R.I.P. Moebius

Moebius/Jean Giraud, one of the greatest artists of our time just passed away this weekend. He was an artistic legend, who had incredible talent, style and originality. He was Hendrix with a pen. He was a huge inspiration for me ever since I was introduced to his work as a kid in the '80s by my mom. There have been a few times over the years when I've had my work compared to his, and I would always take it as a huge compliment. Though he was more contemporary, I placed him in my pantheon of great classic artists right up there with Vermeer, Mucha, Caravaggio, Camarena, Holbein, Klimt, Gerome, Rivera, etc. He helped create the futuristic look of films like Alien, Blade Runner, The Abyss and Tron, while his drawing ability and style was consistently amazing and influenced generations of artists. I'm thankful for the inspiration.

Dash2000 Memorial

It seems like more and more people have been passing away too soon these days- I guess this is just part of life, part of getting older. This is the second memorial mural I've painted so far this year, and unfortunately there are still a few more I need to do.

I painted this portrait recently with Kofie and Plek for my friend Dominic "DASH 2000" Smith. He was known for being one of the early members of legendary LA graffiti crew UTI (Under The Influence) back in the '80s. He constantly experimented with different mediums, sketched, and painted, pushing his creativity for the rest of his life.

This portrait was based on a photo taken by Eriberto Oriol, the background was painted by Augustine Kofie, and Plek did the letters. Kofie's cloud designs are a tribute to Dash's deep respect and admiration for Asian culture, which often influenced his own artwork. This was painted on a wall in central LA that Dash painted regularly. Dash passed away last year from cancer, and today is his birthday.

You can also see some nice process shots by Carlos Gonzalez here.

Verse LTS memorial

Here are shots of a recent memorial mural I painted for Marcos "Verse" Vasquez in Mid-City, Los Angeles. His life was tragically cut short in 2006, but his spirit still lives strongly today among his friends and family. This is the second memorial I've painted for him, the first was a couple years back with Retna at Mid-City Arts.

Recent publications: VNA + Art Press

So I haven't had time to update lately since I've been busy painting and generally just distracted by life -I'll try and post up some more updates soon..for now, here's two recent publications I had artwork featured in worth mentioning.

The first one is a nice little interview in VNA Magazine (Very Nearly Almost) out of the UK, one of the classiest public art/street art magazines out there.

The second one looks like a porno based on the cover but is, in fact, one of the most respected art publications in Europe: Art Press. They featured "The Conductor", a mural I painted with Retna on the side of the Margulies Collection building in the the Wynwood district of Miami for Primary Flight during Art Basel in 2009.

I'm a little late posting about these, but they're both worth checking out. More good stuff on the way..

New video from Viet Nam

Here's a new video put together by the good folks at VNTWT in Saigon, VietNam. It's based on footage and interviews from when I painted there in 2010. I don't think I was as eloquent as I could have been, but other than that I think it's a great video and hopefully gives a little bit of an insight into how/why I paint what I do. I really found a lot of inspiration in VietNam and look forward to going back to paint there some more, and hopefully visit some other parts of SE Asia as well.

Also, I have a bunch of other updates to put up, but I've been locked away in the studio preparing for upcoming gallery shows & mural projects, but I'll be adding some more stuff soon..

New mural, new year

The first day of 2012 saw the release of this month's LA Times Magazine, which included a portrait I painted for an article by respected civil rights attorney and social justice champion, Constance "Connie" Rice. When the project came to me I was excited to paint her and thought it would be great to paint the portrait as a mural, so it could have a life beyond being seen in the magazine. The Times was into the idea, and after asking around, I was able to secure a location for the mural on the side of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in West LA. I was also able to meet with Ms. Rice at her Advancement Project offices and take some photos of her for reference. Very inspiring woman. I painted the mural in a couple days, and it was barely completed in time for the publishing deadline. Many thanks to Connie, Cary, Hannah, the LA Times Magazine, Aris, Carol, Mary, the CSPG, Oscar and John for their help making this possible. Carlos Gonzalez also got some cool process shots.

New piece in Phoenix on "Calle 16"

I was in Phoenix recently and painted a little something on the side of a new artspace called Por Vida Gallery (right next to the infamous Barrio Cafe on 16th street). My good friends Pablo Luna, Lalo Cota & Breeze Marcus just got the space recently and should be opening it soon. The portrait is based on a photo of the homie Chee from LA, though it could represent a lot of different folks.

Breeze said something about this mural that perfectly explains one of the reasons I love painting for the public so much:

"What I like best about this piece is there are a dozen dudes walking around this neighborhood that look just like this painting, and they all think its them. This piece now belongs to that community, and they appreciate it and respect. That's the most important thing."

As an example, below is a shot of "O.G." who lives nearby and does share a resemblance, if maybe a little older. He came through a couple times and expressed his support.

New EL MAC video from Barcelona

Here's a classy new video documenting the mural I painted recently at the MTN factory outside Barcelona, Spain.

This is a statement from the good folks at Popcranc that made the video:

“From the very start, when we had the opportunity to speak with Mac and find out more about his work, we decided to center the video idea not on the mural process, but on the style and inspiration of the author. The suggestive image of the girl which he painted really reminded us of Andy Warhol’s screen tests, and the simple details characteristic of Jean-Luc Godard’s Anna Karina. So we threw ourselves into the project, playing with that inspiration. The main thing was to use the dramatic combination of black and white, just as Mac did with his piece. We had a great time during the whole process with Mac, Ari, and Kim, and hope that they’ll come back to Barcelona soon. Many thanks to Montana for the opportunity!”

New Print: "Prayer"

I will be releasing a new print titled "Prayer" this tuesday Nov.22nd through Moon Editions of San Francisco. I haven't put out a print for a little while now, and this is a special one. It's based on the painting I created for the New Masters show at Subliminal Projects in LA earlier this year. I put a lot of time into painting this just how I wanted it, and the guys at Moon did a perfect job making it into a print. Thanks to Nick Portalupi & Brett Aronson for taking the time & effort to do it right, and thanks to Patrick Kawahara for the great documentation.

Here are some details:

EL MAC "Prayer" 2011

Two-color serigraph on archival Stonehenge 320 gsm.

100% cotton, acid-free.

Print is 21"x28"

Signed, stamped and numbered by the artist.

Vermilion red / Edition of 49

Metallic copper / Edition of 39

Teal blue variant / Edition of 9

Available Tuesday (Nov. 22) at a random time @ shop.mooneditions.com

For more information visit: mooneditions.com

New EL MAC mural in Barcelona, Spain

Here are shots of a mural I painted at the Montana paint factory just outside Barcelona, Spain. I've used the paint produced there for years and I had always imagined the place to be located in some harsh industrial wasteland. It is in fact surrounded by mountains and forests, just north of the famous Montserrat abbey and mountain range. This contrast between something so industrial and urban, and an environment so peaceful and natural seemed like a good setting for what I painted. I had access to hundreds of colors but decided to limit my color palette to just black, white and grey (and leave the full spectrum to the classic Os Gemeos mural across the way). Thanks to Lacheln for modeling for this, thanks to Ari and Kim for ground support, Jorge y Javier de Avant-Garde Urbano, y gracias a Jordi, Albert y todos los de MTN por hacer posible este mural.