7.21.2006

Ava and Graffiti

Ava and graffiti girl
Couldn't find that butterfly drawing of Ava's, but there's a slight chance it might be at my Mom's. Search party is still on.... In the meantime, check out these photos of a pudgy little Ava-girl prancing around some graffiti by dear ol' Dad. I painted this in 2002 at the Civic Yard, a completely legal wall that spanned several hundred feet. Well, this part you see here was the half-wall, over to the left when you pulled into the parking lot. The real wall (you don't see it in these pics) was about 15 to 20 feet high and featured some incredible burners during it's heyday. Some of the best writers would come to the Civic and do their thang. Most of the work you see in my graffiti photoset was painted there. The Civic was a great place to work on your steeds and can control. And with the parking lot set right up against the wall, it was a great place to chill with some fellow writers. Now that the Civic Yard is illegal, nothing. Nothing but an ugly, dull grey wall. It's sad, really. Here's some more shots of my half-wall piece and 2 year-old Ava:

Ava and graffiti head
CANON on the half wall at Civic
There was more to the piece on the right there, but I couldn't find the other photo. I planned on Photoshopping them together one day. This piece ran for about 2 years until they buffed over the entire place in 2004.

On the home hunting front: Andrea and I might've found a place, but we don't want to jinx it. More on that later, when it's a done deal. However, we do want to give a big THANK YOU to all of you who offered your help and sent us some suggestions. Very generous, guys. We really appreciate the fact that good people are out there and are willing to help a stressed out family in a time of need. Mucho gracias, peeps!

6 comments:

  1. seeing ava like this, walking around the civic with you-- brings back so much. I miss your pieces, I miss the civic. and I want to thank you for painting on a legal wall. I know you had so many other opportunities to paint all over the city with other graff writers-- but as a new mother, I didn't want to have to pick you up from jail in the middle of the night (ava in tow)... haha. funny, I think the beauty part of the civic yard is that the general public had no idea it was legal.

    anyway, looking forward to seeing you up again. legal or not.

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  2. if you dig deep enough, you'll find my story on graffiti, "sugar's bend"

    love the graffics!!!

    sincerely,
    superflywebpimp
    genuis author of the paragraph novels

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  3. Whoa...you mean that place is illegal now? That stinks. Cute pics, though.

    Thanks for the congrats on the show up here. Next time, you gotta' submit something. Sounds like Jared admires your work.

    I'm excited about it, yet I feel weird as well, considering it's being billed as an animator's extravaganza, and I'm not a "traditional cel animator". But, hey, it's not like the pieces are required to move (at least, not in this show!)

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  4. WOW !! THose are coool Graffiti paintings!!

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  5. Ah, I guess the stuff's alright...I mean, if you like looking at fun and interesting art...then I guess this is pretty good, hah.
    Oh, I don't usually like to "plug" things but if you haven't checked out the pilot on scifi.com for "The Amazing Screw-On Head"...you are DEFINATELY missing out my friend. I've got a link to it on my blog to make the trip faster...SO work the time.

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  6. Hey Ward! To answer your question, I wrote to Jared through his blog and asked him if I could submit work for the show. I sent him samples, and luckily, he liked what he saw and chose three pieces. I'm so glad I asked! It's a crime your stuff isn't going to be represented. Next time, you should definitely mail something to hang with these guys. (Sorry, I don't mean to sound nagging, I just think your character designs are SO the REAL DEAL!)

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