As 2011 finishes

As this year comes to an end I'd like to share a few things that kept me busy over the final two month's. One was this honey badger design that I also made in to a T-Shirt

Then there were these two pieces from my group show at Tiny Stage gallery.

Two Lover's Entwined

Distraction II

As far as next year goes I plan on doing a lot more of the same, this includes finishing the Distraction series. I also plan on doing a few more sculpture's. I had a great year as far as meeting a lot of new people, doing art is not always an easy path but it is often a rewarding one. I look forward to next year and what things I will get myself into.

Bazaar @ Crewest Gallery

I have had a very fun year and met a lot of cool people at all of the opening's. So a big thank you to everyone who has came out and supported my work. But the year is not over! So come out to what should be my last group show of the year.

 So I finally got back to some good ol' inkin'. This one is for my buddy John Lopez's EP coming out soon. I always thought Krang was very creepy when I was younger so it was fun to reinvent him in sort of the way I saw him as a kid.

Art Walk live painting

This Thursday I got to paint live with my buddy/artist Alex Gardner, at Artwalk in downtown Los Angeles. It was great to have to think on the spot, and combine different styles in only two hours, a big change from the long, non-collaborative direction my paintings usually take. 

I think there will definitely be a full, extensive piece involving both of us in the future. But for now we will be collaborating in a different way. We are both involved in a small group show at tinyStage gallery in Culver City, opening November 5th, titled 'Local Color'. Facebook Event page.

Don Draper Munny

So I recently finished up my first Munny sculpture. It was a tough process but I owe a lot of the tips I received to the amazing Kevin Gosselin. I can not wait to do more of these after I get a few painting's done. If interested inquire at GrayCurran[at]gmail.com.

Distraction I

Distraction I
Acrylic on panel. 16 x 20 inches.
2011.

 
Just finished the first piece of what will be a series of three. This series will be dealing with common distractions we find ourselves in. Not only are these distractions harmful to our lifestyle but at times we are unaware we are doing them at all. This is exaggerated in the piece above. The character is mesmerized by the television and open's his cage, oblivious to the tiger shark lurking behind him.

RAW "Junction"

Thursday night I will take part in my second event with RAW. The last one was a lot of fun so I am really looking forward to this one. I will have a few new pieces that were not at the last RAW event. Email me at GrayCurran [at] gmail.com if you would like to be added to my guest list.

On Saturday August 27th I will be taking part in 'A Raer Occasion'
This is an event put on by someone from Torrance, for Torrance. Rae Kiaha plans on giving back to our community in a big way and this is the first of it's kind. So come by, donate, and help some local kids begin a brighter future.

I will have my own booth with paintings and a custom Kid Robot Munny I just finished, as well as prints of 'Punxsutawney Murray'. So come say hi!

After working on my Munny sculpture today I decided to practice some digital sketching. I just watched the Dark Knight trailer and loved the new poster, so I did a logo inspired by that.

Crazy4Cult 5

Crazy4Cult 5 is now viewable online

Punxsutawney Murray
Acrylic on canvas. 18 x 24 inches.

Crazy4Cult 5 will remain up until July 30th, 2011.

Punxsutawney Murray
Acrylic. 18 x 24 inches

Next week is Crazy4cult 5! Above is my piece for the show inspired by Groundhog Day, one of my favorite films.

Crazy4Cult 5 opens July 8th at 7pm. See you there!

Prints are 12x16 inches on fine art paper.
Edition of 25. $20/each

Available here

Father's day commission.

I just finished a commissioned piece for Father's Day; in it is their two young daughter's who are obsessed with mermaids. I just delivered it this morning and it couldn't have gone to a better home. I also met the girls, I got a little confused when they didn't actually have mermaid tails, but then again I did just spend a run of 10 hour days in the studio.

Below are a few close ups.

A very busy and very fun weekend...

Back Street Boy's pose at Raw's Interactive. courtesy of
www.benmillerphoto.com

On Thursday night I was in downtown Los Angeles for Raw's show "Interactive" at the Elevate lounge. the place was amazing and I had a great time. I met a lot of nice people and everyone involved in putting on the event couldn't have been more kind to me. Below is a little video after I had set up, a few hours before the door's opened.



On Friday was the Wet Hot American Summer tribute show at Gallery 1988, Venice. It was my first time showing and visiting that location and I have to say they are in an awesome spot, right in between a record store and a 24 hour coffee shop. But beside the great location, the event was amazing. David Wain, Joe lo Truglio and Ken Marino were all in attendance. Although I didn't get to meet them I heard from a friend that they both enjoyed my depiction of their characters from the film. I couldn't have been happier to hear that since I am a huge fan of those dudes. A big thanks to Jensen Karp, Katie and all the Gallery1988 crew for including me in, and putting on such a great show.

My piece from the show:
"You're ok by me"
Acrylic. 11 x 14 inches

I am also extremely excited to announce that I will be in Crazy4cult 5 at Gallery1988 in July. I remember dreaming about being in this show since I started going to it a few years ago. My piece will be a Bill Murray tribute, because if you get a chance to paint Bill Murray living the same day over and over, you take it.

"Interactive" Art Event

Tickets are now available for RAWartist's event in which I am one of the featured Artist. The Elevate lounge looks like a great place and I am really looking forward to this night. Have a look at the link below for more details on the event and the Elevate Lounge.

Details:
Thursday, June 9th @ 8pm
21+
Elevate Lounge | 811 Wilshire Blvd | Los Angeles, CA 90017
Tickets are $10. If you would like to attend please send me an email at GrayCurran[at]Gmail.com and I will add you to my guest list and you can pay the night of.

Thanks for the support, hope to see everyone there!

Facebook event page here

June Summer in Wet Hot America

So after having something going on each month this year I have ran into a month of no shows but much productivity. It came at the perfect time because next month I will be in a group show at Gallery 1988, Venice (June 10th). I will also take part in an event with RawArtists.org at the elevate lounge (June 9th) in Los Angeles. I am extremely excited about both.

June 9th - Tickets for the RAW Artist's event will be available soon at a price of $10, it looks like they put on a great event so don't miss it.

June 10th - Getting started on the Gallery 1988 piece has been so tough because I am such a huge fan of the movie in which they are paying tribute to, I could have done several paintings but after many different sketches I finally decide on one to take to the canvas. Below is a sketch for the painting. I can finally breath and get the paint out on this one, I can't wait...

A shout out to my buddies; Alex Gardner who did this awesome illustration for our buddy Trevor's DJ night. He spins the groove to make your bodies move.

Rothick Art Haus "Doll Haus Show" April 9th 2011

"It's A Zoo In Here" Acrylic on Nesting Doll. 2011.
$125
Available through Rothick Art Haus. (714.829.8283)

On Saturday night I attended and took part in a great show at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim. The show had 50 artist's reinterpret the classic Russian Nesting Doll. It was a unique show because there was such a great variety of styles. I was excited to learn about some new artist's and new talent. See all the work here. Rothick really put together a great show and it is definitely worth checking out before it comes down on May 7th (Gallery is open 12pm-5pm on Saturday and Sunday)

Some shots of the set up (Great job Nick and Kelly!)

"Inle" group show. Gallery 1988, Melrose. Runs till April 8th

Fiver Foresight. 11x14, Acrylic.

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since the opening night of "Inle". The line didn't stop and there was such amazing artwork (see it here). I was honored to be in that show and I have to thank Greg Simkins for making that happen. Also, a thank you to Amber and Jensen of Gallery 1988, who put on another great night, and for letting my friends who lagged all night still come in 5 minutes before closing. Hurley did some great coverage of the night; they also spoke to Greg who curated the show about the theme and idea behind making this show happen, in their video here. I am excited to say that I will also be in two more shows with Gallery 1988 in the next few months, one being a tribute show to one of my favorite films!

Finally, on April 9th I will be at Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim where over 50 artist's reinterpret the Russian nesting doll. Going to be a one of a kind show, see you there.

I recently finished a painting titled "Caged Elephant", I also did a video along with it.
Below is a detail photo that links to the video.

This painting will be on display on Friday here:

"Inle" show curated by Greg "Craola" Simkins on 3/11

In a few weeks I have the pleasure of being in a show curated by my good friend and mentor Greg "Craola" Simkins titled "Inle" based on the book "Watership Down". This show is going to be amazing, the artist list is insane and it's going to be full of rabbits (water or oil based). So please come by it's going to be a ton of fun.

Also, I will be in a show on February 25th in Los Angeles. The show is based on one of the seven deadly sins - Wrath. Below is an in progress shot of my painting for that show.


See you soon!

"Taffy Colored Clouds" was a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. It was especially great because a lot of my old friends came. Unfortunately, we were all brought together again by the passing of one of my long time friends Trevon. I did a piece called "PYT (Pretty Young Tre) in honor of him, in which the profit was donated to a cause raising funds for Sickle Cell, the disease in which Trevon suffered and ultimately passed away from. To learn more about the cause click on the painting below.

PYT (Pretty Young Tre). 9x12, Acrylic (2011)

Alex Chiu also put on a great show, if you didn't make it out that night you should try to go before the show comes down on Feb. 5th (Rothick Art Haus, Anaheim) He literally filled the gallery up! He had about 150 pieces, everyone was pretty blown away. He is a great dude and I am always happy to be a part of anything he does.

Below are my other pieces for the show. If interested please contact:
Graycurran@gmail.com

The Quack. 9x12, Acrylic (2011)

Riley Raccoon. 9x12, Acrylic (2011)