Street Art Workshops: April 2008

April's Street Art Workshops were an adventure. My students worked very hard to bring their pieces to life over the three two-hour sessions. Below are some pics of of their work. Good job guys! Tristan had a stack of personal sketches to choose from, but he used his favorite drawings to implement his two final pieces (above).Robert worked on a set of his most sophisticated stencil sets to date. The results were quite good (below):Conor's 24"x48" piece was inspired by an Elliot Smith album cover. He generated a set of 3 stencils to pull this off...

Knick took no time getting down to business. By the second session, he turned a robot doodle into a 20" wide stencil design. (above) Step #1 Draw...

Step #2 (carefully) Cut

Step #3 Spray...

The finished piece.

For more information about PONSHOP classes, view the current PONSHOP Class Schedule.

"Skate To Create": March 2008

Spring Break ushered in a new group of students in March eager to draw, cut, and spray paint. Below are some photos of my "Skate to Create" students from last month. They've all worked well together, stretched their creative muscles and, most importantly, had fun. Enjoy...

David merged his two favorite past times: Music and Skating...Josie's design took the classic Skull and Crossbones to whole new level.

Drew used red and black patterns for his "Star" logo deck.

Simon's deck graphic was part inspired by heavy metal music and old school Powell graphics.

Our studio offers classes for children and adults every month. For a current PONSHOP class schedule, click here.

Skate To Create: Winter 2008

The New Year was ushered in with three new "Skate To Create" workshop students.
Below are some pics of the student work:

Conor drew his inspiration from the "concrete jungle"- juxtaposing city skyline with a jungle landscape.

Tyler brought his own character "Mohawk Man" to life for his deck graphic.

Don't let her smile fool you - Winnie was all about skulls and flames for her design.

As always, these PONSHOP students worked rigorously throughout the 3 two hour session classes and I can only hope that they are as proud of their work as I am. For more information about PONSHOP classes, click here.

March 2008 Exhibit Announcement

I am excited to announce my upcoming show with fellow Art First member Carol Iglesias. "Destinations: Places Traveled, Places Dreamed" will feature new work which is inspired by sites both visited and imagined.

Carol Iglesias’s paintings are comprised of scenes from various Italian hillside towns throughout Tuscany that she had visited last October. Her travel itinerary included fifteen days of “plein air” (outdoor) painting and sketching in scenic towns like Volterra, San Gimignano, San Casciano, as well as Florence. The locations alone pushed her artistic skill while providing an abundance of inspiration at the same time. The result is a cohesive set of compositions, executed in pastel, which resonate with color, texture, and life.

My work references historic art and architecture yet is executed in a contemporary style. My latest mixed media compositions explore abstract architectural spaces where cityscapes and structures are constructed from scraps of magazines, acrylic paint, stencils and ink. My recent series of paintings experiments with figurative forms and their placement in a surreal and imaginary landscape.

When: March 5th-30th 2008 Opening Party on Friday March 7th 6-9pm
Where: Art First Gallery 824 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, Virginia USA

January 2008: Works In Progess

I'm getting ready for an upcoming show this March at Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg. Fellow member, Carol Iglesias and I will be exhibiting new paintings for the month. The tentative title for the show is "Destinations" and will feature work inspired by places traveled and places dreamed...

Check out the show this March. Opening reception is Friday, March 7th 6-9pm at Art First Gallery 824 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA.

Here are some recent pics of the studio:

More MONO Lion....

MONO Lion (mini) by Gabriel Pons, spray paint on wood, 16"x10" $75

I just finished a small series of these 16"x10" paintings on plywood. For me, this series was inevitable - I slaved over getting the vector art for the T-shirts done last month, so why not play around with the composition a bit and layer up some color...One of these is on exhibit until January 2nd at Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.

PONSHOP Class: Street Art (October 2007)

Rob and Tristan are PONSHOP veterans and we've been through a lot together at my studio. Below are some pics of their most recent workshop. Instead of doing spray paint on wood boards - they opted for a more "public" and personal canvas. Good Work guys.

Tristan adorns a black tee with paint markers.Robert cuts out his stencil layers.
1) Lay down stencil 2) Mask with paper 3) Hit it with paint Tristan and his "Fat Chick" graphicRobert finishes his "Street Can" Tee

For more about PONSHOP Workshops, click here

August Street Art Workshop

It has been a long and hot summer. While some kids sought refuge in their air-conditioned living rooms playing the latest X-Box games, these guys battled the 90+ heat and got creative with spray paint. August's Street Art Workshop was a series of three 2-hour sessions where students practiced the fundamentals of the spray can...
Tristan laid down a background pattern before carving out his graffiti lettering.

Robert had an idea to blow-up one of his anime-inspired drawings and apply it to his spray painted background.

Max took his first stab at using spray paint, practicing outlines and fills to create his own cartoon-like character.

Thanks to all the students and parents for a fun summer workshop. For more information about PONSHOP Art Classes and a current class schedule, click here.

PONSHOP Workshop: Skate To Create July 2007

The "Skate To Create" classes by far have been the most popular PONSHOP workshop over the past year. Kids just seem drawn to the idea of creating a skateboard graphic that is truly their own creation - and that's a great thing. Below are two of my most recent students. Both of them gave 110% for each class and we had a great time.
For the latest PONSHOP class schedule, click here.

Nick's "Music Man" graphic took a whopping 5 stencil layers to create including the background. That's a lot of drawing, cutting, and painting in a 3-session period. He pulled it off though, congrats Nick.

Christian's first sketch was 1/4 the size of his finished piece. After a brief desk critique, he decided to make his "crime boss" bigger, badder, and more monumental on the deck.

For more pics of PONSHOP's "Skate to Create" classes, click the links below:
May 2007
November 2006
October 2006
August 2006
July 2006

Student Art Exhibit: Jan 5th-31st 2007

Several students of the PONSHOP are exhibiting their work in January at the LibertyTown Annual Student Art Show. Student artisits of the PONSHOP include: Tommy Cox, Max Harvey, Allison and CJ Marr, as well as Robert and Tristan Thompson.
This annual exhibit features all student work from artists who hold classes/workshops in their studios. We'd like to thank all of those that continue to get involved in the art community here in Fredericksburg. For more information on the classes that the PONSHOP offers, click here.

Tommy Cox holdin' it down on a Friday night. His "A-GRR" skateboard is the on the far left.

PONSHOP Student Work: November 2006

Below are some pics of student work recently completed by students Max Harvey and Tommy Cox. November 2006 officially marked the one-year anniversary of the PONSHOP studio space at LibertyTown Arts Workshop. On behalf of Scarlett and I, we're grateful to have met so many great and supportive people. -Enjoy!

"This Will Happen..." by Max Harvey , spray paint on composite panel 24"x48"

Max Harvey has been taking weekly private classes at the studio since March 2006. Over that time he's done mixed media collage pieces, stencil and spray paint designs, and surreal watercolor landscapes. This piece was by far his most ambitious and incorporated at least 12 different stencil templates and hours of drawing and cutting. Max draws inspiration from Hip-Hop and Techno music as well as video game and science-fiction iconography. Max's work will be on exhibit at LibertyTown Arts Center's Annual Student Show from January 5th-31st 2007.

Detail

Detail

Tommy has an inherent love for two things: Skateboarding and Art. It came as no surprise that he was excited to participate in the "Skate to Create" workshop held in November 2006. Within a span of three 2-hour sessions, Tommy conceived and executed his own custom skateboard graphic using stencils and spraypaint. Tommy wanted to bring one his own cartoon characters to life on a skateboard deck. Below are some images of Tommy in action. Tommy's "Falling Cat" deck will also be on display at LibertyTown's Student Art show in January. Good Job!

Artist at work: Tommy cuts out his stencil templates"A-GRR!" The deck is now completed...Detail