14 posts tagged “street art”

Please.  Don't tell me that you don't all know exactly what I mean with my title for today's post about the artist whom I am indeed a great fan of - Bil Betsovic.  His stuff is odd enough, with its own street-art flavor, not offensive enough to cause an uproar but subversive and violent enough to cause a few of your hairs on your arms stand on end, all the while making you chuckle about it... That's Betso.  Keep an eye out, I've got more in store coming very soon!  in the mean time enjoy this painting..

My friends over at ESP Visual have just spotted Riot68's brand new site!  If you're not familiar with his stuff, don't miss out and head on over there now.  Riot68 is a street artist and toy customizer from the UK.  Although he's always been a very talented artist, his latest stuff kicks butt over some of this old stuff.  check out some of it below and if you have a hankerin' for some more of the same, check it out on his site or on his flickr account. 

Thanks to ESP Visuals for their blog post about this!

ok I got a Bentworld Vandal from my kid on my birthday this weekend.  Here's what mind was like before they plasticized him and made him un-animated :(  LOL. mine's the spraycan.

Recently found this coverage in my Google reader: Usugrow Show at Upper Playground.   This guy is very talented with the pen and ink!
 

All it takes is a single look at these images and you know he is a serious master at this.  Now for all of the uninitiated with pen and ink, trust me, this stuff is seriously tedious work that takes patience, a steady hand, not to mention, of course loads of mad skillz with th pen itself!

Hats off to Usugrow!  This is only a snippet of images found on ToyBot Studio's blog, where I found this story.

Keep up the great coverage, Toybot, glad I checked out your blog!

Usugrow has a toy coming out - this October is when it is slated for - and it looks like one that may be a pretty hot item! First version out will probably be clear grey vinyl, according to Usugrow himself.  It stands about 7 inches tall and it seems that this is not nearly as big as Usugrow would lilke it to be!

Information and images via Toybot Studios

Martin Rimmer is a student of the arts who is from the UK.  I met him online via the Vinyl Toy Forums where he is a regular poster.  He's the creator of the site LovetoPost which is a collaboration site for artists all over Europe.  Enjoy the interview!

So who the heck is Martin Rimmer and what is it that you do?

I'm 20 years old and come from a small town called Dudley in which is one of the least artistic places i know! Ive been studying graphic design for the last 4 years, I completed my Btec National Diploma in GD with a Triple Merit award and have just finished my 2nd year of my Degree in GD. 

When did you discover or decide that the artist's path was the one for you to follow? 

Since i was old enough to hold a pencil I’ve been drawing. I even won Artist of the Year at my Primary school when i was 12 which was probably when I knew I wanted to be some sort of artist but didn’t have a clue what sort. In schools in the you have to choose subjects you want to study when you are 14 so of course I choose to do art. About the same time my brother had just started doing a BTEC ND in GD so I was the work he was doing and was hooked, After that it was a case of stealing his photoshop and illustrator CDs and playing around with it but I didn’t know any of the basics that’s need for graphic designers like paper sizes and resolutions. As said after school i did the same course as my brother and then onto my degree. Although i primarily use the computer now I still draw, paint daily and that’s one of the reasons why i started my project.

Tell me a little about your pet project, "Love to Post".

LOVEtoPOST started mid March this year and ive had an excellent response from people about it.

It all started when I was talking with friends about how it was annoying having to spend hours looking through pages and pages of websites and books looking for inspirational work for research. We Talked about how books like Pictoplasma and Hand-to-Eye Illustration were a great help but with bound books its a case of whats there is there if you want more you will have to pay more for another book. So we ended the conversation with how it would be great for a website like LTP which would continuously accept new pieces of artwork. 

The first postcards i got were from the brilliant Mr. Matt Jones ( Lunartik ) who was exhibiting some stuff

locally so i went along, got chatting about my idea and he kindly doodled the 3 postcards on the website. 

From then it was a case of e-mailing all the artists i could asking them if they would be interested in taking part and i was really shocked with the response i got from people. Its not only opened to working artists but also students and others who just liked to draw there's no limit to age or talent as long as its on a postcard it will be accepted.

So far there are 52 postcards on the website and i am continuously sending new postcards out to people, Along with this interview ive been asked to do one for a local college's independent magazine which is available around the UK's second city ( Birmingham ) and just recently been asked to submit some stuff from the project into a book. 

So things are really going well for LTP at the moment, In the near future im hoping to re-produce some of the postcards in limited runs to sell as postcards to raise money for the NSPCC ( National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ) charity to give the project more meaning and it will hopefully encourage more artists to take part. I have also received interest from people outside of the UK wanting to take part but sadley i havnt been able to accept them so far because of the postage but as long as people are wiling to pay the postage back to the UK ill gladly set up an International section on the website.

I really like your Love To Post idea and was disappointed to hear that it is only for the people in Europe.  :(   I believe people would be willing to pay the postage - I know I would. Do you think that you will open up an international section soon?

There will definitely be an international section started up soon

because of the response i have had from people has been astounding. I
opened it up to the initially as a test to see whether people
would take to the project or not and now i know that the like the
idea i will be opening it up to everyone soon enough.

So tell me what the day consists of for this Designer-in-the-making.

Each day varies because I’m currently running a project with a local

school Wednesdays and Fridays, im also trying to get some new work
done for a show in plus trying to start organizing a show with
a few friends for next year when we all finish uni. So ill say the
basics, I don't normally get up till around 9 ( unless i have
something planned or at uni ) then first thing i do is check my e-
mails then go for the 3 S's ( sh*t, shower and shave ) and then
lounge around for the rest of the morning. After lunch ill try and
get some work done but with constant distractions from family and
friends i never seem to get as much as i want done. I tend to
research subjects alot as well, If i hear about something or see
something i like i will spend hours looking up as much as i can about
the subject. Then have to go out and earn some real money so i work
in a petrol garage part time till midnight everyday in the week.

There are so many directions one can go as a "designer".  Ultimately, if you could just choose the job that you want that you'd do for the majority of your remaining life after college or "uni?"  what would it be?

I'm hoping to go into Advertising and Media because its what i love

doing and the challenge of taking a product and finding the best way
to sell it to the public, I find its the best way to work my brain.

One of the things I like to really dig into when interviewing artists is how they think and create.  I hope you don't mind this series of questions.  What kind of environment is conducive to your creativity? Auditory, visual..etc..  What do you like to surround yourself with when you need to create?

Always gotta have music playing or some sort of noise, i cant stand
silence. Nothing ever seems to be tidy either audiobecause i like to
surround myself with inspiration which could come from books,
magazines, print outs.

What types of things inspire you to create?  I mean sometimes I see something or hear something that just makes me want to rush to my desk and sketch something out right away.  What kinds of things do that for you?

Everything! and it can be a real pain at times because ill be driving
and see something that instantly gives me an idea but cant right it
down because im driving. For the last 4 years now i take a sketchbook
with me everywhere incase i see something.

Who are your inspirations in your life?  Famous artists and personal.. ?

My family are a big inspiration of course, I owe them everything.
Also theres my college Tutor Adam Guy who is the person responsible
for my artwork. There are so many artists i would class as
inspirations for me, to name a few Lichtenstein, Jeremy Fish, The
Designers Republic, Airside, Mainframe i could go on for ever theres
that many! Another would be Banksy because of the news coverage he
gets, it helped me hear about another form of artwork.

You're a relatively young man, in college and getting started.. that is, at least compared to me.  heh.. Do you see a particular style in your artwork emerging as you continue to do more work in school or elsewhere?

lately ive been working alot with black and white and negative space

stuff which i feel is really coming along, im predominantly a vector
based illustrator though working with photos to give things more
style. I have been working like that for the last 4 years so that is
something i really enjoy working it and have been bringing the basis
of what i do with those into the stuff im working on latley.

If so, is it because you make an effort to cultivate that style or did it emerge on its own?

I like to try different things with different mediums to find
different textures and such so i think its a bit of both effort and
natural.

How would you describe that style?

Like most designers id just class everything as "experimental" , as
much as you like to think you have it planned out you will always end
up changing something.

I get most of my news and information via RSS and some through newsletters.  KaNO is one of the blogs that I like to watch for as he's a very talented artist and designer.  If you don't know anything about him, he's the guy that's designed the Money Grip toy sculpted by Goldmane Entertainment and he's definitely one to watch as an up and coming artist for sure! Anyway, he has a new book that deserves some promoting so check it out!

The book is 45 pages, full color, hard cover and has an introduction by Jackson Puclick and Steffen Destefano, cinsists of charcter design, illustration, paintings,graffiti, toy design and random sketches.

kaNO!: The Hustle

Here are just a few images from his book to be released called "CITIZEN KANO: The Art of the Hustle". 

Two days and counting until Buff Fest explodes on Sunday July 22nd with Foreplay (Noon - 3 PM) @ Munky King Melrose and concludes with Happy Ending (4 PM - 7 PM) @ Barracuda . Time to get your Buff Monster fix -- in a big way. Foreplay will feature the pre-release of MINDstyle's Buff Monster Art Toys.

For Happy Ending, MINDstyle will release two exclusive limited edition Buff Monster toys @ Barraucda - a 10" Black Edition (200 pieces total) and a 3" GID edition (300 pieces total). The Black 10"er is the first release of the larger size of Buff Monster's figure and is strictly limited to 200. Other 10" colorways may follow, but this is it for the black. The 10" figure is something to behold -- impressive. The GID exclusives look really nice in a relatively vibrant green as opposed to the usual pale green/white.

Barracuda
7660B Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.852.7179

Munky King Melrose
7038 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.938.0091

Vinyl Pulse: Buff Fest - Exclusive Buff Monster Toys @ Barracuda (7.22)

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The Beans is the collective moniker of Melbourne artists Bonsai and Two.

The pair have been harmoniously working together for a number of years, summoning joyous, bright and colorful visions of fantasia from a shared mind-space called Beans Land.

Two conjures the characters that populate Beans Land. Numbering among the exotic creatures and animals are flying fish, human-limbed elephants and deeply wise, knowing and serene mystical people.

Bonsai sketches the landscapes that these characters color. In a world of bouncing hillsides, flower-shaped clouds and sprouting flora, dwellings for Two’s Beans-Landese to make their homes spring out from every-which-where...

Nice Produce :: Nice Things, for Nice People :: The Beans

Friday Night in Bristol saw a nice group of street artists ready for Secret Wars.  It was scheduled to be Bristol vs. London but ended up Bristol was stood up so the artists there decided to make it a collaboration night instead.  Among the artists were Rich, Inkie, 45RPM, mr. Jago and of course my friend, Gavin Strange.  There's a few photos here, but many more on Gav's Jam Factory blog so check that out too.