2012 Art Attack Fredericksburg

September 8, 2012 marked the first annual "Art Attack Fredericksburg" event.  Local and regional artists took to the sidewalks of Caroline and William streets, set up their own outdoor studio, and created art for all to see.  Visitors watched as artists sketched, painted, created sculptures and pottery pieces. In addition, live performances by belly dancers and musicians added to the street scene.  After the day's tour of duty, the artists attended a picnic hosted by LibertyTown Arts Workshop.

Conceived by Bill Harris and Gabriel Pons, the mission of Art Attack is to show how incredibly rich this area is with talented artists and to showcase them doing what they do best.  Art Attack recruits included as many as 60 artists ranging in ages 13 to gracefully gray.  Below are just a handful of photographs from the day.  To find out more about Art Attack Fredericksburg, visit the Facebook Page.  There is also a video piece on Art Attack on Fredericksburg Live.com.

Urban Decay 3: Opening Reception June 2, 2012

Saturday June 2 marked the opening night of "Urban Decay 3" at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia.  This is the third year of "Urban Decay" and PONSHOP is excited to be one of the sponsors for the opening reception.  The evening kicked off with an art talk including Kenny Brown, RSIN, James Walker, and Gabriel Pons.  The reception included live music by Lightspeed Rescue and Shade Parade as well as demonstrations by Jesse Brown, Carlos Aguilar, and Kenny Brown.  Artists HSK 181, Gregg Deal and Asad ULTRA Walker collaborated on murals in the outdoor quad area, with each canvas being raffled off at the end of the evening. Special thanks to Deb Yarrington and Amy Lust of the Workhouse Arts Center for their curatorial, promotional, and organizational expertise.  Also a big shout out to All City Print and Design as well as the Urban Decay 3 volunteers who kept the evening's events running smoothly.  Urban Decay 3 runs through June 24.

"Illumination" Video Sequence

httpv://youtu.be/G7VEy9G81Z0

Here's the follow up to the photos posted last month while I was working on this commissioned painting for Hartwood Presbyterian Church.  The piece, titled "Illumination" now hangs in the Fellowship Hall of the church.  Thanks Hartwood Presbyterian Church for the opportunity and thanks to my assistant, Jeff Gulick for helping me install the three panels.  Special Thanks to our Spring 2012 intern, Chris Stuart, for editing the video footage.

"First Friday" Live Painting Demo/Raffle

We're excited to announce that to celebrate July's First Friday Art Walk at PONSHOP, I'll be doing a live painting demonstration from 6:30-9:00 on Friday, July 2. Buy a raffle ticket for a chance to come home with the painting created that evening. Raffle Tickets ($5 ea. $20 for 5) can be purchased in advance at PONSHOP (712 Caroline Street) or via email: shop[at]ponshopstudio.com.

Open Paint Event

August 21, 2009: Agio Clothing and Spaghetti Project hosted an "Open Paint" event at the University Cafe a couple weeks ago. Three artists from the region (including myself) got their paint on for three hours while the crowd moved to the DJ sounds from Turnstyle (Richmond, VA). There was even a communal canvas going on which got visitors up on stage too. I apologize for the lack of pics - but hey I was busy working... To view more, click this link to FredPicture, a photo blog of the Fred-burg or hit up Agio's Blog.

Special thanks to all those who came out that night and watched, painted, and gave me a hand with all my stuff! Congrats to the Agio guys and Spaghetti Project as well as the other participating artists:

Sean Kelly ( Spark Plug Tattoo/Fredericksburg)
Jack Ladadi (VCU/Richmond)
Jeremy Gann (Liquid Air/Fredericksburg)

Jack Ladadi's piece (click to enlarge)

The truly "Open Canvas" - painted on by many throughout the night...

Jeremy Gann's cityscape included some LED action too...

I did up this collage piece that night and it's hanging at the University Cafe for the month of September:
"Grasshopper #1", Mixed Media on Canvas, 24"x36" $275.

"FRESH" Workshop: May 28, 2009

May 28, 2009: I gave a Street Art Workshop at the Torpedo Factory to wrap up the month's "FRESH" exhibition at the Target Gallery. Below is an account of how the afternoon's project went. After the workshop, I participated in a round table discussion with Cory Stowers of Words Beats & Life and fellow artist Marissa Botelho about contemporary graffiti.

9 Door panels were donated to the target gallery for the project - one side included this "Exploit" graffiti piece.The other side of the doors were tagged up - this was to be our canvas...

Moments before the workshop began: Max and Jeff help keep things running smoothly...

The content of our collage was based on the life and legacy of civil rights hero Charles Houston - represented here in a 30"x40" cardboard stencil.

Students layered the existing panels using collage images and text and applying them with wheat paste.

As the panels filled with imagery, other students cut stencils.

6 Panels were taken outdoors to be hit up with spray paint and stencils.

I gave a brief demonstration on techniques and safety tips for using spray paint.

Students then took turns applying spray paint to their stencil designs.

After the panel discussion, participants were encouraged to tag the walls outside of the gallery.

The completed mural on display (click image to enlarge).

Some details (click image to enlarge).

Special thanks to the staff at the Target Gallery and Torpedo Factory. Thanks especially to the participating students for their enthusiasm and hard work. Scarlett and I also want to thank our PONSHOP crew - Jeff Gulick and Max Harvey for their help in assisting us that day.

Five Years: LibertyTown Arts Workshop

May 17, 2008 LibertyTown Arts Workshop celebrated its five-year anniversary this past weekend with a Friday Night Gala and a Saturday Open House. We were a bit too busy during Friday's Gala to shoot any photos, but Scarlett managed to snap a few pics during Saturday's event. Thanks to all of you who came out for the anniversary to support Fredericksburg's largest fine art facility.

The Spinners and Weavers Guild set up this big woven spiderweb for the kids.

LibertyTown Founder Dan Finnegan (right) and friends of LibertyTown.

A scavenger hunt was set up for visiting children to explore all of the artists' studios...

Painter Rob Landeck demonstrated his blues-inspired painting techniques.

Bill Harris in his studio: oil painting on canvas.
Scarlett demonstrated her ceramic skills that afternoon as well...

Tiffany Yates held down her mother's art studio and demonstrated her clay hand building skills.

There was a Wood Turning Demo in the garden during the afternoon.

Here's a sequence of the mural I initiated that weekend on the LibertyTown facade. Thanks to Hsi Mei Yates for her help in preparing the composition.If interested in supporting LibertyTown Arts Workshop, become a supporting member and get involved: Click Here and select "Membership".

Fredericksburg All Ages Anniversary Show, Sept. 2007

Saturday, September 8th 2007 marked the one year anniversary of The Fredericksburg All Ages Shows. The celebration took place at The Third Floor (810 Caroline St.) in downtown Fredericksburg and included music by Rocky's Revival, Statehood, Le Loup, and The Travis Morrison Hellfighters.
While bands played, I stepped up to the wall and painted an 8' by 4' canvas which was to be included in the raffle later that evening.
Special thanks to all of the Fredericksburg kids and University of Mary Washington students for making this a night to remember. Also, props go out to the Panta Rhei Project and Apple Music for all their efforts. Of course Mark Eyestone of Fred Skates pitched in and took all video and photos for me that evening too - muchas gracias. To learn more about the Fredericksburg All Ages shows (FAA), or to volunteer for future events, visit their MySpace Page.

Party For Charity Event, March 30th

Gabe Pons and Rob Landeck followed up their Hyperion Art Show by pitching in for the "Party For Charity" event that took place on Friday, March 30th at the Third Floor Studio (810 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA). Gabe and Rob painted two large canvas murals while bands Boy/Girl, The Gay Blades, and The Transmitters kept people rocking. Organized by Eric Bruner Yang of Pash, this party brought out alot of the young and creative party goers for a good cause. The evening included a collective art show, live music, live painting, and a showing of the recently released Fred Skates/Magic Bullet video "City By The Battlefield." At the end of the night, the canvases were raffled off and much money was raised to benefit the Thurman Brisben Homeless Shelter. More more info on the Party For Charity, click here.

"Mother and Child" by Rob Landeck and Gabriel Pons

"Staring at the Sun" by Rob Landeck and Gabriel Pons