FEATURES Michael Cano 6 Gian Norte 12 Jaime Morales 18 Mari Beltran 22 Main Feature: Boy George 28 Epiphany Visio 36
MUSIC Badluck Bandits 44 The Shend 48
EATS Up N Smoke 42 READS
The Gray Tower Trilogy 51
ARTIST
BOX
Terence Ulrich 53 Daniel Stone 56 Patrick Murillo 59 5
MICHAEL CANO
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ART: Artist, Musician, Husband. Is there anything else we are leaving out? MC: When I think of myself as an artist, the most important aspects to claiming that title for me are the ones of exploration and development. I have a constant and consistent curiosity about the making of art, always do I wish it to be the equivalent of making mud pies as when a child, simply filled with wonder and awe over the idea of the thing itself. The quote that best sums up my attitude toward the making of art is from Mr. Kurt Vonnegut and here it is now: “My point is this: The most satisfied of all painters is the one who can become intoxicated for hours or days or weeks or years with what his or her hands and eyes can do with art materials, and let the rest of the world go hang.� When it comes to the mantle of musician, these last four years have been more of being a music fan rather than actual, factual musician. I was in a band for many years, but left that behind once I met my now-wife Patsy. It was time to put away the toys and spend my time with grownups. However, regarding the influence of music on both my life and my art making, it is vast, powerful and wondrous. Music runs through my veins, it is part of my being, an enormously large, pleasurable and influential portion. And now, now that we have arrived at the subject of me being a Husband, (It is a proper noun for me, hence the capitalization.) this is the single most important title that I lay claim to as a human being alive in this time and place known as the Universe.
My wife Patsy Faragher is not only the love of my life, and the most beautiful woman in the world, but she is also the best friend I have ever had the privilege of calling a friend. In addition to all of the wonder described above, Patsy and I are also artistic collaborators, our apartment is filled end to end with pieces that we have created together. We first met at an opening reception of my work at the Eastside Luv in Boyle Heights back in 2010 and it was indeed love at first sight, but it was also a potent and powerful symbol, meeting for the first time at an art opening, seeing as how powerful a role art and art making was to play in the life we were about to live together. Within a month of moving in, we began to collaborate on a series of papier mache masks of fanciful animals that Patsy had created before we met. I then painted the masks in bright colors, attached them to canvas boards, then created a fanciful body to go along with the fanciful heads, thus combining the two dimensional with the three dimensional, and then we found slightly tacky yet humorous frames to go along with the newly created creatures. We have had two exhibits of these masks to this day and they went over with great bravado to those who have attended these openings. We also had an opening together for what we call our Mashup Series of paintings. What, you may ask, is a Mashup painting? Well, it’s like this; My wife and I go to various Goodwill stores around town and look for brilliantly mediocre paintings and/or prints. Then we bring them home and I create characters that have very 77
little business being in the original image and place them there via acrylic paint. After that, my wife goes through her extensive collection of, well, things and stuff, and then she creates an atmosphere in the image that further blurs the line between perception and reality. These images were shown at the Eastside Luv, the place where we met and were received with terrific enthusiasm and wonderful compliments and commentaries. My wife and I will continue to collaborate and create together in every way possible for the rest of our lives together, this I know. Besides the three categories listed above, I proudly lay claim to the mantle of writer, with many prose poems and a few choice short stories in my canon. Writing (and reading) is something that is vastly important to me and many of the largest influences on both my life and my work have been the most beautiful of scribblers. John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, Flannery O’Connor, Nelson Algren, James Thurber, William Faulkner, Grace Paley, Tim O’Brien, Isabel Allende, Harlan Ellison and so many more wonderful writers have played a huge part in the shaping of my artistic identity and continue to do so. ART: When did you get into art and what inspired you? Ever since I was old enough to hold a pencil in my hand, I had an interest in creating images. As a child, I was constantly putting pencil to paper making up my own characters and thinking of stories in my head about these new guys on the block. I began to develop an artistic reputation in my elementary school classes and was allowed to 8
create my little guys after I had finished my regular classwork, which I always completed ahead of schedule. Soon enough, I discovered the wonderful world of comic books and leapt in with both of my little feet, happily, happily and filled with wonder. I giddily collected as many comic books as I could gather, performing odd jobs around the neighborhood for the necessary cash. Around the age of twelve, I began to copy images from my beloved books and even made up some of my own superheroes. It was my fervent wish at that time to become a comic book artist myself and I spent many hours both absorbing the art and stories from my stacks of comics and then drawing my versions into my sketchbook. I got a job at the age of 13, said employment being the Official Scorekeeper for the local Little League in my town, I got paid two dollars a game and worked as many games as I could each week, bringing in about 40 dollars a week, which bought many comic books for my expanding collection and I drew and drew. As I grew older, my interests came to include classic black and white illustrators and illustrations, and I purchased a series of crow quill pens and ink and set about developing skills as a pen and ink illustrator. I had a natural feel for this medium and created many good and interesting pages of cross hatched images. Most of my artistic ventures stayed in the medium of pen and ink for years until I was 24 years old, and this is when everything, and I mean everything, changed in my world and the way I looked at art and the way it was created due to one particular personal earth-shaking event, of which I describe to you now: As I said, I was 24 years old and some friends and I had heard about an exhibition going on at the Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Park, CA. Said exhibit was featuring the works of one Senor David Alfaro Siqueiros, a famous Mexican painter and muralist that I had heard about vaguely. Well, we went, walked in,
witnessed the works on the walls and things have never been the same for me in both the way I view the world and the way I approached art and the way I worked in it. The images on those fateful walls on that fateful day, both canvas paintings and photos of the man’s murals were not just powerful, they were devastating, they were frightening, they were horrible, they were beautiful, they were astounding, they were unreal, they were the closest thing to the truth that I had ever seen in my 24 short years on this planet. I was dizzy with delirium. I was struck with stupid. I was absolutely annihiliated. I was never, ever the same
afterwards, and I thank the Universe for that on a stunningly regular basis. As I mentioned, at that point in my artistic life, I was mainly interested in black and white illustrations and had not really considered painting as a viable option, it was a world that I was a stranger to for the most part. But. After looking into the artistic eyes of Senor Siqueiros, I made a very conscious and deliberate decision to teach myself as much as I could possibly learn about both painting and painters, and that day I set about on that path and am still happily exploring all of the marvelous possibilities that there are to offer. Thank you, Senor Siqueiros, for smashing my world as I knew it 9
into glorious bits and making me reassemble everything into a brand new model. I am eternally grateful.
never do I wish do settle for usual. Just as the musicians that I admire so very, very much and look towards for examples of light, beautiful light.
ART: You have a few styles within your art. Does one stand alone or are all the styles you have one in the same? I can answer this question with what I like to call my Painter’s Motto:
ART: Speaking of music tell us more about that. Is it just a weekend fun thing or are you dropping an EP soon?
Every painting of mine gets what it needs and it is hoped that every painting of mine needs what it gets. ART: Lets talk the musical icons, I love the Strummer you did. Which is your favorite and why? Thank you, sir. Joe Strummer is and remains one of the biggest impacts here in this life of mine. His presence, actions, words and music hit me between the eyes like a wonderful sledgehammer and it was my honor to have the ability to pay tribute to the man the way that I did. Regarding the other musically based artistic tributes that I have committed to surface, my absolute favorite is the oil painting I did of Mr. Eric Dolphy, one of my very favorite jazz musicians who ever breathed air, or as I should properly state, Musician. Period. Eric Dolphy’s sound and approach towards the same is to me, perfection. I am not a religious man, but I do indeed refer to Mr. Dolphy as God’s Favorite Child. The element that looms the largest regarding Mr. Dolphy’s influence here in my head and on my work is what I like to refer to as his ‘Studied Spontaneity.’ which is exactly what I strive for in my work. All of it. Never do I want to be static, always do I desire to remain electric. Always do I yearn for surprise, 10
Well, sir, like I mentioned before I was in a band for a long time, over 20 years. The name of the band was Three Bean Salad and we did actually release an album of mostly cover songs and a couple of originals back in 2000 titled, ‘Shut Up and Eat Your Beans.’ (I will give you a copy if you want one.) It is a very good record and I am proud to have been a part of it. I also am glad to be away from the whole thing now, because like I mentioned before, I really would, at this point of my life, much rather spend time with my wife rather than play a silly gig at some dive bar in Long Beach on a Thursday night to a crowd who could not give a single damn about a folk/punk rock band like us dishing out Dream Syndicate covers at medium volume for a couple pitchers of free bad beer. The choice seemed and seems obvious. ART: Is there a preference between the two? Art and music? Both are astounding sources and approaches to wonderful objectives. ART: First time we saw your work was at Eastside Luv, a bar that caters to the Chicano community. Do you consider yourself a Chicano artist? I have been asked this question a number of times over the years and have deeply contemplated my answer to it. I am enormously proud of my Mexican heritage and am equally proud to call myself a Chicano. However,
I do not consider myself strictly a Chicano painter, the term is too limited and restrictive for me. In the same manner that I do not consider myself to be strictly an American citizen, rather do I consider myself a citizen of the Universe. The blood that runs through me carries memories with it, wonderful artistic memories of art and artists that created work that lives on through my efforts, this I know to be true. There are many times when I will create a piece and find myself wondering how, where and why I came up with that particular color scheme, that particular imagery, that particular composition. Certainly my training and experience have a lot to do with it, but the larger answer has a great deal to do with the Universal memories that course through my being. My work is a result of my heritage, of what came before me and I am beyond proud to be a part of and student of that heritage. ART: Are there any new series in the works and if so, what style will it be in? There are always new images in the works for me and currently, I am at work creating two separate series of imagery. One is a series of smaller acrylic paintings on surfaces that range from illustration board, canvas paper and the fronts of blank greeting cards. The images inherent are a further exploration of a series that I have been working on for decades now, my Primates series. My Primates are artistic representations of basically human faces that totter between the animals that we are and the graceful, sophisticated creatures we long to be. A meditation on the the miasma of malfeasance that we have allowed to take place during our time on this planet. The other series that I am currently at work on is a collection of figurative wire sculptures that I am having an absolute blast creating. My Wire Guys are fun to look at, wonderful to hold and are taking on a life of their own. Besides creating many full figure wire sculptures I am also planning on creating an environment for each one to exist in, a sort of theater/shadow box for them to show themselves to the world. As I said, I am having an absolute blast with this series and look forward to further exploration and development regarding both my Primates and my Wire Guys. ART: Where can people check out your amazing work and for those interested in buying, where can they go? I can be reached via e-mail at mcanoart@yahoo.com and I can be visited at my Facebook page: https:// www.facebook.com/michael.cano.925 I have a fan page featuring my various works on Facebook, as well, called ‘Paintings by Cano’ that features all of the various styles and formats that I
work in. Come on over and have a look and let’s talk soon! ART: Any final thoughts or comments you would like to leave us with? This has been an honor and a privilege, answering these questions for you and being given the opportunity to share my thoughts and approaches with your wonderful audience. It is my fervent hope that you all enjoy the images that I have created and it is also hoped by me that you find what I had to say interesting to you. I look forward to doing this all again someday soon. I thank you for your time and attention. 11
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ART: Lets start at the beginning who inspired you to become an artist? Well when i was a child i was always inspired to draw because of my dad. He would always draw monsters on big pieces of paper and me and my brother would stand right there next to him to see what awesome creature he was going make next. It was so fun getting to see each piece evolve right infront of our own eyes. So from that i would always try and imitate his works and then started creating my own independant pieces and from the time I was about 4 i’d say i started just filling up sketch books, and thus became what i am today. ART: Have you guys ever done a collaboration or had a show together? To an extent yes. One day my dad finished making one of his custom Norte Grotesque (which is the name he goes by) Hats and i completely flipped when i saw it, I then told him he has to put it in a gallery and seeing as that I have a permanent residency at The Hive Gallery in Downtown LA, I saw fit to do a small showing together there. WE had an amazing response for both his and my work and plan on doing much more in the future. ART: What would you say is your favorite piece? Wow thats a really difficult question because there is so much art to appreciate and get inspired by that it’s hard to narrow it down to just one. But my first all time favorite artist was Roberto Matta who is an Abstract and Surrealist Artist. His work was always a show to look at in a sense. Every piece always had so much experssion and fluidity in it with also having hard edges and mechanics within it. If i had to pick one of his pieces to call my favorite it would have to be “The Earth is A Man”. Amazing to say the least, and my current favorite Artist is Alex Pardee but there are too many pieces by him to narrow down to a favorite.
ART: Your currently a resident at The Hive is there anywhere else people can check out your work? I always do small solo and group shows that revolve at differenct venues in or around the Los Angeles area mainly in Downtown LA but The Hive is where my work is always on display and where you can always see my newest works. You can Always check out my Instagram @NorteArt to see what im working on or the new product i have out or in the works. ART: So tell us one of your favorite moments you’ve had at The Hive? It would have to be one time I came in to work on my wall and add some new work and as i came in MANONE was 15
giving tour to some art collectors and tourists. He told them that he knew me as an artist and kind of gave me praise for my work and the shows i was a part of at CreWest. It was Very Humbling to say the least to get positive feedback from one of the biggest LA graffitti artists of our time, I felt very blessed to get that kind of a response from him. A few of them told me they loved the female figure mannequin pieces i did as well as the saws i painted on, so that would have to be it. ART: Do you have any shows coming up other than your residency? I am currently working on a few with some of my friends from Art Center art friends and other residents at The Hive that will be coming up towards summer. Also i will be having another show in London England that my friend Joanna Ward is coordinating out there. I got such a good response 16
from the shows i was a part of in Notthingham and London last year that we are working on another one for this coming summer with some other artists from her Camp othere. ART: We’ve noticed your stickers is that your calling card? Yes It Is. GOTTA HUSTLE. I came up with the slogan a few years ago listening to music. I started really thinking of the word Hustle and the meaning behind it and it didn’t just apply to music it applied to everything in life. Whatever it is you want to become and do with your life you have to hustle to get it or get there. I carry the Gotta Hustle stickers everywhere i go and pass them out to people all over the city and i kid you not everytime someone looks at it, they smile and look at me with the sense of saying “thats right”. It’s a part of me as much as and my the skin i live in which is why i got it tatt’d on my hand.
ART: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers? There is no goal out there that i havent accomplished for myself and my Artwork. Gotta Hustle was just the beginning with me getting my feet wet in the Art World and there is so much more that i have up my sleeve that i’m getting ready to drop and i know the citys getting ready for me. Oh the things you have to see. NORTEART!
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Jaime Morales
Smokin’ oil on an Epiphone Les Paul Special Electric guitar 18
Spideybot 6�x6� oil on board ART: By most of your work we can see your a big fan of music. Is that what inspired you to become an artist?
discovered the music of bands such as Led Zeppelin and KISS and began drawing pictures of my musical idols from that point on.
JM: I was an artist before being inspired by music. As a child, I spent my days drawing Snoopy and Mickey Mouse. Though I listened to pop music as a child , as an adolescent I
ART: Where did the character style come from?
Beeck but I was fascinated with the works of Sebastian Kruger because he actually paints his caricatures on canvas. So I began studying the way they structured the features of his subjects and developed my own method and style..
JM: love the caricature works of many artists such as Jan Op De
ART: The KISS piece and the David Grohl one are a couple of our favor19
ites. How do you choose who you paint? JM: With a few exceptions, I pick musicians that I listen to and/or have seen in concert because I feel I could relate to the subject matter. ART: Have you ever been able to get one of your pieces to someone you’ve painted? JM: I’ve attempted contacting many of the artists that I’ve painted with a
pic of the painting via social media such as Twitter to no avail. I believe that these artists receive so many art pieces that my stuff gets lost in the mix. ART: We’ve noticed a lot of artists nowadays are doing prints of their work what’s your take on that? JM: When I first started showing my pieces I was hesitant about offering prints but as I continued to do shows I realized that many people couldn’t af-
ford the asking price for the original so I began offering prints. I figure someone can easily print the picture from my online posts so if I can offer a good print at an affordable price, why not? I don’t think the prints dilute the value of the original because a print cannot capture the texture of the paint strokes on the canvas. ART: You have a few styles in the way you paint. Do you have a favorite? JM: I like working on various pieces Bat Bot 6”x6” oil on board
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The Pack (Los Lobos) 60”x36” oil on canvas so I do not get bored with one style. While working on my musical caricatures I saw them as being similar to each other and I didn’t want to be stuck doing the same thing over and over to the point that the viewer can’t distinguish a painting I made in 2008 or 2014. So I took a break and began working on figurative paintings and small whimsical robot pieces. This break did me good because I have new ideas for new rock and roll pieces.
ART: Any last words you can give to aspiring artists? JM: Work, work, work. You can sit around waiting for inspiration to hit you and wait for the right span of time but this is very unproductive. If you only have an hour to work on a piece then use it to its fullest. It may not be what you wanted but you can always go back and correct it and that’s better than a blank canvas.
ART: Where do you see yourself in 5 years and where would you like your paintings to be? JM: My goal from the time I started showing my pieces is to get my works in various galleries throughout the United States and eventually in Europe. ART: Any ART shows coming up any time soon? JM: I currently attend and show my pieces at the various underground art shows like Chocolate and Art and the Pancake and Booze shows in L.A. I am scheduled to do the Anaheim Art Crawl on May 10th, and August 9th and am working on doing the Balboa Island Art Walk on May 18th. I will be having my robots painting at this years’ Comic Con Art Show and hope to get a spot at the Laguna Beach Winter Sawdust Festival. ART: For those that are interested in purchasing or commissioning you how can they go about that? JM: Anyone interested can contact me via email: jmmorales@verizon.net 21
MARI BELTRAN
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ART: Why did you decide to become a photographer? Mari: Maybe most importantly is when. I didn’t decide to in some assertive way, at least not initially, and I also didn’t just ‘fall into it’. I was given my dad’s old Nikon FTN when I was thirteen and had signed up for photography class at school. From then on, I loved to shoot. I did an undergrad and a graduate degree in an academic field, though I was always focused on the arts and after school I started working mostly as a writer and teacher. It was during that time that I started to photograph more, and was making more of an effort to learn about photography and experiment and meet people and photograph. I figured I was spending my extra time and money on photography and equipment and printing, so I decided to go back to school for my MFA in photography and creative writing, which is what I’m doing now. ART: Do you have a message through your work? Mari: I’m still figuring it out. This year a lot of my work has been about exploring space, orientation and scale through photography and also through installation work. I started off with a strong interest in portraits. Right now it feels like a lot of my work is about process, working through challenges and getting around to a final image or print, but concepts shift with my interests. Because my most recent solo show was focused on photographing and working with a set of historical, hand-made dollhouses, a lot of my work recently has been about space, rooms, interiors, traps, disorientation, uncanniness, and so on. The image titled ‘AND’ and the other two titled ‘INSTALLATION VIEW’ are from my recent show, which initiated with photography but ended up being a completely constructed space. It was my first big installation piece. I was interested in re-creating rooms from the dollhouses I had been photographing, so I built a two-room structure inside the gallery I had, with a door between the rooms so you could walk from one room to the other. I built the frame, structure and walls (which I wall-papered) and then completed the
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fourth wall of each room with a large screen onto which I projected images from the rooms of the dollhouses I had photographed. AND is one of those images. I was really interested in the sense of scale and how much like reality the rooms seemed to be. Standing inside the installation felt a lot like being in some kind of completely altered space. It’s so obviously constructed, but also this built space: a house, rooms, but the rooms are still disorienting because it’s dollhouse objects blown up to larger than life size. GIRL is a photograph from a small series of color photographs and prints I started a while back. I was really beginning to enjoy shooting in color, shooting analogue, and shooting with a medium format camera. I was also experimenting shooting in really crude, low light. I loved the effect. SELF is, of course, a self portrait. Again, I have an interest (like I think most photographers do) in the effects of light. I was also trying to get comfortable with using myself as a model so that I could experiment with images and image-making without needing to rely on collaborations to happen. CACTUS is a project still in the works. I got interested in color and color theory, and also in displaying objects. I have a sort of fetish for cactus plants, too, and I’m interested in what it is that draws us to certain objects. I wanted to experiment with using colored flourescent lights on the printed image as well, so this is a series I expect will develop in time. ART: Where can we see more of your work? Mari: windcriesmari.tumblr.com and filmandgrain.blogspot.com ART: What can we expect to see from you in the future? Mari: More photography, more installations, and a combination of photography and writings/text. I’ve been working on a series called “How to read a photograph/ How to read a poem” which explores some of the interdisciplinarity of imagemaking through visual and through text as well.
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BOY GEORGE: FROM
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POP ART! WORDS: BILLY CHAINSAW Unless you’ve been sleeping alongside Rip Van Winkle for the past three decades or so, it’s odds-on that you’re familiar with music legend Boy George. An outrageous, outspoken individual, George is notorious for his flamboyant style, gender-bending attitude, and for being a bona fide, pop music sensation. Well dear reader, while said singer/ songwriter is in the midst of a major musical renaissance, he is also about to take the art world by storm with a über-exciting, limited edition art project. Titled “PUNK BETTE”, the
magnificently anarchic screenprints feature a dramatic, mixedmedia montage of Hollywood screen icon Bette Davis and original British punk ‘face’ Soo Catwoman (AKA Soo Lucas). This striking image depicts Davis as the eye-patch wearing, vicious matriarch she played in the 1968 movie The Anniversary, spliced with Catwoman’s hair and clothes style – an expressively individual look that became synonymous with the 1970s UK punk movement. On his inspiration for the print, Boy George says: “For me,
Bette Davis was a total punk. Punk is about attitude, and she had it down.” Boy George didn’t pulloff said art coup alone though. Bob Fierro [owner of Zebra Merchandising], someone who Boy George has a long-standing creative relationship with, suggested that he join forces with LA Chicano art whizz-kid Germizm, and world renowned, master printer/artist Richard Duardo, to create the masterpiece at the latter’s prestigious Modern Multiples fine art studios in Los Angeles – which has handled 29
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such luminaries as Shepard Fairey and Banksy. To get the full lowdown on exactly how the collaboration came to be, we sat down with Fierro and Germizm and got them to spill the beans. ART! So Bob, how and when and did you become acquainted with Richard Duardo? Bob Fierro: If my memory serves me well, I was trying to sign the LA punk band The Plugz, and during my meeting with their management company, Richard Duardo’s name came up – because he was involved in their record company. Later that week, as I was getting my office redecorated, I decided I needed some framing work done to really 32
rock the joint. At the framers I spotted a really cool punk poster and enquired who’d done the artwork. The framing guy said, “It’s by Richard Duardo – we call him the Warhol of the West.” Then he showed me a magazine article about Richard’s studio, and I decided right there and then that I had to meet the guy – and asked for his phone number. Richard and I hit it off immediately, talking non-stop about music and art. I remember him saying, “You have to see this new documentary Stop Making Sense with David Byrne from Talking Heads. That night I went to the only movie-house in LA showing it, and it blew me away so big time, I said to myself,
“Richard Duardo really gets me… he knows what I’m trying to do – he knows that I’m not simply slapping band logos on T-shirts, I’m marketing them through art and merchandise.” Later on, Richard asked me to finance the publication of his Frida Kahlo print – so I got me some cool art for my office after all. This led to me working with Richard to publish art with Boy George, to guarantee that we had great art for the tour book covers and merchandising. ART! How did you became involved with Boy George? BOB FIERRO: I Love telling this story. I was on tour in England with Jody Watley and Shalamar
use to wear) from the top bunk, and started dancing down the bus isle, imitating George’s doing his little, shaking butt-in-the-air dance. Jermaine says, “Bob, that’s just Boy George, he is one of those club kid guys who dresses up and hangs out – you can run into him at any of the cool clubs in London. Jeffrey knows him, I’m sure he has his number.” When we picked up Jeffrey and the guys at the TV station, I asked if he knew Boy George, and he replied: “Yea Bob, no problem, I have George’s number right here – he’s cool.” So ultimately, it’s all Jermaine and Jeffrey’s fault! And I’m still friends with George over 30 years later. ART! Tell us a what you’ve found so attractive about Boy George’s art over the years?
– who was the hottest group over thereremix_email_7 at the time [in the 1980s]. We were on our tour bus heading to Newcastle [in the north of the country], for the first airing of a music TV show called the The Tube. Anyway, it was raining so hard, that, because Shalamar were headlining the show, we took a detour to a small airfield so that their three principal performers [Jody Watley, Howard Hewett, and Jeffrey Daniel’s] could charter a plane and fly there – otherwise they would’ve missed the show. After they exited the bus, we continued driving north. Some hours into the journey, the bus driver said, “Hey guys, you want me to pull over so that we can watch The Tube on TV?” So we watched a few other bands, then Culture Club started performing. It’s only three seconds into the song and George is singing the song’s intro: “Give me time, to realize my crime, I have danced inside your eyes” – and before he’d finished the first verse, I’d jumped up out of my seat, and was shouting, “Who the fuck is that? Who is He?” Then Boy George goes full-tilt into the song “Do you really want to hurt me?” – and I freak out even wilder. When the song finishes, Shalamar’s backing vocalist Jermaine Stewart grabs a Jewish hat (like the style George
BOB FIERRO: My First attraction working with George was the whole red, gold and green hobo look, the signs and symbols art, plus of course the Sue Clowes look that incorporated planes and crosses, and the Jewish Star of David embellished with roses – it was all very multi cultural. Not to mention that George had the whole Clone Wars look way before it materialized in Star Wars. Back in the 1980s we worked with Assorted Images who were a UK design firm headed up by British graphic designer Malcolm Garrett. In later years with B-Rude Clothing [Boy George’s online fashion boutique], George would mash-up iconic symbols with clever statements that read like song lyrics to combine a really rad fashion look. But that is exactly what George wanted to do at the time, and anyone who has ever worked with him knows those moments are like pure creative genius – he is still sharp as a tack. A little more seasoned, but hey, once again he’s in full bloom. Germizm, our cover star back in issue # 2 [who, as well as painting solo, also teams up with SICKdotOne aka Pablo Dumas, as the Outbreak Crew] also has a long standing with Boy George. ART! You’ve been involved with Boy George related art before, so how did that come to be? 33
GERMIZM: [Although other artists have been involved too] I’ve been working with Bob Fierro at Zebra Marketing, [along with other artists] designing Culture Club and Boy George Merchandise for about 15 years, One of the first things I designed for Culture Club was a tour book for the Club Sandwich Tour in the 1990s. Since then, I’ve designed a number of merchandise items, from T-shirts to limited edition posters.
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ART! How did you get involved in this current project? GERMIZM: George has been doing his own fine art for years, then during his last tour, he mentioned to Bob Fierro that he would like to collaborate on a series of prints with me – since we are both DJ’s he had originally called it an ‘Art Remix’. ART! Can you breakdown the process of the “Punk Bette” art from start to finish.
GERMIZM: George designed the initial black and white “Punk Bette” image, to which I added my signature Los Angeles collage, colorization, and tonal work. Then Richard [Duardo] added pops of color to the face, splashes of background color, and, finally, a 7th color featuring his signature pastel outlines.” ART! What was it like collaborating with such legendary, creative individuals, as Boy George and Richard Duardo –
was it in any way intimidating? GERMIZM: I wasn’t intimidated at all – if anything it was an honor. I have followed Richard Duardo for years, being around his amazing large screen prints that are framed and hanging at the Zebra Marketing office. As a joke, we would always refer to anything with a large half tone as “The Richard Duardo dot”. Getting to work with Richard was awesome, he is so hands on, and makes sense of everything. His studio is incredible; it’s extremely clean and insanely organized. I remember one day when Richard, Bob, and I sat and had lunch together: from what had started out as a simple hamburger and fries meal, resulted in Richard laying out everything so clean and neat, it was like a work of art in itself. Before we took our first bite, Richard proudly looks at what he had laid out and said, “Now... we can eat like human beings.” As for working with George, what can I say – he is a true visionary. He sees things on a whole different level. Even in a simple conversation with George, whether you’re talking about art or music, he always brings out the creative aspect in it. As for what it’s like to collaborate with George – let’s just say he beams creativity. ART! While it was Boy George, yourself, and Richard Duardo who did the “Punk Bette” art, I think we need to big-up the maestro who did the actual printing. So who was it? GERMIZM: Working at Richard’s production studio [Modern
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Multiples] we had the opportunity to have master printer Ivan Alpuche, work on our print. Ivan is truly a master of his craft.
The “PUNK BETTE” screen-print serigraph is published exclusively by Zebra Marketing* and will be available April 15th 2014 in two colorways, with both editions signed and limited to 40 pieces.
A very limited edition of 10 H.P.M.’s are available as well. Modern Multiples: www. modernmultiples.com Dealer inquiries, contact: bobzebra@earthlink.net Zebra Marketing: http:// zebramarketing.bigcartel.com/ 35
Epiphany
Visio
By Alison Massey 36
After an eight-hour shift of shuffling papers, many of us hurry off to the gym, pick up the kids from daycare, rush to the bank before it closes and finally throw a quasi-healthy dinner togetheror whatever it is that people do. Generally, people these days are always busy! During this hectic schedule, how many of us actually carve five minutes out of our day to meditate? Even if we do have a few extra minutes, do we use that time for personal reflection? More often than not, we use it to catch up on our GOT episodes, level up in Candy Crush, or zone out in front of Sports Center. It’s so easy to forget about the beauty of our planet amidst our troubles and the plethora of distractions available at our fingertips. Imagine going an entire day without a cell phone, laptop, or any other social media? It’s hard to imagine how previous generations passed the time. Should we consider putting down our troubles and our toys for a few minutes a day in order to meditate over something meaningful? Would this improve our morning or even our entire day? Photographer Christine Lee Smith believes we should do just that. Her love of photography and her strong faith have inspired her to launch a website devoted to this concept. Epiphany Visio is a project designed to create, provide and sell visual training tools. The Visio Divina Photo Cards are designed for individuals and spiritual directors. Each card comes with a set of questions. These cards will help the individual discover their faith and the world around them. The photo cards also function as a flashlight to uncover truths within each person. Many of Christine’s photographs are simple, but beautiful pictures of nature. The first photo shows us a tree with bright yellow leaves soaring into an overcast sky. In another photo, we see a staircase ascending a hill. The stairs sit in light and shadow among a plot of healthy, green bushes. It’s unclear what lies at the top of those stairs. My personal favorite is a photograph of a stained glass window inside a church. The reds, purples and greens shine perfectly in the dimly lit church. 37
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Anyone who knows Christine is not surprised by her most recent journey. Christine has always had a deep love of art, and a constant curiosity about the world around her. When talking to the photographer, you will notice how well she listens. She doesn’t need to speak just to fill the air. She listens closely to everything you say and chooses her words carefully as she responds. Christine worked as a journalist from 2003 to 2006. Although she was putting her degree to good use, she wasn’t enjoying her work. Christine and her husband opened their wedding photography business in 2006. The business thrived and Christine found her work both fulfilling and rewarding. She began teaching photography
in 2007. Although happy with her work, she still felt compelled to push herself even further. In 2013, Christine completed her M.A. in Spiritual Formation & Soul Care. She was trained as a Spiritual Director at Talbot School of Theology’s Institute for Spiritual Formation. Christine has recently traveled to Sonora Desert, San Antonio, Texas, Vermont and Montreal, Canada to gather inspiration and images for Epiphany Visio. Christine doesn’t know what lies ahead of her. She looks forward to traveling the world, creating something new everyday and enjoying life with her loving husband Matt. To learn more about Christine go to christineleesmith.com or epiphanyvisio.com
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By Tanya Sotelo Alesha Escobar is the author of The Gray Tower Trilogy. She is a native of Los Angeles and began writing short stories at a very young age. Alesha earned a B.A. in English and an M.S. in Education. Her debut novel The Towers Alchemist, book one in the Gray Tower trilogy, was first published September 28th 2011 and the final book in the trilogy Circadian Circle was released November 1st 2013. Her writing is breath of fresh air with strong capable female characters. Your series The Gray Tower Trilogy is a historical fantasy set in World War II tell us about it and how you came up with the idea? Did you always intend for it to be a Trilogy? The idea of a paranormal fantasy with a female spy was an intriguing one, and my husband suggested setting it in WWII. We had seen interesting documentaries that covered the Nazis’ obsession with the occult. I began asking, what would it look like if they employed the use of dark powers to win the war--and how would the Allies fight back? From there I began developing the world of the Gray Tower Trilogy. I always knew I wanted it to be three books, because I didn’t want to drag the story through twelve or twenty volumes. I will say though that I’m interested in writing a couple of short stories and maybe even a prequel.
Your main character Isabella George is a female spy who uses alchemy, in your book how is alchemy used and why did you decide to have your main character use it? Alchemy is one of several magical disciplines you can study if you’re admitted to the Gray Tower. If you have the ability to taste, smell, and manipulate metals and elements, then you have a strong chance of becoming an alchemist. Some people are stronger in some areas of magic, and may have secondary abilities, but they try to sort you into your designated group quickly. I think I decided to make Isabella an alchemist because it’s a cool magical ability that you don’t always see explored in fantasy books. It was also fun doing research on it because of the historical “alchemy” carried out by the precursors of chemical science. So this also gave it a real feeling, as if someone like Isabella could really study alchemy in the real world. I love your series! Isabella and several other supporting female characters hold their own against their male counterparts both intellectually and in combat. I must say it is refreshing to see those type of female characters being written and written well. Your characters are engaging even the villains, which do you enjoy writing more villain/ villainess or hero/heroines? 51
Thanks! This is a great question. I secretly like writing the villains more because I’m such a sweetie and good-doer in real life. All of my pent up “mean” energy needs to go somewhere, right? I also enjoy writing my villains as smart people. Bumbling, cartoony villains are boring--but a smart person, a calculating person, perhaps a person you could see yourself going out for a drink with--except she’s cold-blooded killer--is the type of villain that’s both scary and interesting. I found myself getting emotionally invested and really felt for Isabella as she went through her tumultuous journey. What is your favorite thing about her? I love Isabella’s resolve and independence. She really believes in what she stands for, and she’s not afraid to question or challenge things. She’s also human--she falls in love, she makes mistakes, she laughs and cries. The last book in the Trilogy Circadian Circle came out not to long ago, how does it feel to have a trilogy under your belt? It feels amazing! I am so happy I committed to writing these books. Every time a reader tells me they’ve enjoyed the series and even wished it were a movie, I’m left in awe. I remember writing stories as young as seven, so this is something that I love doing and that I’m passionate about. Will you be revisiting this world again? I don’t think I am ready to move on yet! I will! There’s no harm in dallying in the Gray Tower universe a while longer. What other works do you have out there right now and what projects are you currently working on? Can 52
you tell us a little bit about some of them? Where can we buy them? I’ve just published a short story with HDWP Books in their New Myths anthology. The theme of the collection is sharing mythology with our readers, whether completely created by ourselves or giving a twist to an older myth. My short story is called “The Black Dagger Gods,” which is reminiscent in some ways of American Gods. The anthology is available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. How do you juggle being a writer with being a mother and wife? It’s tough. I do a lot of writing at night after I put the kiddos to bed. I think it helps that my husband is very supportive and joins in on the creative process. Sometimes I’m great at balancing it all, and sometimes I’m lousy. When I’m lousy at it, I just remind myself to take a step back and get refocused. Bonus questions: When did you start writing stories? At the age of seven--they were detective stories. When I think about it, I wonder what the heck did I know about detectives and solving crimes at that age? When did you know you wanted to write professionally? In high school, when I became editor of my school’s newspaper. I went to college for journalism (with a short flirtation with biochemistry before running back into the English Writing program). What inspires you? People, events, songs, beauty...you name it. I take different things in life, different experiences, and draw from those.
Author Alesha Escobar Favorite music, movies, TV shows, books and why? My music taste is all over the place-R&B, Rock, Classical, etc. I’m also a huge fan of that a capella group, Pentatonix. Their skills are amazing! I enjoy watching Dr. Who, Sleepy Hollow, Lost (I will watch it over and over), and I just started watching Grimm. As for books, some of my favorites include The Dresden Files, Game of Thrones, and Wheel of Time series. I am a huge sci-fi & fantasy junkie--gimme more! Make sure to check out The Tower’s Alchemist (The Gray Tower Trilogy, #1) it is free to download at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. This definitely for readers who enjoy fun and smart writing with great characters a bit of magic and a world that will draw them in. This is definitely the book to get! If you love it don’t forget to check out the rest of the trilogy and Alesha’s other works. You can also follow her on her blog http://www. aleshaescobar.com where Alesha also does book reviews and author interviews. I for one cannot wait to see what Alesha Escobar has in store for us in the future!
Terence Ulrich ART: What is your earliest memory of creating? When did you know you wanted to be an artist? TU: My earliest memory of creating is in 3rd grade. I’ve always drawn for as long as I can remember but in 3rd grade the other kids would ask me to draw comic book covers for them, I guess I could duplicate them pretty well. In particular, I remember drawing an early X Men cover. It was an issue after the death of Thunderbird. Wolverine was a brand new character as well as Storm, Colossus and a few of the others. Reading comic books really motivated me to want to learn to draw. It was were I learned to draw figures. My mom bought me “How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way” by Stan Lee and John Buscema and I practiced the exercises in the book tirelessly. I have an early sketchbook from the mid-70’s with lots of superheroes, pirates and monsters. I liked discovering new artists and wanting to put my ideas for superheroes on paper that led me to drawing. Then in the early 80’s I fell in with the punk scene in Southern California and discovered underground artists like Raymond Pettibone, Pushead, and Mad Mark Rude. I thought “I can do that” and so I did. I designed tattoos, made flyers. Then people outside of the punk scene started asking me to do straightforward illustration work. I did some magazine covers for fanzines, radio programming guides and more. But it wasn’t like I wanted to be an artist it was just a progression of interests that really led me from one idea to another and having the desire and then developing the skill to put the idea down on paper.
of Southern California hasn’t influenced my art whatsoever. I’ve always compared the Inland Empire to an elephant graveyard but instead of elephants going to die, it’s culture. ART: I can see the influence of living near the ocean in your current work. Can you tell us more about the significance of the seaweed? TU: I’m working on a series of paintings that have to do with underwater images. Whether it’s taking something that doesn’t belong underwater or transforming something that lives underwater and transforming it into another type of life form, each painting will
ART: Where did you grow up and did it have an influence on your work? TU: The 1st 12 years of my life were in Indiana and Michigan. My parents divorced and my Mom moved my brother and I to Southern California in the early 80’s. My Aunt lived in Upland and that was were we ended up. My Mom and Step-Dad are still in Upland. The rest of my family, like most Americans is scattered around the country. Growing up in the Inland Empire 53
be “underwater”. I started surfing about 13 years ago and growing up in Indiana I lived on the shore of Lake Michigan, so large bodies of water have been in my life one way or another for as long as I can remember. The significance of the seaweed is my fascination with Kelp. When you see images of fish or divers in the kelp forests it looks ghostly and “other-wordly”. When you put a baby floating in a kelp forest it turns the whole thing a umbilical cord/womb type image. Especially if the baby doesn’t look like its in distress, just floating there enjoying the moment. It’s an accumulation of my surfing/ocean fascination and becoming a father. ART: What has been your favorite moment as an artist? Your most challenging? TU: There are so many favorite moments of being an artist. When I was told I should be an Illustrator by the Art Director of TV Guide and then he hired me a few weeks later as a freelancer. Being accepted into my 1st group show at La Luz De Jesus in LA on my 1st try. Even having someone just tell me they really like my work makes me happy. The most challenging part of being an artist is just finding the time to make art. Being a parent, helping to maintain a household, and life in general, can sometimes take away from important studio work. ART: Where can we see your work? Where can our readers buy your work? TU: You can see my work on Facebook: Terence Ulrich Art and my personal page: Terence Ulrich. Inquiries about purchasing my art can be made through Facebook. ART: Who are your favorite artists/biggest influences? TU: I have so many favorite artists that I couldn’t possibly name them all. Off the top of my head: Robert Williams, Mark Ryden, HR Giger, Todd Schorr, Albert
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Bierstadt, The Brothers Hildebrandt and many more. ART: What do you do besides create art? TU: Besides creating art, I’m a full time father to a 5 year old daughter. I am also a fitness instructor and teach a boot camp style class 4 days a week. I have way too much energy to sit for too long so I have to do something physically demanding nearly every day. I also surf as often as I can. My wife and I moved to Ventura from LA so we could surf more and drive to the beach less. Now I’m a 3 minute drive to my favorite surf break. I play a few instruments (ukulele and guitar) and plunk around on them, when and if, I can get free time. And sometimes I get to sketch out ideas in my sketchbook. I still get excited about a sketch that “comes together” and has potential to becoming a painting. ART: Favorite music, movies, television, books? TU: Favorite Music: I like the oldies: Wire, Sex Pistols, Gang of Four, The Stooges, Hendrix, VU, The Ramones. I like a lot of new music too: Diplo makes interesting sounds. Experimental music: Wolf Eyes, Nurse With Wound, Current 93, Panda Bear, Animal Collective. I’ve been a musician almost as long as I’ve drawn, so music is a big part of my creative process. Although when I paint sometimes I like to hear the birds outside of my studio door. Movies: anything with a body count. My brother and I are huge horror fans. Most of those types of movies are pretty dumb but I still love them. TV: Breaking Bad was nearly flawless. The Walking Dead is good. I usually hear about the shows everyone is raving about after the fact. Books: when I was young I read a lot of Charles Bukowski. In fact, he influenced my Bukowski Bunny series of paintings and drawings. ART: How would you describe your work? TU: I had a very neat, clean pen and ink style when I was younger. Pushead, Beardsley and Mad Mark Rude were big influences, but I always wanted to do color and experimented with color inks. I was never happy with the results and stuck with black and white line work. When I
moved to LA I started painting in a folk art/American tattoo style and thought my early pieces were pretty successful. I also managed to incorporate that into my illustration work. I think I was one of a few illustrators in the late 90’s using an American Tattoo style in illustration. Then I started doing collage type work and combining that with painted images. Which was a style I stuck with for a few years. Moving to Ventura and getting away from the peeling billboards of LA I wanted a cleaner, tighter look to my paintings and that’s pretty much where I’m at now. I’m also obsessed with getting that translucent “glow” that you can only get through glazing. For me, its all about the technique. ART: What can we expect next from you? TU: In the future I’m going to be shopping around my Underwater series and trying to finish it. Look for more images to pop up on Facebook. Thank you.
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DANIEL STONE
ART:Where did you grow up? Did your upbringing influence your art? DS: I was born in Inglewood, but I grew up in Hollywood. I was always surrounded by eccentric people who were always putting on a show. Meanwhile, I was an intensely bookish shut-in that spent more time observing than participating, so I gained an appreciation for larger than life personalities and exaggerated theatricality. ART:When did you know you wanted to be an artist? DS: Didn’t realize I had a choice. I was always drawing. ART: Biggest influences in art? DS: Schizophrenics, fashionistas, bad movies, conspiracy theories, dirty alleys, crime. ART: Favorite artist/art genre/art medium? DS: For the longest time I thought Glenn Barr was tapping into my brain and telegraphing onto canvas exactly what I wanted to see. Now I’m into Lyonel Feininger for his shape theory and fashion blogs for random variables. ART: How would you describe your art to someone who has never seen it before? DS: Unfocused.
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ART: Where can we find and buy your art? DS: I suppose this is when I start scrambling to figure out how to get a store up online. For now, people just send me personal messages and I work it out with them. ART: What do you do in your spare time? DS: Build rockets to help me escape the gravitational pull of social media. Write word-salad. ART: What can we expect from you in the future? DS: Either more art or another crazy nut living in an RV keeping an eye out for government spooks. Odds are 50/50 at this point. ART: Most exciting moment so far? Most difficult? DS: Leaving my career to pursue personal work. Leaving my career to pursue personal work. ART: Where do your ideas come from? DS: Let me tell you about this warehouse in New Jersey.... ART: Is there a general message that you’re conveying through your pieces? DS: Pursuit of perfection is a slow poison. ART: If we could walk around in your mind, what would we see? DS: Hopefully some pretty cool shit. Ignore the sex smell.
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Pictures stolen from Daniel’s instagram.
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Patrick Murillo
ART: How did you come into creating Dia de los Muertos based art? PM: Being exposed to it from childhood, trips to Mexico, local festivals. Inspired by the artist Posada. Easy transition. I recently learned I was conceived on Halloween night - the start of Dia de los Muertos, I think I was destined! Halloween and Dia de los Muertos season has always been my favorite. As a kid, my very first toy from Mexico was a skeleton playing a trumpet. ART: Your work is so vibrant. How do you come up with your color palette for each piece?
PM: Anything goes! It’s all about contrast. If you can attract a bee with your work, you are doing the right thing. I’m always looking for new colors, I recently discovered neons!! ART: When did you decide to become an artist? PM: I’ve been one since birth! All throughout my life, I’ve used my artistic talents in some way, whether drawing Virgin of Guadalupe pictures for my nana, or the company newsletter logo to designing shirts and more. But consciously, but it kicked in when we needed to make money for our family. I learned art was a way for me to 59
bring in income, as well as express myself. ART: What are the mediums you work in? What type of work do you create? PM: All types, anything goes - painting, sculpture, paper mache, woodworking, carving, collage. All of it! ART: What’s your favorite kind of work to create? PM: Shadow boxes and sculptures because I can create a tiny world that comes to life. ART: The visual arts are not the only art you create in. Can you tell us about your music? PM: I’ve always played music or was in school band as a kid then I grew up and took a trip to Jamaica and got turned on to reggae. Launched the Rastafarmers in 1988 and haven’t stopped since. I write original songs, plus play covers. Reggae from an Arizona chicano point of view. ART: How does being married to another extremely creative person help your own creativity? PM: The ideas soundboard off each other, the advantage of being turned on to new experiences, tools and techniques, artists and opinions, especially from the women’s point of view! It helps round out my art and everything I do and vice versa. ART: Favorite music to create to? Favorite movies, TV shows, books? PM: Ancient Aliens! Anything historical or sci fi on TV, music, reggae and oldies, traditional mariachi music gets me going, cumbia too! ART: What has been your favorite moment as an artist? PM: When we had a huge exhibit at The Heard Museum. It was always something what I wanted to do and we did it. We still get feedback on that show to this very day and that was in 2008! ART: What has been your most challenging moment as an artist? PM: At the national craft convention a few years ago. I was supposed to demo to hundreds of people and my supplies didn’t arrive. I had to come up with a new idea and supplies right there on the spot. Luckily other artists there came to the rescue and helped me!
ART: How does your culture affect your work? PM: The brightness of color is a direct reflection of my culture. It’s in all I do, it adds the flavor. ART: You have such a creative family! What a blessing! Can you tell us what that’s like? PM: It’s like cooking five different stews at the same time! Something is happening in each corner of the house at the same time. Lots of “Guess what!?”
ART: Where can we find your work/buy your work? http://craftychica.etsy.com or http://facebook.com/mantasticartist PM: What can we expect to see from you in the future? You can see some of my drawings in my wife’s product line at Michaels this fall, more music, and I’m currently working on a New Orleans line of Dia de los Muertos paintings. 61
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