This Is Not A Bear / The Ears Make The Rabbit

On June 20th, 2014, Snap! Orlando featured me in a group show "Snap! Attacks!"

For the show, I wanted to try something a little different, and my idea came from a conversation I had with my friend Sket One. 

In 2012 Sket and I showed together at the Coachella Music & Art Festival. For that show, we were asked to live paint in an un-airconditioned room in the middle of the Palm Desert. I can soundly say it was the environment that inspired me to I create this painting. As you can see, the piece features an angry bear, and behind it, the words "Fuck It's Hot" are repeated over and over. Afterwards Sket mentioned that he found my letter styling to be intriguing and that he wouldn't mind seeing it employed the same way graffiti writers use letters as graphic art. It was this little compliment gave me the confidence to create the following paintings:

This Is Not A Bear

11"x 14"

Acrylic on Wood Panel

2014

The Ears Make The Rabbit

11"x 14"

Acrylic on Wood Panel

2014

"This Is Not A Bear" states the little know fact that my "bear" character was not originally supposed to be a bear. The design was supposed to encapsulate "cuteness & innocence" and it was based on Hello Kitty's minimalist design. Of course there are certain paintings where the character was definitely supposed to be a bear. (Paintings like "The Queen Is Dead", "Bear In Mind", or "Honey Bear" come to mind.) But it wasn't till I realized that my audience was comfortable with the notion of bears driving the narrative did I settle with him being one.

"The Ears Make The Rabbit" reflects on my shoddy skills as a character designer, and how the difference between my bears and rabbits lie solely on the length of their ears.