LOOKING BACK

Always loved Andy Takakjian's graphic direction for Mark Gonzales.

ANOTHER LOST VID; CHOCOLATE 20 YEAR

THESE TWO...

With Eric Koston and Atiba Jefferson. Oakley In Residence press conference, April 30th, 2015.

ART DUMP IN RESIDENCE

Finished up an another great project with Oakley Skateboarding. The folks at Oakley have created a physical space, or "pop-up" spot where skateboarders can come and hang out, go to specific events and experience workshops. A building was rented on Melrose in Hollywood and the events are taking place over a 4 week period that started last night with an opening for the Girl Art Dump show called "8 Spots."

Each member of the Art Dump created a homage to a famous or iconic Los Angeles area skate spot... from Lockwood to the Pink Hotel. The results are displayed throughout the space for the following 2 weeks. And be sure to check out the side of the building, we also created a giant mural.

I hope some of you can find time to come out and enjoy the space, the results really are pretty stunning. And if you get up there soon, you may be able to walk away with a free zine/catalog we created specifically for the show. Big thanks to all my Art Dump boys who busted ass on this project; Andy Mueller, Chris Waycott, Carlos M. Gutierrez, Nick Zegel, Nate Hooper, Jeremy Carnahan, Eric Anthony.

I'll post more as the photos come in.

GOING DUMB

This happened about a month ago, but I forgot to post it. I was pretty happy with the animation. Check out Girl & Chocolate's Going Dumb Up The 101...

COMING FULL CIRCLE

The infamous 7th Street Banks are about two blocks from my house. In my house are two skateboarders. One old one and one newish one. The new one hits the banks on occasion... just like the old one did back in the day. Full circle. Here's a shot of Emmet ripping a backside slide into the camera of Matt Price on said banks. Love this shot.

Visit Emmet's company, Shady Griptape when you need new grip. Support the young entrepreneurs when you can.

TWO OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

...Bukowski and skateboarding. Thank you TWS. Video by  Joe Pease.

AGENTS PROVOCATEURS

I'm privileged to be in a show with some pretty amazing artists at the Subliminal Projects Gallery in LA. It is a sort of physical manifestation of Seb Carayol's book, Agents Provocateurs, which hit late last year. The opening is this Saturday night, and if you're in LA, it's definitely a To Do for this weekend. You'll be able to get signed copies of Seb's book and special show prints from some of the artists. Come see some amazing original art and the folks that made it.

WALLRIDE 29

It takes the Art Dump 6 months to compile the content for one of these catalogs. The bi-annual Wallride is out now... and for sale in the Crailtap store very soon. That's McCrank on the cover, Ben Colen photo.

THE ART DUMP

I've been at the same job now, Art Director for the Girl Skateboard Company, for almost 21 years. The art department has grown from 1 (me) to 9, plus a big stable of freelancers. I've seen a few really amazing artists come and go. The current lineup has couple new faces in it and I haven't known them  for very long, but long enough now to know they're hard-working, talented dudes that I'm happy to have within the Dump ranks. So with that, meet the new Art Dump...

(L to R) Andy Mueller, Eric Anthony, Nate Hooper, myself, Jeremy Carnahan, Chris Waycott and Nick Zegel (missing is Carlos Gutierrez). Photo by E.A.

GUY

I've know Guy Mariano for a long time. But I really don't know Guy Mariano. I'm usually inhabiting my little corner cave at Girl. When I do get to talk to him, he's friendly, down to earth and always complimentary. 

I thought he got short-changed in 2012 when he was not given the Thrasher SOTY award. But you know, that wasn't his peak. He's nowhere near his peak. He just keeps progressing.

Guy is currently being featured on The Berrics website in a 5-part documentary series of videos. They are fantastic so far (#4 hits tomorrow, and I'm sure it's going to cut pretty deep). He tells some amazing stories about his incredible journey through a skateboarding life, with an awesome insight into a pro skater's mind. One of the best things I've watched on the interwebs all year. Now I feel like I know him a little better, and the next time I see him, I'm going to tell him how much I respect him and how happy I am for him. Go watch the videos.

"FEELINGS"

I should disclose that, if you don't already know, I am the father of a teenage son.

Emmet skates. He skates a lot. And he runs his own griptape company, Shady. He also films and edits. The other day he asked me to watch his new video on YouTube. I watched it alone just before I went to sleep last night and I cried. It's a moving selfy with a fitting, lo-fi melancholic feel. It gave me new insight on my son and his passion. I hadn't looked at it this way... through his eyes. It's a beautifully simple piece of an "Every Man" skateboarder, Emmet Jenkins.

 Again, I'm his dad. But I couldn't be prouder. Enjoy, "Feelings."

DECK THE WALLS

I'll be part of an artshow, Deck The Walls, at the Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT) this Thursday and Friday. Apparently, I'm an "...award winning celebrity skate artist of our time." Damn. The boards I'm featuring are all actual production models — three of my favorites from over the years. My Krooked Guest Board which features Lettus Bee's no comply (2009), Girl's Rick Howard "Bad Dog" cruiser (2005), and the new one, Girl's "Lettus Bee Texas Plant" for Cory Kennedy (2014).

COMMISSIONS

I while ago I got a commission do do a few skateboard drawings. It's taken me way too long to get them going... but here are the working drawings. Sorry for the delay, Dave.

LETTUS BEE ORIGINALS

All 5 of the original drawings I did for the current Girl mini series are available for purchase in the Bend Store. Wrench Pilot's Lettus Bee pays homage to Sean Malto, Eric Koston, Mikemo, Mariano and Cory Kennedy. Black ink on archival paper. Signed.

You can also get the Girl boards themselves from the Crailtap Store.