My MC

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.

Bid on my original ACEOs featuring Shad K here

Shad has the Punch-Lines, here's proof:

Shad has profound lyricism down:

 

This MC even tips his hat to the old "Boom Bap" days of Hip Hop (like Drop from the Pharcyde)

He's got his freestyles on lock too

 

No doubt he has a great stage presence as-well

Ok, that's enough said. Appreciate your MCs whoever they are.

Sign Up For My New Mailing List

  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!

My Second Self Portrait ACEO Auction

  The tired face you see above is mine. This is a genuine expression of how I feel at the moment. I posted this ACEO up 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.

New Original Painting Up For Special Halloween Auction

 (Pictures of the art currently being auctioned)

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.

Happy bidding and Happy Halloween!

The Best Paper Store For Artists In Los Angeles: Part 1

Jump to Part 2

Jump to Part 3

If you're an artist in the Los Angeles, California area I'm about to let you in on a great trade secret...

This is McManus & Morgan paper store at 2506 W. 7th St near downtown (the oldest art store in LA)...

and this is Aardvark Letterpress also on W. 7th St 

They are next-door to each other.

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.


Jump to Part 2
Jump to Part 3

BJØRN Webcomic Sketches

Hello fair readers! It's Monday which means more art needs to be posted on the blog. Above you see some concept sketches for my new webcomic BJØRN. For the purposes of longevity in drawing page after page of a comic, I'm forcing myself to keep the style minimal yet delicate. I like playing with shapes while building a character's form. 

The first sketch shows a hunter of some sort. I think I will simplify his design much more over the coming days, but more or less that's what he will look like. The bear will be huge. I want the bear to be both a quadruped and a biped in the story.

Last Monday I posted the cover page of the comic. Next Monday I will be posting the first page. Please come back and follow this journey into story telling. 

BJØRN Web Comic: Cover

Today I'm announcing the start of my first web comic titled "BJØRN". Above is the cover which is the first installment. I have to be realistic with my schedule and workflow, so I will be posting new pages the first and third Monday of every month. This comic is designed to be open ended which means I will keep the a-fore mentioned schedule when I have an idea for a story-line. One short story might finish within a few pages, and I'll start again as I get more ideas. Along the way I'll be posting sketches and concept work here and there. I hope you'll join me in the adventures ahead.