Local Graff Art 3

Today was a good day. It started with me finding a dope skate park covered in graffiti (which will be used for a video location), then I found out Four Walls peaked at number 9 on the UK charts. Finally I finished a verse that's hotter than chicken with Cajun spices.

While scouting for video locations and travelling I've found enough graffiti to make a Local Graff 3 post. If you've been following the blog, you know my criteria for good Graff. If not here is a short synopsis "What I like to see in good pieces of graff work is a strong technique. Meaning if you're doing letters, the letters have good borders, colors and are easy to read. If you're combining text with images the same rules apply accept the image has to be creatively done to compliment whatever the text says." Also check out the posts Local Graff Art, Local Graff 2, and Eye Bombing. 

Below are a mix of murals, bubble letters and art, that I found in various locations. Check out the pics and if you like what you see or know the graff writer drop a comment below.

The Fire Painter Art

There's a man who uses a rare and often destructive medium for his art. He uses fire.

Canadian, Steve Spazuk better known as the "Fire Painter." Spazuk uses the soot left on canvas from the wick of a candle flame. To draw out a rough out line of the objects he desires. Then he uses paint brushes and tools to bring detail and depth to the image. 

The technique is called Fumage, and Spazuk has perfected it. For the past 14 years, Spazuk has worked on this amazing technique that allows him to use a candle or a flame off a torch, to create his paintings.

Below I posted two videos. The first shows how Spazuk uses Fumage to make a painting. The second is an interview with Spazuk. To learn more about the  Fire Painter or see more of his art. Go to his website www.spazuk.com.

New Video and Art

What's poppin people!

It's been awhile since my last post. During that time I've been through more up's and down's than a roller-coaster.

The "down's" were having leg surgery to remove the metal plate and 5 screws I got a long time ago. The surgery went well but due to a hematoma I had to keep my leg elevated and couldn't walk for a month. It's been a month and a half since surgery and the hole on my leg has finally closed up. 

The "up's" by far outweigh the "down's" in terms of creativity. Once I was mobile again, I shot the video for New York Spit. The song is Dollarmentary and I trading bars about our love of Hip-Hop over a classic 90's beat. The video was shot in Amsterdam and New York City. This was the second single off "Tha Audio Bully" album coming January 2015. The song is available on iTunes by clicking the link.

 

During my recuperation I spent entire days drawing and writing. The results from those endeavors were primitive colored creations. The drawings were done in blue, red, and black ink. Not by choice...those were the only pens around me at the time. With the exception of "Gun Pop Art" which was drawn and shaded in black pen. Then it was colored in marker by a friend.  Some of the images will be used in future painting like "Lucky 13" or "Cat in Baby Suit,"  the rest were for practice.

There are more videos, music, and blog posts coming in 2015. I had to focus less on the posting and more on the creating for awhile, but in 2015 I'll figure out how to balance the two. Check out the new video and art. If you like what you see leave a comment and repost it to a friend. 

Animanga: Kingdom

There's not many historical manga stories that hold my attention. Most of the stories are to much like reading a history book with pictures.

The Animanga: Kingdom is a whole different story. I started off by watching a few episodes of the anime...on a recommendation. I liked it after the third. From there I went and read the manga...all 378 chapters of it (binge reading). I can some up the rest of this post with four words "The story is dope!".

Kingdom follows the life of a young peasant boy named Shin as he aspires to become a great general in warring ancient china. The story takes place 245 BC (Before Christ) at a time when western china was broken in to 7 major countries. The lands of Qin, Chu, Zhou, Han, Yan, Wei, and Qi are all battling for domination.

Shin and his best friend Sin Hyo lived in the country of Qin. They planned to enter the army and become generals. Sin Hyo, turned out to be an identical double of the king of Qin. He was taken to the palace and used as a body double for the king. Sin was killed by assassins.

Shin discovers the details of Sins murder from the real king. His name was Sai and his dream was to unify all of western China. To due this he had to conquer all the other countries and Shin decided to help him achieve his goal. Sin died protecting the king and to honor his memory Shin took up his duty.

Aside from being a historical piece it's great action sequences, writing and character development. It reminds me of the writing style of Death Note crossed with One Piece. Where the writing and plot make you feel for the character. The battle scenes are well drawn with incredible detail. The characters fight with classic weapons from their time period. Sword, mace, ax, lance, bow and arrow...etcetera. The weapons aren't high tech but how the characters use them makes them look superhuman.

Each battle moves the story forward as Shin builds his private army the Hi Shin Unit composed of elite fighters and strategist.  At the same time his victories and failures along with the other generals of Qin propel Sai's dream of unifying China forward. If you read battle type manga like Berserk then I definitely recommend Kingdom.

The anime is on the final episode of the second season. There's no doubt in my mind that there will be a third due to its popularity. Below is a snippet from the battle between Shin and a general from the land of Wei named Rinko. Check it out.