Prints on Wood Blog

Just in case you missed Shaun White's Air+Style event at the Pasadena Rose Bowl last weekend, here is a second chance to experience the Prints on Wood booth. (minus the sun, rain, snowboarding, music, live art, free mini-prints, who needs all that anyway! And you save $50 a ticket too)

After a grueling 9 hours of set up, the booth is complete!  And the one of one, signed prints fit in just perfectly.

Mountain Giants by Jeff Soto

Night Nest by Jeff Soto

Leak by Luke Chueh (unavailable)

Bird and the Bee by Luke Chueh (unavailable)

All Eyes on Me by KMNDZ

Mary Becoming Annette by Greg "Craola" Simkins

Never Alone by Greg "Craola" Simkins (sold)

Imagine by James Haunt

See All by James Haunt

Plus a couple live pieces by Luke Chueh and Johnny KMNDZ Rodriguez

The outside of the booth looked just as good by the end of the day.

James Haunt going non-stop

Craola and Jeff Soto, working side by side

Craola and family

Craola's final piece before the rains start to come (and Joe the booth builder extraordinaire!)

James Haunt's finished mural

Jeff Soto's finished piece

and a bit of good humor

Calling it a wrap!  (Soto, Craola, KMNDZ)

The workday after a great weekend is always a tough one to snap back into. The week’s begun churning and we've snipped off our Air + Style wristbands. While we settle back into the world of staplers and paper cuts, we can’t help but reminisce on that one time kids gathered 'round to gaze at art pieces, then lost their minds to their favorite musicians. Sounds like every festival huh?

Good vibes were going Saturday morning while we prepped the POW booth for incoming spectators. With the stage to our left and the 16 story ice slope to our right, We couldn't have gotten a better seat in the house.

Our friends, Greg "Craola" Simkins, Johnny KMDZ, Jeff Soto, and James Haunt were up and at it priming and painting their canvases for the day ahead.

Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez live painting

As temperature rose, things really started heating up at the event.

Art fanatics and curious spectators buzzed in, out, and around our booth to get their art fix...

chat with our featured artists...

check out the live art..(major props to this guy who sat for HOURS, making a time lapse video on Simkins' piece)

and swipe the mini prints we were giving away.

At the table, spectators got to hashtagging sharing and posting on our Instagram and Facebook page. All 300 of the mini-prints were gone faster than you can shout “free miniprints!”

It was awesome to see first hand each of these artists in full effect. Clusters and crowds of Air + Style attendees gathered round to see what the featured artist were concocting at their canvases.

KMDZ took a break from the paintbrush to shoot the breeze with a budding artist, loaded with questions about composition, technique, and who knows what else.

A very sleepy yet excited Justin Chueh rolled in just in time to start up on his canvas and attracted one heck of a crowd while doing so.

Graffiti legends, Greg "Craola" Simkins and Jeff Soto got busy emptying spray cans on to our 20x8 foot walls

Jumping right back into it from his vacation in Jamaica, James Haunt didn’t miss a beat and painted right alongside the two graffiti artists.

With rain, rain and more rain coming in on Sunday, our featured artists kicked it into high gear finishing up their pieces before the rain got a chance to.

Good thing they did too, our time at the Air + Style event was cut short by the weather. Drenched in rain on the foggy Sunday morning, we knocked it all down, packed up shop and said our goodbyes.

In spite of the sucky weather, It's been great experience taking part in the epic snowboarding event. We would like to say a big thank you to our artists and buyers for all their support. You all had the biggest hand in making the event what it was, a memorable success.

Catching the eye of your customer is always a challenging task, and getting them to purchase a specific product is even harder. Between customers strictly buying what they came for and customers who do not think the specific product is applicable to them, the group of consumers being targeted is a fraction of the size of the amount of customers they have. So how do you catch the attention of your customer while leading them toward a product you want them to purchase? You put in right in front of them, literally.

Point of Purchase displays are a great way to grab the attention of your customer while directing them towards the sale you want. These displays can range from signs, banners, cards, brochures, lobby displays...anything that gives value or information to your customer while introducing or explaining your desired product. These displays can enhance the appearance of your store, and be the deciding factor in a customer choosing one product over another, which every business wants to achieve.

When Bellroy contacted us for a point of purchase display, we understood the importance of the display and went to work! Bellroy is a company that strives to provide slimmer, elegant, and functional wallets for all uses, so we wanted to ensure our solution to them was as concise as their product is.

Focusing on their Slim Your Wallet campaign, we created 6x9 inch prints on wood with bright white finish, demonstrating the size difference that comes between a conventional wallet that does not remove the air between your cards and the leather of your wallet vs. the Bellroy slim wallets which are engineered with this in mind. The conventional wallet doubles the size of the Bellroy, serving as a testament to Bellroy’s mission and their Slim Your Wallet campaign.

The display uses a backdrop of a city skyline, which not only catches the attention of customers but also makes the wallets stand out since they contrast well with the skyline and the rest of the picture.

Bellroy will be distributing these to retail locations across the country, and with this simple and concise design, this will be attracting the eyes of many, and influencing the purchasing decision of a Bellroy slim wallet for others.

For most of us, childhood ends where peach fuzz sprouts into the first few chin-hairs or when "nap time" suddenly becomes a fond yet oh so distant memory. For Greg "Craola Simkins, the child inside thrives as a driving force behind his  whimsical artwork. Using fable-like characters and intense detail, the renowned artist has set a large impression on the different areas of today's art scene. With over 10 years of experience in street art, Simkins has made the rare, seamless transition into the world of fine art. Drawing from his experiences as a graffiti artist, the surrealist creates pieces all of which tell a unique story. This week, we got the chance to have him talk a bit about his.
____________________________________

POW: One thing that stands out prominently about your work is the intensely precise formation of detail.  This detail doesn't seem to change despite the canvas, be it a large graffiti wall or a small painting.  How do different canvases effect you as a painter?  Is it harder to paint a large graffiti wall vs a small painting?

SIMKINS: I've actually always taken a different approach with my walls versus my canvases. I tend to compartmentalize everything I do. I enjoy doing my graffiti lettering on walls the most and find it freeing and much more of a physical act then something I would do on a canvas. There is always a time element that is specific to both. With a wall, I like to work faster because everything is working against you, daylight, people around, drive time, deadlines at home. That's why i almost always keep my wall stuff to my roots which is graffiti, even if I'm not painting freeways and underpasses anymore, there is that engrained feeling of being against the clock. Plus I just like doing letters a lot, there are a lot of abstract elements to it. Now on my canvas work, its a whole different story. I have a different time allotment and can allow myself to explore those weird places in my imagination more freely. I can get rid of the outside distractions and basically tell a story with my paint brushes. I definitely do something different with each tool I use. There is a specific thing I lean towards with charcoals as opposed to pencils as opposed to pen and ink, computers, spray paints and acrylics, etc... Every once in a while they cross over, but I enjoy the difference each has to offer.

Good Night by Greg Craola Simkins

POW:Your pieces have a very whimsical fairytale-like air to them. I read that sometimes while painting, you become so captivated with thoughts, you put down your paint brush and pick up a pen to write down the story behind characters or scenes in your painting.  Is this true?  If so, what do you do with the stories connected to different pieces?

SIMKINS:I definitely do. Sometimes the story of what I am painting reveals itself through through a spontaneous character added to the scene. Sometimes it makes itself apparent only once the image is fully rendered, and I can see the attitude in the eyes. I will write down the things that pop in my head as I paint. Lately I've been getting up early and taking walks down by the beach. There is a certain area which has become the muse for the world I paint and I have chosen the mornings to be my writing time. This last summer I have written more than anything previously and it hasn't even been in accordance with any specific paintings. It's all based off my White Knight Character Ralf and his adventures in "The Outside", but there are a lot of things to it that I would never be able to paint. I feel like I am writing this stuff just to make sense of why I paint and to open new doors in that world. I am preparing for my next sol show  right now and am finessing myself fitting new characters into my pieces that I was writing about. I'll go back to my notes and read through and remember a train of thought and it sparks some new imagery and ties together old images from previous works so as to unite years of work into a whole. I love bringing back old characters like the Strawberry Octopus and my Blue Jays and giving them a purpose, something more than just being and interesting image. I have only shared bits and pieces of these stories with a few people. I find that it feels really personal for some reason and prefer to keep them to myself. I'm not an easy share when it comes to explaining them as I feel it mint take away from the viewer their initial connection to the work. Perhaps somewhere down the line after tremendous amounts of editing, I'll be able to fully share this stuff, but for now, to keep it simple, the canvas works I do are glimpses and snapshots in the world "The Outside", some through the eyes of Ralf (the white Knight) and others through the eyes of the birds and inhabitants of that world.

Mary Becoming Annette by Greg "Craola" Simkins

POW:  Our next print release with you features a print titled, "Mary Becoming Annette", does there happen to be a story behind this piece?

SIMKINS: She fits in the story well and is connected to a large painting which depicts her in a much different state. I won't go into

it all but this is before she turns herself into the with puppet queen. That's all I can tell you. In the background of the piece "The Pearl Thief" also makes an appearance.

Pico the Whale by Greg Craola Simkins

POW: Speaking of stories, I read about a short film you have in the works called "I'm Scared", can you tell us more about it and when it will be available?

SIMKINS: This is an exciting project that wouldn't have come together with out he insistence and skills of my friends Dan Levy, Pete Levin, and Robyn Yannoukos. It is based off of a bedtime story called "I'm Scared..." whichI had been telling my oldest son for the last couple of Years. It was a fun way of exploring all the things that go bump in the night in a funny way so as not to be scared. With the addition of our second son, the idea of having bad advice from big brothers to little brothers about all the things he should be scared of came into the picture and we decided to have it told through the young version of my character Ralf (The White Knight) when he was just a boy and the leader of "The Scared Scouts". Watching the project come together and the amazing team of artists that Dan, Pete, and Robyn assembled has been amazing. These people are at the forefront of stop motion animation and I am amazed at what they can do. I am not sure on the exact release, it is a short and will be released with a book positioned a a children's book/concept art book, so it may live online with a release party. All the details still need ironing out, but I can tell you that they are wrapping up scenes as we speak and this thing is getting close. Feels like only yesterday that we did the Kickstarter, but in fact it has been a long process and many hard hours put in by a dedicated team who I have nothing but respect and gratitude for.

POW: I don't know if an interview is complete without asking at least one question about your graffiti days.  What I find the most ironic about wall murals today is the enthusiasm behind them compared the the enthusiasm against them just 10-20 years ago.  They seem about equal, almost a complete flip.  Instead of running from the police, facing fines and jail time, now you are paid thousands of dollars for the same act of art expression.  What has been your personal experience and feelings in regards to graffiti art then and now?

SIMKINS: I will always love graffiti. Looking through "Subway Art" when I was 17 (yes I got a late start) turned my art in a whole new direction. It energized that creative part in me to want to learn and grow as an artist. It still does. And sure occasionally I'll do a gig where I get paid to paint live. But that's not all the time. And yes , I have stopped painting illegal walls since starting a family. I have watched how it has turned out with friends and feel I put in my street work and dues in those early years. But. I still maintain the same mindset and approach to painting walls now, that I did back then. I enjoy painting with my crew members from CBS, WAI and Bashers, as well as writers from other crews. I prefer we get some random permission wall or a wall in a cutty spot that won't bother anyone, and just rock burners and have a good time. It is way harder to get the time to go paint walls these days, but it something that I feel I will never let go of, like it will always be a part of me. I am alway drawing letter schemes and it somehow feeds my imagination to with over to "The Outside" as a switch. One turns on the other turns off and vice versa. They do meet occasionally, and I have yet to fully realize where that will go, but I have time to find out.

The Gobbler by Greg Craola Simkins

POW: We are excited to have you be apart of the our booth at the Air+Style event this weekend.  Are there any hints about what we may see on your 20 foot x 8 foot wall mural?

SIMKINS: Thanks for inviting me. I have been having fun playing with my name in the color scheme associated with it. The last three walls I painted were takes off of this. I like to incorporate my version of Oswald the Lucky rabbit into my walls sometimes and he might make an appearance.

____________________________________________

Thank you Greg for taking the time to let us into your world and give us a glimpse into the mystery behind your pieces.

For more information on Greg "Craola" Simkins, please visit: www.imscared.com

Beautiful women, Red Bull, skateboarding, BMX, Ethica underwear what more could a graffiti artist ask for?  James Haunt is, without a doubt, a lucky man, but to meet him in person you would not be lost in a larger then life ego, but rather find a down to earth, humble guy.  We were able to grab a few minutes with him to talk about his real name and the story behind the eyes in his murals.

___________________________________________

POW:  James Haunt, pleasure to meet you. Although, we should probably ask first who we’re meeting. Can you tell us a little bit about Haunt? Did he make his debut around your emergence onto the street art scene?

Haunt:  "Haunt" was the name I painted on the street as a teen then later I merged my street style with my design style and "james haunt" was born. I learned design in high school and kept the two styles separate until my mid twenties.

POW:  How did you get into street art? What would a usual session be like?

Haunt:  Graffiti was my introduction to painting on the street.  I usually vibe the location and concept an idea digitally then I take my shirt off and paint like there's no tomorrow or until my arm feels like it's gonna fall off. Lol!

POW:  We’ve been browsing through your work and there’s a consistent use of the female face as the subject. Is this someone’s specifically?

Haunt:  The women I paint are my version of your "dream girl" I feel that faces, eyes and lips display emotion in subtle and not so subtle ways. It's become a theme to paint them over and over yet every piece is different and significant in its own way.

"Space Out" wood print release

POW:  Many of your illustrations remind us our favorite marvel comics. Any inspiration drawn from pop art?

Haunt:  As a kid I drew comic characters with my brother, we were heavily into it. I think it's definitely been a big influence on my style. I like bold lines and solid colors. The simplicity in it can be paradoxically complex a lot of the time and I like that.

POW:  If there were an epic mural you could paint, any where in the world. Where would it be and what would you paint?

Haunt:  I would love to paint a high rise mural in the heart of Mexico City. It's my roots and a goal of mine.

POW:  Speaking of murals, you are one of the featured mural artists at the POW booth for the upcoming Shaun White's Air+Style event at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.  With a separate 20' x 8'  blank canvas set aside for each featured artist, Craola, Jeff Soto and yourself, can you give us a sneak peak into the idea of your finished canvas?  How does it feel to be working along side veteran and well respected fine art and graffiti artists?

Haunt:  I am beyond hyped to paint along side these OGs! I've been following Greg Simkins' work since I was a teen and I continue to be blown away by his work to this day. I learned of Jeff's work in my early twenties. I'm a big fan of his style and the originality/diversity of his characters. It's been a huge inspiration watching their styles evolve over the years. I am really looking forward to painting with them at Air+Style and to the event as a whole. I can't thank POW enough for having me be a part of this epic event! I haven't put too much thought into my concept yet but I've been scheming up some new versions of my style for 2015 so Id like to show some of that at Air+Style.

_______________________________

For more information on James Haunt, please visit: http://jameshaunt.com/

We were really feeling the love this week when energy drink mogul, Java Monster, reached out to us with an exciting new print project for Valentines Day. The themed project features, L.A. based graffiti fine artist, Samir Evol Arghandiwall, a.k.a EVOL, who’s highly demanded art work can be easily identified on canvases and murals across the globe.

The limited edition art piece EVOL created for Java Monster was brought to life using a mixture of watercolors, acrylic, gouache, and ink. This exclusive piece featured a couple sharing a Valentine’s day kiss. Check out a quick inside view Java Monster provided on the project.

Excited would be an understatement in describing how we felt to have the honor of completing the last step in making the exclusive illustration.  Printed on our natural gloss finish to complement EVOL’s signature use of white space.

A hundred copies of the lovely couple were printed and shipped off to Java Monster to be used for a Valentine’s Day giveaway.  (Want in on the love they’re sharing? Head over to Java Monster's Facebook page to find out how you can score the one of limited edition wood prints.)  Its been a fun working on the one of a kind art piece. Check in again to see what we’ll have going on next time.

When Shawn White's team asked us to be apart of the Air+Style event at the Pasadena Rose Bowl, we had no other answer then... can we bring our friends?

Do you remember DCon?  The big pink booth is back, only this time it's super-sized to 20' x 8' walls on all three sides.

Why so big you ask?  Our friends are coming to add some creative touches to the outside walls.  We added fresh white panels on the back for live mural painting by Jeff Soto, Greg "Craola" Simkins and James Haunt.

The auction is not only happening outside the booth, inside the booth will exhibit large wood prints by the all the artists plus live painting by Luke Chueh and Johnny "KMNDZ" Rodriguez.

A special print release with Luke Chueh and Greg Craola Simkins will be available plus a few mini-prints.  Remember those Soto-Fish mini prints from DCon?

They are back and they brought some of their friends this time!  New mini-prints from Craola, Luke Chueh, James Haunt and KMNDZ will be available exclusively at Air+Style.  You can only pick one... which will it be?

And so the countdown begins! We’re a few days away from the Air+Style event and we are PUMPED to be a part of the action-packed sporting event. Taking place at the Rose Bowl Stadium, the sporting competition is going to have a 16 story snow jump, killer fashion, great food, and high-energy performances from today’s hottest artists including our good friends Sleigh Bells.

Grab a free mini-print and get your art fix, checking out striking pieces created by the renowned artists.

We don’t know if this weekend can get any better but we’re ready for it be here already.  It’s always a good time when we link up with these artists. With the live music, good food and the world’s greatest snowboarders and skiers mixed in, this weekend’s bound to be a blast. Come by, and check out what we’ve got going on. You never know what’s going to happen and you don’t want to miss it.

_________________________________

For more information about Shaun White's Air+Style event, please visit: http://www.air-style.com/

During a recent trip to Disneyland, I noticed a long line building up at a caricature kiosk. Have you ever wanted to see yourself as a caricature drawing but didn’t want to dish out the dough it takes to get a good one? After scouring the app store I stumbled upon one that can give you a personalized caricature image (and even a moving caricature graphic) and its completely (unlike any Disney product, ever) free!

MomentCam, (the name needs a little work) offers its users a tailored caricature portrayal in both still and moving forms and can be saved right to your phone, tablet or even uploaded onto many social media platforms (including an “Other” option which allows those underground apps to take part in the fun). Choose from a range of face, hair, expressions and accessories along with an array of style amendments (black & white, ink, vintage, etc.) in addition to the traditional sketched cartoon you!

Emoticon "moving" image

The app offers its users three categories to select from on its main page: Comics, Emoticons and your MomentCam Portfolio.

MomentCam main page

To start, users chose either the Comics (still images) or Emoticons (moving images) selection. You're then able to take a picture of yourself or find a pre-made caricature and then insert your face afterwards. I discovered that finding an image that you are keen of prior to taking your snapshot is more effective than trying to find an image based on your facial expression.

Comics section. Choose your still theme here.

Emoticons section. Choose your moving theme here.

After developing a healthy collection of caricatures, you can view both your Comic and Emoticon selves in your Portfolio:

Your portfolio consists of images saved from both categories

Given the enormity of the caricatures in the Comics category, navigating your way to a desired image is difficult. Once you do find one however, you can unquestionably have some fun with this app. You first choose a theme, such as a broad one like Love, Professions or Sports. Or you could go the niche route and search for a sub-theme within gallaries like “Snow Goddess” or “Tang Dynasty”. We couldn’t make this up. After 5 full minutes of scrolling I literally couldn’t reach the end. Good news for some users who appreciate caricatures that revolve around “Autumn Leaves” or something called "Manga" (who the hell knows?). All these categories do is make the app more sluggish.

Once you finally settle on an image, creativity ensues. Dictate your facial structure, hair type on both face and head, and any type of accessory like hats or glasses.

"Face Edit" screen in Comics

Editing screen in Emoticon section

Pumpin' iron!

Conversely, the good thing about the apps size is that no matter how odd the caricature you wish to insert yourself, rest assured that there is an image for it. One aggravation of mine: If you're bald, the app turns you into alien-head man.

To ensure a great fit, the app lets you customize the angle that your face is portrayed with a simple graphic:

The Emoticons category is a little different from the Comics section, but in a good way. The size is much more manageable and the categories are what most people would actually look for. Instead of thousands of themes, there are about 400. Good ones, too. Instead of hundreds of caricatures for “I Love Lucy”, we find approximately 40-50 listed under Angry or Happy for those wanting to find quick, standard moving images. For those wanting to get extreme with their caricature graphics, however, there are still categories of varying depth to light up your brain waves.

Speaking of waves, I thought I might see how this caricature of me riding one would look printed on wood!

Shreddin' the gnar, brah!

 After saving the image to my iPhone, then uploading it to Prints on Wood, it turned out not too bad!   I'm not sure if it could pass for a Christmas present to my Mom, but is definitely worthy of a nice "for no reason at all" gift she always cherishes.

All in all, MomentCam is an app meant for those wanting the most assorted and unusual image-rendering app out there. While satisfyingly diverse, it approaches the boundary of becoming too diverse because, other than the app freezing a few times during testing (restarting the process sucks!) it can become dizzying. Caricatures are meant to be simple and funny and I’d rather them just stay that way.  With all that in mind I give this app a rating of 3.

___________________________

For more information on MomentCam please visit: http://www.momentcamofficial.com/

Walking up to a signed HPM at Shepard Fairey's opening of "50 Shades of Black", price book in hand, I hear a familiar voice ask, "Where did you get that?"  Everything clicks the moment I look up, but I still expected him to belch out "Yo! B**CH!"

I don't know much about Aaron Paul, other then we seem to share an affection for similar artists.  Last weekend he walked into another Prints on Wood featured artist solo gallery show called "The Younger" by Lola.

Lola's solo show "The Younger" at 80Fourty gallery

Aaron compared his new found love for Lola's work equal to that of Mark Ryden. His Instagram post went on to say "...she is now becoming one of my favorite artists to follow. Not only is the world she paints in beautiful and unbelievably poetic, like a childlike dream, she herself is incredibly sweet and kind. This piece is called "Book Soup" and I could stare at it for hours."

Lola and Aaron Paul in front of "Book Soup"

From what we heard, he hung out for a couple of hours just chatting and being... normal.  Why does it feel so oddly unique when a famous person acts like.. I don't know.. a regular person?  Probably because it is so unusual.  He did do something even more humbling and incredibly sincere, he bowed to Lola in a show of respect for her talent.  If I wasn't a huge fan before, I am with out a doubt one now!

But we actually were huge fans before, caught up in the Breaking Bad obsession we fashioned our sustainability page with suttle references to the show.

What better way to brag about the 200 solar panels on our roof?

If you find yourself as taken with the piece as Aaron is, Lola has released an edition of twenty signed and numbered limited edition fine art wood print of "Book Soup", 18x24, $300.

Close up of "Book Soup" by Lola

The show was a work two years in the making, beginning after Lola's move to Bristol, England.  Finally commencing after a long move back to LA earlier this year.  A celebration of patience and beauty each piece is a sight to behold.

Although the show is now closed, a few originals are still available.  For more information about available pieces or about Lola please visit: http://www.lolafineart.com/