Come down tonite for booze, food, two of Arizona's top DJs, and an eyefull of graffiti art from yours truly. If you are unable to attend tonite, the show will run through the month. If your not in the Tucson area, check back here for photos posted of the event
Above is a photo of one of the gallery walls I bombed out before I hung the paintings
I've started to transform the walls of Lulubell Gallery into a mass mix of art and graffiti in preparation for Saturdays show opening. It felt great to have a spray can in hand, and I had a blast getting the walls ready! Thanks to Amy from Lulubell for the photos...
...the Lulubell logo guy is trying to tell us something? The installation will continue today with the hanging of art pieces, the work is far from over...
Years ago, while traveling through the Southeast U.S., I landed a gig painting a graf mural for a dance club. I was painting the piece outside, and a guy who was driving by spotted me, pulled over, and started talking graffiti with me. It turns out he was a writer also, and was visiting his parents on the east coast from San Diego. That guy was well known graffiti/tattoo artists Fokis, and for the next couple of months, we got down on some graf productions together. It was a great experience to paint with such a talented artist, but equally great to hang out with a great guy. We did some major walls together, but unfortunately, I lost almost all of the photos from that time. I do have a piece of art that he did for me in a trade. I remember what I painted for him, and I cringe now when I think how bad it is! After a few months painted together, we went our separate ways, and continued on our own paths. I haven't seen or heard from Fokis for a while, but I know that he's the type of friend that when we do run into each other again, we will pick right up where we left off. The pic above is a scan of the piece he did for me in an art swap, and the pic below is a scan of the back. He had a great west coast hand style that still blows me away!
...and I painted these two skulls for my friend at the Heavy Metal Designs garage. They are part of a larger wall mural that is used for a backdrop for shooting photos of custom bikes. I'm going to start making time to paint more graffiti...
...after the engine turns have been added to the silver leaf, I outlined the lettering with a #2 Kafka liner brush in dark grey. I wanted the outline to look beveled, so I used black to add a low-light to the outline, and then used a lighter shade of grey to add a hi-light in accordance with the imaginary light source...
...when painting a beveled outline, it's important to always use a very small amount of white for the hi-lights. Use the white sparingly though, too much will detract from the subtle effect you are attempting to create. I also painted a drop shadow using an orange that's a shade darker than the base color. This makes the lettering appear as if it's floating off the surface of the tank, and adds another small trick ingredient to the whole piece...
...and this is the finished product! Notice the silver pinstripe that follows the shape of the tank that completes the bike. The silver stripes are subtle, but serve an important purpose by bringing the lettering color onto the other parts of the bike. The owner was very pleased by his bike's new look, and I was happy because I had something to post on this blog!
