The Big Enchilada

Yeah, I might have overlooked why i started this blog. In February I had my first solo show (see first post). I have yet to fully put together my thoughts on the event as I got pretty drunk, but the whole experience was maybe the highlight of my life.
So maybe three months prior, Russell Etchen of DOMY BOOKS invited me to do a solo show there. I had kinda been expecting the invite because friend Rene Cruz had said he would suggest it. I had been really putting in the effort to sharpen my drawing skills as well as grow a body of work for about four years. If ever you asked what i was doing on any particular night and i answered "art night", that was pretty much the standard answer to all of my friends for about four years straight. I basically dropped any other opportunities to do anything else. It's hard to really take something seriously and keep your friends and work a full time job but I was passionate about art and I understood some sacrafices had to be made. My best friends understood this and even supported me through it and came to see me! I fucking love them!

But I digress. Lets fast forward to a few days before the show. I took the week off of work and showed up at Domy right before closing time. I had been asked to paint a mural and i was so nervous. After penciling a projection on the wall and straightening out crooked letters (thanks Bucky) I was ready to paint. I am not an acrylic man. I am an ink and watercolor man. I had done all this work and this little mural scared the shit out of me. I didnt even know to add water to make the paint much more workable. Thanks to Brennan Burch for setting me straight. So three days of work and this thing looked better than the abomination i was expecting.

A couple nights before the show the dream team of Rene Cruz, Angel Garza, Sebastian Forray, and myself began work hanging my 100 peices of art. This went suprisingly smoothly and didnt take nearly as long as i thought it would. We had some laughs, jammed some Maiden and ate an incredible pizza from Brazil next door.

Now for the nerve racking part. If you'll recall (if you heard about the show) there was quite a bit of online buzz about this show added to the blurb in the houston press. i really didnt know what to expect but i was hoping this show would have viewers and viewers that enjoyed what they saw. This was afterall my first solo show and i had put in the effort to do the best i possibly could in every aspect i had control over. looking back i really dont know what i was worrying about. everybody was so fucking cool and my whole family showed up. all my friends old and new showed. even people from my job came. But the badass thing is, tons of people i didnt know came! and i met and talked to a bunch of strangers that night! i even made some new friends that i love to death!
All in all, my first solo show was a huge success. i sold a couple dozen works, made the gallery some bucks, made enough to fix my ride, and pretty much used this as a launchpad to do everything else! its also ignited a passion and drive that i had really been lacking in my life. i mean, i've always drawn but its always been a casual thing. this whole experience really has changed my life for the better and i welcome the hard work to come and any other opprtunities that come my way.

Art Crawl 2011

So i fanally wiggled my way back into Houston Art Crawl. El Rincon Social was kind enough to host me in their gallery show and give me a couple of tables to exhibit my wares! They are a great group of people and i really cant say enough nice things about them. Good vibes the whole time i was there!

So in preparation for this big show i once again wanted to do something really special and i had been rolling around the idea of packaging my new 1.5 inch button in a matchbook cover. It took some developement and some late nights of cutting and folding and stapling but i think they came out pretty nice! I call the button: Yetti/Bigfoot Alliance. They fly the flag of tresspassers!

 I also had a huge stock of single 1" buttons that i broke into sets of five. Packaged in big matchbook style bag cover thingies. Luckily i had the help of my very smart girlfriend or i would have been in trouble.

I had picked up this little shelf off the side of the road a couple years ago. A few days befor the show i spraypainted it blue and hand painted the lettering on it. This would have scared the shit out of me had i not already painted my first skate deck a couple weeks before.

So overall i'd say it was a pretty good showing. I offered original art to the right, and the "gift shop" on the left. People were very friendly and lots laughed and had a good time looking at my work. I made some bucks to fund the next thing and maybe even made some new friends. I love art crawl. It allows artists direct access to people there to appreciate the art. I'd do it again in a second. 

PS, seeing my stuff in different formats makes me feel happy. Its a lot of work but i genuinely love giving fans an affordable option to buying original art. I've been comparing myself to Gene Simmons but the difference is my stuff started and will end in imagery. Should i start a band as a vehicle for my art? hm...