Something To Do Tonight

If you are in the Carrboro, NC area (which I now am), there is something that looks like it will be fun and toy/art related going on tonight. Tonight is the re-opening of Wootini at their new gallery space (not in Carr Mill Mall anymore) along with the opening of the Wootini Gallery Roadshow, featuring works of art by the likes of Steff Bomb, Fish McGill, CHema Skandal (apparently the "H" is capitalized, this is not a typo), Mike Ski, Evoker, Shawnimals, and other people with equally ridiculous names. There will probably be music, possibly by Family, and maybe even some beer or wine or other drinkies for the folkies. And of course, they got toys! Anne is going to a wine tasting, but I prefer an art opening, so this is where I will be. Maybe not from 7-11pm, but at some point.

Who?

Alright, there is a street artist in LA going around using my name on his paste-ups! I just wanted to let people know, now, so that I don't get in trouble for it, that this is not my work. I kind of wish it was, because it is really nice and the kind of thing that I might do. But this other Alec thought of it first. Damn you, other Alec! The image below is even from the building that the art studio/gallery that I worked in used to be. Also, I never even thought of using my actual name as my tag, I thought it would be better to remain anonymous. I guess this other Alec doesn't agree. Anyway, you can check out Alec Monopoly's website and his work on his Flickr page here.

Art March Again

My artwork will be featured at an exhibit at Gallery Godo in Glendale, CA starting next Friday, March 26th. There will be a reception from 7pm until midnight and the exhibit will be up until April 2nd. I have a couple of new paintings that I just completed that I will be showing. So come check it out if you are in the LA area.

Update: Unfortunately, I didn't sell anything at that exhibit, but you can still take a look at pictures from the gallery opening night here. I now have three of my paintings in an ongoing group exhibit at Artisan Venice in Venice Beach, CA. If you are in the area, you can check it out. It is located at 80A Windward Ave.

Mike Mignola Y'all!

I know it has been forever, but whatever, get it while you can.

Anyway, the artwork of Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, will be featured tonight, one night only, at Secret Headquarters in Sunset Junction from 8-10pm.


Secret Headquarters will also be offering a limited edition Mignola illustrated letterpress print made specifically for this show. The prints feature never before seen Hellboy artwork by Mike Mignola with color supervision by Dave Stewart. These 3 color letterpress prints have been beautifully made by Aardvark Letterpress of Los Angeles.


Complimentary wine provided by Bear Flag.

Also, Kwong Dynasty: Noodle Fantasy will be parked in front of Secret Headquarters for all of your delicious noodle slurping needs.

Now get off my back about posting stuff, y'all! I needs my beauty sleep!

Broken Boards

Howdy y'all! It's been a while. Good to see all y'all again. Here I am, back in the saddle.

I know I haven't been around in a while, but I have been skateboarding a lot recently. I think it is a result of my move to Los Angeles, my lack of work, Anne being in DC, an early mid-life crisis, a desire for a fun way to get some exercise and lose weight, and my general anarchic tendencies and lack of respect for authority. I am trying to skate for at least an hour a day, two hours if I get the chance or go to one of the local skate parks around LA. And I don't just cruise around on a long board like an old dude, I am trying to learn new tricks, like pop shove-its and rail slides. And I am an old dog, which means I wear knee pads under my jeans when I go out skating around my apartment, so I don't tear up my knees, and if I go to the skate park I also wear my wrist guards so I don't break another wrist. Instead of breaking bones, I have been breaking boards recently. One that Anne got me, that I broke popping ollies behind our apartment, and another that I had for about ten years, that I broke doing an ollie to board slide down in Venice Beach. The ten year old Powell board had been sitting in my parents' attic for about a year, so it may have gotten brittle and broke just because it was old.

Anyway, I have had to replace two boards in the last few months, so I had to find a good local skate shop that I trusted. There is one down in Venice where Anne got me a board for my birthday, but that is too far away. There was also a shop that I used to drive past on Sunset Blvd. everyday on my way to work when Anne and I were living at Seth's place in Echo Park. It is called Maintain, and is the best shop I have found in the Silverlake area. The first time I was in there, I was a little intimidated by all of the kids in the store, but once I met the owner Alex Rodriguez, I was thoroughly impressed by his skate and graffiti art knowledge. Not to mention, his reasonably priced decks. I have gotten two blank decks from him to replace my broken ones. Two blank decks were cheaper than one graphic deck online, so I won't feel bad if I break one of these. But if I did want a graphic deck, Maintain has a wide selection of them at very reasonable prices. As well as trucks, wheels, bearings, risers, and stickers. They also have a wide selection of spray cans, markers, acrylics, and other art needs. And Alex has some of his amazing art up in the shop. His other art can be seen on the walls around the Silverlake and Echo Park areas. Maintain doesn't have a website yet, but hopefully they will soon. Until then, check them out on their MySpace page or go down to the shop at 3318 W. Sunset Blvd. in LA and tell them Limited Ed. sent you.

Now I just need to get someone to take pictures of me skating so that I can prove once and for all that pigs can fly!

Polish Your Vinyl

I got e-mail the other day from Abe over at Vinyl Canvas letting me know about their new gallery. It is filled with custom vinyl toys designed by Polish artists such as FRM-kid, Kobster, *starFil, and Werke. It seems like a nice project. I especially like the Scarecrow Qee Bear [pictured above] designed by Tomasz Płonka and featured on the front page of the website. Unfortunately, it has sold already. There are still several other cool pieces available on the site, so if you need something to do for a few minutes, check it out.

Aye Me Beasties!

Friday the 13th
at Secret Headquarters
Rain or Shine
Booze and beasts!

If I am not out seeing
Prince Paul and Peanut Butter Wolf
at the Echoplex that night,
I will be there.

A Couple Of Things

Going on this weekend, I think as I sit here fasting and reflecting on the past year. First, Kicks Sole Provider in Sunset Junction is having a party this Friday night from eight 'til midnight to introduce a new clothing brand that they are carrying, Insight. 30% off Insight clothing that night, free drinks and gift bags, so this is definitely not to be missed. For some reason they were closed today when Seth and I stopped by to pick something out for Seth to wear to the NYC premiere of The Elephant King on October 17th, though. Maybe they were at Synagogue atoning.

Also this weekend, Saturday night is the inaugural exhibition of the new Cerasoli:LeBasse Gallery, the merging of project:gallery and Lab 101. They will now be in a larger space right across the street from their old location in Culver City. The opening reception features work from Deth P Sun, Mari Inukai and Melissa Haslam [work pictured above]. I definitely want to check this one out. It will be going on from 7 to 10pm. Although I'm not sure about the gallery name, a little hard to remember, but I definitely like the content and the website looks real nice. Anyway, back to fasting and reflecting. Fasting and reflecting. I can't wait for pizza at break fast tonight.

Secret Headquarters

I got e-mail from Secret Headquarters [pictured below] on Sunset that Andrice Arp [pictured above] has an exhibit opening this Friday, tomorrow in fact, September 19th, my brother Seth's birthday (happy b-day, bro), from 8-10 pm. I really like the Secret Headquarters. It is cozy, they have a wide selection of comics and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Anyway, I will try to make it out for this. I am moving this weekend, so it might be a little tough. I do have tomorrow off, though, because my boss is heading to Las Vegas for the Art Expo. He invited me along, but I have to move and Seth is coming back this weekend and it is his birthday and he needs a good clown-raping. I think I've said too much. Anyway, check out the art of Andrice Arp tomorrow night if you are in the Sunset Junction area. Maybe I'll see you there.

Vodka With The Boss

Yesterday was a rough day at work. I am working on a new website for the gallery, which should be up soon, and my boss kept changing his mind about how he wanted the intro animation to look. First he wanted it to be a paint brush dripping paint onto our business card, then it flipping over to reveal the website. Then he wanted smears of paint going across the screen to become the website. But they were both too busy. Not clean and simple enough. By lunch, I was on the verge of exasperation. I took my lunch to do some meditation and calm down, got some caffeine and headed back to work. By four o'clock we had completed the intro animation for the website and it looks very nice, clean, represents the gallery well. When I am done with the rest of the website I will put a link up here for everyone to check it out. Anyway, my boss was so excited by the results, he busted out a beautiful bottle of vodka. We had to toast to our success. He had even showed it to Billy Dee Williams, who was also impressed. This was right before I was getting ready to leave for the day. So we did several shots over vodka, four or five, in rapid succession, finishing the bottle, with some blueberries to chase it, the only food I had eaten all day.

Then I drove home.

It didn't really hit me until I hit traffic on Sunset Blvd. I was overwhelmed by a sloshing sickness. My head throbbed. Vodka on an empty stomach is not a good thing. I much prefer it with some food or after a meal. When I got home, I figured it would probably be a good idea to eat something if I was going to throw up, give it a little substance. Also, I hate the dry heaves. So I ate a few handfuls of peanuts, some dry bread and yogurt. The yogurt did it.

I called in sick this morning. My boss understood. I am getting ready to head into work right now. We have an art walk this evening, so I will probably be there until nine o'clock, which will be a full day. If you are in the La Brea and Santa Monica area tonight, stop on by and say hi. It should be fun.

Speaking of fun, a few things for y'all folks:

Erick Scarecrow of ESC Toy Ltd. has a new 8" Micci plush coming out in September. It will be available in five different delicious flavors, Purple Lurple, Snow Attack, Pink Rage, Green Master, and Mocha. Available now? Soon? How much? We shall see... we shall see.

A Paper Tiger has a beautiful new Limited Ed. print from Nimit Malavia entitled The Spark That Hath Set Fire. Limited to ten 12" x 16" prints signed and numbered.

Update: It looks like they are sold out already.

There is a new iPod Nano and new iPod touch. iTunes 8 is out. The world is changing my friends. The world is changing. Now I gotta go to work!

Buried

My old pals over at project:gallery have an exhibit opening this Saturday, August 16th from 7-10pm entitled Buried Beneath Me, a group exhibition curated by the Friends United Network. Here's the good word from project:gallery:

The concept for the exhibition is the idea of being "buried" - and not necessarily in a morbid way. The main body of work will be a reflection on the simple beauties which are so often overlooked in our fast-paced lives, emphasizing that we are a relatively small, but important, part of a larger collective consciousness. The hope is that this show will help the viewer recognize the playful joys of living despite being "Buried" under a mound of superimposed social constraints.

This will be the second major Los Angeles show curated by the Friends United Network, and will host several artists that have shown in the gallery including: Rebecca Urias, Derek Albeck, Ken Garduno - as well as new artists to project: Ian Mailhot, Seth Neefus, Tim Karpinski, David Wien, Mark Warren Jacques and Scott Ferguson.

Looks like some good stuff. Project:gallery also has a new blog, here. Anne and I are going to try to make it out for the opening this Saturday night. Culver City is a haul from Echo Park, though, but it's worth it.

Also worth it, if you are in the Sunset Junction area of Silverlake in LA, is the sneaker shop Kicks Sole Provider [pictured above]. Anne and I stopped in there while strolling around Sunset Junction. There is also a Giant Robot store, an Undefeated store and Secret Headquarters [pictured below], a good comic book shop. I could spend all weekend at those four shops. Of course, for sneakers in Sunset Junction, I think Kicks Sole Provider has a better selection than Undefeated. They had some real nice Onitsuka Tigers and some dope Limited Ed. Nikes on consignment. There are also some good vintage shops around Sunset Junction. My kind of area. I think I will be spending a lot of time down there while I am living in Echo Park. It is so close! (Check out my other pictures from LA here)

Neglectin' My Duties

Sorry I have been a little lax with the posts the last few days. I have been busy exploring LA and searching for a job. Yesterday, Anne and I took an unexpected tour of Los Angeles when I tried to find Cedar Sinai Medical Center without my iPod. We ended up in Inglewood. 45 minutes later, we found Cedars, then it was on to Runyon Canyon Park for a little hiking and sightseeing. I will have to bring a camera next time 'cause from up there you can see all of Los Angeles. It is pretty amazing. Today I got a job at Art Territory, a gallery and studio on La Brea and Santa Monica. I start on Monday. It only took me six days to find a job. I guess I can rest tomorrow.

Anyway, today, there is no rest for the weary. I got some Limited Ed. stuffeses to share with y'all. First up, Erick Scarecrow's SDCC Kissaki Sandstorm colorway figure [pictured above] is now available at the ESC eBay store. It is limited to only 300 pieces and comes with a signed limited edition print by Erick Scarecrow. This is definitely one of my favorite ESC pieces so far, and I especially like this Tattooine-lookin' colorway.

And the other thing I wanted to share with y'all for right now, Julie West will be showin' an exhibit of her work at the Myplasticheart Gallery in NYC startin' tonight. The exhibit, entitled Sickly Sweet features a wide range of new artwork, from paintings to prints and customs based around her sugary theme. Unfortunately, I forgot I am on West Coast time, so the opening has already ended. You can still see it, though, through September 9th.

Man, it is crazy being out here in LA! I have just been drivin' around gawkin' at people and at places that I done seen in the movies and on the TV. I feel like a regular country rube bumpkin givin' blumpkins out here. I keep yellin' at people in other cars, "I'm from North Carolina, man! I don't know where I am! I don't give a shit! I'll kill us all, dammit!" in Edward's redneck accent from The Dog Prince. Of course, I got the windows rolled up for the AC, so people just think I'm some crazy guy yellin' to himself in his car. They steer clear, though. It's fun.

Everyone We Know

I got e-mail from Yifat over at Urbanix Gallery in Tel-Aviv in Israel letting me know about what's going on at their gallery. Urbanix is the first gallery and shop in Israel dedicated to urban art and vinyl toys. That's pretty freakin' awesome! I am very glad that urban art and vinyl has caught on somewhere like Israel. It gives me hope for the future. Anyway, they have an exhibit opening this Thursday, July 24th, entitled Me, You and all the Others featuring works in different media by five young Israeli illustrators and graphic designers: Gabby Nathan [painting pictured above], Gal Shkedi [sculpture pictured below], Nura Porat, Tamar Moshkovitz and Shlomi Schillinger (the last two are the creators of Plushhood). According to Yifat:

"The exhibition deals with the dialog between the urban (the city) and human texture (the society).

The difficulty of coping with a demanding and competitive urban life, the subjugation to consumerism, money and social status, beside social manifestations like violence and indifference, can be found either openly or concealed in the works presented."

Pretty heady stuff. If you are in Tel-Aviv this weekend, stop by and give them a big Shalom for me!

Don't Go Chasing Butterflies

A Paper Tiger has got a new Limited Ed. print available from artist Josh Petker entitled Chasing Butterflies [pictured left] in stock. Only five of these sensuous prints are available, in a large, 18" x 24" format, hand-embellished with paint, ink and glitter from the artist. So you will have to get to them quick if you are willing to plop down a little more than half a grand for these lovely ladies. According to the folks over at A Paper Tiger,

Joshua Petker is a self taught artist who has been stunning fans at his recent sold out shows. Influenced by everything from classical impressionists to old school graffiti artists - Petker is truly a contemporary painter interested in historical themes.

Sounds good to me. I need someone to write something like that about my paintings so I can start selling prints of 'em for half a grand a piece. Geez.

Hearts & Souls For Sale

One of my favorite online toy retailers and New York gallery spaces, Myplasticheart, has artwork from their recent exhibit Broken Hearts & Stolen Souls by Brent Nolasco available for sale here. My favorite piece, Brent's take on Kaws and Pushead's classic Companion, entitled Dead Beat [pictured above], has already sold, unfortunately. Well, that's the case with their work, it always goes quick. And it is usually way too pricey for someone like me to afford anyway. I would definitely be willing to trade a piece of my artwork for one of his, though. My favorites (that haven't been sold yet) are No End in Sight and Love Me or Love Me Not [pictured below, left to right]. They are both brightly colored and morbidly aesthetic, qualities which I enjoy. A little out of my price range at $400 and $800 respectively, though.

A Face Only A Mother Could Love

Wootini has a new exhibit opening tonight featuring the work of Brendan Danielsson [pictured above], Jason Murphy, Katie Ridley, and Meagan Ridley of the Art Dorks Collective. The show will begin at 7 pm this evening and will run through August 5th. There will be snacks and drinks at the opening reception and "Family" is expected to bring the music. Here's what Michael had to say about the show:

So who are the Art Dorks? Brendan Danielsson originally started it as a web community which grew into the young artist collective it is today. If they fit into a genre, it would be something between Pop Surrealism, Low Brow, and a 1980's hightop sneaker. Being young artists, they've been collectively bombarded with media since the day they were born and it's bound to influence their work.

Let's talk a little about the contributing artists for this show. The Ridley sisters, Jason Murphy and Brendan Danielsson all attended the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Like one big giant artist family, Brendan and Meagan have been married for 2 years, and Jason and Katie will wed later this year making them all 'kin'. They all currently live in Atlanta and work (or have worked) for CNN. Katie is a part time designer for CNN and a freelance illustrator while Meagan is a designer for CNN Headline News. Brendan works as a compositor for CNN. Jason is a designer for Mind's Eye, but at one time worked for CNN. But don't judge them with media bias, or confuse them with the "fair and balanced" fox news people. It's just that they need to pay the bills somehow.

If I get out of work early enough, maybe I will head over for the opening. If Anne lets me out of the apartment. She likes to keep me tied up in the laundry room. We'll see!

Death To The Humans!

Our robot overlords are here to oppress us, finally. Well, just in vinyl form, that is. Anyway, M.Heisler has a new Slobot to gawk at and a whole list of upcoming shows. Here's more info about the Slobot Farmer [pictured above]:

Name: SLOMUNNYV4

Type: Custom 7" Kidrobot Munny

Story: Created for the TOY BOX APATHY show in Las Vegas, NV in the upstairs gallery at THE ATTIC LAS VEGAS. Custom 7" munny (approx 12" with new legs) with positionable arms, lucite arms and legs, found objects, recyclable materials, positionable "glider" wings, and traditional artist materials.

"SlomunnyV4 is a Martian Agriculture Robot deployed to Mars before the first settlers arrived. His task was to begin growing desert plant species in an effort to increase the oxygen content of Mars. Even though Mars has been settled for many years now, SlomunnyV4 continues to go about his job with genuine happiness and good will towards Earthlings, Martians, and their respective animals. He happily spends his days bouncing and gliding over the Martian countryside using his wings for added stability in the low gravitational field of Mars."

You can see more pictures on the Slobots website here. The show at The Attic opens this Saturday, June 6 at 7pm. Future Slobot show involvement includes "Monster Mayhem" at Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo from June 13 through July 28, "16 Inch Qee Show" at APW Gallery in July, "Nonpareil" at NOWhere Limited from July 4 to July 28, and "Summer Munny Show" at Lift Detroit in August. Check them out if they are in your town. Maybe you let me know how they went?

I Prefer Hope

Limited Ed. is pleased to announce that Paper Tiger is excited to announce another in a series of exclusive print releases. This week at Paper Tiger - Yoskay Yamamoto.

This print, titled "Hope and Despair" is a small edition of 25, and from his recent sold out show: www.aPaperTiger.com

About the Artist:
Born and raised in Toba, Japan, Yoskay Yamamoto moved to the United States at the age of 15. Yamamoto discovered a way to fuse the two different cultural backgrounds together into his work. Yamamoto nostalgically blends pop iconic characters from his adopted western home with traditional and mythical Japanese elements, balancing his Asian heritage with urban pop art.

The emotion that Yamamoto pours into his work has turned him into one of the most buzz-worthy emerging artists working today. With shows booked into 2010 from New York to Los Angeles and Miami, and appearances coming at Art Basel, in Scion’s Installation Tour and even a designer vinyl toy releasing in the summer of 2008, Yamamoto is undoubtedly on a fast track to being a must own for any collector.

This is an excellent print at an excellent price, only $100! Cheap! I really appreciate the merging of the two cultures, but I especially like the influence of the old Japanese style. It is one of my favorite styles of art along with Impressionism, which in a lot of ways tries to mimic nineteenth-century Japanese art.

Projecta Selecta Detecta

I got some e-mail from project: gallery and just wanted to give them a quick shout-out. They currently have The Upside of Down, a solo exhibit of work from Yoskay Yamamoto, on display now until May 31st.

The concept for the upside of down is inspired by Yoskay Yamamoto’s own need to express his emotions, personality and frequent feeling of self-doubt. Yamamoto feels as if he is always in a battle with himself or his alter-ego known as “Inskay.” The Japanese word “Yo-“ translates to “light” while “In-“ refers to “dark,” which is where we find YO-skay and his internal struggle with IN-skay. As an artist and as a person, Yamamoto feels this constant struggle of light and dark within himself.

As you may notice by reading my blog, I am a big fan of Asian art and especially anything involving coi fish, so I really like Yamamoto's work.

Keep an eye out here for more from project: gallery.

Yo Left, Yo Left, Yo Left, Right, Left!

After much anticipation, Wootini is thrilled to finally announce the 2008 Left Field Project “Right to Left” tour. They’ve been working on this show for over a year now and have spent many sleepless nights putting together the perfect roster:

• Andy Howell


• Brian Flynn


• Andy Mueller


• Morning Breath


• Ethan Anderson


• Dustin Koop


• Andrew Pommier


• Duane Fernandez

Along with the show, Left Field Project will be designing a zine and screen printed posters. If you want one, you best make your way to the Grand Opening at each venue.

The tour will kick off in North Carolina, May 9th at Wootini [Carrboro, near Chapel Hill]. The tour will then make its way 1122 miles over to Tulsa – Oklahoma. Following the Tulsa show, they will then jump on the I-40 and make the 1738 mile trip to San Francisco. More details:

North Carolina: [May 2008]
Wootini
200 North
Carrboro, NC 27510
http://wootini.com
*Opening show will be Friday May 9th

Oklahoma: [June 2008]
Artifacts
819 E. 3rd Street
Tulsa, OK 74114

California: [July 2008]

Super7
1628 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
super7store.com