Secret Still

Not feelin it today. You know how Fridays are. I’m just talkin to myself anyway. See ya Monday. Maybe.

San Francisco artist Jeff Canham’s work puts me in mind of Jim Houser. There is a similar style of composition (and the artists kind of look alike), although Canham is clearly a master of hand-painted type and knows it. I could bathe in those tasty fonts they’re so damn buttery. Canham creates canvas collages of type and pattern in his fine art steez, and some killer font work on the print tip. What is it about designers who can create amazing type that makes them also able to break images down into their most basic parts? McFettridge manages it, too. It must stem from having to create type that conveys a mood through its design on top of the straight forward written message it presents. Canham’s got the shit on lock. It’s no wonder he has an entire section devoted to his sign painting. If I had half his talent I would probably have a whole site dedicated to it. I’d actually like to see Canham and Espo in an epic sign painting battle. It would be a close call for sure, but I think Canham would pull it out right at the end. And he’s only across the Bay from Secret Still HQ. That’s way closer than Houser or McFettridge. Game-Set-Match: Canham.

Jeff Canham

I don’t remember being very good at geometry. I don’t remember being terrible at it, but I remember that I hated proofs and pretty much refused to do them. Strange then that I was so good at calculus. I think things need to be a little more abstract before I can wrap my head around them. I may have been a terrible geometrician but Melvin Galapon is certainly not. Judging by most of his work you would think that he and geometry have had a passionate romance for a long time. Almost every piece of his is geometry at its finest and most colorful. He has a way of making the shapes into something more than their constituent parts. You’ve especially got to appreciate his work with those colorful little dot stickers that only seem to get used for yard sales anymore. Scratch that, you’ve especially got to appreciate his whole portfolio. Quick question though, Mel, how do I get my hands on any of those zines? I’m into affordable fabrications of quality works that I can’t afford.

Melvin Galapon

Zohar Lazar is not just an exotic and biblically mystical name, he’s also a talented artist. Illustrators who still paint their illustrations are getting more rare, but Lazar still has a lot of painted illustrations up. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy that. Every time I clicked to a new piece I kept mumblign “fuck yeah” like it was a mantra. Hi style is like Tin Tin meets Ed Roth in a baroque landscape, and doesn’t vary much between his digital and analog illustrations. I’m pretty stoked on this guy.

Zohar Lazar

Slinkachu, the most brilliant motherfucker behind The Little People Project has embarked on a new, and dare I say even more ingenious, art project. The Inner City Snail project takes your everyday garden snail and transforms it into a tiny piece of mobile street art. Non-toxic paints are used in case any of you were about to alert PETA; none of the snails get hurt. He’s also managed to incorporate his little people into the project, tying everything together in a tidy package. Tagging up snails? Fuck me that is awesome.

Inner City Snail

Thanks to Will, I’ve had a serious hankering for the looptastic continuous line style of drawing. So when I came across the Rubenslp website this morning, I pounced on that shit like a Puma onto a baby deer. I went through it just as fast, too. Although the style on Rubenslp isn’t necessarily continuous line (not all of it anyway), it shares that same aesthetic, and taht’s what I’m after. Plus, dude manages to carry it through a lot of styles and subjects. I’m impressed you mysterious, Brazilian bastard.

Rubenslp

I’m not sure how he found me or why, but Toronto Illustrator Rey Ortega added me as a contact on Flickr. It seems like kismet to me, because who knows when I would’ve found his work otherwise. Honestly, I’m kind of surprised that I haven’t seen his steez since he’s been mentioned on several of my daily reads. Well, things happen when they’re supposed to, so let’s just go with that. Ortega’s work is a sketch-fucking-tastic collection of character driven illustrations on some good, beige paper (rice paper?). His colors usually stay in the muted reds and blues, his lines are great, and he’s throwing around a fat-ass portion of wit to boot. He’s a fucking comet talent for sure. Dig it? Dug.

Rey-O

I’m picky as hell when it comes to zines. There are a lot of motherfuckers out there just rambling away on the printed page (I am certainly one of them), and I don’t like to crowd up my collection with bullshit. I’m in it for innovation, style, and blindingly badass artwork. I am reluctant to tell you that I have found the most amazing zine mine eyes have seen in the last couple of years. Andrew Neyer has released a limited edition of 150 of his new zine Space Junk 2. It’s 64 pages of hand silk-screened artwork and mayhem and a nice vinyl sticker. But, and here’s the kicker, it comes packaged in a handmade cereal box. What the fuck do you think of that? There’s cereal in there too! All that for $30. I literally can’t believe that he’s not selling these beauties for at least $80. I mean damn, dude, you’re giving that shit away. If you assholes go buy them all before I can scrounge the loot to get one for myself, there’s gonna be hell to pay. I’ll go easy on you if you let me borrow your copy for like an hour. I’m not unmerciful.

Andrew Neyer: Space Junk 2

I’m gonna admit something to you that may very well ruin my life. I can sew. That might not seem earth-shattering to you, but The Girl loves to sew and she’s the one who makes all my sewing ideas come true. If she reads this and finds out that I’m not inept with a needle she will probably force me to sew my own crap from now on. She’s got better things to do. So why am I admitting to something that could potentially cause a huge pain in my ass (and fingers)? Because SF artist Steve MacDonald, aka Ramblin Worker, admitted it first. But he didn’t just say “I can handle a sewing machine when I need to.” He has achieved the sewing equivalent of that woman who knitted the full-sized Ferrari. MacDonald has built an incredible portfolio around his mastery of embroidery. Combining painting with his killer stitchwork, he creates ridiculously complicated pieces, usually on some shiny-ass gold fabrics. Did you notice that I wasn’t worried about my sewing abilities ruining my street cred? I read Martha Stewart Living, man, I don’t have any rep left to ruin. I’m gonna go darn my socks and cry.

Steve MacDonald

Bay Area artist Michael Page (mentioned previously) was kind enough to take time out from his busy schedule and do a quick interview with me. I wanted to know more about the man behind the monsters, because I think that getting to know the artist is usually the best insight into their work. So kick back with a cold one on this find Wednesday morning and enjoy a little peek into the life of Michael Page.
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