This Saturday at The Roots Factory is going to be a great show! Come through and support.
This new piece was extremely fun to work on. I have been really exploring the feeling of getting loose and not focusing on going back and forth and holding my breath to make the perfect line. One time, one hit spur of the moment with a lot of layers and patterns. This is a 48 x 60 mixed media piece and is now ready for adoption. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at info@monstrinho.com. Thank you.
Recent project for Raisins Swimwear 2013. Love working on projects with creative people who appreciate organic art and handstyles. Daniela Mendez from Raisins shared with me her creative vision, put together an amazing photo and video shoot and had me develop signature phrases in my own signature handstyle. This was an extremely fun project, thank you to Daniela and the people at Raisins for including me on this project! I will be sharing Daniela’s work in the weeks to come on the blog.
These are some photos from a recent surfboard collaboration project with Shaper Studios in San Diego. This plank is a 9 foot Singlefin and is for a good friend and fellow surfer Nick Borelli who shaped the board on this project. Behind every person there is a unique story. Nicholas Borelli is a former Captain in the Marines and is always sharing his positive energy with others. He recently introduced me to his passion in utilizing surfing as a way to help others heal and has educated me on the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Wounded Warrior Project purpose is to raise awareness of injured service members to the public, help injured service members to assist each other and provide programs/services that aid these injured service members.
Several weeks ago while surfing on base, a younger inexperienced Marine lost control of his board while trying to ride a larger wave. The board left a huge gash in my board and hit me in the head. I went to the beach and was pretty angry to say the least. As time passed, slowly but surely the group that the other surfer was with started to get out of the water. Nick was on the beach with me explaining the background history of each individual and how they became a part of Wounded Warriors. Each guy walked out of the water smiling ear to ear after enjoying a good surf session in the Pacific. Happy to be alive, and thankful for the moment. At that point in time I immediately had a flashback to a time not too long ago when I was their age and thought about what was going on in my life at that point in time. Had I faced death? What had I done or what did I do to help others? Would I risk my life to help someone I do not know?
It is a powerful thing to be reminded about the gift of life. We all like superheroes possess many powers that are sometimes left untapped. I thought deeply about this as I worked in the blue shaping room at Shaper Studios. This 9 foot plank represents the power of exchange. It serves as a personal reminder to me to wake up each day and recognize the gifts we have been given or developed through countless hours of work and use them to help others as often as we can. Thank you to Nick, Shaper Studios and the young Marine who opened up my eyes to what is truly real in this world.
One by one we learned to smile at death….I had a lot of fun with this particular piece. There is nothing like the feeling of having fun with color and line work and just getting loose. I will be showing this piece at the Dia De Los Muertos show at The Roots Factory October 27th. Come by and say hello.
Recent studies show that singing can increase your life expectancy, make you smile more and allow you to transform into your favorite cartoon character. This little guy came to me while painting in Tijuana, Mexico with good friends. His name is Gordito Panzon, and he loves to sing each and every day. This song by El Gran Combo came to mind when I was painting him…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7dbsm0U_gk&feature=related
Headed down to Tijuana last weekend to paint with friends El Norteno and Glow. Unfortunately towards the end of the session we were asked to stop by a drunken landlord and were forced to buff the wall or pay the guy some unreasonable amount of pesos. Sorry amigo no can do…anyways here is to the curse of Luis Miguel…The three amigos will be back.
Kelp Kid Luka drifting away in Dreamland. Monstro and the Kelp Kids are along for the ride. This little guys onesie is now available in the shop. =)
And so it was decided that the narwhal from the sea and the jellyfish from the sky would spend their days roaming the sea together…..
Nothing like the feeling of being a kid during the summer. Grind curbs, break out the fish and go shred. Encinitas local and Kelp Kid family member Emerson.