"4x34" :: painting with my son

this series of paintings, entitled "4x34", are all done by my 4 year old son and myself. he was inspired by watching herakut paint the mural in rochester in october, and had been talking about wanting to do some 'murals' of his own.

we used latex paint, spray paint, and paint markers on stretched canvases. it was a very organic process where he would start by picking the color of paint and rolling it on the canvas (or conversely he would choose the spray paint color and i would apply it, then he'd paint over it). he would really lead all the work, and i would be there to just redirect when necessary or have him stop and start something new when the time was right. he would draw lines - sometimes representing a 'thunder storm' or 'the ocean' - and i would add to them, making them fit together or blend more seamlessly into the composition.

his energy and natural markings were a wonderful juxtaposition with my control and knowledge of composition. it was very eye opening for me as an artist, as well as a great way to spend time together.

herakut finishes their mural in rochester.

so, the weeklong adventure has come to an end. today our family went over to check out herakut's finished product, and it was just as stunning as expected. it didn't hurt that it was gorgeous fall day. full of sun and a not-so-biting wind.

the finished mural.

hand detail.

head detail.

a powerful statement. more powerful in context of the whole storybook.

he just wants to touch the paint everywhere.

so amazed by the feet.

honored to have this signature in our city.

herakut in rochester, day 4.

it looks like thursday will be their last day on this piece, and their last in rochester. unfortunately, the second mural has been cancelled due to how long this one has taken. but this is in a more widely-travelled location, so i guess its the better spot to have one.

little man and a big foot. amazing!

end of day 4.

day 4 detail.

being his observant self.

herakut in rochester, day 3.

how lucky that he has gotten to watch this all happen before his eyes.

face, pre-eye rendering.

had a great conversation with akut. josh was so excited.

herakut in rochester, day 2.

today was the first full day of herakut's mural painting in rochester. josh and i went down to watch them in action. it was very interesting and so inspiring. hera and akut were in separate cherry pickers and had free range of motion all over the face of the building, and they operated the machinery (which josh loved just as much as the paintings) like they were extensions of themselves. its hard to describe until you see them in motion... but watching hera with her long-stemmed paint roller applying washes of paint and akut doing highly detailed spray painting on such a large scale, from about 20 feet from the wall was really great... and in typical rochester style, only about 5 people were there at any given time.

check out some pics from our visit - more to come tomorrow.

josh sizing up the mural from afar

hera brushing on the expressive base coat

akut working on the hand detail

2 dudes enjoying art and heavy machinery

progress as of 5pm

herakut "the giant storybook project" comes to rochester!

herakut is one of my favorite contemporary artists. well, its actually two artists: hera is a classically trained painter, and akut is self-taught. together they create some of the most intriguing and compelling mural/'street' art in the world. i stumbled upon them back in 2009 in juxtapoz magazine and immediately went online to find out more.

i first posted about them that day, after finding some great youtube videos. i admired the style in which they worked - the imagery, the materials, the spaces they used and HOW they used them. i missed painting and working in collaboration with my mentor, bill stephens, and this just made me love herakut even more (incidently, you can see bill's and my doodles here, although they are far less interesting and compelling than the work of hera and akut).

they have put out a few books that are worth checking out. i have 'after the laughter' and its a wild ride through their installation and mural work... layed out like a scrapbook or artists' sketchbook.

anyway, the point of this whole post is that herakut has a new project that they are working on with jim carrey (yes, that jim carrey) called "the giant storybook project". they are travelling all over the world painting large scale murals that will be used to create a children's book. the idea is fantastic and so creative, and the work thus far is just what you would expect from these artists.

the best part of this project is that its coming to ROCHESTER! im not sure exactly how we swung this one, but in my mind its a pretty big 'get'. we are the 5th stop, following lexington (kentucky - 2 murals), eresing (outside of munich, germany), montreal, and toronto. (you can click on the city name to see a photo gallery of each mural).

the murals in rochester will be painted at 208 andrews street (between clinton and st. paul), and 480 west main street (just west of 490). the second piece will be a smaller scale and started once the first is completed.

and on top of all of this, hera and akut will be giving an artist talk at RIT on wednesday from 6-8. more details here.

you should stop by and check out their work - they encourage kids and pets. i'll be bringing josh and hopefully some of my students.

check out the video and pictures to see what the whole project is all about. or find our more on the project's facebook page.

Herakut from Bullhorn on Vimeo.

lexington 1 - the beginning

lexington 1 - finished product

lexington 1 - elementary class visit

lexington 2 - finished product

lexington 2 - in progress detail

eresing (st. ottilien archabbey) - finished product

montreal

montreal - detail

toronto - finished product

rochester - getting started!

herakut :: 'streetart' in the gallery (video)

this artist collective (2 artists who work together on their paintings) is creating a truly new visual vocabulary. check out how they create their painting surfaces - its about more than just painting something that looks nice. it really builds up from nothing.

here is a video of finished work from the same gallery show:

you can find many more videos of them working on youtube.