"Catching Tags"

You can ask my Wife. I'm obsessed with Street Art. I love it all. Graffiti. Tags. Wheatpastes. Urban Knitting. It's all beautiful to me. Yes. I even love Mr. Brainwash. He's funny. I initially started working with spraypaint and stencils because of my love of Banksy and Shepard Fairey. I've always found beauty in "tags" and have many many books and movies on them and their vast origins.

When I was cleaning out my garage studio I came across some black stencils that I had painted for my initial RAINBOW SERIES. I really thought that these stark black images lent themselves perfectly to the beautification of "tags". I've always wanted to "tag" something other then my own personal belongings. One can only "tag" ones own sketchbooks or binders so many times before it becomes contrived. I wanted to do something real. Something big.

What if I could tag the Brooklyn Bridge? What if I could do a bunch of epic roller pieces on the top of a monolith Factory? How would James Dean look in his prime catching a dart amongst the colourful graffiti of downtown LA? What if a Deer wandered out of the brush and into the alleys of the West Coast? What would that look like? I wanted to capture these fun and impossible moments. Now, with my stencils from the past, I was free to do just that.

I decided early on that I wanted these pieces to stand apart from their initial Rainbow Series Companion. I wanted to use my old imagery and push its boundaries to create something entirely new. My Rainbow Series pieces have three main components: 1. They are centred around a single stark black stencilled image. 2. A bright colourful Rainbow element is used to break up the black spraypaint and tell a story. 3. Metallic elements are used to give the piece perspective and visually engage with the viewer on a purely aesthetic level. People like shiny things. Looking at the individual pieces all of the elements are there. They've just been pushed in order to tell a story.

I'm really pleased with how the pieces turned out. I love how they fit comfortably into my Rainbow Series but how they also blow it up. They've pushed the boundaries of what started out as a very simple concept. I love where these pieces went and am ecstatic to see where they can go. It was fun to "tag" my own work. I thought about creating my own "tags" but I really wanted them to appear authentic and legitimate. So I went with classic "tags". These "tags" are linked to a very specific time, place and style. I really wanted that to show through in the work.

This works will initially be available exclusively through MINBID events.

James Dean (Rainbow Series "Catching Tags") 2013

Spraypaint, stencil, foil, ink, neon ink 

(fluoresces under black light)

AVAILABLE at MIN BID VIP on Friday December 20, 2013

Silent / Live Art Auction 8-11PM at Morris Loft

Minimum Bid: $50

In this piece I focused on "tags" from the West Coast. Predominantly Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Factory (Rainbow Series "Catching Tags") 2013

Spraypaint, stencil, foil, ink, metallic ink

AVAILABLE at MIN BID VIP on Friday December 20, 2013

Silent / Live Art Auction 8-11PM at Morris Loft

Minimum Bid: $50

In this piece I focused on giant "roller tags". I've always been fascinated by artists who risk life and limb to "get up". Makes sense though as these hard to reach spots in undesirable locations are most likely to grab the most attention and "stay up".

Deer (Rainbow Series "Catching Tags") 2013

Spraypaint, stencil, foil, ink, neon ink 

(fluoresces under black light)

AVAILABLE at MINBID 4 on Saturday December 14, 2013

Silent / Live Art Auction 8-11PM at Pixel Blue College

Minimum Bid: $50

In this piece I focused on the juxtaposition of man vs. nature and what would happen if the two were to merge. I really used the "tags" and graffiti to create the deers environment. I love how the deer appears to be stepping over and bashing through the urban jungle and very literally shaking it off with his massive antlers. There are a lot of nods here to those whose work is directly inspired by the natural environment.

Brooklyn Bridge (Rainbow Series "Catching Tags") 2013

Spraypaint, stencil, foil, ink, metallic ink, correction fluid

AVAILABLE at MINBID 4 on Saturday December 14, 2013

Silent / Live Art Auction 8-11PM at Pixel Blue College

Minimum Bid: $50

In this piece I focused on telling the story of New York graffiti. I attempted to use the bridge as a literal retelling of the artists and styles that have come and gone throughout the great cities sordid affair with the much frowned upon art form. This was also my first  attempt to use correction fluid in a fine art environment. It won't be my last.