Where do I begin! Four months ago I left for the #AstaArtTour.
A large scale job in Lincoln, Nebraska took me out of San Francisco, California on an epic journey of travel, murals and production. I left for Lincoln in the middle of February 2016 with the end goal, four months into the future, of Memphis Tennessee... and its all because social media.
I met a fellow artist and now good friend, Eric Clausen, about eight years ago in NYC. We were both struggling artists living in Brooklyn, NY trying to find ways to make some extra money during the Holiday season. We both got a part time job at a company called Plant Fantasies. Every year, Plant Fantasies is one of only a handful of companies in NYC that gears up and sets out to adorn and decorate Manhattan in an epic display of Christmas wreaths, trees and lights galore. If you walk by a lobby or shop in Manhattan around Christmas time, I guarantee you Plant Fantasies is responsible for the display. Anyways, Eric and I met there and as we untangled Christmas lights and color coded ornaments, we become fast arty friends. A few years after our short lived Plant Fantasies career, we both moved on to other cities; me in San Francisco, Eric in Memphis. When Eric saw a post of mine, stating that I would be traveling around the United States making murals, he reached out with the invitation to roll through Memphis if timing worked for me. I gleefully was intrigued and he got me in touch with Birdcap, a Memphis based Muralist and Artist. Birdcap offered me up a spot on a rotating exterior mural located at the Crosstown Arts Gallery. The timing of my turn on the wall wouldn't be until early June 2016 which meant in between Lincoln and Memphis I had approx 3 months to travel and make art/murals. During that time I visited NYC twice, Boston and Chicago twice. Ending in Memphis was an appropriate conclusion to this leg of my art tour due to the fact that through social media and my connection through Eric, I got the bulk of my gigs along the way. Like a healthy virus, art and connections and social media can travel and spread extremely fast if the combinations are fitting. Thank you Eric, Birdcap, Crosstown Arts, and Memphis for having me and concluding a monumental journey.
BEFORE SHOT. THE GALLERY IS TWO DOORS DOWN ON THIS BLOCK.
PROGRESS SHOT IN THE HOT SUN.
END OF FIRST DAY PROGRESS SHOT.
THE SECOND DAY WAS LONG AND HOT!
A FUN SHOT ERIC TOOK AT THE END OF THE SECOND DAY.
FINAL SHOT (RIGHT ANGLE).
FINAL SHOT (LEFT ANGLE).
LOVE THIS SHOT BY http://amurica.com/. IT REALLY CAPTURES HOW HAPPY I AM TO BE DONE WORKING IN THE HOT SUN!