“O” is complete!

"O", latex on brick, 30'x 30' ✨ Last of seven murals that spell out the word "EXPLORE ✨ Thank you to Kristen for understanding the vision and and lending the wall, Hannah for trusting me with the reference and Bryan for the onsite support and documentation. ✨

"E2" ...more pics & vid soon!

E2 BEGINS

Tomorrow, I will start the second E in the Explore series, only leaving O to be painted.
In a lot of ways, E2 will act as a counterpart to the recently painted L, only a half mile away. The colors will respond to each other and similar techniques of transparency will be implemented. Both are all the "hidden gems" of the series, tucked in alleys behind fences and dumpsters. Below is a picture of the wall (red on the right, near corner of 23rd & Guilford) as well as the original painting that the mural will be based on. The model for this piece is Tony Byrd, who also posed for the first E in the series.

L COMPLETE

 "L" from the Explore series, 27th, between Charles & St. Paul

Artist & his work

detail

Final Stages of This Exploration

Well there are three more of these pieces to go...looks like the series will be complete this year!

Tomorrow I will be starting "L". A darker of the pieces from the original series "L" contained a man falling lifeless along a diagonal lavender stripe. The adaptation of this mural twists the energy a bit,  yet hopes to maintain some of the sobriety of the original. I plan to be out most of tomorrow afternoon and Thursday if you'd like to stop by! (Charles & 27th)

location:

mockup:

"X" Baby

Last week I completed X at the corner of Preston and Greenmount, a couple blocks south of the new Baltimore Design School and the "P" mural. "X" has been one of the murals I have been most excited about in this project as it derived from the original painting that spawned it all! I went to a community residents meeting while working through the project with the builder. I shared the story with residents and one of them had an idea to put hands raising the children up. AWESOME IDEA! How about a few hundred of them!?! Check the detail shot below to see the layers that went into this one. "R" really set me off to this technique where I'm using stencils upon stencils to create textures and larger patterns. The green and purple palette was pulled from the painting.

One of the original concerns/conversation points was the race of the child. As a white artist working in a mostly black city, this comes up a lot. This is one of the reasons most of my figures are so minimally described. I can paint the hell out of a figure, photo-realistic if you want...but the more detail you put in, the less people can relate. "He doesn't look like me/ I don't know anyone like that / I don't like people like that" are all comments that ACTUALLY have been said. From those statements it's much harder, but not impossible, to connect with that viewer.  By using unrealistic colors and taking out a majority of the features, this is not as much of an issue. Now the cornerboys, tranny hookers and lake trout aficionados that kept me company while working on "X" can really appreciate the piece! LOL

These pieces are for me, they are for you, for my son, his friends, and their kids one day. They are for everyone. How much do I consider my audience? Entirely and whole-heartedly.

(Pro pics of "X" coming soon)

"R"

R is done and up at The Charmery! The typeface of the "R" was selected to pay homage to the pharmacy (Rx) that used to exist in this location. Definitely check this one out and pick up some salted Old bay ice cream while you're there. It's delish!

"P" Final Pics

photo credit: Sean Scheidt 

"P" wraps around the corner, filling in the boarded up windows, surrounded by other art

Barclay side

Lanvale side, interesting to see next to memorial mural with hands

 Color stretching to the sky

detail of hand on Barclay

"P" IS UP

"P" is up! I drove by yesterday to take a couple snaphots and it's cool to see all the other artists' panels as well. "P" was part of a larger project involving about a dozen artists and the Greenmount West community. Check out all the details of the neighborhood project here and thanks to The Deutsch Foundation, Sergio Martinez and the Greenmount West community for making it happen! More pro pics coming soon.

The corner of Lanvalle & Barclay. Once known as Bodie's Corner from "The Wire". Maybe now for the art?

Detail of hand on Lanvale

"P"rogress

I started the panels for "P" with Bryant Molloy this last week. Bryant is one of my interns this summer and has a great illustration business going already. You can check out his work here. Below are some of our progress shots from the first day.

12 panels primed and ready to go

 Rothko is cool with it

 brighten it up

 & it just got crazy

"P" from the Explore series, happening this May!

Last week I was asked to be a part of an interesting project in the Greenmount West neighborhood. Artists are being commissioned to paint on the boarded up windows and doors of various houses around the neighborhood. If the house sells, the boards will be taken to another vacant location.

I thought this would be an excellent canvas for one of the explore murals! As "X" was proposed for another location earlier this spring (yet to be accepted) I've decided to go on to "P" for this location. Hands will fill the double wide windows on ground level, reaching up to the colorful burst above. Stay tuned for more pictures, this piece will be installed by the end of May.

site includes one building (corner) with a total of 12 windows

mural will be based off the original painting" P" (left)

"E" final pic

"E" complete!

Last week I completed the first mural in this series, assisted by Jake Warford and Xxist! I had perviously been approached by the owner of the Chesapeake to put a mural on the back of their building, as they complete renovations. The new restaurants will not be open for a few more months, but the wall is right in the middle of the Station North Arts District, so I though it'd be a perfect place to introduce the Explore series.

Trying out a newer technique on such a big wall was quite the test, but with the help of Jake and Xxist we got it up in less than a week! Thanks so much to the Valery family for funding the mural as well as Sherwin Williams and Utrecht for helping with the paint. Final pics will be up soon (once the dumpster is out of the way).

the focal point of the mural, figure & letter

detail of the fill

workers now repairing roof, dumpster and equipment covering most of bottom story work

"Explore" Artist Statement

"Baby1", 36" x 50", acrylic and latex on canvas, 2005

In 2005, I found out I was going to be a father. Through the next 9 months I had a recurring vision of my son exploring a vast ocean, discovering starfish and other precious items. I  thought of how he would soon have access to the same world that I do. During that time I created a few paintings on this theme, of children and babies finding starfish in large aqua canvases.  

As we move through this world it seems that we all have a wonderful opportunity to explore, despite our age, race, or background. Inspired by my son's constant hunger to see and find more, "EXPLORE" investigates that equal potential. As if the figures are weightlessly floating through the ocean, they all hold this propensity to find the color and form that is around and inside themselves. Each piece contains one letter, whether representational or abstract, which throughout the entire seven piece series spells out EXPLORE.