dreXeL's Blog
Thoughts, Musings, Ramblings, Etc...Orders for New Geisha Tee Start NOW!
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As of a few minutes ago orders for my new limited edition tshirt have begun! This is a limited run, and will only be available for purchase until June 15th. That’s less than TWO WEEKS. Then they’re gone forever.
Some of the proceeds go to StartingArtists.org, a local charity that provide free after school art classes and art business training to inspire youth to create arts-based enterprises. Which is awesome. And some proceeds go to me. 🙂
Click THIS LINK or click the image above. Support the arts, support children in the arts, support the artist. And thanks in advance!
XO, dreXeL
You Drink Tea Now
Finally finished the artwork for my upcoming limited edition tee. So excited!
you drink tea now
[tags]geisha, shotgun, payback, kimono, tshirt, digital art[/tags]
The New Stickers are Here!
Just wanted you to know that my new Geisha stickers have arrived, and are available for purchase and for…um…STICKING at drexel.etsy.com. I will be giving them out as gifts with purchases of tshirts, paintings, prints or jewelry, as well.
Also my next tshirt is coming this week so STAY TUNED!!
XO, dreXeL
[tags]geisha, art, sticker art, sticker, street art, japanophilia[/tags]
Back to Basics
After years of study and practice with Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Painter, my life savings spent on iPods, iPhones, iMacs, Macbooks, digital cameras, study of html and css, countless hours reading technical blogs and trying to stay on top of every new development, I’ve come to realize something…
It’s comforting to return to simple things. And there are certain qualities about earlier technologies that don’t exist in later ones. There’s a pride in doing things the original way that they were intended to be done. So it’s no surprise that so many people still prefer filming with Super 8 instead of digital, or making cakes from scratch when the mixes in a box are so awesome. Or handcutting stencils despite how long it takes and how badly your fingers hurt afterwards.
I bought a cheap plastic polaroid camera last week for $10 from a woman on Craigslist. It’s the first time I’ve ever owned a Polaroid camera, despite always wanting one as a kid. When I posted the scanned results of my very first Polaroid photos on flickr yesterday, I was asked what I used to get the effects I got. I laughed because I used nothing. I used a piece of plastic and pushed a button. I even spent an hour that day looking for the place where you put the batteries for the flash to work on my new cheap piece of plastic camera. I asked people in the line at Duane Reade. I made phone calls to professional photographers. Finally I found out that the energy needed to power the flash is actually INSIDE THE FILM. I was amazed. It really made me rethink my viewpoints about technology, my condescension of everything that isn’t the newest, best, latest, coolest thing.
Perhaps what’s coolest is what came first.
No, I’m not going out and buying an abacus. I’m just sayin…
Hey That’s Me!
My friend Scott just emailed me with the subject line “you’re on TechCrunch”. So of course my heart immediately leapt straight out of my chest. I took a deep breath. I clicked the link…
Turns out it’s an article about new features and applications for the Ning platform, with a screenshot of a page from Brooklyn Art Project’s Ning website. Brooklyn Art Project (BAP) is a social network for artists, of which I am a member. The TechCrunch article has nothing to do with me particularly. But as luck would have it, the screenshot they used was probably a month old, from when BAP had my artwork as the header image for their website.
I am accidentally on TechCrunch today.
And that is better than cupcakes.
XO, dreX
Wearable Geisha
I have now collaborated with an awesome jewelry designer named Missy out of North Carolina. Her company is called Oh Sexy Girlfriend. She’s awesome and now my geisha can be worn! So that’s fun and it makes me happy. If you’re interested in purchasing any of her/our jewelry, just contact her/purchase via the above link.
Here are some pics of what she’s created with my images:
Need something slightly different than what you see on the page? Contact Missy via her myspace page. She might can sort that out for ya!
[tags]art, jewelry, collabos, collaboration, ohsexygirlfriend, geisha, cameo[/tags]
Geisha #4 Ready!
I’ve now cleaned up the original Geisha 4 which was originally done on a USPS sticker for the “Going Postal” show in Chicago. I changed the size, cleaned it up, made some other changes and should have a nice bulk quantity of them for display and sale in a few weeks. When they run out I will make stickers from another Geisha in the series. I’ll let you know when they are ready for purchase. I’m excited about this series.
geisha 4 sticker
Vote for My Mom!
I entered my mom into a contest! If she gets the most votes, she wins a trip to come see me in NYC and a shopping spree at Victoria Secret’s flagship store for Mother’s Day. Thanks in advance! XO, dreXeL
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Stickers for Chicago “Going Postal” Show
I just did a series of 10 geisha on USPS shipping labels. These are for a group show of sticker art in Chicago called “Going Postal”. Thought I’d share them with ya! XO dreX
Here are a couple close-ups:
Update on the 112 Greene Street Show
Thursday night was just awesome X 1000. Everyone was there, lots of amazing artists and art, djs, friends, a secret bottle of limited edition Henny, and lots of Colt 45. I’m still waiting on some pictures from my friend Tom…of the show and also the aftermath. Meanwhile I’ve yanked some from friends for your viewing entertainment. Cheers. XO, dreX
This was the night before: Press night. Above us is the awesome work of AV, 2esae and SKI aka destroy&rebuild.
A nice shot of the Combine before it got insanely packed.
Getting packed now. Security started sending people away who had been standing in line outside in the rain for an hour or more.
These are my friends: Ashley and roommate Kevin. <3 you guys. One of Celso’s women behind them to the left. Hot.
This is a fake dollar bill I put down Ashley’s shirt. It came from a tall woman(?) at the show with a brown wig wearing a diaper and carrying a fake tv. Yeah, exactly.
This is Ames, Ashley’s best friend and also MY friend. He’s awesome. He’s also responsible for most of the photos in this blog post.
If you want to see the show in a less frenetic environment than opening night, the gallery is open Tues – Sunday 1pm-7pm. Come on by!
So there you go. More to come…
[tags]112 greene street, 2esae, ames gigounas, art, art show, ashley mccullough, avone, celso, destroy&rebuild, drexel, elc, endless love crew, graffiti, kevin bishop, matt siren, nyc, royce bannon, ski, soho, street art, the combine[/tags]
Lab de Loops Final Version
Finished the flyer. It’s basically 1000% different than the first version but I like it. And more importantly the person who commissioned it likes it.
Also the event I’m pretty sure is going to be awesome. So if you’re in the Brooklyn/NYC area and this looks interesting to you, come check it out. Click on the flyer and it will take you to the official website for more details.
Flyer Version 1.0
Just did a flyer for a really cool show that’s being sponsored by a ridiculously cool website called Lab 24/7. It’s the first version of it so I may have to change some things, but it’s just some little thing I just did so I thought I’d post it. 🙂
Lab 24/7 Lab de Loop flyer
[tags]lab247.net, lab 24/7, lab de loop, flyer, illustration, dj chima, elijah b. torn[/tags]
The Hype Continues…
This 112 Greene show next week seems to pretty much be the talk of the town. Lots of photos and blogging and articles about it going on. I found out today that my work (and others’) is on Martha Cooper’s blog. So I thought I’d share the link with you, and one of the pictures she posted. Click on the picture to see the original blog post by Martha Cooper.
Definitely come through if you’re anywhere near NYC on March 26th, 6pm-10pm. The show is at 112 Greene Street, NY, NY. XO, dreXeL
[tags]112 greene street, nyc, new york city, soho, art show, combine, ELC, endless love crew, martha cooper, choice royce, royce bannon, street art, group show[/tags]
Work to Do
I’m really looking forward to my upcoming show. Here’s the flyer:
Work to Do
I’d love to see you there if you can make it! It’s gonna be a really good show and a good time. Lots of talented artists there. And Afrika Bambaataa with Soul Sonic Force too! So COME!
XOXO, dreXeL
[tags]art, art show, artists, drexel, abby goodman, abe lincoln jr., skewville, aiko, acc, all city crew, alone art, anera, avoid pi, avone, bast, ben jackson, bobby hill, buildmore, c. damage, cahbasm, cake, celso, chris brennan, robots will kill, rwk, christopher gordon, dain, deeker, deo, destroy & rebuild, dr, ellis g, hush, jazzmine beaulieu, keely, kenji, kosbe, la2, matt siren, moody, nohj coley, ohm, overconsume, pufferella, royce bannon, ryan frank, ski, smart crew, smells, stikman, thundercut, 2esae, afrika bambaataa, soul sonic force[/tags]
Upcoming Show at 112 Greene Street
I’m very excited about my upcoming show at 112 Greene Street in Manhattan. There are two reasons for this.
1. Because there are amazing artists in this show that I get the opportunity to work and exhibit with like El Celso, Robots Will Kill, Destroy and Rebuild, Royce Bannon and Endless Love Crew (also responsible for putting on this awesome show) and a lot of others I’ll be posting about later.
2. 112 Greene Street is a historic landmark in NYC. I’m talking about years and years as a famous and successful studio to many musicians that you love.  Who recorded there, you ask? Oh…just Raekwon, Jungle Brothers, RUN-DMC, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Chaka Khan, James Brown, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Black Eyed Peas and a ton of other awesome performers. I mean the birth of hip hop. No joke. And also it makes me a little giddy when I think about exhibiting in the same space where Sonic Youth recorded “Daydream Nation” and “Goo”.
If you want to see the space and a few pics of the installation in progress, check out the flickr pics.
The opening is set for March 26th, and I’ll definitely be posting more about this as events unfold. Meanwhile, you might want to clear your calendar for that day. I have a feeling this is going to be quite a day.
[tags]112 greene street, nyc, soho, endless love crew, ELC, royce bannon, choice royce, destroy & rebuild, robots will kill, rwk, el celso, street art, graffiti, work to do, urban art, art show, installation[/tags]
How Does a Bombshell Dress? (Homework Assignment #3)
For those of you who don’t know, I’ve been putting my Bombshell Challenge homework assignments on my blog. No, it doesn’t have a lot to do with my art career, but it’s a random aspect of my life and my interests. So there you go.  By my blog shall ye know me. Or something…
I’m still looking for more. But those are awesome examples of daytime pinup dress and fancy evening attire.
[tags]masuimi max, pinupgirlclothing.com, 50s fashion, bombshell, bombshell challenge[/tags]
Freestyle the Mag Issue 4 is out!
And guess whose artwork is on the cover?!! Untz untz untz. Thanks to Victoria from Freestyle the Mag for being completely awesome. XOXO, dreXeL
Freestyle Issue 4 Cover
[tags]freestyle the mag, freestyle, hip hop, pop culture, magazine, delta mace, drexel, urban art, mixed media, spray paint, stencil[/tags]
My Entrance into the Comics Industry
I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I want to write a book of my memoirs. And whenever I tell people stories about my crazy past and even my slightly less crazy current, they say, “You should write a book.” But when I envision my book, it always looks like a comic book. I couldn’t possibly write a book of all words. I mean, technically, I suppose I could. But nahhh. So I’ve decided to start doing comics.  At some point, if I can do maybe one a week or more if I have the time, when I have enough for my memoirs, I’ll put together a graphic novel. For now I’m getting the hang of the medium and the software. And having a ridiculous amount of fun mixing my photos, my drawings and my goofy ideas.
[tags]art, illustration, comics, memoirs, graphic novel, nyc, brooklyn, subway[/tags]
I’m on Every Page of BAP
Well this is exciting for me! If you go to Brooklyn Art Project this month you’ll see a slice of my artwork as the header image for the site. I have hereby become one with BAP website! It looks like this, but obviously LARGER if you actually go to the site:
bap header img
But WAIT, there’s more. I just found out I’m also the featured artist on BAP. So if you go to the website it looks like THIS:
featured artwork "Delta Mace"
So yeah, that makes me happy. Just thought I’d let you know.
XOXO,
dreXeL
[tags]art, painting, featured artist, BAP, brooklyn art project, brooklynartproject.com, delta mace, smack is a vampire, billie holiday, mixed media, urban art, nyc, brooklyn, harlem[/tags]
New Commission Done
Well I tried some new methods of transfer in this piece, none of which worked out. So I ended up with old faithful (ie: acrylic polymer medium transfer.) That method has NEVER let me down. I still need to investigate to find out why the acetone method didn’t work. Maybe the photocopies from Kinko’s weren’t laser copies that use toner. Maybe the oil-based varnish I put on the piece just before that prevented the ink from sticking. No clue. But in the end I did manage to get awesome images of 50s ads from vintage magazines I bought onto the boards. And that made me exceedingly happy.
This is a dyptich of two wood cradle boards, each 24″ x 36. They’re mixed media (spray paint, varnish, magazine transfers, paper, ink, acrylics, acrylic medium and stencil). I don’t think this collector reads my blog. So it won’t spoil the surprise. But if you tell her anyway or I’ll have to harm you in unspeakable ways. Thanks.
XO, dreXeL
Back When Things Was Simple
[tags]art, painting, dyptich, mixed media, collage, spray paint, trucks, wheat, vintage magazines, vintage trucks, urban art[/tags]
Watch the Inauguration on my blog!
Thanks to the awesome people at Hulu, I’m able to show the inauguration LIVE right from my blog. So catch it here in 4 days!!! And feel free to look around, post comments, give me feedback etc. I likes feedback. XO, dreXeL
[tags]obama, inauguration, new president, hope, change, democracy, hulu, hulu.com[/tags]