Now that it’s warm in NYC, it’s time to get out there! Over the last few weeks, I’ve painted 5 new walls:
First, in San Francisco, I painted a 4-story tall light well at Hotel Zetta. The size, dimensions and texture made for quite a unique piece. The painting is so big, but in such a confined space that no one can see the entire piece; people staying in 1 of 4 rooms facing the room will get to see some of it! Mike Tyau helped me complete this huge pieces in just two days.
Two days after that, I was back in NYC painting a large wall in Bushwick (Brooklyn) for the annual Bushwick Block Party. My good buddy Matt was in town and he helped me do this wall in about a day. See a time-lapse here: https://instagram.com/p/3riMOrQPPV/
Two days after that I was down in Coney Island painting in the new complex which features 30 walls painted by the best of the best, as curated by the iconic Jeffrey Deitch. Featuring an awesome line-up of some of my friends and heroes: Shepard Fairey, Futura, Ron English and many others!
I chose to recreate an allegory painted many times during the Renaissance: Hercules at the Crossroads. Traditionally, Hercules is placed in the middle; on the left is a life of virtue (represented by a treacherous mountains) and a life of sin and unhealthy choices on the right (represented by lakes and wooded areas). I’ve maintained the positions of the different paths, but inverted the imagery because I think living an honest life can be easy and appealing. In the painting we see that Hercules is right in the process of making that choice: he’s looking towards the sweet side while his spear creates a visual barrier to the unhealthy side. I think the scene also relates perfectly to Coney Island Art Walls project; celebrating the possibilities of new development over the run-down norm.
A couple days after that, I joined Hoacs and Jat on another wall in Bushwick. It’s a huge wall that provided an opportunity to use a different, but cohesive, color palette. Ralphin’ Ralph is one of my favorite Melty Misfits and this is the first time I’ve painted him on wall.
A few days after that, I was up in Toronto for the first time. Our friends live in an old dairy factory and I painted their large metal gate. It was a very relaxing day; they barbequed food and invited friends over as I painted the gate. It’s an image of Death taken from “The Triumph of Death”.