"Portrait of a Dying Cockroach" - New Installation for Public Provocations at Carhartt Gallery, Basel

Disclaimer: The last couple months have been hectic...Along with traveling, I've just moved recently and it may take a sec to get settled and get the new base of operations up and running. Apologies for not keeping up with correspondence, I'll do my best to catch up.

Here are some shots from the installation I did for the Public Provocations show at the Carhartt Gallery during ArtBasel on the Swiss/German border. The center piece is titled "Portrait of a Dying Cockroach". I tried to paint this in the most graceful, beautiful way I could. It's based on some photos I took of an unnoticed roach on the spotless floor of the Margulies collection in Miami. This was from when Retna and myself painted a mural on the side of their building during the Miami ArtBasel a couple years ago. Something about painting that there during the Swiss ArtBasel seemed appropriate. While I was there someone told me they don't have roaches in Switzerland, but I don't believe this.

"Let the Arts Roam" - New video portrait of Mac & Retna

This is a new video just released by I Am Los Angeles / Joris Debeij that I think came out really nice. It documents some of the creation of my most recent collaborative mural with Retna for a school in LA, across from MacArthur Park. Here's their description for the video:

"Wherever they go, they try to make something that makes sense for the neighborhood, and the community. And they always make something positive, something the artists hope people can enjoy -- regardless of whether life has greeted them with great fortune. Armed with a vision and their cans of spray paint, El Mac and Retna will transform a forgotten wall into a piece of art.

El Mac and Retna are street artists, born in LA. They use building walls as blank canvases for their imagery, and the duo has collaborated to create murals all over the world. El Mac and Retna have very different styles, and have been collaborating the last few years. They combine their artistic forces in a specific way: El Mac creates huge lifelike portraits and Retna, calligraphic brushwork and decoration. The result is striking imagery that is unique and recognizable as theirs. It's not uncommon for street art fans and documentarians to gather to watch the progression of an El Mac and Retna work in progress.

El Mac and Retna art feels appropriate for the street because the artists themselves embrace the city streets, the different neighborhoods, and the blend of cultures and backgrounds of the people that fill them. Street art, including the work of El Mac and Retna, also reflects a new attitude about accessibility to art in our environments. "Why not see all the walls painted," says Retna. "Let the Arts Roam!"

"Kosoom by the Mekong" - New Video from Viet Nam

Here's a cool video made by The Propeller Group out of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. It documents my visit there last summer when I painted a mural of my girlfriend Kim's grandmother, Kosoom. It was an amazing and inspiring experience, and these guys did a great job documenting it with this video.

Here's their description for the video:

El Mac painted this beautiful mural in front of Sàn Art, an independent artist space, also just outside the offices of The Propeller Group in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. This painting is based on a photo of Kosoom, the grandmother of El Mac's girlfriend.

All of the photographs included in this video as well as the footage of motorbikes zooming through the city were taken by El Mac. Part of his process is documenting different people from different places and selecting a handful to paint on walls around the world. We wanted this video piece to be a reflection of how El Mac saw the world of Viet Nam for the first time, taking it all in, and juxtaposing the fast paced life in the city with this giant portrait that would literally slow people down in admiration as they passed by.

More info, photos, etc at www.VNTWT.com

"Public Provocations" installation at Carhartt Gallery x ArtBasel

I'm doing a small installation at the Carhartt Gallery, Basel (along the Swiss-German-French border) along with some other respected international artists.. opening June 11th, right before ArtBasel

"Art in the Streets"

Seeing as how there's been all this attention paid to "street art" lately I thought I'd put up this old photo I found from 1995. It was taken by my friend STOEC NBS, who was one of my earliest painting partners, and did the fresh robot character to the right. I painted the thing on the left which was some kind of lizard in a suit and was pretty wack, so I probably wouldn't post the whole wall even if I find the photo. This wall was at the corner of Central and Lincoln in downtown Phoenix. Since then I've been stepping up my can control & facial hair situation, still working on the wardrobe part. When this photo was taken I had no idea that painting murals/street-art/graffiti would pretty much control my life for the next 16+ years....

"Inspired" - New mural in LA with Kofie

This is a permanent "outdoor mural installation" I just painted with Kofie in Los Angeles titled "Inspired". It's at Mid-City Arts/33Third in conjunction with the Pasadena Museum of California Art's new 'Street Cred' Exhibition. It's our fourth collaborative mural together and only our second in LA, (unless you count a small mural we also painted with Retna in 2003). Kofie is one of my favorite modern/abstract artists, and one of the few people I've ever collaborated with on walls aside from Retna and Reyes. A number of other respected artists from the PMCA exhibition will be painting at 33Third as well in the coming days. Many thanks to: Med & Shig for the support & materials, Lacheln for modeling, Kim, Ixchel, Todd, & kohsh for documenting, and thanks to the loud Jamaicans next door for the soundtrack.

"New Masters" at Subliminal Projects in LA

I have a couple pieces in a show opening this saturday, May 7th at Subliminal Projects in LA. It's a group show titled "New Masters" and will include works based on the classical figure. To consider myself a "New Master" would be a little egotistical, but I think it's an honor to be considered as such and be included alongside the other talented artists in the show. The photos above are progress shots of my newest painting, "Prayer" which will be in the show. It was a true labor of love. Even after all these years I still can't believe how long these paintings take to complete!

And another thing- my apologies as always for not keeping up with emails, blogging etc. I will do my best to catch up soon. More good things on the way...

"Every Little Miracle" - New mural in LA with Retna

This is a mural I painted recently with Retna in Los Angeles, on a school right across from MacArthur Park. As usual, I painted the figures, and Retna painted the lettering and background. The mural was donated to the MacArthur Park Primary Center by Pampers, who held a contest as part of their "Every Little Miracle" campaign calling for Latina moms to share the stories of their miracle babies. The ten stories chosen were honored by having the children's names displayed on the mural. Thanks to Everyone from the school, Paine and Pampers for making it possible, everyone that came by and showed support, and special thanks to Kim & Madeleine for modeling.

New Print release today: EL MAC x Cirque du Soleil

This is a painting commissioned by Cirque du Soleil/Safewalls out of Montreal, Canada. It is part of a touring exhibition created by three art lovers working within Cirque du Soleil. SAFEWALLS commissions new artists every month to create alternate posters of Cirque du Soleil’s shows. The show represented here is OVO, with one of its spider characters being the inspiration.

Today, Safewalls is releasing signed silkscreen prints of this piece, available HERE
as well as cheaper giclee posters available HERE

ELMAC X BLISSS Magazine

I have a nice cover feature in this month's issue of BLISSS magazine, with a six page interview with one of the most talented graffiti writers on the planet, Ewok MSK. The cover piece was painted last summer in Singapore as part of the VIET NAM: the World Tour project. Here's the video the Propeller Group made for that:

DASH2000 Rest in Peace

My crewmate Dash2000 UTI passed away from cancer this month. Though I didn't know him all that well he was always cool to me and came across like a very positive person. I know he will be missed by many. Here's a little sketch I did of him. Also included a classic shot of him (along with Skill) in the late 80's where he's adding the "I" in UTI. One of LA's finest.

NYC mural video - "Chelsea Jewel"

Here's a video of a mural I painted in Manhattan recently when I was in town for my show at Joshua Liner Gallery. It was on the side of an auto garage in Chelsea. They guy complaining in the video was upset because he had painted something on the wall before and it wasn't there anymore.

This video was made by the lovely and enchanting Kim Hagey.

Thanks to Josh & Tim from the gallery for hooking up the wall, and thanks to David from the garage for the support. More on the way...

"Manuel Lee Chang" - Mural in Campeche

Here's another mural I just painted in Campeche, Mexico for the Seres Queridos project. It's right next to the main public market. This is a portrait of Manuel Lee Chang, known locally as "el Chino"(despite the fact that he's of Korean descent) with his Guacamaya (Macaw). He's been selling handmade wooden toys, knick-knacks and tropical birds for decades. I thought this would be an interesting and important image to paint because it shows a blending of cultures. Anybody familiar with me or my work may have realized that this is an important theme for me. The Asian community in Mexico is not really that visible, and I thought it would be interesting to show Manuel with his Guacamaya, as these birds are very representative of that region. The photo at the end is from when Manuel, his bird, and his family came to see me goodbye at the airport, which I really appreciated.

Gracias a Anna, Victor, Julio, Champi, Mena, y al resto del equipo SQ para hacerlo posible!

Seres Queridos - Campeche pt. II

So I already posted a few images from this wall, here are some more of the rest of the mural. These are some of the biggest figures I've painted so far. This was part of the Seres Queridos project. The lady represents el Dia de Muertos in Pomuch, and the man is a fisherman from Ciudad del Carmen. The other figures on the wall were painted by Akut (of Herakut), el Niño de las Pinturas, and Mr. Kern. All portraits were based on photos by Jorge Borroto. One more mural from Campeche on the way...

Steel & paper

Here's a photo of a train. The guy painted on the train looks just like my friend Jaba. Next are a couple recent sketches- one of the extremely talented Rene Almanza who I met when I was in Monterrey earlier this year, and one of some guy sleeping on the subway in NYC. I think drawing from life is very important, like exercising. Neither of which I do enough of these days. The last photo is of a really cute little girl I exchanged sketches with at a Vietnamese restaurant in Montreal.

two more pieces from NYC show

These are two new acrylic & brush on wood panel works that were in my NYC show at Joshua Liner Gallery. The one of the man is called "Cousin of Death" and is based on a photo I took in Singapore. The painting of the girl is titled the same as the show, "Humble and Sublime", and is based on a photo I took of a beautiful girl named Abby in Hawaii a few months earlier.