..more SF stuff..

The top two photos are of a quick piece I did on Fillmore for the gallery, with some of Kofie's stuff at the top (much respect to Kofie & Craola!)

The next two shots are of a wall I painted next to Reyes, Steel & Ferm. (thanks guys!)

and last but not least is a photo from a quick little shoot I did with the lovely Ashley, who I will probably be painting sometime soon.. (thanks to Ashley & Kim for setting it up ;)

"Faces of Life" solo show in San Francisco - PHOTOS & thanks

So here are some process shots + photos of some of the spraypaint pieces in my show at Fifty24SF Gallery in SF this month. The opening was a lot of fun... A huge THANK YOU to all the people that came out to the show! Thanks as well to Matt, Lynzy and all the other fine folks at Upper Playground that helped make it a success!

Also, thanks to everyone that bought one of the "Song of Songs" prints that weekend, and sorry if you wanted one but missed out. 

New print- "Song of Songs"

These are some process shots of a new print based on one of my paintings that's being released at my show in SF this week. This print has actually been in the works for a while and I think it came out perfect. It was printed in the same manner that the original was painted, by starting with a black base, then printing the darkest colors first, building up and ending with the brightest colors, producing a nice layered effect. I'm really happy with it! It's big too!
This is the info from the Paperworks Laboratories site:

"Songs of Songs" is a 7 color hand pulled serigraph printed by master printer Karen Fiorito. We will be dropping this print to coincide with his solo show at Fifty24SF on Thursday, August 6th from 7pm to 9:30 pm. The edition will drop online at Paperworks Laboratories Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 12 p.m. PST. The first 20 of these will be $250 and going up in price. Act fast and get this stunning image which is currently the subscriber issue cover of Juxtapoz Magazine!

Songs of Songs

7 Color Screen print,
Printed on Black Stonehenge 310 gsm 100% Cotton Archival Deckled Edge Paper.
Dimensions: 30 x 42 Inches.
Edition of 50
Signed, Numbered, and embossed
by the Artist
starting at $250 + S&H

Available only at Paperworks Laboratories
http://www.paperworkslab.com/news.html

Solo show in SF @ Fifty24SF Gallery

Opening is August 6th!
See you there...

JUXTAPOZ cover feature!

Damn!....I saw the new issue of Juxtapoz (#103) and was blown away to see one of my paintings used as the cover of the subscriber edition!....and inside there's a 14 page interview with me by David Choe, who tries to get me in trouble....along with a portrait photo at the beginning taken by Estevan Oriol...
Wow.
After years of reading Juxtapoz, and never actually being in Juxtapoz...here I am... on the cover of Juxtapoz. Not sure how that happened but I feel really honored! Aside from all that it looks like a great issue with some other great art in it...
I'm just posting the cover and the first spread of the interview here for now...maybe more later when I have time.... and you can also get a copy at Juxtapoz.com

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..)