the big city

even though i haven't had the luxury of traveling the world, creating these pop art cityskapes definitely gives me that opportunity to "think" i am. i realize it's not the real thing, but it pleases me to give a visual account of what i'd like to see with each city that i desire to visit. although london and new york city are the only cities i've been lucky enough to see, i still include them since they're a few of my favorite regardless.

creating pop art has been a personal past time of mine for a few years now. i've even been lucky enough to sell them online, as well as create personal custom pop art designs for prospective clients. with the cityskapes that i have recently created, i only hope it will add a new dimension with a unique perspective to my work and my designs.

i'm very pleased with the final outcome of these designs and hope that i'll be able to sell them in hopes of producing more. different cities throughout the world that have become well known for their culture, size and of course, large population.

by incorporating a variation of color combintations, it gives me an aesthetic view of what i would interpret of these cities—the vibrance and culture that permeates throughout their alive energy. historical accounts of what transpired centuries prior. an architectural account of impressive magnitude.

enjoy!

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graffiti for the soul

my favorite type of art is graffiti art. why? because there's something about its rawness that captures my interest as i'm in awe taking part in viewing one of these masterpieces. it's not the illegal aspect of graffiti that i like, but how these artists will go to such great lengths to create their art, even if it means stealing spray paint from their local hardware store.


i never knew that buying spray paint would be such a bone of contention until recently when i had to purchase a few cans myself, when they asked me to present my ID. apparently, you now need to be at least 18 years old to purchase spray paint. when did this start, and most importantly, why? right then and there it was clear to me how in this society, the public feels that graffii art has become problematic. 


do i think it has? no, i don't. now don't get me wrong, i realize there's a difference between vandalism, tagging and graffiiti. but as an artist, my point of view is that graffiti is actually art, not just  all the bright colors permeating throughout the piece that appears to be vandal and meaningless, but i love how the magnifying colors glows from afar. i love how their continuous use of color only brightens an area, not dulls it. whether it be a dilapidated wall, building, or even on the side of a train that travels through town heading its way to its next destination. i find it pleasing and i enjoy viewing it, if only for a brief amount of time.


but i realize i'm different because i've never really liked the 'fancy schmancy' type of art, but the rawness of street art as a whole. the kind of art that is displayed and for sale for an outrageous amount of money that not many people can afford, but as an artist myself, that has never been something i've enjoyed or even appreciated. i don't like that kind of art or its pretentious affluent perspective that permeates our souls—and our wallets—while we're viewing it at an overpriced art gallery. but for me, i prefer buying art off the street in NYC from a local artist who struggles through life and bills by selling their art on the street. as a struggling artist myself, i can easily appreciate their devotion to their craft and only wish i could financially support all of it.


one artist who became famous from this illegal street graffiiti was the late keith haring. haring was a master at his craft and never stopped regardless of it being illegal or not, because it was in him and he had to release his artisitic tendencies in order to persevere with what he believed in—street art. like most graffiti art, it brightened up a neighborhood with his dazzling colors and playful pop art designs. as you admire his style and his unique sense of playfulness, you can appreciate what he was trying to convey with his work. 

nyc subway - 1983

as you can appreciate his cause and what he was trying to do, it was obvious that for haring, awareness meant everything to him, so much that he was willing to risk getting arrested (which he did on a number of occasions) just so he can paint to generate interest and understanding for the world to see. that's what was important to him. 

growing up, haring was always inspired by other artists and began to draw what he enjoyed the most. in 1976, keith haring enrolled in the ivy school of professional art in pittsburgh to study commercial art, only to realize soon thereafter that becoming a graphic artist was not what he wanted to pursue, so after only two semesters, haring dropped out.

later that same year, haring enrolled in the school of visual arts (SVA) and moved to NYC where he soon touched upon a thriving art community—outside of the museum and gallery system, by producing his work in the downtown subway systems, streets, spaces in clubs and former dance halls. for haring, this was his calling. he quickly became part of the 1980s new york city street art culture.  

tribute mural 50th anniversary created by haring in 1982 on 

bowery & houston streets in downtown nyc

in 1980, haring found a unique opportunity that allowed him to communicate through a much wider audience when he noticed many unused advertising panels covered with black matte paper. for haring, this was the perfect medium for him to display and create his own style by using white chalk to cover the black paper as his means of communicating his work for the public to appreciate and enjoy—free art! between 1980 and 1985, haring produced hundreds of these public drawings, sometimes creating as many as forty "subway drawings" in a single day. these drawings quickly became familiar to new york commuters, who would often stop to engage the artist when they encountered him at work. 

it was during this time that haring's work quickly exploded onto the NYC art scene.

according to haring, the subway became a "laboratory" for working out his ideas and experimenting with simple lines. his famous sense of artistic style that he became famous for.

both sides of the crack is wack mural on the handball court walls, 

from the crack is wack playground created by keith haring in 1986

original haring artwork created on a vintage coca-cola sign, 1983

throughout haring's career, he devoted much of his time to public works, which often carried social messages. between 1982 and 1989, he produced more than 50 public artworks, in dozens of cities around the world, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, children's day care centers and orphanages.

in 1989, a year after haring was diagnosed with AIDS, he established the keith haring foundation which provides funding and imagery to AIDS organizations and children's programs. unfortunately on february 16, 1990, haring died from AIDS-related complications. 

perhaps before we judge a graffiti work of art on public display, we should internalize what keith haring made aware to the public and what that message means, not just the outcome, but the communication that was meant to be interpreted.

keith, i will always miss your work, and your inspiration to all artists will carry on its legacy.

keith haring sculpture, 'three dancing figures' - san francisco, california 1989

keith haring — may 14, 1958–february 16, 1990

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my inner "tree"

ok, you're really gonna think i'm nuts here, but to be honest, i don't care. i need something unique and extremely different in my life, and what better way to do that is an innovative and imaginative christmas 'tree.' a ladder in lieu of a tree. let's just say, this past christmas was a challenging one. suffice it to say, i want to start fresh; start anew with the upcoming holiday.


although i am jewish, i have always incorporated a christmas tree in our home, but lighting a menorah has also become an annual ritual for my daughter and myself as well—she loves it, and loves to hold the shamash candle as she lights the candles each night. since my husband isn't jewish, every year since we have been married, we've also added a christmas tree to our home to constitute this tradition as well.


growing up, my father was catholic, so we all grew up celebrating both 'holidays' as a way to incorporate family time that will last a lifetime. it's something that was very dear to me, not because of the double round of gifts, but because it meant so much to my family to gather around and spend quality time with each other. i loved it, and i love it even more with my husband and my daughter.


because this past holiday season was a stressful one, i have decided to move forward with this holiday tradition and try something different. since i have been married, i left my menorah where it sits year-round—above the kitchen cabinets. 


until last year.


trust me, you will think i'm a lunatic with this new idea, but again, it's something i need to do within my heart and my soul in order to start fresh—a way to enjoy our family time together without the stress of money and instead, pure enjoyment, because let's face it, christmas trees have become extremely expensive over the years and what i have always believed, why bother? why would anyone spend so much money on a tree that will only be discarded 3 weeks later? i never understood this concept, especially since it's imperative that we buy a real one and not an artificial tree. while growing up, we always had an artificial one, and i always hated it.


yuck!


i do, however, love the "twinkly" lights that permeate throughout my home, even decorated on our fireplace that typically aren't removed until february, or sometimes as long as march. i love them, and i love the bright glow that spread through the small square footage of our loft. it's what we've always done and most likely will always do.


that is one tradition that will never disappear.


in lieu of a traditional tree that has been in homes for decades, if not centuries, i give you, the christmas ladder! yes, i knew you'd think this idea was proposterus, but once you see the unique decor and the eclectic mix of lights and modern taste, i think you will approve. i assume if you're reading my blog, you will know that my taste is quite untraditional. 

so, what do you think? unique right? ok ok, i know you're laughing and i know you think i'm "out there," but like i said, i need to start fresh, and for me, this is the perfect start. i've discussed it (and showed pictures) with my family and thankfully they approve!

so here we go.

come december however, let's see if i still feel the same way, but i imagine i will still have the anticipation that i will be excited to execute—even my daughter tells me, "it's cool."

but i promise you this, once i decide to do it and decorate our home with lots and lots of "twinkly" lights, i will post pics here. at least so you can also think my christmas ladder will be 'cool.'

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live and learn

who would have thought that my own personal advice would come back and bite me in the ass. a few years ago, i wrote about how we as artists shouldn’t fall prey to spec design. spec design is quite simply, doing the work before you’re compensated for it. i have always been confused by this ongoing problem with graphic designers, but it seems to be a common problem in my field.

this baffles me.

i won’t jump on my soap box just yet. what i wrote about a few years back in 2008 still holds true for me. unfortunately, given my recent vulnerability due to my unemployment status, i figured I’ll do a little bit of work just to make sure the client knows what they’re getting from me is not only good work, but so they’ll ultimately be 'wowed' with the finished product.

i was recently contacted via email about a company wanting to hire me to design some pop art images for their soon-to-be opening boutique in florida. this company sells couture designer items that have been pre-owned and at a much cheaper cost than buying them brand new.

the owner loved my pop art pieces of louis vuitton and chanel handbags, and wanted me to stick with this same concept of using designer items to hang throughout his boutique with a pop art twist. the only difference between my original designs and the ones he wanted for his boutique are a change of colors to reflect the colors in his logo and more designer items to add to their overwhelming assortment of items for sale.

when i spoke to his partner on the phone, he said he wanted me to come up with some designs to send his way, and if they like them, they will then allow me to “go to town” with whatever designs i wanted. 

i made it very clear that typically i don't do spec work without some sort of compensation beforehand, and as he started to say he was ok with that—me like the weak person that i am, went ahead and said i would send him a design or two without an upfront deposit.

what was i thinking? because i got tongue-tied in the process, i assured him that i will only do a few pieces to send his way as jpegs. ugh!

here is where the frustration begins.

naturally, i went ahead and created a few designs—which thankfully didn’t take too long of my time—and immediately emailed to him.

next day—nothing.

day after—nothing.

day after that—nothing, so i decided to get proactive and i contacted him to let him know that if either of the designs that i sent him were not acceptable, to please let me know and I’m happy to change whatever colors or designs he wanted.

still, nothing.

it has now been almost a week and i have yet to hear from either of them.

yes, again i was screwed over. for whatever reason, i don’t know. all i do know is i didn’t get compensated for my time, nor did they even have the courtesy to get back to me to say yay or nay. nothing!

like we always say—“live and learn.” if only i had followed my own advice (as well as many others in my field) and not accepted it without a deposit up front.

so even though i didn’t get compensated, nor did i get to “go to town” with designs with this particular businessman, i will now learn by this mistake and move forward and hope that whatever business venture or client comes my way, i will continue to present a contract to them and require my typical 30–50% deposit up front before i start the work.

i'm mad, and i could kick myself, but at this point, you just have to learn from your mistakes and move on.

http://www.no-spec.com/

Louis Vuitton Speedy

Louis Vuitton Mini-Noé

right or wrong?

recently i was approached about one of my pop art designs—batphone. the person whose image this belonged to was upset by my use of his photograph for my design/artwork. imagine my surprise when receiving this email. i didn't take the image and use it as my own, i distorted the image to create my pop art design.

(due to copyright issues, i am unable to post the image of the design in question). and for that, i apologize.

this particular phone was really cool. it reminded me of the phone during the 1960s batman series that was frequently shown throughout the show. at the time of creating my pop art design, i had no intentions of using a 'batphone' per se, but an old, retro-styled phone.

when i came across this particular image during my google search of a retro-styled phone, i was thrilled. i thought this is just perfect, i can easily create something retro and stylistic and have it look groovy at the same time. it would go perfectly with my retro-filled theme at the time i created this design.

since my first day of art school, i was told by art professors that when you take an original photograph and obstruct its purpose or originality, it's completely legit. one of my first projects during my freshman year at parsons school of design was just that—take an original work of art, and thwart its logic. in this particular case involving the "batphone," i took said image into photoshop, wiped away the background completely, and added my own color and flair to what i thought at the time—a somewhat simple image. this is my process. i do it with most of my pop art pieces and i change them completely to suit my own artistic needs.

let's put a few things into perspective, shall we.

for starters, this process has been going on for decades. how did andy warhol capture that infamous campbell's tomato soup image? from memory? i think not. what about his infamous brillo pad boxes? same thing. this is how the term pop art originated. an expression of commercialism.

i recently came across this website deconstructing roy lichtenstein's famous comic book pop art and how he took the exact images from comic books, in addition to the speech bubbles, and incorporated them into his now famous works of art.

was this approved and accepted? most likely not. but with the advent of internet, things are much more complicated and easily accessible.

andy warhol's silkscreened brillo soap pad boxes

andy warhol's campbell's tomato soup, 1964, silkscreen on canvas

pop art noun

art based on modern popular culture and the mass media especially as a critical or ironic comment on traditional fine art values.

The term is applied specifically to the works, largely from the mid 1950s and 1960s, of a group of artists including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns, who used images from comic books, advertisements, consumer products, television, and the movies.

during the 2008 presidential election of barack obama, graphic designer/illustrator/artist shephard fairey has been under criticism and is currently undergoing a lawsuit for his representation of his artwork provided for obama's 2008 "HOPE" presidential campaign. in 2009, it was revealed that reuters photographer, mannie garcia, made claims that fairey took his 2006 photograph of then senator barack obama and used it as his own to create this now famous illustration.

shephard fairey's illustration for barack obama's 2008 HOPE campaign

late 19th century bohemian moulin rouge artist, henri de toulouse-lautrec, apparently used this process as well. he would use original images and create his illustrations representing these images. isn't that how art works? you use a photograph as a still representation to create a painting, illustration, etc. as a way to capture that image without doing so from memory?

regardless of what is right or wrong, as an artist, i am very apprehensive to agree with such claims that this is wrong or considered copyright infringement. and just because you find an image on the internet, it doesn't necessarily make it copyright protected—there are still legal channels to pursue to copyright protect your images/art. yes, if someone took my original artwork and signed their name to it, would i be upset? of course, that's a different story entirely. but to take a photograph that you get from the internet and change its original intent to your own, is this wrong as well? it's a dilemma we all face as artists.


i also found this particular pop art creation by artist, billi kid. the original photograph is a famous mugshot of the late, frank sinatra. clearly, the artist's intent was not to 'steal' the photograph/mugshot, but to distort its content, thus turning it into his own unique composition. 

same thing, right?

billi kid sinatra stencil by artist, billi kid

spray paint and stencil on wood panel

i'm sure there are many gray areas on this subject, but for now, i will leave it at this. i would love to hear your thoughts on this problem. do you think it's wrong to take an image that was found on the internet and create a painting from this image? or my process of turning it into a pop art creation?

tell me your thoughts. i'm listening.

regardless, my process is my process, and will most likely not change. i assure you, i am not the first artist to implement this process, nor will i be the last, however, that being said, out of respect for the original "photographer" of this batphone image, i chose to politely remove any and all representations of my design out of respect for his request. i am no longer selling this particular piece, nor do i have it displayed anywhere on my website, blog, facebook, et al.

heck, it never sold anyway.

pop art with a twist

something i have become passionate about in these past few years is creating pop art pieces. whether it's a custom piece, a famous celebrity, or just your favorite pet, i enjoy sitting down in front of my computer, on my own terms, and creating these pop art designs.

since i am a graphic designer, i have always loved my field and my craft, but in recent months, i have become worn out on the daily criticisms and demands of the client-designer relationship. it can take an emotional toll on one's psyche, to say the least, but for the most part, the end result is more than satisfactory. this doesn't, however, deter me from finding a new passion within the same realm of digital art—but this time, it comes with a twist.

recently i discovered last year during a business trip to the new york stationery show, how i noticed what is HOT right now—silhouette art. i realize it's true with all things being cyclical, that seeing as the silhouette as an art form has been around since the 1700s, i immediately became intrigued with its update and facelift. with bright colors and flair to give it that "pop," i knew i had found my calling.

naturally, i started with my daughter as my first subject, and added a bright pink for the background and her name in a fancy script font—then voila! it looks gorgeous on the wall in her room. printed on gallery wrapped canvas and ready to hang, it gives the appearance of a masterpiece in your own home, for a fraction of the cost.

you can view my etsy shop here for more details on how to purchase one.

vector version

printed on gallery wrapped canvas - 1.5" borders

stephen sprouse (1953–2004)

stephen sprouse

stephen sprouse was one of the most innovative and unique fashion designers of his time. he was not only a fashion designer, but an artist. stephen studied fashion design at the rhode island school of design, but never finished. he got his start by interning for veteran designer, bill blass when he was only 14 years old. at the age of 18, stephen worked as an assistant for coveted design haute couture, halston. a much coveted position and visionary enabled stephen to branch out into his own business, thanks to the financial backing of his parents—stephen sprouse, inc. was born in 1983.

gorgeous style with bright, bold colors

although his business was rocky to start, his experience working for such credible and well-known fashion design houses gave him much admiration and support from famed artists andy warhol, keith haring, bergdorf goodman, diesel jeans, barney's new york, marc jacobs for louis vuitton and his long time friend, debbie harry (from the 70s pop group, blondie).

window display

in 2001, marc jacobs called stephen with an idea for a new, bold and innovative idea for stephen to design a graffiti line of monogram pieces for louis vuitton. at that point, stephen sprouse was reborn and recognized by the masses. needless to say, it was a huge success and sold out immediately.

stephen sprouse graffiti louis vuitton monogram canvas keepall

in 2004, at the age of 50, stephen sprouse passed away from a long battle with lung cancer. even though he will truly be missed and be respected as one of the top designers of his time—thanks to his bold use of colors mixed with his pop art style—we are lucky to have the advantage of enjoying his wearable art; not necessarily as a collector's item, but to love and enjoy for years to come.

in january 2009, authors roger padilha, mauricio padilha and tama janowitz published an inside pictorial book to showcase stephen sprouse's art and fashion design throughout his years as an artist and a designer. this book is truly a collector's masterpiece and as a personal tribute, i leave it on my coffee table so i can peruse it every day.

there are four different colors available for the book jacket

when i lived in new york city from 1988–1990 while studying graphic design, i used to frequent the art galleries and boutiques down in soho and the village. i loved going to keith haring's POP SHOP on lafayette and houston on a regular basis and while walking on my many travels downtown, i stumbled upon stephen sprouse's boutique which at the time, was unfortunately going out of business. to my surprise, their sale was incredibly affordable and i was able to acquire many pieces from this iconic designer. if not to prey on the business' demise, but because finally, as a starving art student, i was able to actually afford some of his most popular pieces.

sketches by stephen sprouse

in 2003, to my regret, because i was no longer able to wear these beautiful pieces, i sold all of my stephen sprouse clothes on ebay. instead of saving them in hopes of one day being able to wear them again, i felt at the time, that it would be a more financially responsible decision if i could make some decent money, which i did. however, 6 years later, i regret every minute of it, especially that one signature piece, the sequined dress (at least i have a picture of me wearing it for halloween in 1989 as a 60s go-go dancer).

i miss you stephen sprouse, and i miss what could have been produced 5 years after his untimely death, because at the time, in the early 80s, you weren't appreciated for your original concept, but for your bold designs. this is for you, my personal tribute to a designer and an artist.