The Skull Project...

In 2003 Matthew Amey created the Skull Reference, a book which contains 151 contour-line drawings of a human skull.

In 2006 he decided to take that book one step further, to show how a variety of artists can use a similar framework to produce a wide range of imagery. Therefore, he invited 150 artists to each take one page of the book and draw on their own experiences and inspirations to draw or paint their interpretation of the image.

Skull Project is the culmination of those efforts and is available as a limited edition hardbound copy. Each book is individually numbered and comes with a slipcase to protect this fantastic collection of artwork.

'Limited Edition' - 2000 signed and numbered hardcover books with slipcases.

151 artists, 151 skulls, 18 countries, 1 book.

I'm on page #40.

For a list of participating artists visit:

The Skull Project

New Purchase...

Just bought this MADBALL tribute painting from Lamour Supreme! Jealous?
More of his work for sale here and here

Our newest addition, DINO Ciaramello!!!

MMMMMM..DONUT....

Marvin could not resist the HOMER donut from 7-11. You gotta see one! It's awesome!

Another 3-D cutout

Druid Princess Next Door to KKG!!!

First the Kustom Kulture Gallery and now this!!! I have come to find out that just a few doors down the Roth creation "Druid Princess" is being worked on right here in beautiful BALDWIN NY!!! Coincidence? MUHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!
Me and the Princess....
Nice Rear!
Hemi Goodness with icing on top!!!
Thanks Bobby at A&B upholstery!

the genius of Lucky Rudy...

Keith asked me to re-post this killer look into Lucky Rudy's world which I originally posted over at the Global Art Jam blog, so here ya go everybody! Enjoy!

I've been following Lucky Rudy's work for well over a year or two now. I first saw it in an issue of Nash's Burnout magazine, where there was a Crowd of Hoods ad, and I instantly became a fan. Rudy's blog is in my top 10 Japanese artist blogs that I hit, virtually every day. His site encompasses things about Japanese greasy kulture that I love: rockabilly, psychobilly, skulls, zombies, horror movies, hot rods, punk, tattoos, and rock and roll. His amazingly hand-crafted figures and sculptures are out of this friggin' world. His clothing line, would make any rockabilly cat drool....

I was stoked when Rudy wrote me that he would dig being a part of the Global Art Jam.

One day when I meet Rudy, I want to check out his studio, which seems to be packed FULL of eye-candy. Collections of cool stuff that would keep someone busy looking for hours. I know when I get lucky enough to own a Rudy original, my house and my private collection of artwork will be much better with his work in it.

Check out his blog. Add him to your favorite's list.

He's on MySpace too.

And for now, enjoy just a SMALL glimpse of some of his amazing work...

Collaborative, freestyle painting. Marvin & Keith 2

Here's our second sitting (standing, LOL!). We took it outside and hit it with some spray paint, flung some paint at it, got in there and finger painted a bit too. Next we brought it back in the studio and put in about a half hour or so of brush work. Here it is three hours total....



More to come! Video too! Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast!

Pinstriped Figs for commision...

Toy customizing interview with Keith...

New interview with Keith Ciaramello about toy customizing.

Collaborative, freestyle painting. Marvin & Keith

Marvin and I took our first stab at collaborative, freestyle painting (as made famous by the "Art Fusion Experiment"). Man it was exciting! We were both a little nervous as we made our first marks...But then we were off and running!The canvas is LARGE 36x48. We got into it with a very loose idea, but for the most part this is the result of just a little under two hours of loose, freestyle painting with acrylics and household sponges. We are calling it "stage one" and agree that the stage is not yet complete. We are going to add more sponge work, splatter, texture..possibly spray paint too. I think we are going to take it outside today so we can get a little more messy about it.
After stage one we will switch over from sponges to brushes and begin to tweak and tighten. I can't wait to see the finished product!
One thing is for sure, I see us doing way more of these in the future!
I'll post the video podcast of session one as soon as possible.
Thanks for checking it out!
Keith Ciaramello & Marvin Silva
www.kustomkulturegallery.com

couple of new tattoos

A cover-up I did last night. I might have to go back in there because you can still kind of see what's underneath.
my first shot at a polynesian style tribal band. definitely more interesting... my opinion.
a mutant spider based off of Spiderman, and a jumping spider.

"Rippin' Gears" Cutout

Revised Tiki painting

Tiki Cutouts

BNB Submissions..

"Brushes, Needles and Burnouts"

We are sending out this e-mail to ask you to submit a piece of your artwork for (and to attend if possible) our Kustom Kutlure and Pinstriping art show Brushes, Needles and Burnouts 2007. The show runs from October 6 ‘til November 17, with a two-day party/live event on October 6 and 7, 2007.

"Brushes, Needles and Burnouts" is a showcase for painting, illustration, pinstriping, and tattoo art that reflect the kustom kulture lifestyle"

You can visit our website to see past “BNB” events.
www.kustomkulturegallery.com

"The Burnout Network" is attending from Japan again. Makoto, Mr.G, Low Hide and others will all be here to pinstripe anything you bring to the show (Yes, cars and bikes too). Special thanks to Nash from Burnout and Hard Core Rod & Kustom magazines for bringing these artists back to New York!

October 6th and 7th, 2007
Brushes, Needles and Burnouts 2007
Pinstriper's Ball & Lowbrow Artshow

Pinstriping & Airbrushing on site by the world's finest artists!
Artist's Reception~Live Event: October 6th and 7th, 2007
Show hangs until November 17

DEADLINE FOR RSVP:
August 30th

All artwork will be considered for placement in the show, but space is limited. We are not accepting posters, prints or artwork that is "not for sale."

E-mail a bio, your contact information and an image of your piece. Please include the dimensions.

Please include the "Gallery asking price" for your piece and remember that in the event that your artwork is sold, you will receive 60% of the "Gallery asking price". Checks will be mailed immediately following the close of the show on November 17th.

E-mail images (gif or jpeg please) to: kustomkulture@optonline.net
You can also send a slide or printout via snail-mail to the gallery. Deadline still applies.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS:
August 30
Pieces submitted after the deadline will not be included for consideration.

ARTWORK Drop-Off Deadline:
Selected artwork must arrive at the gallery no later than September 17.

SHIPPING SUGGESTIONS:
Artists are responsible for shipping their art to the gallery. In the
event that it does not sell, the artist is responsible for shipping
the artwork from the gallery back to themselves. Please make
arrangements in advance as we cannot store artwork.
It is suggested that you ship your art with insurance and in a
reusable, durable container with return shipping guaranteed.

Please call us with any questions.

Keith

--
Keith Ciaramello
Artist•Designer•Curator
Kustom Kulture Ink, inc.
www.kustomkulturegallery.com
www.sketchkult.com
Gallery, Tattoo, Graphic Design & Gifts
778 Merrick Road
Baldwin, NY 11510-3523
516.MAD.KOOL
516.623.5665
Monday through Saturday, 1pm-9pm (EST)
kustomkulture@optonline.net

All City Coffee t-shirt design

The guys at All City Coffee asked me and four other artists to contribute a design for their new line of custom tee shirts. The assignment- do any design you want, as long as it has the All City logo. All five tees were on sale last night at the All City coffee shop in Pioneer square for First Thursday. There was also live art done by the four artists that designed the shirts. All in all, it was good times.
Anyway, here are a few pencil roughs for the t -shirt. The above sketch is actually two in one. The bottom right is a small 2"x3" thumbnail that I decided to go off of. I did some bigger sized sketches of that little design, trying to work out different design elements. I think the original idea kind of got lost when I edited out all the design-y crap.

To me the All City vibe is always about good music. When those guys throw a party, the vinyl is in full effect and asses are shakin. Also, the one way to tell if someone isn't from Georgetown, where the first All City Coffe shop started, is if they look up at the planes that fly over. All City is near the edge of Boeing field, and they get everything from small bi-planes to big ass army jets flying over head.
If you're from the neighborhood, and a big loud plane flies over, you shut up and drink your coffee and wait 'till it passes before you finish your conversation. If your not from the 'hood, you rubberneck.


Here's' a closer version to the final. The most challenging part about this design was picking the colors. While doing it, I realized that I never did any t-shirts that were more than one color. Not being able to control exactly what the t-shirt color was or the PMS colors drove me crazy. I did get a chance to see the shirts last night for the first time, and I was pretty pleased with the results.

Original Sin

So, awhile back, Keith asked me to post some of my art posts on here. I hope this will give you some insight into the art process. This latest piece is for a group show that goes down next month in Columbus, Ohio at the Artful Dodger Gallery. I was asked, awhile back to submit a painting for the first group show by tattoo artist Kat.

I met her last year when she was in town for the local tattoo convention. Since that initial meeting, she's acquired a space for her own tattoo business, as well as turning it into a gallery. Build it, and they will come.

The theme for the group show is the name of the gallery. The Artful Dodger. I have to admit, it was a little tough at first to come up with an idea for that theme. To me, that literal description. made me think, "Who is the most artful-ist dodger in history, ever"? Well, Satan of course.

You have to admit, since day one, Lucifer was right in there, without missing a beat, ready to stir things up. And let's face it, he pretty much, always gets away with it. You can't turn down original sin, and even if you don't want to admit it, EVERYONE commits a sin in some form. Even if it's stuffing your face with that last juicy turkey leg at Thanksgiving. That's right Mr/Mrs Gluttony, suck on that bone as children in Africa starve. Mmmm mmmmm good.

Satan was so clever, he would even sneak his evil messages into our children's favorite rock songs. So clever you'd have to play them backwards to hear them.

Here are really loose sketches done early on, just to get some ideas going. I can't remember why, I decided to go with the oval canvas. I think it just has more of a "portrait" feel to it, even though it's not really a portrait. Besides, I kept walking by the oval canvases at the art store. I never painted on one, so, what the hell. I think the canvas size I picked was 14"x16".

Having Satan tempting an angel seemed like a good idea for getting the whole artful dodger thing across, I thought. Artful at temptation. Artful at pimping. Hence, the apple, and the pimp crown.
After deciding on poses and such, the next step was tightening up the idea. The sketch on the far right felt like it was getting close to what I was picturing. That sketch was scanned in and measured out on the computer (middle sketch) so I could get a better feel for the oval canvas. I even started to go in on that sketch, in photoshop, and started to figure out the "evil Kirk" under lighting. There in hell, man. You HAVE to have evil under lighting. The far left sketch was tightened up over a print out of the middle sketch.

After that sketch was done, it was transfered to the canvas, and there you go, done. Sorry I don't have any step by step photos of the painting process. Maybe I'll have some for the next painting. I do have to show a close-up of the angel's tattoo, though. On here back thigh I wanted to have the L'il Devil character. Just having the devil and an angel posing in hell didn't seem like enough to me. With a tattoo of a cartoon devil and a bite taken out of the apple, there's no doubt as to who owns who in the painting. P-I-M-P.

Anyway, hope that was helpful. 'Till next time, -Augie