Sergeant Sprinkles Meets Corporal Punishment

Hey all-

I decided to kick this thing into high gear by starting a third panel before the second one was finished. The next two panels [3 & 4] are going to be "VERSUS" panels- Panel #3 will be all LADIES artists, and panel #4 will be all GUY artists. Just having a little competitive fun here to make things a tad bit more interesting, although I'm sure the ladies will kick ass!

To start it off, we have Berkeley-based illustrator Jen Oaks. I fell in love with this woman's illustrations the second I saw her work. Her stuff is vintage inspired with a lot of feminine imagery like lingerie~ How could I NOT love her stuff?! Take a look! [don't feel bad for enjoying a majorette in her panties... i know I don't]: 

PANTIES: 

ETC: What is your Name?

JO: Jen Oaks!

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

JO: I'm from Oklahoma City, And now I reside in Berkeley, CA. I do miss living in San Francisco, but Berkeley/Oakland are really great. 

ETC: What inspires you to create your art?

JO: Every amazing nuance of the Bay Area. How my grandma's kitchen looked in the 80's. Inside jokes with my dude. Ridiculous, decadent fashion editorial spreads. Pin ups and underwear! 

ETC: Describe your [art] stye in 5 words.

JO:  Pretty, awkward, colorful, kinda funny

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

JO: I am dying to know more about Tadahiro Uesugi. His work is incredible! I would also love to have tea with the inimitable Mary Blair. 

ETC: What was your favorite toy as a kid?

JO: I like Barbies a lot. I know, typical. But I did naughty things like cut their hair off an color them with markers. And my grandma made a bunch of funny 80's punk clothing for them. I also had this bizarre compulsion to make little villages out of mud, leaves and twigs, and then populate the villages with My Little Ponies. Honestly, i was happy to play in the dirt for hours. 

ETC: What id your favorite toy now? 

JO: My Macbook and Wacom. I have mixed feelings about this. 

ETC: If you could leave today, and travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

JO: NYC has been calling my name. I've never been! Plus, my husband has been watching all of the Woody Allen films in order, and that has only fanned the flame. 

ETC: If you could paint/print on of your designs ANYWHERE, where would you put it? 

JO: I've been dreaming about some really pretty public art. Not graffiti, I'm not as bad ass as the rest of your collabo artists, but more like a legitimately commissioned outdoor mural or installation. Or illegitimately  commissioned. Call me!

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

JO: "Eat your veggies, dudes."

Beautifully done. I hope you all enjoyed that one as much as I did! I encourage you all to check out her other works at her website here. And if you didn't click on the link to her website, then you are lame, and should reconsider your lame-status and go back and click on it. Go on... I'll wait....

So, moving along- My heterosexual life mate, Crash N Burn McGurn, asked if she could be a part of this Ladies panel, so I am going to toss her into the mix [again]- the panel is on it's way to Long Beach as I am typing this! I am also compiling my group of males for the Panel #4, so if any guys are interested, hit me up!

"There is no retirement from being an artist, it's your way of living and there's no end to it" - Bono  [even though that one doesn't really  make sense, because life DOES eventually end, i just like the idea of art being a way of life or a culture, not a JUST a job]

We create to live, we live to create.

Peace and love to all,

ELROD

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

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

Beetle from the Vulcan

Hey everyone~

The newest and the truest work has just been added to the panel, and I can officially say that Panel #1 is COMPLETE!

Before I show off the panel in all of it's glory, check out the addition by free-lance graphic designer Tony Van Groningen:

Tony kind of got bombarded by the travo collabo, and he was a real good sport about it [thanks Tony!].  He is a long time friend of travo collabo contributer Forest Stearns and he happened to be in town when the panel made it's way back to the city by the bay. Check out his work online at http://www.tonyvg.info/ .  Check out the mini-interview:

ETC: What is your name, and do you have an a.k.a or anything like that

TVG: Tony Van Groningen, a.k.a. tonybricker

ETC: What do you do for a living?

TVG: Graphic design / information design

ETC: How did you get started in art?

TVG: I've been drawing since my mom gave me that very first crayon...

ETC: As artists, our styles can constantly change and evolve over the years- How has your style, or perspective on art, changed [if it has at all] since you first started pursuing art as a hobby and then as a career?

TVG: My style has changed so much. When I was a little kid all I would draw were cars and animals and Disney characters. When I was first starting to think about refining my skills in high school, all I ever drew were comic book characters and monsters and aliens, and some more "serious" still life and landscape stuff for school. I got into a studio art program for college and learned a ton about the wide world of fine art, it was really eye opening, and I grew to appreciate the value of social commentary and conceptual forces in art. At the same time, I thought a lot of fine art was overly intellectual and ultimately ineffectual, and I kind of got disgusted with a lot of it. Now I am at a point where I just like what I like for my own reasons, and in my own work, now I get bored really easily if I make similar things over and over in content or in technique. 

ETC: What would be your idea of the ULTIMATE collaboration?

TVG: Let's get fantastic and say a huge piece with James Jean, Moebius, and Syd Mead working on some deep psychologicalfuturescience, with Buckminster Fuller and Roger Waters consulting. 

ETC: What is your favorite medium to work with?

TVG: I love ballpoint pen, or ballpoint pen on top of watercolor. Gouache + india ink is something I have been enjoying a lot recently.

ETC: What inspires you the most?

TVG: Beauty, music, nature, technique, ability, fantasizing/daydreaming, people that are smarter than me

ETC: Will we see Tony Van Groningen on the Collabo again? [in other words, would you be up for throwing down some more paint on another panel?!

TVG: I am definitely up for throwing down again the next time I am in the Bay Area...

Thanks for that Tony~ Next up- the final work! 

Peace and love to all!