Illustration by Dane Forst
Copyright Š 2015 by Project Oh! All Rights reserved. All of the work shown in this issue of Project Oh! Magazine was donated by the artists themselves for use in this issue and is not to be redistributed or reprinted without their consent. We would again like to thank everyone who submitted work and participated in the creation of this issue. For more information on specific artists or information on contributing to this magazine in future issues, please contact jeremy@projectoh.com or visit our website at projectoh.com. Sponsorship information is available at projectoh.com/sponsors for persons, businesses, or organizations who are interested in supporting the production of this magazine by way of ad space or donation.
123456 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Project Oh! is an art collaborative consisting of local artists in the Kern County area. The goal of Project Oh! is to add to our art community by providing opportunities for local artists to collaborate, share their work and learn from/inspire one another. As part of our efforts, we work to produce a quarterly publication featuring work that represents the creative conjurings of our community. Our challenge is to come up with different ideas that help showcase different types of artists, styles and art forms that may not be readily represented locally.
EDITOR’S NOTE
We collect submissions from illustrators, photographers, graphic designers, creative writers, makeup artists, fashion designers, costume designers, mask makers and so on. Basically, we are interested in every part of the creative process and if we can find a way to work it into one of our projects, we will. We encourage people to get involved by submitting work or proposing project ideas, following us via our website and social media, attending events and workshops, or by letting us know about projects you are working on or projects that you think might need more attention.
Our team is made up of volunteers that donate their time and resources when available to help keep our project growing and moving forward. Our objectives aren’t to make money. Any money we do raise goes back into investing in our ongoing projects For more information about project oh!, check out our website at projectoh.com or follow “projectoh” on facebook, twitter or instagram. For further inquiries, send emails to info@projectoh.com
ISSUE #7 - COLLECTIONS VOL I
special Features
Featured Artists
Jaimie Cooter.................................8 Chuck 1.......................................32 Kevin Gardner..............................34 Alex CastaĂąeda............................54 Hayden Keene.............................56 Aileth Bran..................................78
Submissions By
Kendall Kay.................................12 Nicole Patino................................13 Nimakk (Albert Vargas)................17 Bailey Lane..................................18 Jorge Guillen...............................19 Dane Forst...................................23 Jose Lemus..................................38 Alexandra Ortiz...........................39 Stefanie Olsen.............................52 Troy Brown..................................53 Sarah Smith.................................66 Morgan Tomfohr..........................67 Jeremy James..............................68 Gabbi Steiger...............................72 Jaimie Contereras........................76
Rusty Hatfield (pg.14) Illustrations
Youth Art Month (pg.40) Gallery of Student Artwork
Figure Drawing 2015 (pg.24)
Poems By
Saige White..................................13 Chyna Jade Parker.......................22
A look at some of the work done during 2015 figure drawing sessions.
Comics by Erwin Ledford (pg.20) Comics
Jamie Cooter
Concrete by Saige White
They always speak of green pastures, and quiet, flowing streams. But every time I think I’m there, I wake up from that dream. I look around and see I’m in a jungle of cold concrete. And it’s stationary. And it’s moving. and it’s on all four sides of me. But dwelling all inside my mind is that quiet, flowing stream. And my imagination builds a pasture out of that cold concrete. I cloud my saddened vision with a dream I wish was real. And make it my reality till the world I no more feel. But like that dream, I awake, and the masking fades away. And the shades of green and bright blue waters slowly seize to grey. Until alas i come to find that deep inside of me the illusion of a beating heart was really cold concrete. It’s not the world in which I find the meadows bearing green. It’s not the rivers of this earth i find my quiet streams. A heart of stone cannot see the places called to seek. The place I desire most to dwell first must dwell in me.
RUSTY HATFIELD
“We Are Groot” Omarvel/KG/NIMAK Collaboration
Illustration by Dane Forst
FIGURE DRAWING Figure drawing is an age old tradition. It is a study of the human form going back to some of the earliest known cave paintings and has been the basis for some of the most well known works of art to this day, such as Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” Having a solid understanding of the human figure is an important asset for any artist, but it takes practice and dedication. So, in November
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of 2014 we teamed up with Alex Castañeda of Caffeine Heroes to host regular figure drawing sessions at our Project Oh! Studio to give local artists an opportunity to improve their proficiency in human anatomy. November 8th, 2014 marked our inaugural session with Mari Calderon, who graciously sat in as our first model. After receiving a good turnout and a lot of positive feedback
following our first two sessions we decided to make it a monthly activity. In 2015, we had a total of 11 sessions, one of which was costume drawing. We were fortunate to have a variety of models and some great artwork to show from it. The following artwork is just a small sample from the year by a few of our frequent attendees. To see more figure
drawings visit us online at projectoh.com/figuredrawing Our workshops will continue throughout 2016 during the last Saturday of each month. Additional sessions will be added based on participation. Be sure to check our calendar or add us on facebook for updated times and dates. Or sign up for our newsletter to be notified of upcoming drawing events and information.
Artwork by DJ Chuck 1 My name is Charles Garcia, I go by the names DJ Chuck 1 and C1. I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I used to draw Bboys, tanks, helicopters, totem poles, Transformers, Voltron, monsters from Scooby Doo, etc… I got into graffiti and graffiti art in the 90’s, and I’ve always been a fan of anime. My style is a fusion of my greatest influences, anime and hip hop. For these recent pieces, I decided to go the digital route, due to time constraints from being too busy with visual effects and editing projects. I decided to combine my art with what I do musically, and make my own renditions of 32
album covers of some of my favorite singles. The drawings for this set, I did traditionally, simply using a bic pen and paper for the sketch, and then scan them in and color them in with photoshop. My passions are graffiti and anime. Working with spray paint and acrylic are my typical “go to” mediums. My favorite artists are Futura (formerly Futura 2000,) Sam Flores, She 1, Mr. Jago, Dave Kinsey, Phil Frost, Twist One/ Barry Mcgee, Fafi, Ms. Van, Will Barras, and countless anime movies. I might add, music is a big influence in what I do, visually, as well. Including DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, DJ Cam, DJ Vadim,
Nightmares On Wax, Tigercide, Massive Attack, Tricky, etc… I believe the importance of art is to give back and inspire people. Inspire them to be creative in whatever it is they are into. To leave people with the feeling of, “I can’t believe I know someone who could do this is nice also.” LOL! I’m a very humble person, I don’t take anything for granted, I push for excellence and professionalism in everything I do, part of being a scorpio I guess. And hope people become more creative or motivated thru their experience with what I do. The community needs to be strong, and become much more united than it is, in order to bring about the greater good in all things. The more we bicker amongst ourselves over
trivial disputes, the more divided we become as a people and the less we can accomplish. And I believe this theory holds true in all situations, and as artists as well. You can find me online at: c1art.wordpress.com instagram.com/djchuck1 or facebook.com/charles.d.garcia Continue to do what you do, push forward, help others, do your best not to burn bridges, you never know when you’ll need a helping hand or a friend. Be creative in all that you do. Doesn’t need to be art, needs to be whatever it is you enjoy. Much love people. Peace!
KEVIN GARDNER 35
KEVIN GARDNER 37
José Lemus “Me da tres de asada porfa.” Media: Mixed media
Alex Ortiz “Trump Piñata” Acrlyic on Canvas
youth art month The following series of pieces was photographed at The Younger Gallery during the Youth Art Month exhibition which takes place each year during the month of March. The Youth Art Month is a national event administered by The Counsel for Art Education (CFAE) that includes festivities that support art education, safety, and quality art programs for students as early as kindergarten and up to senior level high school students. The Kern County contribution comes in the form of an art show managed by Hank Washington and Rita Torres in conjunction with The Younger Art gallery. This particular show marks the last for Hank due to retirement but will be continued by Rita as they seek to continue their valued relationship with The Younger Gallery. Each piece is selected and submitted by teachers on the student’s behalf. The show itself contains some very impressive work by young artists. This show was recommended to us by Tanya Darapiza from the Art Council of Kern (ACK). Tanya has helped coordinate many projects managed by ACK including the well-known First Friday Art Walk that takes place during 5pm-9pm in downtown Bakersfield on the Friday of every month.
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Supporting Young Artists We wholeheartedly believe that promoting a culture of art is extremely important in any community. And one of the most important facets of supporting this community is to nurture young creative minds and provide for them as many opportunities to express and develop their art. We are very happy to see that such opportunities are alive and well, and we hope to do our part in providing more. In this instance we wanted to share some of our favorite pieces and share them with a different audience that might not have had a chance to see the show, or might not know that it even exists. The Artwork There were a lot of pieces to choose from. We focused on ones that we thought would fit best in this issue alongside some of the other artwork that had already been submitted. These are the pieces in the order they appear: Ethan Petty Bakersfield High School “Internal Contrast” Jaime Kim Stockdale High School “Jellyfish”
Devin J. Garcia-Scott Bakersfield High School “Color Spice” Mia Rios Liberty High School “The Outlier” Madeline Romans-Kroll Centennial High School “Juicy” Samuel Rodriquez Liberty High School “Patience of a Flame” Cherie Reyes Bakersfield High School “Color Me: Self-portrait with Rabbit” Nicole Lowrie Highland High School “Colleen” Mikey Vibal Garces Memorial “Starstruck” Jessica Tessandori Bakersfield High School “Mettaton EX” Rachael Keene Centennial High School “Dreamer” The Younger Gallery is located at: 1430 Truxtun Ave, Ste 105 Bakersfield, CA
Stefanie Olsen Acrylic on Canvas
Troy Brown Assorted Digital Paintings
“American Dream’’ Alex Castañeda Markers and Color Pencil On Sketchbook
Top Left: Stefanie Olsen Top Right: Gabbi Steiger Bottom Left: Dane Forst
HAYDEN
KEENE
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Hey, Tell us a little bit about yourself. I’m 25. Working as an EMT right now. I’ve been drawing and making art for as long as I can remember. My mom is very artistic and always encouraged me to create; she’s a huge inspiration for me. I grew up primarily in Sacramento, then spent 4 years in northern Utah; I’ve been in Bakersfield for about 12 years. As far as interests, it’s the usual responses haha: art, music, movies, video games. How would you describe your style? For the past year or so I’ve been focusing on the linework and stippling illustrations. It’s very time consuming, but gives me a lot of control over what I’m doing. I enjoy it, and it’s very rewarding when a piece is finally completed. Outside of that style, I enjoy painting and sculpting. I used to do a lot with colored pencils, and I dabbled in digital illustration and graphic design as well. What inspired you to get into art? It’s always been second nature for me. I used to sit and draw for hours. My mom had a bunch of art books that I would look through, or we would go to the library to check out kids books; I would usually pick them based on the illustrations. How long have you been creating? There were a few periods of time that I took a break from creating anything, and I always had to kick myself whenever I got back into it. I would think “why did you stop drawing or painting? You enjoy it, you idiot.” What are your passions? Favorite Styles? My passions are just taking in and experiencing all different kinds of art. I love looking through the bodies of work of other visual artists, or finding new musicians to listen to. Honestly, my greatest passion is just to keep creating. If I could make whatever I wanted, all day, every day, and not have to work a day job, I would be living the dream. Who are your favorite artists? Oh geez. Too many to count haha. The etching style of illustration has always been my favorite. It has extremely dynamic use of lighting and shadows. Gustave Dore is very well known for his etchings, primarily those for “The Divine Comedy”, but he was also an incredibly talented painter, sculpter, and cartoonist. He is a huge inspiration. In the same vein of etching and woodcuts, there is also Goya and Durer.
I’m a huge fan of the darker, macabre, and surreal themes. Chet Zhar and Ayami Kojima are some of my favorite contemporary artists. I definitely suggest checking them out. Another contemporary inspiration would be Mike Mignola, most known for the Hellboy comics. He has a great eye for contrasting limited color palettes with pitch black shadows. His drawing style may be considered “simple”, but you can’t deny the visual impact of each scene. Why do you think art is important? Humans have been creating art for as long as we’ve been around. Everything you see that was created by someone is a piece of art. Someone had a vision in their mind, and they used their passion to bring it to life. Architecture, clothing, tools, and traditional art are born out of creative vision. The same goes for music and oral language. If no one created anything, that would be the end of our race. I know that might sound contrite or cliche, but i feel like that’s the truth. Why do you think strengthening the community is important? Well, not every town can be the gigantic art hubs you see in larger cities, but there are creative people everywhere. I’ve heard people say “there just isn’t a big focus on art here” and then a month later hear “oh wow, there are so many talented people here, they just don’t know about one another”. I think it’s important to cultivate the creative community regardless of where you live, because the creative people will always be there. Getting those people together is a wonderful thing. Where can we follow your work or contact you? I mostly post my art on Instagram. I don’t have a website or blog. My primary account is @haydenisadick. I realized that the name isn’t the most marketable, haha, so I also have @foxfingersart; that’s the name that I’ll be using for shops and what not. As for contacting, I’m using foxfingersart@gmail.com Anything else you’d like people to know about you? I’m always up to meet new people and artists. Still haven’t gotten to do a big collab with someone, but I’ve always been interested. Every once in a while it is nice to get some people together to draw or paint and eat food, so hit me up if you’re interested!
JESUS FIDEL
Jesus Fidel was born in Long Beach, CA and moved to Bakersfield at age 5. A passion for art, theatre, and helping people led him to The Empty Space where he has been the Gallery Director for over 5 years curating more than 60 art shows.
determination to to make his own visual statement. “If I had to label my style of artwork, the closest thing that I can think of would be expressionistic.” Fidel’s desire seems to have lead him in the right direction as his pieces carry a unique and vibrant style of their own.
Jesus has been in a number of art shows himself, which showcase his distinct bold and colorful style. “I’m obsessed with using crazy wild colors, and I love to use black. (Thank you college art teacher who said black is a ‘no,no’).” His love for Van Gogh sparked his
Between curating art shows, painting, volunteering, and working on various other projects, Jesus keeps his plate quite full. “I enjoy staying busy and productive and I’m always wanting to be creating things.” And when it comes to creating,
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The Empty Space has been one of the most consistent, bridging theatre and gallery art together to create a strong community.
“I think The Empty Space is important because it gives the community somewhere to go where they can learn. When I started as Gallery Director, I knew zero about curating. But through hard work and determination, I was able to use the tools that TES gave me to become great at my job. And that applies to anyone, if anyone comes to us in the community and wants to
get into acting, painting, set building, or tech, all they have to do is show us that they are passionate about learning, and we will do our best to teach and lead them in the right direction.” To see more from Jesus visit JesusFidel.com or follow him on social media: facebook.com/jesus.fidel.5 IG @jfidel82 www.esonline.org
“Untitl3d” Sarah Smith Digital Painting
Jeremy James Acrylic on Wood
“Dinner Time” Gabbi Steiger Ink and Gouache
“Erriss” Gabbi Steiger Pen and Digital
ALEX CASTAĂ‘EDA Alex is an artist, former art student, and art teacher from Peru. An interest in the digital arts took him on a path through art school where he discovered his passion for traditional mediums such as oil painting and pen/ink. After getting married to his wife Diana, Alex moved to the US to pursue his artistic endeavours as he started a new chapter in his life which included becoming a father. We met Alex in 2014 after seeing a piece online that he did for the wife of local photographer Robert Bejil. It was an illustration for a business that was being started, but you could tell right away that there was something special behind the artist who created it. After learning that the artist was actually living in Bakersfield, we reached out to him and told him about the projects that we were developing. Being a passionate art lover, he was immediately interested in joining our mission and provided us with some awesome artwork and enthusiasm along the way.
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Now, over two years later we have had the pleasure of hosting regular figure drawing and costume drawing workshops together. In doing so, we’ve been able to cultivate a talented and dedicated group of artists that helps to inspire us and other fellow artists. More recently, we have begun experimenting with instructional art lessons in traditional painting as well as digital illustration and painting techniques. We will look to add more opportunities to provided guidance and education in the creative field along with opportunities to meet other local artists. For more information on classes that we are offering, visit our website at projectoh.com/classes. For more information about Alex Castaùeda, you can visit his website at www.iamalexxx.com or follow him on social media: IG @iamalexxxcastaneda
AILETH BRAN
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