping. I really wish I'd gotten a better photo, because the angle and focus in this shot don't do the piece justice. I have a newfound respect for all those old-school pinstripe artists who do these pieces effortlessly with fast-dry single shot enamel and no underdrawings or wax pencil grids. I have a lot to learn if I want to step to that level — this thing took a lot of hours out of me, from watching youtube instructional videos to drawing and redrawing my sketch on the box to painstakingly painting and repainting the weighted lines in multiple layers because the white wasn't popping enough. One of the challenges of pinstriping is the fact that with no background, there's no way to cover up any mistakes, so everything pretty much has to be first try. Add the element of suggested symmetry, and things get hella tricky hella fast.  I suffered a major setback near the end of the piece when the final layer of matte varnish frosted over on the lid, forcing me to repaint half of the top black and redo the lettering — luckily I'm friends with letters so they went easy on me, and my new liner brush came through in a pinch. There's a lot of little things I pick at whenever I look at this one, but overall I learned a lot and the client loved it, so I'm checking the win column. 



Photo credit: DJ Dice

 Photo credit: DJ Dice


I painted local musican and emcee Maigan's car a couple weeks ago at the Ihuman Block Party. She was super open to whatever I wanted to do, which was pretty much the best news possible, so I just did my damn thing and dropped the Tribe Called Quest album title cause that's what she's 'bout! Shoutout to Ihuman for throwing down a dope block party, DJ Dice for the photos and crazy cuts, DJ Creeasian for the party rocking beats, and all the performers for a hella good show. There are just over 2 weeks left in the Broken Arrow Contest, and I'm still getting some great responses — drop me a line yourself when you get a minute! One love!