Sketches of Spain

Here a couple quick little sketches I did in Spain...

Spain - Part 2 (Barcelona)

These are some shots from the second part of my time in Spain, when I was in Barcelona. I fell in love with it there. Amazing place. I could even see living there someday. I just painted one small piece there, on a roll-down door for a tattoo shop called Steelworks. It's based on a famous painting by the great Spanish artist Diego Velázquez from 1650. I also got a tour of the Montana spraypaint factory (thanks to Angelo & Jordi!) which was pretty amazing. Like the Willy Wonka factory but for paint. It's got a huge mural by Os Gemeos outside and the day I went was surrounded by misty green magical mountains. Years of using montana and I had no idea! I got to see Parque Güell and a few other famous spots in the city as well as hang out with some very cool people. Saludos a Mark, Marta, Max, Alex, Smash....and most importantly, thanks to my globetrotter compa Jordan y la encantadora Gemma por toda su hospitalidad. Hasta pronto!

Spain - Part 1 (Zaragoza)

Just got back from Spain & loved it. Tengo que regresar pronto! These are shots from the first part of the trip, when I was in Zaragoza. The Spanish really do like to party. The first wall was my little contribution to the much larger mural that was painted as part of the Festival Zaragoza Ciudad 2009. It's a painting of Hernán Cortés with bloody red eyes. Maybe a little political for a fun hip-hop festival where a gypsy guy painting near me wore only a Borat-style thong the entire time...but hey it was my first mural in Spain and it just seemed appropriate. The second wall, next to the Ebro river, is based on a photo I took of a paletero in Phoenix. I met too many great people to name, but special saludos to Stook, Belin, Sex, Kuru, Lahe, Lust, Rabodiga, Malakkai, Jackee...y muchisimas gracias a mis compas Chikita y Danjer por hacerlo posible!

España

I'll be in Zaragoza, Spain this weekend painting for the VII Festival Int'l Hip-Hop... and will probably pay a visit to Barcelona too... Super excited... I'll post some photos when I can..

New Print: "Ixtaccihuatl"

This is a new print just finished by the legendary Self Help Graphics printshop in East LA. This is the nicest & biggest print I've done so far and it's an honor to have had it produced by such an important and respected printshop as SHG. The printer, Joe Alpuche did a perfect job. The title is "Ixtaccihuatl" (basically pronounced "ee.stok.SEE.wot") which is the name of a large mountain in Mexico said to resemble a sleeping woman. The myth behind this has inspired countless popular Mexican/Chicano paintings, drawings, calendars, murals, tattoos, merchandise, etc portraying an Azteca warrior cradling his dead lover. This is my sincere take on this traditional theme using my brushwork style. If you're interested in getting one, or for more info go to http://www.elmac.net/merchandise.html

Mid City Arts + LA Times love

These things were up all over LA for about the last month. You can see part of a girl's face in blue from a mural I painted with Retna representing Los Angeles right alongside the mayor, Kobe & Angelina...






These are images of a piece Retna & I created for the Mid City Arts show. It's a painting of Verse, a good friend of Retna's who was senselessly murdered nearby a couple years ago.


This was a small mural we painted outside titled "Unity"
Special thanks go to Kofie, Kopye & Codak who all painted fresh stuff on the other walls during the event...and thanks to the guys at 33Third for making it happen..

New print from Self Help Graphics on the way...

Here are a few shots I took at the legendary Self Help Graphics recently in East LA, while they were starting on a new print I'll be releasing soon.... Many thanks to Retna, Oscar Magallanes, and especially master printer Joe Alpuche (pictured)...more to come...

Show with Retna on Sunday in LA

@ Mid-City Arts in LA on sunday (I really like this little promo video they made..)

The latest..

So I've been bad at blogging lately. Mostly been working on pieces for upcoming shows, like the canvas above. I'll just mention a couple other new things; I was invited to give a commencement address for the 2009 graduating class of the New School for the Arts & Academics a few days ago at the Mesa Arts Center. It was an honor, and kind of made feel a little bit older. I was pretty nervous, and hadn't been able to prepare so I had to wing it, but it seemed like it went well. I also just happened to notice I have a feature in the latest issue of Garage magazine (above) which was a nice surprise. I have a few really cool silkscreen prints in the works that I'm excited about too, I'll have more info on those soon....

the New Generation...

So this is from an email I just got recently:

"My name is Jeff Moring and I am a highschool art teacher in a little town called Manteca, CA. I just wanted you to know that you are a huge inspiration to many of my advanced art students. I have a student named Mirna Castillo who adores your work. I am sending you a couple of pieces she replicated using acrylic, watercolor, and color pencils.
I Thought you might want to see how you can influence young adults/students without even being aware of it (pretty interesting thought)! Keep painting...because there are many of us who love what you do!

THANKS FOR INSPIRING THE MANY OF US!"

I hope they don't mind me posting this, but I was very humbled, impressed, and wanted to share it. I think I forget just how much public art can actually affect people. My thanks to Jeff and Mirna... keep up the great work!!

(the pieces on the left & right depict old murals I painted with Retna & Reyes)

UPDATE!: More info here from Juxtapoz. This is one cool high school...

"Memento Mori" - New EL MAC mural in LA with Retna

This is a mural Retna and I recently painted in Los Angeles called Memento Mori. This is a Latin phrase meaning ‘be mindful of death’ and can be translated as ‘remember that you are mortal’ or ‘remember that you must die. That could seem a little grim, but the point is really to encourage us to properly value and make the most of our time here.
I painted the figure and Retna painted the background designs. Retna's lettering in the background is from a pre-Hispanic Nahuatl/Azteca poem:

Must I go like the flowers that perish?
Will nothing remain of my name?
Nothing of my fame here on Earth?
At least my flowers, at least my songs.
Earth is the region of the fleeting moment.

"The Knight"- New mural with Retna in LA

These are some shots of a new mural I just painted with my good friend Retna in Los Angeles. We both had a great experience painting this and felt blessed by the positivity we received from the neighborhood. It was created in response to increasing gang violence in LA. Retna's text in English & Spanish attempts to bridge cultural differences. The lettering on the hat reads, "FOR ONLY LOVE CAN CONQUER HATE". The one & only Estevan Oriol also came through and took some cool shots.

New mural

This is a new wall I just painted in downtown Phoenix that I'm happy with. It's based on a photo I took at an immigrant rights march recently, sort of a subtle response to the racism & xenophobia that's been increasing these days.

Italian magazine feature w/ Retna

Attenzione! I have a little interview in the upcoming issue of Groove magazine from Italy, should be out by the end of March