illustration | FECAL FACE DOT COM

Party & Whoopi by Cahill Wessel
Monday, 03 June 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Not sure what we like better, the titles or the actual work by Cahill Wessel

Outer Space Beach Party Monster

If Whoopi Goldberg was my Best Friend

The Magic Book of Nightmares
Thursday, 18 April 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Up at the dead of night, sweat stained sheets, heart beating a trillion times a minute... sound all too familiar? Well Belly Kids teamed up with 16 illustrators to explore their worst of the dreams.... The Magic Book of Nightmares is a diary of bad nights and terrible sleep. The creepy, the cosmic, the crazy. Preorders are taken here for 6 pounds. ~sample illustrations.

They also made the Bill Murray coloring book.

Nightmares by Ohara Hale

Happiness Forever by Adam Batchelor
Monday, 08 April 2013 /// Written by Trippe

My work explores the breakdown and conflict between humanity, the man-made and the natural world, and looks into the ever rapid transition of developing cultures. I introduce themes of capitalism and consumerism and highlight the threat these have on global issues such as the rights for Indigenous people, the agricultural industry, corruption, health, war and conflict.

"Happiness Forever" was made with mechanical pencils and coloured pencils on pH neutral 100% rag acid free paper, 41.5 cm in diameter. -Adam Batchelor (Norfolk, England)

Detail of Happiness Forever

http://www.adambatchelor.co.uk/

"Going Nowhere" Opens April 12th @FFDG
Thursday, 04 April 2013 /// Written by Van Edwards

Going Nowhere
Alex Ziv & Mario Ayala
Opening reception: Friday, April 12th (6–9pm)
@FFDG, San Francisco
2277 Mission St.

FFDG is pleased to present San Francisco based artists Alex Ziv and Mario Ayala in the two person show entitled "Going Nowhere" featuring 22 new mixed media works on paper. Both artists are attending The San Francisco Art Institute with Alex Ziv studying for his MFA in painting while Mario Ayala in his last year for a BFA in painting. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, April 12th (6-9pm). The artists will be present. Beer and wine will be available.

Press Release (+Click to expand)

Alex Ziv's works, composed of pen and ink on paper, explore and help to define Ziv's definition of "Americana" through the visual iconography and language of motorcycle subculture. Through exploring topics of contemporary and historical Americana through a background knowledge of mainstream and subversive symbology found in subcultures, Ziv's work attempts to enhance and highlight topics of turbulence.

Mario Ayala's work is a further exploration of his lived experiences intertwined with the ideals of the West Coast ethos containing its ritualistic chachkies, cultural luxuries, and the anxieties due to taking mind altering substances while faced with the prioritized decision of guns or butta. Ayala creates pictorial hyperboles from friend/ family experiences to explore the trudges of economic class, multi cultural sacrosanct, and the day to day hustle for egalitarianism.

About Alex Ziv
24 year old Alex Ziv was born and raised in San Francisco California where he is attending The San Francisco Art Institute in pursuit of an MFA. He has been selected to show both nationally and internationally as well as being selected for his first museum group exhibition at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art opening early in May. His work explores topics of contemporary and historical Americana through a background knowledge of mainstream and subversive symbology found in subcultures to enhance and highlight topics of turbulence.

About Mario Ayala
Mario Ayala is 21 years old and is in his last year at the San Francisco Art Institute studying for his BFA in painting. He has shown work in several group exhibitions in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and in North Carolina. Mario's work involves the use of multiple materials, but mostly the use various paints for their own specific processes of application and historical contexts to metaphorically describe the ethos of West coast subcultural ideals. He creates pictorial hyperboles from friend/ family experiences to explore the trudges of economic class, multi cultural sacrosanct, and the day to day hustle for egalitarianism.

Work by Mario Ayala

Work by Alex Ziv

Going Nowhere
Alex Ziv & Mario Ayala
Opening reception: Friday, April 12th (6–9pm)
@FFDG, San Francisco
2277 Mission St.

Press Release (+click to read)

Illustrator Ryan Heshka
Wednesday, 03 April 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Ryan Heshka was born in Manitoba, Canada, and grew up in Winnipeg. Fueled by long prairie winters, he spent a lot of his childhood drawing, building cardboard cities and making super 8 films. Early influences that persist to this day include antiquated comics and pulp magazines, natural history, graphic design and music, movies and animation. Formally trained in interior design, he is self-taught as an artist. His illustrations (represented by Kate Larkworthy) has appeared in Vanity Fair, Playboy, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, the New York Times, Smart Money, and on the cover and interiors of BLAB!.

Mike Giant Lecture @SFAI 4/11
Tuesday, 02 April 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Mike Giant will be giving a free lecture at SFAI this April 11th @7pm at their main campus (800 Chestnut St.). Mike will also be selling screen printed posters before and after the lecture.

THE TIGERING!
Friday, 29 March 2013 /// Written by Trippe

100 Years ago, the Champawat Tiger attacked and killed 436 villagers in India and Nepal. Manik Nakra has taken on the project of documenting all 436 tiger attacks with watercolor drawings. He put them on tumblr: www.thetigering.tumblr.com. The project is called: "THE TIGERING!"

The Champawat Tiger was a legendary female Bengal tiger responsible for an estimated 436 deaths in Nepal and the Kumaon area of India, mostly during the 19th century.

After killing over 200 people in Nepal, the tigeress was driven by the Nepalese Army across the border (river Sarda) into India, where she continued her massacring in the Kumaon District. A maneater so fearless, all her killings occurred during the daytime.

The tigress was finally shot in 1907 by a British colonel born in India named Jim Corbett, a dramatic feat confirmed by about 300 villagers. Since then, Corbett has been elevated to the level of a sadhu(saint) in the region and a monument has been constructed at the tigress death site. When India broke free of colonial rule in 1947, they opened their first national park, Jim Corbett National Park.

In January 2012, after reading this story in Man-Eaters of Kumaon (a journal kept by Jim Corbett), I began a project documenting all 436 tiger attacks.
Why? Because its fucking badass. But along the way it turned into an installation about modernizing identities and an allegory for the messy and maddening road to progress in India. All drawings are watercolor and gouache on paper, 12in x 16in (30.4cm x 40.6cm)

Mike Giant Showing in Oakland, Mar 23rd
Friday, 08 March 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Bromance
Friday, 01 March 2013 /// Written by Van Edwards

Bromance illustrations by Jack Pearce.

Curiot Opening in SF Mar 8th
Tuesday, 19 February 2013 /// Written by Van Edwards

Forget Brooklyn, Mexican street art is where it's at. Artist Curiot combines traditional Mexican elements with almost cartoon like characters, to make massive and beautiful murals. One of his recent pieces in Mexico City was over 30 meters long. We weren't exaggerating! ~continue reading

Mexcio City based Curiot opens the solo show Age of Omuktlans Friday, March 8th @FFDG in San Francisco.

preview inquires: info(at)ffdg.net

Kyle Kogut - Mini Interview
Thursday, 07 February 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Location? Age? Education? Website?

Philadelphia, PA. 22. BFA from Tyler School of Art. www.kylekogut.com

How would you describe your work to someone?

My work mainly consists of mixed media drawings and paintings of nonsensical figures/environments. A lot of it is about mankind's relationship to Nature, in both physical and metaphysical realms. Recently I've also been making animations and sculptures that deal with similar narratives.

Influences?

My biggest inspiration is the natural world; what separates man from animal, and how have we evolved to conceptualize and comprehend our own existence as independent entities from the world around us. Mythology, philosophy, religious iconography, and cultural practices all play a part in the narrative of my work. Visual influnences include the Northern Renaissance period, Greek and Roman antiquity, fauvism, Christopher Davison, Picasso, Allison Shulnik, Jan Švankmajer, Dasha Shiskin, Dürer, Lucas Cranach the Elder, and countless others. Influences really come from everything.

Cheese burgers or tofu burgers?

Cheese please.

Favorite place traveled?

North Wales.

Working routine? Music? Time of day?

I basically lock myself in my studio and pretty much just do whatever I want, no rules. I make myself be stay productive and use my work as exploration of new ideas. I'm always looking for that next image or theme to expand on or experiment with. In the studio I listen to everything from the Black Angels to Panda Bear to Om. I make work around my job schedule, so it all kind of depends.

How do you pay the bills?

I run my own screen printing company and fill in some hours at a library, which also serves as an endless resource of history and imagery. I also have some potential teaching opportunities in the near future.

Jay Howell @FFDG
Wednesday, 06 February 2013 /// Written by Van Edwards

LA based Jay Howell opened his current solo show in San Francisco's Mission district at FFDG last Friday to a huge crowd (pics later today) featuring over 40 new works including, for the first time, one of a kind sculptural works.

The show Enthusiastic Person runs through March 2nd and can be viewed in person Wed thru Sat (1-6pm). Works can purchased online: ffdg.net

FFDG is pleased to present Los Angeles based artist Jay Howell in his third highly anticipated solo show with the gallery entitled “Enthusiastic Person” featuring over 25 new mixed media cartoon-styled works on paper. Currently in production on the first season of the animated children’s show “Sanjay and Craig”, which Howell is Executive Producer, Co-Creator and Art Director, Howell will exhibit recent colorfully bright and whimsical drawings featuring the cast of characters, patterns and geometric shapes so recognizable as Jay Howell works. The 2013 Noise Pop music festival will feature Jay Howell's artwork on all their promotional materials.

Jay Howell is an all around kind dude that lives in Los Angeles with photographer girlfriend Ruth Swanson and a dog named Street Dog. When he's not illustrating for Vans or drawing skateboards he can be seen on the streets fuckin' around and sayin' classic shit. Jay designed the main characters for Fox's hit show, "Bob's Burgers". He is currently working as an Executive Producer, Co-Creator and Art Director on "Sanjay and Craig" an animated children's show for Nickelodeon.

View complete show: www.ffdg.net

Alex Ziv Studio Visit
Friday, 25 January 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Last Thursday we visited the studio of SFAI graduate painting student Alex Ziv located out in San Francisco's Dog Patch. Inside an old warehouse is SFAI's graduate studios, and within the massive building is Alex's studio space sandwiched between dozens of other students' studios.

We first met Alex when visiting Henry Gunderson's studio when he and Henry were undergraduates at SFAI. Back in like 2009.

Pictoplasma NYC
Tuesday, 22 January 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Pictoplasma NYC <-- The world's leading conference on contemporary character design and art/ character design, illustration and animation. Hosted by Parsons The New School for Design. DATES: February 8&9, 2013 in New York City.
~complete details

D Young V @White Walls
Wednesday, 16 January 2013 /// Written by Rachel Ralph

D Young at White Walls

I am totally over artwork depicting guns. It has been played out as a way to shock viewers and draw inaudiences, and recently, it seems like we just can't escape. Much to my chagrin, D Young V's newestshow at White Walls here in San Francisco is different. There are guns everywhere, but they aren't ploys for attention. Instead, The New Race employs the weapons as commonplace tools necessary for survival in the post-apocalyptic world D Young V has created in the gallery. The entire space is covered in works of ink on paper, reading as militaristic propaganda, complete with ammo and helmets to protect yourself. Arrowsextend from the bottom of several works ending at a pair of footprints, directing the viewer's distance from the piece, suggesting more intimate or more encompassing perceptions of the images.

More importantly, the show starts in the street, tying the space of the gallery to that of the Tenderloinon Larkin Street. Because of this introduction, it is easy to read the work within the gallery as what San Francisco might look like 300 years after civilization has ended. The script extending across the gallery and the pieces themselves intermingle English characters with numbers and symbols, an allusion to the disintegration of language through time. Will we really be speaking English in 300 years? Are we even really speaking English now?

With recent violent events including school shootings, this dystopian future may not be that far off. We may need to arm ourselves and embrace community over individualism, much like D Young V has done within his work. Instead of using the guns as symbols of power, he has introduced them as necessary tools for survival for the entire new race. Through incredibly detailed work, this show emphasizes the need to protect ya neck.

Words & Photos: Rachel Ralph - rachel(at)fecalface.com

Gardenerism by Adam Batchelor
Tuesday, 15 January 2013 /// Written by Trippe

Gardenerism, pencil and coloured pencil on circular paper, by England based Adam Batchelor (b.1988). Read a mini interview we did with Adam back in 2010.

Detail of Gardenerism

Supersonic Electronic @Spoke Art
Wednesday, 09 January 2013 /// Written by Rachel Ralph

Work by Ken Garduno

Thursday night brought a packed crowd to Spoke Art where the gallery hosted the second annual Supersonic Electronic Invitational. For this show, 32 young artists were chosen by supersonicelectronic.com founder Zach Tutor, who sees them as the leaders of a new generation of artists. The space was packed with high-quality work, almost strictly limited to painting, and a small room in the back sold prints and gave drinks away to those who dared to enter the swarm. The space was so crammed that there was a line to get in, and the work seemed to be selling quickly and early, so the show seemed to be a great success in exposing these young artists to new audiences. It will definitely be worth a second look, where I may get the space to view each piece as it deserves.

Words & photos: Rachel Ralph -rachel(at)fecalface.com

Audrey Kawasaki

Jesse Balmer
Thursday, 20 December 2012 /// Written by Trippe

San Francisco artist Jesse Balmer emailed over this drawing recently and, by gosh, we'd like to share it with you.

Speaking of Jesse Balmer, we loaned supervisor Jane Kim artwork for her office, which included some work from Jesse Balmer, and we almost forgot about it. Damn, that was two years ago. Wonder if the works are still hanging. Might be time to investigate.

Balmer-Bavarsky-Olivo Babushka // pen + screentone

http://www.jessebalmer.com/

Curiot March in San Francisco
Tuesday, 20 November 2012 /// Written by Trippe

A sampling of newish works from Mexico City based Curiot who opens his solo show at FFDG this March.

Mel Kadel | The Diamond Sea
Wednesday, 14 November 2012 /// Written by Trippe

The Diamond Sea has concluded at FFDG, but there are some artists we've yet to profile that deserve to be.

Mel Kadel has just wrapped up her solo show Stuck On A Wave in Los Angeles at Merry Karnowsky Gallery and lives in LA where she now resides in a log cabin by the 5 Freeway with her partner, artist Travis Millard (also in The Diamond Sea). If you wanna have a look at their awesome cabin, check our visit from last year.

Location? Age? Education? Website?

Los Angeles, 39, BFA, melkadel.com