I’ve designed a few Buffalo prints soon to be for sale. Just showing a little Buffalo love. Here’s a few sneak previews. I’ll drop in a link when they’re out. Enjoy.

August 25th, 2009 by watch84. Category:Art     No Comments

We’re all pretty familiar with hip hop lyrical battles where two people get up on stage and spit their best rhymes in order to gain the crown. The idea behind Secret Wars is the same. Only instead of a generic audio loop in the background, there is a blank canvas. Each artist gets 90 minutes to compose their best piece. Themes are picked before hand and sketchbooks are banned leaving nothing but the completed project to be improvisational and unique.

Winners are decided by three on looking judges while art enthusiasts are encouraged to watch as the compositions come together. Currently these battles reside in Europe but it’d be tight to have events like this come to the U.S..  -Great idea. I’d love to attend.

February 13th, 2009 by watch84. Category:Art     No Comments

I got this beautiful shot of some simple street art from the people at joyengine.com. I wonder if this shot was staged or the photographer just waited until someone noticed the graffiti’s function. It’d be cool if this piece got that little red-headed kid thinking and really sparked some interest within him about perspective art. Truly inspiring. It doesn’t get any better than this.

February 4th, 2009 by watch84. Category:Art     No Comments

When I saw this photo I immediately was reminded of the many abandoned or run down houses in my home town of Buffalo, NY. It also sparked my interest in urban art and graffiti. My thinking here is that the city of Buffalo could use our decrepit housing as an art gallery for the city’s spray can artists. With Buffalo being an art driven city (See number 37), fueled by new urbanism, I believe that giving these old buildings to talented artists will solve two major problems. One being the amount of public graffiti around the city and two, the question of what to do with these run down buildings. I’m sure there are problems with safety issues and what not but I’ve seen how these guys paint. This project would give them a spot where they don’t have to hang over a ledges or run from the police in order to get their work seen. Once a house is completed it can become a destination as an art gallery hosting events or just showcasing a LOT of hidden talent. Maybe part of the thrill in graffiti painting is it’s illegal aspect? Instead of running around the city quickly bombing and tagging public buildings, the truly talented artists can have some time to work on a piece and not get pinched. Just a thought.

February 3rd, 2009 by watch84. Category:Art     No Comments

Letting his artwork speak for itself, Maxwell Lord has chosen to keep his online portfolio simple, clean, and functional. At Maxwell’s domain, 86era.org, you can find amazing illustrations, gorgeous typography and a plethora of urban inspired art. His identity projects are impressive and show off his talent in the field of branding and logo design. Taught to him at a young age by his father, his drawing skills were implemented into his daily life by doodling on whatever canvas the young artist could find. Lord’s love for graphics inspires him to get into album cover design along with reasearching and connecting with artists around the world.

October 16th, 2008 by watch84. Category:Art     (1) Comment

When most people look at an old book they see no other use for it but to stack it neatly on their shelf as some sort of pretentious trophy. Artist Brian Dettmer sees the pile of binded paper as a piece of clay at which he can carve into, exposing the inner workings of the title. Cutting into page after page, he reveals chosen graphics and text, allowing him to create an overview of the book or a plot derived from his own mind. Sure you can recycle your old books, keep doors open with them, or pass them on to a friend but why not turn them into something aesthetically interesting. Dettmer has done exactly that. He’s taken the ordinary and turned it into something extraordinary. I suggest you get your exact-o-knife and slice up the nearest encyclopedia. Here’s a few more examples of how your old books can become new art.

October 8th, 2008 by watch84. Category:Art     No Comments

Shawn Barber published his first book “Tattooed Portraits” in 2006 and is currently working as a professor at the California College of Arts. His resume is anything but amateur harboring clients like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Converse. Shawn’s love for the art of tattooing fuels his love for the canvas. Working with oil, Shawn is able to capture the essence of being inked. Some of his pieces look as if the shutter of your eye was open too long exposing a fading trail behind his subject. I thought this was a great way to show the time it takes to produce an incredible tattoo. Shawn also seems to focus on tattooed hands along with the painting of the actual machine that inserts the ink under the tattooee’s skin. Although he prefers the view from a far, he is currently apprenticing with San Franciscan ink-er Mike Davis to expand his mediums to skin.  Painting artists like Kat Von D to Paul Booth, Shawn’s work is highly respected from east to west. Check out more of his divine brushwork

Images courtesy of Shawn Barber

October 7th, 2008 by watch84. Category:Art     No Comments