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El Mac / Miles MacGregor : Muralist / Artist

9/26/2022

2 Comments

 
O.K., so here’s another amazing Muralist and Artist out there that I’ld like to share with you all:
https://elmac.net/
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"Ánimo Sin Fronteras" (Spirit Without Borders), 2014, aerosol
Painted in downtown El Paso, Texas.
​This mural represents resilience and strength,
and complements the fighting spirit
of the classic boxing mural next to it.
The figure is based on a man named Melchor Flores,
who has been fighting to get answers and justice
for his son who was picked up and disappeared by police
​in Nuevo León in 2009.
In honor of all those who fight for justice.
​
​
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"Abuelita of Presidio" 2018, aerosol on metal
Mural located on the US-Mexico border and commissioned
by the Mexican Secretariat of Foreign Affairs.
A binational gesture of goodwill painted on a ten-story high water tank in the remote border community of Presidio, Texas, facing its southern neighbor Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and bearing the likeness of a humble local resident named Linda.
​


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"Native Son (This Saint Flyod)” 2016, aerosol on stucco
Commissioned for The Manitou Art Center (The MAC)
in Manitou Springs, Colorado.
The mural is a collaboration with FUSE AWR,
a Los Angeles graffiti veteran artist
who began painting in the 1980s before relocating
​to Colorado in the 1990s.

The mural depicts legendary and reclusive local artist
Floyd Tunson (born 1947), who had a retrospective at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center a couple years before
EL MAC's exhibition there in 2015.
Tunson is a Colorado native who has been creating art in his Manitou Springs studio for over 30 years.

"It was a pleasure getting to know him, and I would consider him one of the most inspiring and interesting people I've met.
​I recognize in him a deep love for creation, experimentation, and a certain shared philosophy that art and life are inseparable." -
​EL MAC
​

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"El Regalo Mágico” 2016, aerosol enamel & ceramic tile on brick
 Located in the East Harlem section of New York City
in collaboration with Celso González and Roberto Biaggi
of CERO Design, Puerto Rico.
The title of the mural,
"El Regalo Mágico / The Magic Gift"
refers to the gift of inspiration.
The figure is based on respected Nuyorican author
Nicholasa Mohr, who lives nearby, and is known for being one of the first widely published Latina authors
in the United States.

Cero's part, the geometric infinity pattern that forms a halo around the figure, is composed entirely of tile mosaic.
The mural is located in "El Barrio", East Harlem,
on the side of a large elementary school
at 111th Street and Lexington Avenue.

The mural was created as part of a public arts project
called MonumentArt, curated by Celso Gonzalez.

​

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"Our Lady of Aalborg" 2013, aerosol
Painted in Aalborg, Denmark
while there for a solo show at Galerie Wolfsen.
The mural is across the street from the maternity ward of Aalborg University Hospital,
so an iconic symbol of motherly love
seemed appropriate for this location. 
​


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"Tower of Songs" 2017, aerosol and acrylic on brick
A massive tribute to Leonard Cohen
commissioned by the City of Montreal and MU
​in cooperation with the Cohen family.



Paintings:  Aerosol/Indoors
https://elmac.net/aerosol-indoors
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​
​
​ 19 Videos​! about El Mac / https://elmac.net/videos-
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El Mac, Retna and Kofie were commissioned to create a mural for the Manifest Equality Event
held in Hollywood, California in March, 2010.

The mural was painted over three weeks after completion without notice or warning
​by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences!

​
About EL MAC (Miles MacGregor):
    An internationally renowned artist born and based in Los Angeles. He began painting both smaller indoor works as well as public murals and graffiti in Phoenix in the mid 1990s, and since that time has developed his unique visual aesthetic and rendering style which utilizes repeating contour patterns. His work draws on influences from classical European art, social realism, symbolism and devotional art, as well as the Chicano and Mexican culture he grew up around. He is best known for his meticulous paintings and large-scale murals exploring feminine beauty and honoring ordinary, overlooked, or marginalized people. He has been commissioned to paint all over the world, for museums, universities and other cultural institutions, including the Groeninge Museum (Belgium), San José Museum of Art (California), Northeastern University (Boston), University of California (San Diego), QAGoMA (Brisbane), Fondazione PRADA (Italy), and the Mexican secretariat of Foreign Affairs, as well as murals in Belgium, Cambodia, Cuba, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Viet Nam. For over twenty years he has aimed "to uplift and inspire through careful, perfectionist renderings of both the sublime and the humble".

​
All images copyright MAC ART LLC ©MMXXII
2 Comments

Anamorphic illusions

9/19/2022

2 Comments

 
Anamorphic illusionism:
             anamorphic | ˈanəˈˌmôrfik | adjective
Denoting or relating to a distorted projection or drawing that appears normal when viewed from a particular point-of-view.

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VF Corporation headquarter’s office in Switzerland. By the collective Truly Design – Urban Artists.


​
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Felice Varini is a Swiss artist who paints on architectural and urban spaces,


​
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http://www.varini.org/

​
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By muralist Peeta
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​​Portuguese artist 
Sergio Odeith creates remarkable anamorphic murals that appear to pop out of the walls on which they are painted. Odeith began making graffiti in the 1980s, before branching out into large-scale murals and his signature anamorphic works.​
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​
​And of course a few murals by the Queen of 3D
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Pandora
Tracy Lee Stum
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Tracy Lee Stum:
“Today, artists have a wide range of tools to achieve what’s called contemporary anamorphic art, a designed method or technology used to create the illusion of 3D on 2D surfaces. It’s a method of drawing founded on the geometry of perspective, often using photography or computer programs as tools to achieve the final chalk-and-paint illusion.”




2 Comments

Roberto visits ’The Cheech”!

9/12/2022

1 Comment

 
"Man!...
​You gotta be careful going into Riverside these days!
I just went to 'the Cheech'
and look what happened to me!!"
Picture
 “The Arrest of the Paleteros”, by  Frank Romero, 1996, part of The Cheech Marin Collection of the Riverside Art Museum
Here I am getting arrested with the Paleteros!
​...and all I wanted was a popsicle!!


Videos:

‘The Chicano Collection’
____
CHICANITAS: Small Paintings from
​the Cheech Marin Collection

____
CHEECH MARIN : UP IN ART
____
Cheech Marin - An Interpretation of a Culture Through Chicano Art
​


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​
​​​‘The Cheech’ is a public-private partnership between the Riverside Art Museum (RAM), the City of Riverside,
and comedian Cheech Marin,
one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art.

‘The Cheech’ will be the center of Chicano art,
not only for painting, but for sculpture, photography,
​and video arts as well.

​
The 61,420 -square-foot
(get it!) center is displaying hundreds of paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures
​ by many artists, including:

 Patssi Valdez,  
Sandy Rodriguez, 
Carlos Almaraz, 
Frank Romero,
Judithe Hernández, 
and
Gilbert “Magú” Luján.

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A significant portion of this collection will always be exhibited and can continue to be toured at venues across the nation and throughout the world!
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Located in Riverside’s downtown historic core adjacent to The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in the cultural hub of Inland Southern California.​
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Students and faculty from five local colleges and universities will research and learn about the finest private collection of Chicano art in the U.S.
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“Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective” June 18, 2022 - January 22, 2023
Upstairs they had a FANTASTIC collection of
​glass sculpture by 
‘The de la Torre Brothers’.

Exhibition: June 18, 2022–January 22, 2023
The exhibition is a thematic retrospective on the artistic and exploratory trajectory of Einar and Jamex de la Torre, the two siblings that comprise this artistic duo known as The de la Torre Brothers. Einar and Jamex were born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1963 and 1960, respectively, but they have navigated life on both sides
of the border since they were very young.
Due to their bi-national and bi-cultural background, their work has been interpreted through the lenses of border art and Chicano art
for the past couple of decades.
The brothers use an array of materials and techniques
that range from the mastering of glass blowing to the more recent practice of lenticular printing, signaling to an appreciation of
traditional crafts as well as to an interest in technology and popular mass-produced objects.

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There was even an
“Olmec-Planetary-Exploration-Rover”
on display!
"Man! Those pre-Columbians were WAY more advanced
than I thought!! I wanted to learn more about all this…
but they didn’t have a catalogue or brochures or pamphlets
​or any supporting materials!
(And I couldn’t find anything on their website!)
Must be REALLY Top Secret!

Oh well, “Que sera', sera'!"


But... 
the most outstanding piece in the whole show
was this one by 
John Valadez!
(a realist painter and muralist who takes as his subjects the urban landscape and people ​of Los Angeles.)
Picture
John Valadez, ‘Getting Them Out of the Car’ (1984), Pastel on Paper, 100” x 37.5” (8.33’ x 3.12’) [ 2.54m x 0.95m ]
A very large pastel drawing on paper!
​"Really quite stunning!

I’ll have to do a separate post on Valadez and his murals
on a later post!" -RQ

​
Exhibition: June 18, 2022–June 18, 2023
Cheech Collects weaves a story of Cheech Marin’s efforts as a passionate and laser-focused collector, exploring the making of a major collection from the first works acquired through the most recent acquisitions. This inaugural exhibition is a celebration of the foremost champion of the Chicano School of Art. Unflinching in his faith and commitment to the excellence of this art, Marin does not bother with past debates on the legitimacy of this art movement but dares to posit that it is the most significant American art movement to date. The creation of The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture furthers his advocacy and will continue to shape the art world’s perceptions and understanding of Chicano art. Inarguably, Marin’s efforts have brought unprecedented attention to Chicana/o art with exhibitions of and loans from his collection to over 50 museums nationally and internationally. The inaugural exhibition features almost 120 works from Marin’s generous gift of over 500 works to the Riverside Art Museum as well as from his personal collection. It includes iconic works that have toured in Chicano Visions, among other notable exhibitions, works that have not often been exhibited, and some that will be on view for the very first time, reflecting a 40-year span of art production. A second iteration of the inaugural exhibition will open in December of 2022.


LOCATION & PARKING
The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum is located at 3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA, 92501, on the corner of Mission Inn Ave. and Orange St.
Metered street and lot parking is available along Mission Inn Ave. Click here for more information and a map of parking areas located downtown.
Many large-scale downtown events occur along Mission Inn Ave. throughout the year. Please be advised that street closures regularly take place during these events, e.g., Festival of Lights, Dia de los Muertos, etc., which will affect parking and drop-off/pick-up. We thank you for your understanding.
"Nice Job, Homey!
(Except for the catalogue thing.)" -RQ
1 Comment

The Painter’s Craft

9/5/2022

0 Comments

 
“Here are two of my favorite books from my library… ”
​“The Painter’s Craft”
An introduction to artists’ methods and materials
By Ralph Mayer
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The author is regarded with respect by artists in all fields. In this book he concentrates his attention upon the practicing painter, the hobbyist and the student and supplies a unique guide to the crafts of painting, dealing expertly with the ingredients of pigments, carriers and grounds, and the ways in which these materials are applied. It is an authoritative treatment of the techniques of painting, concerning the mechanics rather than the aesthetics of these skills.
Contents:
     1)  Introduction
     2)  Color
     3) Pigments
     4). Grounds
     5). Oil Painting
     6). Tempera Painting
     7). Aqueous Paints
     8). Pastel
     9)  Mural Painting
     10) Synthetic mediums
     11) Studio and Equipment


When I am asked what to do to learn the basics of mural painting, I say get a job prepping for a good all-around House-painter. Then, after you have been fired from a few jobs, and you have learned how to prep and work with gallons of paint, how to carry ladders and set scaffolding,
and how to fix a few mistakes...
I used to say "get a job as a scenic artist",
but that’s way too old school now.
(I don’t think those jobs even exist anymore!) 

So now I just say "...get Ralph’s books." -RQ
​

Also by this Author:
“The Artist’s Handbook”
​of materials and techniques

By Ralph Mayer
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Since 1940, when it was originally published, The Artist's Handbook has been indispensable for thousands of practicing artists and art students. The book has remained continuously in print through many editions and has sold more than a quarter of a million copies.

It is, as American Artist Magazine calls it, the "artist's bible," an invaluable reference for the painter, sculptor, and printmaker. During the past few years, however, new art movements and new research have led to many changes in the technology of artist's materials. With the assistance of Mayer's widow, Bena, and his colleagues, Viking and Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center at Yale University, have prepared this latest revision of the book, which is now completely updated and expanded.


The Handbook does retain its original, user-friendly format. Mayer intended that this encyclopedic volume be referred to frequently, and he therefore gave specific, practical advice on every aspect of his subject. In addition, he compiled valuable lists for the artist: retail sources for materials, a pigment catalog, a bibliography, and an extensive appendix. The detailed index makes all of this information immediately accessible.
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       ...to Roberto's Blog!

      "Duit-On-Mon-Dai"
     
        Roberto has been pestering the ‘Marketing’ staff here at Art and Soul for some time now to get together with ‘Research and Development’ to come up with a fun way for him to share all the great work out there of all the many other talented muralists and artists he's been "influenced by" over the years. ‘Sales’ was totally against the idea! ("How could that possibly improve the bottom-line?!"). ‘Marketing’ remains split, as usual ("We need more data"). ‘R&D’ thought it might be a fun way to "show off a little", and to showcase all those great ideas they keep finding out there on the internet. ‘HR’ said it might be a good way to keep 'The Crew' distracted ("Since they are all so bored since Covid hit, and Roberto is spending more and more time in his studio working on all those silly little easel paintings").
    'The Crew' said: ’'Sure, We've got nothing else going on …but only if we get to share stuff about technique, materials, and equipment." ‘Receivables’ said: "It obviously won’t make more work for us, so why not!". 'Legal' said: "No Way! You are NOT going to reveal where you steal all your ideas from!" (Although Roberto values their legal advice, He rarely listen’s  to their hysterics anyway). So... here we are! Welcome to Roberto’s new blog:
     
     "Duit-On-Mon-Dai"
    ​
         "As the title implies, I will post once a week (on Monday, more or less). Feel free to leave a family friendly comment. Dialogue and praise is encouraged. Creativity, passion and wonder should be expected. Politics and personal grievances hopefully kept to private emails. And please… no Whining! and no sales pitches either (you can make your own damn blog for that).
       I expect to start becoming a little more savvy with all this social media stuff, but for now ‘Bookmark’ my website and check back every once in a while. I hope you will find it interesting. Don’t be too persnickety over my whimsical spelling and creative punctuations either, my
    Editorial Department is not what it used to be… I am seriously understaffed these days."   
     Peace and Love...
    ​     -Roberto Quintana, WFA

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