Gabriel Pons was commissioned to create a feature wall for Blue Cow Ice Cream Company, an artisan ice cream outfit that opened in Fredericksburg in the summer of 2021. Working with the client, he collaborated to do an “ice cream-centric” installation that included different flavor color ways of cones combined with quotes scribed in the background of skateboard decks.
Thanks to the owners of Blue Cow Ice Cream Company! Check them out in Fredericksburg, VA at 607 William Street.
July ushered in another "Skate to Create" workshop as part of our Summer Art Camp series. Students designed and painted their own skateboard deck using spray paint and stencils. Congratulations to our students who worked hard and managed to pull off great designs during a 100-degree heatwave. Below are progress pics from the studio as well as the finished boards.
The week of June 18 kicked off the summer series of art workshops at PONSHOP. Here are pics from the "Intro to Street Art" workshop. These students used their own hand-made paper stencils and then spray painted the image on to the canvas to create one-of-a-kind masterpieces. Congratulations to all the students that participated!
View our class schedule for the latest class offerings.
httpv://youtu.be/1QaEnQjtMZ4
Instead of doing a last minute crawl through the shopping mall to find some cliche gift for Scarlett, I decided to go the creative route and make, to this date, the largest Valentine I could within a half hour. Special thanks to our intern (aka Stew) for the video editing.
I'm cooking up new decks for this summer's skate sessions. The MONO Pagoda decks come in 7.5", 7.75" and 8.0" widths. Each deck is individually sprayed, signed and numbered and comes with griptape. Want one? hit me back with an email and $55 plus shipping or get on down to Fred Skates (604 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia). Of course, decks will soon be at the PONSHOP (916 LibertyStreet, Fredericksburg,Virginia) too...
May 28, 2009: I gave a Street Art Workshop at the Torpedo Factory to wrap up the month's "FRESH" exhibition at the Target Gallery. Below is an account of how the afternoon's project went. After the workshop, I participated in a round table discussion with Cory Stowers of Words Beats & Life and fellow artist Marissa Botelho about contemporary graffiti.
9 Door panels were donated to the target gallery for the project - one side included this "Exploit" graffiti piece.
The other side of the doors were tagged up - this was to be our canvas...
Moments before the workshop began: Max and Jeff help keep things running smoothly...
The content of our collage was based on the life and legacy of civil rights hero Charles Houston - represented here in a 30"x40" cardboard stencil.
Students layered the existing panels using collage images and text and applying them with wheat paste.
As the panels filled with imagery, other students cut stencils.
6 Panels were taken outdoors to be hit up with spray paint and stencils.
I gave a brief demonstration on techniques and safety tips for using spray paint.
Students then took turns applying spray paint to their stencil designs.
After the panel discussion, participants were encouraged to tag the walls outside of the gallery.
The completed mural on display (click image to enlarge).
Some details (click image to enlarge).
Special thanks to the staff at the Target Gallery and Torpedo Factory. Thanks especially to the participating students for their enthusiasm and hard work. Scarlett and I also want to thank our PONSHOP crew - Jeff Gulick and Max Harvey for their help in assisting us that day.
Spring has sprung for the "Skate to Create" workshops at PONSHOP Studio. Every month we offer up all the materials, tools, and know-how for kids (and adults) to make their very own skateboard graphic. My most recent student took some of his notebook sketches and created a skateboard with his signature style.
For a current schedule of all PONSHOP classes (May-August), Click Here.
Practice makes perfect: Finn draws and cuts a test stencil to experiment with his colors before applying them on the deck. (click image to enlarge)
The finished product: His "PTB" lettering took 3 stencils and a background to complete - good job Finn!
Sarah sketched up her piece on 8.5x11 paper first before hitting the board with both acrylic and spray paint.
Making lines and carving out fills is a fundamental of working with spray paint.
Sarah incorporated a stencil to create the sneaker/leg detail (above).
Kelly emulated one of her favorite Manga artists "Bleach" by making a silhouette of a character. Both text and graphic are achieved with paper stencils.
Even a seemingly straight forward shape has to be translated into a stencil design for a successful application: the paper must hold itself together to retain the desired pattern.
Below is the most recent painting completed: "My Baby Wants to Rock and Roll #3." Many have seen and/or worn this graphic over the years, and I've always wanted to keep pushing it and explore some new aspects. I did this by building a wood panel and using collage (made from newspaper and magazine scraps as well as printed song lyrics). This led to some interesting conditions between the pattern and text in the background and the stenciled figure on top.
"My Baby Wants To Rock and Roll #3", Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 30"x30" SOLD (click image to enlarge)
"My Baby Wants To Rock and Roll #3" detail
Jedi had one of the most ambitious skateboard designs for a ten year-old. He worked very hard and the results were really impressive. In fact, he continued to improvise and paint up until the end of the class. Nice Work!
The original pencil sketch (above) - kind of reminded me of "Killer Croc" from Spiderman...
Some process photos of the first stencil application (above).
I had a fresh crop of students for the "Skate to Create" Workshop in August. Nick and Jason put in three sessions of hard work and the results were really great. Scroll down to see their process...(click pics to enlarge)
Drawing and cutting takes up about 3/4 of the class time - but it's where all the design happens.
Jason (aka J-Dogg) does an "X-Ray self portrait" for his deck graphic.
Nick took one of his sketches from home and transposed it into this camouflage-like design.July was by far the fastest moving month to date. One minute, we're celebrating the fourth of July, and in the blink of an eye, we're re-hanging our studio in preparation for the August First Friday. I did have the pleasure of working with two of the most intelligent and hard-working students last month in my "Adult Drawing" and "Skate to Create" workshops. Below are some samples of their work:
Full scale self-portrait (Leah on the left, Gabe on the right)
Leah will be a senior in high school this year and to keep her drawing skills sharp for the upcoming year, she took the "Adult Drawing" workshop. We did a number of exercises including a full-scale self portrait (above) as well as classic sketch studies such as hand sketches and still life drawing. The major focus of this workshop is to encourage students to maintain a 'habit' of working in their sketchbooks. Creativity, like athletics, can only be sustained if it is exercised often and the sketchbook is the vehicle which allows one to continue to explore and hone their techniques.
Full scale self-portrait (detail)
The "Skate to Create" workshop is the most popular among teens this year. I've seen a lot of great designs and met some great kids so far. July's workshop was no exception. Michael gave 110% the entire time and he managed to finish his work with some spare time for us to skate in front of the shop. Below is a sequence from his classes. He chose to use his nickname "Travis" for his deck graphic.
One happy camper - the completed deck, ready to rip!
The "Intro to Street Art" June workshop offered students a brief history lesson in graffiti and street art while allowing them to draw, write, spray and collage on their own 48"x24" panel.
Andrew made four stencils and several sketches to compose his piece.
Drew literally attacked the painting with an arsenal of stencils and markers. 
Simon found an opportunity to make an oversized poster for his band. 
July will come and go before you know it - so if you'd like to sign up for any of the PONSHOP Art Workshops, click here for a summer schedule.
Tristan had a stack of personal sketches to choose from, but he used his favorite drawings to implement his two final pieces (above).
Robert worked on a set of his most sophisticated stencil sets to date. The results were quite good (below):
Conor's 24"x48" piece was inspired by an Elliot Smith album cover. He generated a set of 3 stencils to pull this off...
Knick took no time getting down to business. By the second session, he turned a robot doodle into a 20" wide stencil design. (above) Step #1 Draw...
Spring Break ushered in a new group of students in March eager to draw, cut, and spray paint. Below are some photos of my "Skate to Create" students from last month. They've all worked well together, stretched their creative muscles and, most importantly, had fun. Enjoy...
David merged his two favorite past times: Music and Skating...
Josie's design took the classic Skull and Crossbones to whole new level.
Drew used red and black patterns for his "Star" logo deck.
Simon's deck graphic was part inspired by heavy metal music and old school Powell graphics.
Our studio offers classes for children and adults every month. For a current PONSHOP class schedule, click here.
March 5th-30th, 2008. My featured artist show with Carol Iglesias opened at Art First Gallery in Fredericksburg, Virginia last week. "Destinations: Places Traveled, Places Dreamed" features recent paintings that are inspired by places visited and imagined. Below are some of my paintings exhibited in the show as well as a short video of the gallery. To view work by Carol Iglesias, you can visit her new website.
"Upon Arriving at Plaza Libertad", Mixed Media on Wood, 30"x40" $900 
"Landscape Triptych #1", Mixed Media on Paper, 37"x28" $1,200 
"Leaving La Mancha", Mixed Media on Canvas, 48"x17" $700 
"Sage Summons The Spirit For Sight", Mixed Media on Canvas, 24"x24" $800 
"Lion Capital", Mixed Media on Canvas, 24"x18" $600
"Metropolis Maze", Mixed Media on Canvas, 24"x24" $600
"The New Hieroglyph", Mixed Media on Canvas, 20"x20" $500
"The Last Pharaoh", Mixed Media on Canvas, 40"x30" $800 
"Dream Towers" , Mixed Media on Canvas, 72"x40" $2500
"Sunset Bridge", Mixed Media on Canvas, 12"x12" Sold 
"Scarlett (Black and Gold)", Mixed Media on Canvas, 12"x12" $200
If interested in purchasing (during the month of March), please contact or visit Art First Gallery: 824 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia 540-371-7107 Hours: Mon-Sat 10-6pm, Sun 12-5pm
I'm getting ready for an upcoming show this March at Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg. Fellow member, Carol Iglesias and I will be exhibiting new paintings for the month. The tentative title for the show is "Destinations" and will feature work inspired by places traveled and places dreamed...
Check out the show this March. Opening reception is Friday, March 7th 6-9pm at Art First Gallery 824 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA.
Here are some recent pics of the studio:
MONO Lion (mini) by Gabriel Pons, spray paint on wood, 16"x10" $75I just finished a small series of these 16"x10" paintings on plywood. For me, this series was inevitable - I slaved over getting the vector art for the T-shirts done last month, so why not play around with the composition a bit and layer up some color...One of these is on exhibit until January 2nd at Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Rob and Tristan are PONSHOP veterans and we've been through a lot together at my studio. Below are some pics of their most recent workshop. Instead of doing spray paint on wood boards - they opted for a more "public" and personal canvas. Good Work guys.
Tristan adorns a black tee with paint markers.
Robert cuts out his stencil layers.
1) Lay down stencil 2) Mask with paper 3) Hit it with paint 
Tristan and his "Fat Chick" graphic
Robert finishes his "Street Can" Tee
For more about PONSHOP Workshops, click here
It has been a long and hot summer. While some kids sought refuge in their air-conditioned living rooms playing the latest X-Box games, these guys battled the 90+ heat and got creative with spray paint. August's Street Art Workshop was a series of three 2-hour sessions where students practiced the fundamentals of the spray can...
Tristan laid down a background pattern before carving out his graffiti lettering.
Robert had an idea to blow-up one of his anime-inspired drawings and apply it to his spray painted background.
Max took his first stab at using spray paint, practicing outlines and fills to create his own cartoon-like character.
Thanks to all the students and parents for a fun summer workshop. For more information about PONSHOP Art Classes and a current class schedule, click here.