April 25, 2016

"Desert Rose (Nuevas Generaciones)": New mural for Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum

This is a new mural commissioned by the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Mesa (east Phoenix), Arizona. The mural is painted on a concrete exterior wall of the museum. 
The image is based on my photos of Karen Bracamonte, an immigrant from Guatemala who is married to one of my closest friends. At the time of the reference shoot Karen was roughly seven months pregnant, so in a way, this painting depicts not only her but her baby as well (my soon-to-be godson). 
I was honored to paint for this museum something that can hopefully be seen as beautiful and affirming of love, life, and diversity
My good friend Mando Rascón, longtime Mesa resident and one of the most important graffiti artists in Phoenix since the early-90s, assisted by painting some of the background designs at the top.
Many thanks to Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Tiffany Fairall, Frank Gonzales, my compadres Karen and Ari Bracamonte, Niba DelCastillo, Mando, and anyone else that supported or helped make this possible. 

"Aerosol Exalted", my museum exhibition from the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center last year will be traveling to Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum. The show will be up May 13- August 7.

Photos 2-5, 9, 10 by Niba DelCastillo

April 7, 2016

NYC subway sketches

Aside from being a Mecca for graffiti artists everywhere, the New York City subway transports an endless flow of humanity that makes it truly one of my favorite places to draw people. There is a vibrant diversity hosted in its aged vascular system that is unlike that of any other public transportation system I know of. 
These are some subway sketches from last year when I was in town working on 'El Regalo Mágico'. Although I usually finish the drawings later, I love the immediacy and challenge of trying to discreetly capture as much as I can of these fleeting moments in time with pencil and paper. These are the 'successes' -what I'm not showing are all the drawings that were interrupted or never completed because somebody either woke up, moved too much, or got off the train.