Painted this quick little mural in the Shoreditch area of London a couple months ago. Based it on a photo I took of a local campesino when I was in Campeche, México last year. Wasn't even in London a full 24 hours, and basically spent the whole time there just painting this. Special thanks to Jim & Matilda of EOTL for the wall & amenities, thanks to the Bristol City Council for the paint, and thanks to the weather for not starting to rain until I finished.
Here's some shots of a new mural I just painted with my good friend Kofie in LA. It was commissioned for the new Red Bull Sound Space venue at the KROQ headquarters. Coincidentally, I just painted a guitarist in Spain recently, so this is a more modern, harder, electric companion to that. This is based on a photo I took of my girl Kim playing her vintage Supro guitar. I wanted this to convey a sense of rocking out combined with musicianship- I think Kofie's sharp, aggressive angles are a good compliment to the more focused, serene feel of the figure. Music is a key part of my painting process, I hardly ever paint without listening to some kind of music...so this is sort of an appreciation for all the great musicians that help us do what we do and make life better, one drum beat or guitar riff at a time. Thanks to Kim for modeling, and all the good folks from KROQ and Red Bull that helped make this mural possible.
These are shots of a new mural titled "El Guitarrista" I just painted in Spain. This was part of the Avant-Garde Urbano 2011 "international festival of artistic interventions in the urban space" held a couple weeks ago in Tudela de Navarra. The mural was painted in an old Gypsy neighborhood, next to a Romanesque church from the 12th century, La Iglesia de la Magdalena. The history and culture in this area runs deep. Christians, Jews and Muslims have all shaped the identity of old Tudela, and it was inspiring to soak some of this in. The wall faces a little plaza where each day families hang out, little kids play, and old ladies keep the mosquito population in check with their flyswatters. The image I painted there was based on a photo I took of a Mexican guitar player in East LA, and it seemed perfectly appropriate considering the connections between Flamenco music and Mexican/Latin-American music. This was produced by the Castel Ruiz cultural center and curated by Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada. The other participating artists included BLU, SUSO33, Filippo Minelli, Buenos Aires Stencil + Run Don't Walk. Many thanks to the talented and amazing Jorge & Ana, Javier & Castel Ruiz, Juanjo y su familia, my roll dogs Ari and Kim, MTN paints, and everyone else that helped make this project possible.
