This comic was constructed out of a short set of ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals) I made. I'm hoping to make more of these on a monthly basis. These toons might be in comic format or even a short animation. I will auction off each set in my AUCTIONS page up above. (ACEO #001 is the first comic I've ever done in this format, and is up for auction on the a-fore mentioned page)
Back in October I wrote about my two favorite shops in Los Angeles McManus & Morgan and Aardvark Letterpress. (Best Paper Store For Artists In Los Angeles: Part 1) As divine forces would have it, film maker Ben Proudfoot made a short documentary about these two shops recently, and I found out that the final version is posted on his Vimeo page. Watch the full short film above.
I can't tell you how amazing these two shops are especially when they work together on their client's creative projects. You should not take my word for it at all. You must go visit them. They are next door neighbors on 7th and Carondelet Street in MacArthur Park. I stop in quite often and talk to Gary, one of the shop owners, about business. It astounds me how many artists don't know about this incredible resource. As you can see in the video above they are struggling to survive. What a tragedy it would be if we ever lost either, or both, of these establishments. Go check them out only if you want your creative limits to be blown apart and splattered all over the floor.
We take ownership of our favorite specialists. "My barber", "My lawyer", "My tailor", "My publicist" - Shad K is my Hip Hop MC
These are the specialists in our lives, but for me the list doesn't seem to be complete. This got me thinking- Hip Hop is very important to me. If I were to call someone "My MC" who would it be? This MC would have to have skills with free-styling, battling, recording, performing, writing, playing instruments, realizing their words must speak into the past present and future among many other things. Who would my MC specialist be? Gil Scott Heron has the historical vote. KRS One pretty much has it all (but the kids these days aren't ready for him). Who is the Hip Hop MC that has it all for today's day in age? Shad K is that MC right now for me.
Today I'm announcing my brand new mailing list. Take a look over at the right side bar. You'll find a simple sign up field for the newsletter. If you sign up you receive e-mails regarding updates on...
My latest prints
original
ACEO/ATC auctions
vintage book sales
Graffiti pieces
ATC trading posts
hidden art installations
art shows
and caricature events
You will be updated on everything having to do with my art. This is all valuable information for those of you who have invested in my work already and have been following my brand. Please join me in all of the fun!
The tired face you see above is mine. This is a genuine expression of how I feel at the moment. I posted this ACEOup for auction yesterday and titled it 1% (Self Portrait). "1%" is partially a reference to the current Occupy movement happening in various places including Wall Street and London. While I am very grateful for the people speaking up for all of us I will still argue that almost all of us in the U.S. are the 1% in relation to the poverty that 99% of the world faces every day. I do officially support the masses speaking out against Wall Street though.
"1%" also refers to the amount of energy I have left in the face of not having a job, but having a broken car, and possibly nowhere to live. Estoy muy consado.
Please take a look at this auction along with a few others. Be quick because they only have a few days left, and this is only my second self portrait for those of you following my line of ACEOs.
Head over to my Auctions section at the top of the screen to bid on this original piece. This auction only has 9 days and 23 hours left before it's over.
The Story:
One of the students in my neighborhood (Pico Union) donated their broken skate-deck to me so I could paint on it. Because this board has been involved in too many board slides to count on every street surface in our downtown area I thought I would paint a prayer for the city on it. The image depicts death losing it's sting over the city of Los Angeles in the background. The jagged crack was used to form the city skyline. This is my prayer for Los Angeles and your city.
Both of these store-fronts are highly specialized. McManus & Morgan excels at listening to each artist that comes in and finding the best paper possible for their unique projects. They carry paper from 25 different countries, many of them being hand crafted, and they are able to order whatever they don't have in stock. McManus & Morgan also carries vintage books, post cards, and magazines as-well as hand crafted envelopes and ephemera. Aardvark obviously specializes in letterpress printing. There is no single component of letterpress print making that their technicians don't know about. Having these two resources in such close proximity to each other is a power house of a resource for any creative.
High end event planners have been using this duo for years creating invitations on behalf of companies like: Adidas, AMC, and Guess Jeans. There are some samples below, but you should visit McManus & Morgan and ask to browse through the staggering amount of invitations they have made with Aardvark. I guarantee you'll be inspired.
(AMC invite to premiere of Madmen season 4)
(Guess Jeans invite utilizing paper with a mirror finish)
(letters pressed into real leather)
(invite to launch of David Beckham's clothing line)
Check out what Aardvark Letterpress and McManus & Morgan did to print the CD covers for Gillian Welch's award winning album the Harrow & the Harvest.
