My "Street Art" student, Hunter, gave it his all last month - ripping out an arsenal of stencils to construct his painting. From sketch, to stencil, to spray paint, he got the job done. Below are more progress pics...
Hunter used a modular brick pattern to array on his board during the second session.
Cutting stencils (above) can be the most painstaking, but he pushed through right on schedule.
Detail (click to enlarge)
Collaborative Canvas 2008-2009, Mixed Media on six canvases, approx 74"x48" Collection of the Martindale Family.
August 21, 2009: Agio Clothing and Spaghetti Project hosted an "Open Paint" event at the University Cafe a couple weeks ago. Three artists from the region (including myself) got their paint on for three hours while the crowd moved to the DJ sounds from Turnstyle (Richmond, VA). There was even a communal canvas going on which got visitors up on stage too. I apologize for the lack of pics - but hey I was busy working... To view more, click this link to FredPicture, a photo blog of the Fred-burg or hit up Agio's Blog.
Special thanks to all those who came out that night and watched, painted, and gave me a hand with all my stuff! Congrats to the Agio guys and Spaghetti Project as well as the other participating artists:
Sean Kelly ( Spark Plug Tattoo/Fredericksburg)
Jack Ladadi (VCU/Richmond)
Jeremy Gann (Liquid Air/Fredericksburg)
Jack Ladadi's piece (click to enlarge)
The truly "Open Canvas" - painted on by many throughout the night...
Jeremy Gann's cityscape included some LED action too...
I did up this collage piece that night and it's hanging at the University Cafe for the month of September:
August, 2009: I picked the hottest days of the year to get out there and do this mural commission in Falmouth, Virginia - but it was well worth it. Below are some images taken over that week. Thanks to our client, Professional Maintenance, and thanks to my assistant Jeff who whose help was exceptional. If interested in commissioning PONSHOP for any interior or exterior mural project - contact me here.
The completed piece....
Artists working to better their country through the construction and appreciation of art.
The Rappahannock Independent Film Festival (Riff) begins next week (August 27-30) and I couldn't more excited. This is the second year for Fredericksburg's global motion picture event and it looks to be quite promising: Check this link for a sneak peek at some of the films.
I did the graphic for this year's Riff Tees - so if you plan on checking out the festival, pick up an exclusive art tee and support the cause. -G
Men's and Women's tees are printed on American Apparel organic cotton shirts. Sizes (S,M,L,XL,XXL) $15 each.Inspiration for this graphic came from thinking about how in order for the media of motion picture to work, there must be some form of rotary mechanism: from the film reel to the the hard drive, there's something spinning...
If you look close at the graphic, you'll see an amalgamation of different components that come together to produce this wonderful thing called cinema. The light blue background merges these elements with Fredericksburg's cityscape and essentially, the Rappahannock River.
mixed media work in progress - August 14, 2009 (Detail) - click to enlarge
July 13-17, 2009: The PONSHOP Student Mural Workshop was a great success. For one week, students had a chance to conceive and execute their ideas on a 12-foot by 8-foot canvas. Below is the (2 part) video chronicle of that week as well as some photos. Congratulations to all the students ( Ben, David, Finn, Johnny, and Jeff) as well as our photographer/videographers Allison and Zeph.
Part One:
Part Two:
From the PONSHOP class listing: "The mural is an effective way of bringing people together to create artwork that is intended for the public realm. This workshop will encourage students to work as a team to conceive and execute a large-scale mural. Imagination, self-expression, and cooperation are the keys to achieving this goal. Students will have access to explore a variety of media (acrylic paint, spray paint, stencils and collage) to adorn their collective wall."
Saturday, August 8 is the grand opening of "Spaghetti Project" (1025 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg). Spaghetti Project will be a store unique to this region in that it carries the stuff that all the kids search out and drop whole paychecks on when they visit New York City:limited edition vinyl toys, exclusive clothing and sneakers, as well as a healthy array of contemporary art books and periodicals which will keep my Christmas List long this year.
After meeting with the owners, I had a feeling that their efforts are similar to ours in some respects - they want to share and exhibit all the things that give them their joy and inspiration. Whether it's stemming from hip-hop music to contemporary urban and street art to youth culture and fashion, it's what they love.
I'll be exhibiting some of my work in their shop for the upcoming months - and I'm excited to help them usher in a fresh idea to the downtown scene. In fact, they'll be open for this month's First Friday Art Walk - so make your way down there and check it out!
This workshop took advantage of the remarkably comfortable July weather. For three 2-hour sessions, I took my student on an architectural walking tour of downtown Fredericksburg. I gave instruction on map-making, perspective drawing, and projected drawing (plan, section, and elevation) and demonstrated different techniques on representing space and structures.
We also did contour drawings of the city's skyline - here students are instructed to (without looking at the page) follow the building terrain from the rooftops.
Trey shows off his sketchbook during the final class...
We also studied the local train bridge and talked about building form, material, and structure (above and below).
The local train station was the ideal place to give an exercise in perspective drawing (above and below).
For a current PONSHOP Class Schedule, Click Here
Usually a kid's first skateboard is some water-logged Nash handed down by an older brother - this is not the case here. Chris's first deck features his own signature character as well as my classic "Maiden Mono" lettering for his griptape art. Chris picked up the rules for stencils quickly and proceeded to make a 4-stencil composition ready to ride. Good Work - Now Go Shred!
Details (click image to enlarge)
July's "Intro to Street Art" workshop boasted some of the hardest working students to date. Not only did they bring fresh new ideas to the table, they also worked overtime on their pieces to take them to the next level. Nice work students!
Trey did a contemporary take on the traditional silhouette figures using collage and stencils.
He paints up the background during the final session...
Detail (click image to enlarge)
Mira created a cool "Twilight Zone" style cat using spray paint and stencils.
She sprays on the final layer of black onto the stencil (above).
Detail (click image to enlarge)
Josh's sketches and notes (above) kept his work on point and on schedule...
Detail (click image to enlarge)
Scarlett and I took a Sunday afternoon to visit the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia. The Workhouse is a campus-format complex that features artist studios, performance and exhibit space. The center opened around one year ago and is quite impressive even at phase one of its development. Some of our friends and colleagues have studios there: Carol Iglesias, Hsi-Mei Yates, and Sean Donlon to name a few. Below are some snapshots from our visit...
One of the corridors of the visual arts buildings...
Small Works on exhibit in building 5
Each studio building has a gallery at the front - these pics (above and below) were snapped from the ceramic studio.
Diego enjoyed the breadth of the place - plenty of space to run...
To learn more about the Workhouse and the mission of the Lorton Foundation for the Arts, click here.
July 11, 2009: Opening Night at Art Whino's "Mortal Plush: I Am Not Your Toy" show was a lot of fun. Scarlett and I had a chance to meet some of the other participating artists and enjoy an evening out on the town.
Scarlett in front of the gallery early in the evening. Art Whino is located in the National Harbor, Maryland - a few exits north on the local I- 95 after Alexandria, Virginia.
The artist gives a bubble pose with her worm figure tittled "You Used To Love Me" (click images to enlarge)
We met Elizabeth Doherty (Illinois) who made these well-crafted crocheted animals (above and below).
We also met Anne Kirn (Illinois) whose work is above.
Heather Gargon exhibited these fantastic animals (above and below)
Helicopters and Vultures gave a performance during the evening as well....
June 2009: Grace participated in the "Mixing The Media" workshop and, within 3 sessions, created some great mixed media pieces. In this class, students are encouraged to create a "landscape" of imagery with found images and text. The student then interacts with the collage using painting and drawing. Below are some images from the final class. Good Job Grace! (click images to enlarge)
Grace used magazine clippings, acrylic paint, and stencils to construct her piece.
She also did a stencil piece on wood with her favorite song lyrics written in the background.
Her Stencil was derived from a series of drawing exercises we did during the first class.
Click Here for a complete PONSHOP class schedule.We're pleased to announce that Scarlett will be participating in the "Mortal Plush: I Am Not Your Toy" show at Art Whino this month. "Mortal Plush..." will include original handmade soft-sculpture works submitted by artists worldwide, each attempting to convey the variety of emotions experienced by their human creators. Below is Scarlett's submission, "You Used To Love Me".
The opening reception is Saturday, July 11 from 6-Midnight. Show runs through August 7. Art Whino Gallery, 173 Waterfront St., National Harbor, MD 20745. For more about this show, click here.
"You Used To Love Me", Scarlett Suhy-Pons, handmade plush figure, approx. 2" diam x 17" length.
StickyIckyness from Fred Slybone on Vimeo.
Ohh yes - the video is out and at Fred Skates (604 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA)
Diego and I went to the Friday Premiere at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, good times... (more images from that weekend to come...)
"The Lost City #1" (detail), Mixed Media on Wood, 12"x36" $800.
July, 2009: As a follow up to the "Pagoda" Skateboard Decks I initiated in June, above is a detail of my most recent painting, "The Lost City #1". As many of my friends and colleagues already know, my background in architectural drafting and model making was how I got into making stencils in the first place. By the same token, my architecture education made me pretty obsessive when it comes down to doing this stuff (painting, drawing,etc.). Below is the completed painting (left) with a composite drawing of my stencil layers (right). Click images to enlarge.
One thing I really enjoy about turning my sketches into a mixed media painting is that I can use all of my arsenal (collage, acrylic paint, spray paint) to achieve the desired image. In a lot ways, the mixed media painting has informed me on how I can approach the stenciled deck series differently.
"The Lost City #1" will be on display at Art First Gallery for the month of July - check it!
I had the pleasure of working with David again - this time for a mixed media workshop. His patience and attention to detail allowed him to layer up this composition on canvas. Check the progress and final pics below. Congratulations David!
David "built up" his painting into a landscape, with a clear delineation between land and sky. He used magazine cut outs to show buildings and figures in space. Acrylic paint and spray paint with stencils were used as well.
Final Painting (click to enlarge)
June, 2009. the summer kicked of well with my "Skate to Create" students bringing all their excitement and enthusiasm towards designing and painting their own skateboards. Below are more pics of their work. Nice job girls! now get riding! (click images to enlarge).
Amanda used two stencils for her lettering treatment.
The students took an opportunity during their final session to practice their stencil painting on their griptape.
Sarah's design was inspired by the beach, air balloons, and of course, a love for cats...
For a current PONSHOP Class Schedule, click here.
