It seems like all the great artists that are producing ill graffiti are flocking to LA. I found myself traveling there plenty of times to observe and meet LA's finest artists. I found this show via a radio station which I listen to called hiphopphilosophy.com. It was held at the Crewest graffiti shop where I buy my spray nozzles from. This was a very exciting show for me because it featured one of the best or elite crews in graffiti period called CBS crew (Can't Be Stopped). CBS is a crew of only the best graff artists in LA. This is the group of individual which I look up to that are producing amazing work. During the show there were many artists signing guest blackbooks (sketch books). I got a chance to meet one of my favorite 3D graffiti artists named Ditch from CBS. I talked with him and he explained how he evolved into the graffiti scene and how his leters eventually took a three dimensional form. He talked about how he seen his letters as shapes. He consideres all modern art style when he paints and thinks of subjects of shapes. He simply picks and plugs which letters can be conformed to be abstracted shapes. He also said that he has been doing studies of 3D letters for over 15 years. he is concered about how the light is hitting his three dimensional shapes which happen to be letters. He almost seemed like an architect the way he explained the forms he paints. Although I talked to Ditch there are plenty of artists from CBS that are amzing.

While searching for insiring artists I came across this flyer about a graffiti great comming to LA to presenting some of his work. The Legendary COPE2 has been a prominent writter and has contributed to graffiti's success. He is most famous for being the first graffiti artists to go worldwide with his work signing a deal to put his pieces on the cover of TIME Magazine. So I jumped on a chance to meet one of the best artists graffiti has ever seen. What interested me about COPE2 is that his style of pieces are traditional NYC graffiti style. He has a tradmark NYC style that is rare now a days. The graffiti alphabet has changed and evolved so much from the early 80's to present, so it's unique to find somebody who has mastered the art of NYC graff. Another aspect of his work is the color layouts he uses. He uses a wide array of colors in his can pallete. He is one of the old school artists who has perfected the "Wild Style" art of graffiti. COP2 is a true legend.

Craola

Vyal



characters are a huge part of the graffiti game. There are even writters who only practice the art of the character. Characters interest me because of the fine detail that goes into some of the realistic non coartoon looking characters. Personally I love to paint characters over pieces because I feel like I'm bringing the painting to life more. These are just a few of the artists which I am inspired by.

Nosm
Gil

Ditch



Daim


3D graffiti pieces are the same as regular ones although they possess a three dimensional form. 3D graffiti forms are "traditional" graffiti letters that seek to render text so as to produce the sense that one is in the presence of a physical object. 3D graffiti seeks to capture the three dimensional aspect of the text. This type of graffiti focuses on perspective with an emphasis in depth effect. In 3D graffiti there is a strong emphasis on light, shape, and form.

This was a page that was created after the CHOR BOOGIE interview. It includes a full detail technique tip about using the "upside down" method when spraying

Paco Rosic is an aerosol artist that is originally from Sarajevo. He is famous for accomplishing a life long dream of recreating Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling in the medium of spray-paint.
Paco’s fascination with the Sistine Chapel began at age 6, when his mother, Anna, began sharing her passion for art. In the family home outside of Sarajevo, Anna, Paco and his older brother, Allen, would study books filled with the works of Pablo Picasso and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Although he was introduced to many artists it was the work of Michelangelo that caught his eye at an early age.
Rosic traveled to Rome in the spring of 2006 and spent four days in the Sistine Chapel sketching details. Back home, he practiced painting each biblical panel. Paco then hung the frames from wooden rafters in his garage and learned to work lying down. Paco used 12-ounce cans of Krylon spray paint to fulfill his lifelong obsession. Michelangelo, who was commissioned to paint the chapel in 1505, finished in 1512. Rosic spent four months reproducing a nearly half-scale replica of the fresco illustrating the birth of man and early Christian history, including nine scenes from the Book of Genesis and seven Old Testament prophets. He used over 5,000 cans of Krylon 12 oz. spray paint to create his vision. At $4.50 a piece that makes his masterpiece total of $20,000 or more.  During this time, the story of his recreation generated world-wide attention.  He was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, featured on ABC’s World News Tonight, and flew to New York for a guest appearance on the Rachael Ray Show.
Paco and his family spent their life savings, and his parents have taken a second mortgage on their home, to purchase a dilapidated building in Waterloo, Iowa.
They paid $67,000 in January, 2006 for the two-story, 1870's brick building that once housed an antiques store. The shop’s ceiling wasn’t curved, so the family hired workers to tear it down and create a plaster one that, at its highest point, is gently arched 14 feet above the floor. Paco ended up with 2,511 square feet of blank space.
When he started, he carried a sketch of the Sistine Chapel ceiling onto the scaffolding, but eventually, he left that at home because he memorized the painting. His reproduction is smaller, more vibrantly colored and has far fewer details. The eyes and cheekbones of the figures are made with broad lines of paint instead of tiny, delicate brushstrokes. Some of Paco’s Ignudi, or the naked males painted in the corners of the creation scenes, are surrounded by garlands of oak leaves similar to Michelangelo’s. The emerald-green garlands, like the folds in the prophets’ robes and the gentle sway of Noah’s beard blowing in the breeze, were painted freehand. When asked why her left out some details of the masterpiece he said “it’s too small of a detail. It would look like a big blob.”
Paco will continue to produce aerosol fine artworks in the future. Whenever he is inspired he works. Whenever he is commissioned he works. He is obsessed with his art and constantly looking at ways to push the boundaries of his craft.

MEAR ONE is an old school graffiti artist that has been doing aerosol art for decades. He is one of the most well respected graffiti artists of his time and often known for his political graffiti. Some people label him as the Michelangelo of graffiti. He has designed works for Conart, as well as albums covers for Limp Bizkit, and Busdriver.
MEAR ONE examines the aspects of content that accompany any piece of art. MEAR is literally working on communicating some of what we as society have forgotten or are unable to see. There are artists who paint with the intention to be the best, or to make a ton of money, some to become famous, but MEAR questions the intention of each of his individual works, asking is this a worthy concept; and what is the outcome of such a work that speaks to the masses. This is an involved process in which MEAR’s hopes are to bridge a gap between what is common and that which isn’t. To raise a responsible conversation on the topic that is displayed, i.e. the painting. MEAR’s works are meant to bring the unseen mysteries locked with in our minds to the foreground as if to take part in a grand expose`. The question of how did we become, and why. To see through the illusion of our decrepit social condition and speak out with art as a weapon of mass liberation.
As intense as that seems this is the quest of MEAR’s life as an artist. MEAR sees himself as a messenger as well a spiritual warrior using his imagination as a communication device. MEAR has often said that life is like an elevator in which there are uncomfortable silences experienced by those on the ride. Usually we keep to our selves in a state of shame choosing not to speak. If MEAR walked into that same elevator with a canvas depicting the most explicit vision, almost everyone on that elevator would take part in a conversation around the piece. Conviction and Integrity are words that describe his process. No matter what vision MEAR transcribes through his imagination, there is the deep connection between his thoughts and feelings and the work which MEAR teaches as well as learns. This brings the concept of sharing and receiving into light and finds purpose as an artist.