Reno Mural OU x ND'A

It's a bit dated now but wanted to post this wall I painted with my good friend ND'A during his stay at our residency. You can read more about it at the Big Little.

ND'A overlooking our finished wall

NY Murals

Along with putting up a lot of new pasters in NY I was fortunate enough to have some good friends like Veng RWK, ND'A, and Keith Schweitzer of FAB line up some walls for me to paint.

Color explosion for this mural painted for Transportation Alternatives, Fourth Arts Block, and Recycle a Bicycle.

Details on corrugated metal is never my favorite.

Got a little weird on this aerial view.

With ND'A for Centrifuge on 1st and 1st in the E. Village.

Wild doodle at Bushwick 5 points

Sticking around NYC

I was fortunate enough to be in NYC for the second half of September and it was a great two weeks. For this post I just wanted to show a few of the wheat pastes that went up throughout the city during that time.

Book smart lions kneel anti-gravity style, Bushwick

Hashtagging with NDA on 3rd and C in Alphabet City

Been listening to a lot of Raphael Saadiq and that song Good Man snuck in on this paster in Bushwick

Crying over the Gowanus canal

Made this in Santa Rosa with the help of some ambitious and imaginative kids. Found a home in Greenpoint

Creative supports on these Harlem metal doors on 103rd. And yes, that's a stretch pickup with a jacuzzi party in the back.

All I see is you... oh you!

This spot was the cat's meow up on 130th and Malcolm X. Got a little Kashink in there too.

Jim Joe approved lot off Broadway. Like the Leathal Weapon 2 Off Broadway show.

And there she is in all her iconic glory. With my man NDA again. About a week later they punched a hole through the wall right on the guys chin.

Or maybe this one is the cat's meow. LOL kitty on Rivington in the LES. Already gone though.

Hungover rainy mornings in the Lower East Side. We've all been there right?

Let's see, we got me and the NDA on some New Gold hashtaggery and a RAE, DAIN, and EKG down on Division near Chinatown. Already gone

Back to an OG spot in Redhook for this welcome wagon of nosiness.

Do you think she wants to Rah Rah with my nina? Back in Redhook on Van Brunt for this 10ft goliath.

Praying for housing in Redhook.

#nofilter, SYKE, I don't know what happened to this flick but at least you can see all her little wormy legs.

Z tip top is the best bar in BedStuy. Do your self a favor and have a bday party there. This is on Whipple off Flushing

Stoop Dreams, Chicago

6 humid days, 7 pairs of socks, 8 gallons of paint, 9 -5in', one day painting in only my boxers, 42 Old Styles, one deep dish pizza, two dips in Lake Michigan, 14 wheat pastes, 80 replays of 2 Chains Birthday Song, and one long ass mural.

Just back from Chicago where I spent the week with Labrona putting in work. Nick Marzullo (who runs Pawn Works along with Seth in NYC) is the man! Someone get that guy a big ass high five. He took us to some of the best Italian Beef joints, greasy spoon diners, and spots. Yeah SPOTS! I love me some good spots. You can see a bunch of images on my flickr, or this write up on the Pawn Works site.

And below is a few photos from the wall I worked on.

'Division of Memory and Construction', 14' x 100', Chicago

Portrait of Mondo, the Foreman.

Young Pilsen Chicana portrait.

Saludos

Can't wait till autumn and all the leaves fall off that tree.

I spent last week painting in the humid thunderstorms with Kelly Peyton and Kaitlin Bryson. They had previously painted the wall for last years Forage event and invited me to join their tag team and make something entirely new. It was a great experience and big thanks to Manny Becerra founder of PACE Creative Media Co. for the great support and photos, Tim and Bernie Carter at Ace Hardware for the paint, all the people of 720 Tahoe Street, and all the people in the neighborhood that stopped by to show their support.


Below is how the previous mural looked before we began. We wanted to make something that reflected on the neighborhood that is somewhat quickly being revitalized. And since we are a catalyst in that process we wanted to be careful in our approach.

It's actually somewhat strange to see happen in Reno after witnessing developers flip neighborhoods firsthand in Bushwick Brooklyn, Berlin, Baltimore, SF.... The word gentrified is the go-to word for these situations but it just feels different in Reno. No one is being priced out and hopefully if anything more businesses will bring more business and culture. Sure, they're going about it the same way as most developers by branding an entire neighborhood under the guise of a hip directional name, albeit with a physically impossible geographic name (wouldn't Midtown need to be above, or North of Downtown?) But it's a welcomed move and I wish the best on all the businesses in Midtown, new and old.

Last years mural by KP and KB

Some of the oldest establishments on this particular block are Shea's Tavern and Ace's Tattoo. Ok, I'll get to them in a minute but first let me diverge. Since moving back to Reno I've felt indebted to one particular individual that I will sadly never be able to tell in person. His name is Joshua Beau Shaver but to most of us he was just Shaver. He passed away in January of 2007 right before I moved to NY. I met him through skating, as most people did and although he was amazingly powerful, determined, and known for his skateboarding he was even more impressive in day to day life. I never got to know him as well as I wish but the people that he touched most live, work, and loiter in what is now becoming Midtown. He was no foreigner to Shea's and lived at a couple different places just a few blocks east of the mural. This was Beau's block and I'm glad he's back to remind us of life, friends, and home.

As the old begins to blur with the new I felt a tribute mural to Shaver and for his closest friends on the block was what needed to happen. KP and KB were fully supportive and we began on Tuesday and finished on Sunday. They are a great team and I hope it's not our last collaboration.

Good traction on that there grease trap.

Kaitlin entering the geometric matrix.

You gotta have obstacles.

Saludos Amor by KP

If you haven't seen it yet, check out Beau's part from the Welcome to the Jungle video. RIP Beau L4D4, SODC, SBG!

Halfway through the portrait.