2005 Flashback. B/W Bangers 2.

Autumn is definitely upon us, especially here in Maine with the vibrant foliage blazing across the landscape. I am really excited to begin work on my annual Black & White Series of Illustrations. This year will be MWM B/W B:6 (Black & White Bangers. Volume 6). In the last few weeks I've enjoyed flipping through my extensive Archive, and plotting on how I will approach this new series with a different narrative and new set of tools and supplies. It has always been, and always will be, 100% hand drawn/painted art. A way for me to continue exploring analog art and trying new things that I don't get to try in my other art and design endeavors. With each series, I intentionally limit myself to a unique set of supplies and consistent paper size. B/W Bangers 1 was strictly Sharpie on index cards. B/W Bangers 2 (Pictured above) was larger illustrations that forced me to figure out different ways to build texture and depth without shading. B/W Bangers 3 celebrated mixed wet/dry inks and paints. B/W Bangers 4 further explored these techniques and narrative. B/W Bangers 5 (Last Winter) was made with black and white inks and greyscale Prismacolor Markers. For Bangers 6 I am still undecided on the parameters. In an attempt to be different from the past few years, it will either be white ink/paint on black paper, OR I will return to the basics. A Pencil, an Eraser, 2 Sharpies, and a slew of new ideas. Stay tuned in the coming months for previews of the series as it evolves. It will be a blast! Click-Zoom.

Draw Your Face Off.

I'll be participating in an awesome "Live Art" Group-Show this Friday at SPACE Gallery here in Portland, Maine. DRAW YOUR FACE OFF is organized by my good friends at Pine Haven Collective. Artists: Katrine Hildebrandt-Hussey, Jenny Dougherty, Jackie Dubois, Peter Hussey, Matt W. Moore, Ty Williams, Martha Miller, Kimmy Convery, Clint Fulkerson, Beth Kleene, Mike Francis and more. It will be a lot of fun!

San Francisco & The East Bay.

NYC Group Show. Bespoken Hands.

My friend UPSO was the curator for a cool BESPOKEN Group-Show during NYC Fashion Week. The Expo (And current Bespoken Line Preview) took place at the NYC Museum of Art & Design. Five of us (Fumi Nakamura, Dan Funderburgh, Nick Tassone, Baskew, and Myself) were asked to create artworks that portrayed hands, as Bespoken is handmade Cut & Sew Fashion. I was in Boston at the time, so I photographed my good friend (Prodigy Fashion Designer) Jenna Rivers hands holding a large pair of her shears. Then I illustrated it with vectors, and used scans of various textiles and linens to add life to the shapes. Make sure to Click-Zoom to see the finer details. Big Thanks to UPSO, Faesthetic, Bespoken, and The NYC Museum of Art & Design. Good Times!

Seattle Phase 1. The Big Picture.

Seattle Phase 2. A Closer Look.

Featured. The Book of Inspiration.

"The Book of Inspiration is a new luxury volume from the makers of Computer Arts Magazine, featuring 192 pages of the world’s very best Digital Art, Design and Illustration." Honored to be featured in this book. Big UP to the good folks at CA. *On Newsstands now.

Washington Backcountry.

EL-P Concert Poster.

As all of my friends know, I am a huge fan of NYC Hip Hop, especially forward thinking cats like Definitive Jux. Since the late 90's I've been grabbing every album the label drops and sharing it with folks I'm stuck in traffic with on a daily basis. So it was a huge honor to work with EL-P, the labels founder (and one of the best rappers ever) on this Limited Edition Concert Poster for his upcoming show here in Portland, Maine (ASYLUM. October 8th). This will be his first time playing Maine, so lets rally and show him what's up in the most mysterious state. Also performing: The Mighty Quinn, Yak Ballz, B Dolan, Brzowski & Agent 8. Really psyched for this show. Mark your calendars. Click-Zoom.

※ GLYPH CUE. Fall/Winter 2009.

YES! After many months of hard work, GLYPH CUE FW09 Hoodies are here. The Website is updated, The Online Store is dialed, and Stockists will be receiving shipments next week. As with all of our lines, we have gone with a dedicated color palette, so FW09 is a celebration of Greens (SS09 was Blues, and SS10 will be ____). We kicked it up a notch and went with 4 Colors for each chest graphic, and an oversized left-wrist logo hit on each piece. The hoodies are super heavyweight to keep you warm as Autumn creeps in. And the graphics are next level, I am very pleased with how they turned out. True to our name "Glyph Cue" each design has a hidden narrative or cryptic message that requires you to spend a few minutes deciphering it. Really psyched! Swing through and check it out. And please tell your favorite local shop to be in touch so we can get on the racks at the best boutiques!
※ GLYPH CUE - MWM Mosaic. *My personal favorite.
※ GLYPH CUE - Solar System Map. *Yes... It's a Map!
※ GLYPH CUE - Chisel Ribbon. *Look close. G-L-Y-P-H-C-U-E.
※ GLYPH CUE - Clockwise Mandala. *Keep it moving forward.

Mega-Mural. São Paulo, Brazil.

I posted a photo of this MWM-Mega-Mural being painted in Sao Paulo, Brazil a couple weeks ago. Here's a shot of the finished production. It is part of a bigger ROJO project called Urban Stage Sao Paulo. Interesting backstory too... A few years ago the city completely banned Outdoor Advertising. No Billboards. No Bus Stops. Nada. But Street Art thrives in Sao Paulo, so ROJO coordinated a "Public Art Intervention" with 7 Artists (Tony de Marco, Eltono, Ovni, Nuria Mora, Superblast, Tofer, and Myself) creating artworks that were painted Extra-Large throughout the city. I can't wait to return to SP and see it in real life. Cheers to ROJO for constantly raising the bar! Click-Zoom.
*View the Original Painting from my Parallel Universe Series.

J+L Poster. Joanne & Linsey.

A fun commission I worked on last week for a woman named Joanne from the UK. She and her partner Linsey are fans of my Vectorfunk work and wanted a custom poster designed with J-L camouflaged into a vibrant Op-Art jam. Cheers ladies. Enjoy! Click-Zoom.

Hex Series. Process Shot #5.

Still grinding on my Hexagon Series. Here's another process shot of 1 of 11 canvases. This Series has forced me to turn over a new leaf with the way I work on paintings. I am nowhere near done, and six months deep already. I expect to spend A Year+ on them, adding more and more layers and details. Five years ago, when I was painting canvases everyday, I had a hard time letting days pass without touching unfinished work. Now with this Series, weeks go by without physically working on them, but I stare at them everyday and think about what I should do next. With everything going on in my Studio lately, It's nice to have a Series that is always simmering but never boiling. The perfect Sunday afternoon project. Click-Zoom.

GOOGLE. Logo Explorations.

I recently had the pleasure of working with TCH on this series of Google Logo Treatments. As you probably already know, Google is a brand that is constantly rethinking and rebranding itself with playful and date-specific logos (Halloween Costumes, Christmas Santas, Eclipsing Moon). With this exploration I went for an abstracted vibe (Molecular structures, Simplified Shapes, Interlocking Lines) but kept the distinct color palette. It is awesome how much color plays into branding. Even when the wordmark is hard to decipher, the colors do the heavy lifting. Identity is an area of Design that always gets my synapses firing. A really fun project to work on. Thanks Bill!

How'd They Do That?

The process of shaping a Surfboard and applying the graphic is fascinating. There are some cool photos on The Almond Blog. My favorite part is how the design becomes one with the board. The artwork is printed on rice paper and then when the fiberglass is laid onto it, the stuff is so potent that it literally eats the paper, leaving only the ink on the board surface. Awesome!

MWM X Almond : The 4 Elements Series.

I am very excited to share news of my latest product collaboration: MWM X Almond : The 4 Elements Series. We've been working all Summer on this set of Almond Lumberjack Long Surfboards. When the boards arrived last week I was floored, they look and feel amazing.
After brainstorming and sketching, I set out to create artwork that celebrates Nature, The Cycles of The Sea, Symmetry, Balance, and The 4 Elements (Fire, Earth, Water, Air). Much of what I’ve seen from the awesome history of Surf Art is quite organic and toned down, so I decided to dial it up a notch with the colorways, while still maintaining a grounded vibe. *These Boards will get noticed at the beach!
Big Thanks to Almond Surfboards and Corduroy Boutique. It has been an honor to work with all of you on this project. Definitely a highlight of my Summer. More Photos/Info/Sales. Click-Zoom.
"In ancient times, considerable note was made of understanding The 4 Elements, for these were considered the building bricks of the Universe, and hence many believed that these were also part of the basic structure of themselves." - J. Shell 1981