My generation hasn’t had any significant progressive leaders that have served as role models in the public sphere. I’m pretty sure we can all point to people in our smaller circles that live their life in a manner that you try to live up to. But as far as progressive leadership with a substantial voice in mass media, nada. Michael Moore would be the closest thing to someone who consistently put himself out there to get people thinking, talking and inspiring organization. But at his core he is a movie …

As a kid growing up in the eightees’ who naturally gravitated towards GrandMaster Flash, The RockSteady Crew and writing graffiti, I always had an affinity for the New York City subway during the late 70′ and early 80’s. It represented the blood-filled arteries of a city pumping with organic, authentic, city-brewed culture. It was covered with tags and pieces while filled with people of every size, shape, age and color. It was reckless and untamed and most importantly, it was New York City.

In response to the BP oil spill that may effect the Carolina Coastline Solas Culinary and My Restuarant Guru are hosting a fundraiser for The NC Surfrider Foundation. It is our goal to help fund this non-profit so that it is prepared to deal with the effects of the BP oil spill on the NC coastline.

I will be showcasing in this rough and rugged art show in Orlando. I will be blessed to be showing with some powerful company. If you’re in the area, you need to check it out.

Very few objects can inspire feelings of excitement, adoration,fear, fantasy and conflict like a gun. “MY UZI WEIGHS A TON” is a traveling multimedia art exhibition that takes an artistic twist on guns in pop culture. The exhibition will feature the works of some of the hottest artists form the new …

Fundraiser is quite a draw

Pabst Blue Ribbon will be sponsoring a rough and tumble, beer flavored art show called “The PBart Show” in Raleigh during the Cherry Bounce Festival on July 29th. Artists were encouraged to create PBR inspired artwork so I took it quite literal and create a few custom painted, full, unopened 22oz tall boys. I built the theme around the concept that “PBR brews very strange company”. This was my first crack at customizing beer cans and I think I have stumbled into an arena that I am going to be …

I moved from Detroit to a neighborhood called Roxborough in Philadelphia when I was ten. This was a very hard-nosed, working class area where fist-fights were a way of life and loyalty was paramount. My neighborhood in Detroit was in much worse condition than the new neighborhood in Philly but there was not this over-arching element of angry, violent behavior. The people I got beat up by most? My friends. Craziness. The flip of this was that your friends, as inter-violent as they were, had your back through anything. They …

A young kid sits in a room in East Detroit. His face flickers from the static on a glowing television. The only light in the room is provided by a pixelated representation of a South American adventurer swinging over unexplained sinkholes in the jungle deep. An obsession is being fed meanwhile an art form is unexpectedly being born. Pixel art.

What happens when all our favorite villains get locked up in a 1920’s penitentiary with an optional intramural football league? It’s the stuff dreams are made of.

I am going to hook up a limited run on some signed prints. Sign up for my newsletter to get the heads up when the drop.

On the last day of our trip home we wanted to check out an open-air art piece called The Heidelberg Project. To put it simply, it is a collection of found items, painted houses and augmented scenery that exists on a few streets in East Detroit created by local resident and artist Tyree Guyton. It was an amazing sight and a must-see for anyone who visits Detroit. The project had made a decent amount of press so I had read quite a bit before visiting and I was expecting a …

A few months ago I saw a photo essay that Time magazine had put together about Detroit and the empty structures that pockmarked the city. There was a photo of a luxurious theater that had closed and was turned into a parking lot in the eighties. I had to find this place and see it for myself.

I grew up in Detroit. Southwest Detroit. I moved to Philly when I was 10 and hadn’t returned to the neighborhood, friends or house that I had left behind. I would visit Detroit a few times a year to visit family but we never went back to the old neighborhood.

Matt Scofield, Victor Knight, Greg Davis and myself hooked up a show at the LabourLove gallery last year where we painted a set of panels in the gallery and pulled off a very cool show. We were approached by Kelly and John of LabourLove about showing the panels for a showing at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC). I love that building, inside and out. I was thrilled. So thrilled that I felt compelled to redo that panels completely. I was never really very happy with how my panels came …

I was approached by the Chair of the Art Procurement committee for Appetite for Art which is an annual auction gala that will support arts programming for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wake County. She wanted to know if I had any artwork that I would be willing to donate for the event. After thinking and debating on what would do well, I figured “screw it, I’m doing something fresh”.
Growing up I was a huge fan of Catcher in the Rye. Like most kids, I connected on an …

Hard to really know what to say about the show. A few things are certain.
1. It was raining like all hell.
2. It was ten time more crowded than I expected.
3. The show almost sold out.
4. Things got rough.

If you don’t already know, well, your about to know. The amazing $25 Show is this Friday! Damn, it has been a long time in the works. I messed around and took on double-duty while trying to organize a benefit for Haiti while prepping and helping to market this amazing showcase which pushed this post a little late. All good. The concept is simple:
Every piece in  the show is $25!
Every one.
The artist list is rediculous. Check it out:

A few years ago I was walking through a parking lot in a strip mall. I looked up at the signage above one of the storefronts and noticed that a bird had nested in the recessed portion of a letter A. My pupils dialated, a smirk was crafted and an idea was born….. “There was a bird in that A-hole!”.
Years pass but that idea was such a little gem that I kept it on my low shelf. Easy to reach. Then one day I get an invitation to participate in …

Some of you may know that I have been bent on hooking up a cool breakfast for my girls on weekends. Putting in a little extra effort seems to add a little more excitement when its time to start our weekends. I enjoy the challenge. Four and three year olds are the most hardcore critics so when you bring it you better bring it correct.

The amazing Rob and Lisa King have been working hard on the documentary based on the collaborative art project “3 the Hard Way”. The project is coming to a close in the next few weeks which is a little bittersweet. It is coming together very nicely and is sure to be a highly engaging show. The trailer for the documentary has been sent to press and looks fantastic. I look and touch a touch smarmy but maybe thats because I have a bad smarmy complex.
Thanks so much guys. The trailer …

My youngest critter is on the move and about to turn three already. She is daddy’s sweetheart no doubt. Love ya girl.

Life goes on.
and on.
………. and on.
This is an artifact that every molecule in this entire universe shares and holds dearly. In our world life is a very tangible and delicate experience. Life is our most treasured posession. It is respected. It is cared for. And most heartbreakingly, it can be taken.
I have tried to live a life ripe with honest interactions. From time to time you bump into another person who shares this perspective. You can see it in the way they listen to a story you tell. You can …

The dysfunctionally functional Bonded Llama family are opening the doors to their humble abode to showcase our artwork as well as our workspaces. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-lost to me. We lift our lamp beside the Bonded Llama door!
Not that I am drawing clear parallels between the revolutionary American icon The Statue of Liberty but our torch does burn bright and we are kind of floating out in an island …

I stumbled across a project that seems to be reserved for the super-nerds….. which I am a card carrying member of. Since I believe that the nerd-torch should be passed down to the next generation, I have indoctrinated my two daughters thoroughly with the first few Star Wars movies. They are big fans now (mwoohahahaha!) Some of the scenes are a little too scary but I am skilled at clicking the remote and skipping to the next scene without being noticed. They became fans enough to (on their own …

I know I am crazy late with posting these photos but its been a crazy time. This years Sparkcon was kind of fun as hell. They moved it to Fayetteville Street Mall which put it right out there in the middle of a main street that runs right through downtown. Most of the usual suspects showed up with a handful of new faces as well. There is a young scene rising and shaking things up a bit. Good to know that us old-schoolers won’t have to carry the torch all …

The company I work for has a big yearly company meeting that usually spans a few days. They are informative, sometimes engaging and tend to boost morale a bit. For me, it allows a full day of doodling and doodling. Now don;t get it confused, I have become quite skilled at absorbing information while I am drawing. I performed quite well through high school and college doodling profusely. When I work in the evenings I always have a movie on and can follow it all the way through without using …

The arts scene in Raleigh/Durham was one that I hadn’t felt attracted to until we decided to dive head first into it as a unit. There is a collection of artists who I have been painting with in varying degrees of legalities for some time now. The group has grown in size, talent and vision. The group seems to have adopted a name to run with which will be “The Faculty”. Seems catchy and functional enough. We had our first unofficial-official group showing at the AhPeel Gallery and it really …

The legendary North Carolina based bboy crew, Swoon Unit, is celebrating their 10th anniversary. They have put together a multi-layered series of events that include an open mic MC battle, a NC graffiti Wall of Fame event and a large format Bboy battle. It will be taking place at the Boys & Girls Club in downtown Raleigh on Sept 26th from 12-5. I have created a custom painted piece of linoleum for the battles to take place on.
When we first came up with the idea I figured it would be …

I know I have been stressed out and under pressure but this is what I am putting out these days? There is an art show that is showcasing artwork themed on video games at DesignBox. The show is called 2Bit and open this Friday September 4th.  Anyways, I was initially going to paint a fairly classic portrait of the original Atari 2600. Midway through I scrapped it and ran with a Ms. Pac-Man strip tease ripe with a drunk Mario, shitfaced ghost, pervy Q-Bert, horny Pac-Man and a retro strip-club …

The first four installments of the “My Baby Loves” are finished up and will be hitting the stores soon. The first installment “My Baby Loves Michael Jackson” can bur purchased in cd form at Amazon by clicking here or you can preview and download mp3’s by clicking here (also through Amazon). Stay tuned for more installments and the launching of a website. My babies loved screaming throughout the night like a murderer was in the house but I’m doubting we can make a lullaby version of that.

Here are some pencils/colors …

I have been a fan from go. They have yet to put out an album that isn’t solid. I dont like using the word “underrated” but these guys are among the best and most people don;t know it. Anyway. I hadn’t drawn them yet and I have been feeling a return of the letter form.

Me and the great Matt Scofield have had an eye out for a studio space for a little while. We both needed a space to work bigger and not have to worry about a paint mess, toxic fumes or man dandruff. Thanks to Matt we were able to link up with Bonded Llama Studios and score a basement studio. The location may seem a little rough around the edges but this is exactly what I was looking for. The spot has massive potential for many reasons….. It’s good.
I swung by …

Well, not quite but the title is definitely an eyebrow raiser. The good folks over at Good Hands Records put me on task to do a series of album covers for a lullaby versions of some classic pop. Fun gig no doubt.

Eminem put this together for his (and my own) beloved hometown. He paid for it to run during the Final 4 on CBS. This will make my Mom cry no doubt about it. It really is well done and I am very very thankful for it. It is so spot and hits me dead center every time. Stay up Detroit.

Eminem – Detroit Final Four Commercial / NEWUploaded by PeteRock. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

So yea, Tommy Hearns and J.D. Salinger? Seems random I know. I started doing a series of pencil portraits for a collection I was calling “Beautiful Losers”. The idea was to showcase people who had poured their heart and soul into their passion but fell short of winning the top spot. In a lot of cases these people inpired more people by continuing to dig their heels in and push hard, never giving up. Or in some cases…. giving up. Anyway, I am putting these into the Green Hill show …

I just received an email from the Visual Art Exchange looking for artists to submit a piece for the the May First Friday exhibit titled “Unfettered”. For quite a while now I have wanted to do a series of portraits that are painted on found objects from the birthplace of the subject. Given the title of the show and the geography involved, I am going to do a portrait of jazz legend Thelonious Monk. He was born about an hour from here in Rocky Mount, NC. I have gotten a …

I have been invited to participate in a fundraiser/silent auction where artists will paint/customize a ceramic pig. The proceeds will go towards the Whole Foods charity “Feed the Farm“. It is sponsored by Whole Foods and the auction will take place at The Pit on March 6th. It took me a day or so for a concept to crystalize but when it did….. oh yea. Ladies and Gentlemen, I will be presenting to you…. the Notorious P.I.G.
Here goes nothing….
The Base
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This is what each of the artists starts with. The blank …