Fresh Cuts from the Butcher

Hey all~

Sorry for this much delayed posting! Sometimes life throws a few road blocks, but we'll just keep busting on through them! So check this out- our latest artist, Manar Laham, has completed his addition to the panel and he defiantly brought the fresh style-

"A creature emerges from the sands of the far east, his shadow cast by the blood orange sky.

The Butcher stands before us, cleaver in hand, ready for the first cut..."

ETC: What is your name?

AML: Ahmad Manar Laham. I was called Butcher for the longest time.. which is the direct translation of my last name in Arabic (Laham). You can just call me Manar

ETC: Where are you from and where are you based out of now?

AML: I’m originally from Syria. I grew up in the UAE (AKA Dubai), and I live in San Francisco now

ETC: Describe your style in 5 words

AML: Punchy sarcastic dark imaginative unique 

                  

ETC: What inspires you to create your art?

AML: I get inspired mostly by people around me. My fellow artists and friends, people that I meet or even just see on the street, on the bus, at the grocery store, Etc. Having been surrounded with a number of good artists for the past 7 years or so has always been a major motivation behind my work

 

ETC: What is your idea of the ultimate collaboration?

AML: A huge panel that travels between artists from all around the world. The names of the artists involved in the project would be kept secret. Then the finished panel would get exhibited in all places it traveled to in the process of its making. I’d love to be part of this!

ETC: This could be arranged....

 

ETC: What was your favorite toy as a kid?

AML: I had a lot of Ninja Turtles action figures and I loved them.

 

ETC: What is your favorite toy now?

AML: You know what.. I still have a lot of action figures. But my favorite has to be Bandai’s Plawres Sanshiro“Juohmaru” chogokin Figure that my brother got me last year.

 

ETC: If you could meet one artist, dead or alive, who would it be?

 AML: Simon Bisley, Ashley wood, Francisco Goya, Egon schiele, Dean Cornwell, John Sargent, Bernie Wrightson, the list goes on and on

.. as for picking one.. I’d say Ashley wood

 

ETC: If your art had a soundtrack, what bands would be on it?

AML: Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Rush, Pink Floyd, the Police, Genesis, Dire Straits, Led Zeppelin, Testament, Death, Overkill, Judas Priest, Megadeth

 

ETC: If you had one last sentence to share with the world, what would it be?

AML: Open your minds and hearts to the world around you. Let’s forget about the planet for now and just care for each other.

Well said. Thank you for sharing your talents and words, Butcher. Check out and follow his work here.

I hope you all are enjoying the eye candy and mini-interviews, send me any suggestions for new interview questions, I am all ears! I told you all I was bad at thing kind of thing, so thanks for sticking with it! And remember, if you'd like to get down on this project, hit me up! ~ travo.collabo@gmail.com

Total miles Panel #2 has traveled- 858 miles

"One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself." - Leonardo da Vinci

Peace and love to all.

ELROD

Emerging from the Empire

Orales holmes!

Hey art headz, welcome back to another ridiculously cool and well- written [HA!] blog posting! This time, the art work is making it's way back from Socal, or rather, from FONTANA. 

Rambo1 has been unleashing his reign of terror on the walls of the Inland Empire for years, and I am proud to have him slap some paint on one of the panels. 

Riddle Time! What do you get when you cross an abstract painter with a graff writer on a piece of wood???

THIS:

ETC: What is your name [alias or otherwise]?

R1: My name is Rambo, but my slave name is Joseph

ETC: Where are you from, and where do you currently live?

R1: I reign from the land of the Inland Empire and currently live in Fontana, CA.

ETC: How long have you been creating, and what is your earliest art related memory. 

R1: I've been drawing since I was a kid, but I remember failing seventh grade because i would draw all day at school.

ETC: What inspires you to create your art?

R1: Mostly my friends and family. Without them, I wouldn't be an artist

ETC: Best hustle you ever pulled?

R1: Haha I wish I was a better hustler, but I'd have to say it would be getting the cops to think i was buffing graffiti when they caught me in the act... yeah, it worked

ETC: Describe your idea of the ultimate collaboration

R1: Multiple individuals working together with open minds

ETC: Favorite toy as a kid?

R1: Building blocks

ETC: Favorite toy now?

R1: My bong

ETC:  If you could throw a tag up ANYWHERE in the world, where would it be, and why?

R1: On the pyramids of Egypt so you could see it from space

ETC: If you had one chance to say one sentence to the world, what would it be?

R1: "A great revolution in just one single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of society, and further, it will enable a change in the destiny of mankind"  - Daisaku Ikeda

A pleasure as always, thanks for reading guys~

Hit me up if you want in on the project!!!!- travo.collabo@gmail.com    [do it, yeah, do it] 

"An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one." - Charles Horton Coooley

Peace and Respect to all

ELROD

Abstraction by Abbott

Panel #2 is hittin' the road and making it's first leg down south! But before I get into that, Let me introduce you to the new panel and it's first collaborator, San Francisco's Annie Abbott. Annie is a fine artist from San francisco who emphasizes in abstraction works with amazing color palettes and lyrical patterns. Be sure to check out her website and full biography *here*. Here is a little snippet :

"By referencing past movements such as: Lyrical Abstraction, Color Field Painting, Art Brut, and Formalism, I begin each work as a search for the ultimate story that has a beginning, middle and end. Inspired by the pieces of everyday “light and shadow” that quickly move before our eyes, I seek to capture these fleeting moments that are often gone within seconds, yet leave an imprint upon the eyes. A shadow cast upon a floor, wall or ceiling that moves, jumps or fades - and is quickly gone or removed by something else. By combining process and concept, I am led through various landscapes that float temporarily before our eyes and then vanish."

And here is her panel work:

Ok, now before I get into the mini interview, I just want to throw this out there really quickly- I'm sorry for the lack of insightful interview questions! I didn't realize how hard it is to actually formulate questions that would convey a cohesive and accurate image of the artist and their thought process, but I can only try! Haha, oh well, I hope some of you enjoy these anyway!

ETC What is your name, and where are you originally from?

AMA Annie Marie Abbott, originally from Southern California~ Long Beach

ETC Describe your artistic style

AMA Colorful, Non-Figurative, lyrical abstract

ETC What inspires you to create your art?

AMA The need to express and communicate through my hands

ETC Favorite color[s]?

AMA All colors

ETC Favorite medium to work with?

AMA Oil and Ink

ETC Favorite toy when you where a kid?'

AMA Tape recorder

ETC Favorite toy now?

AMA Cannot tell you

ETC If you could have one super hero power, what would it be?

AMA To grant the power of love OVER hatred and violence

ETC What is your idea of the ULTIMATE collaboration?

AMA Several artists from all walks of life and ages coming together for a large mural in a big city

ETC If you had the chance to tell the word one sentence, what would it be?

AMA Live every moment like it's your last, with an open heart and as much love as you can possibly give

I know, not exactly Barbara Walters worthy, but c'mon people! I'm an artist, not a journalist! I promise they will get better though!

A big thanks to Annie for throwing down on this project [Glamazons united!]!

Next up, RAMBO1 of Fontana, CA. This cat hit me up wanting to get down with us, so I am eagerly anticipating his work!

"Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures." ~Henry Ward Beecher

Peace and love to all,

ELROD