Random Beauty

Random Act paints a beautiful street painting with some flowers and a bold bird.

In mid-town Los Angeles.

Dig it~

Street Art Show Fundraiser to Benefit Street Art Photographer & Fire Victim

Street art photographer and M&F contributor Kelly Reyes experienced a personal tragedy recently when the complex she lived was completely destroyed by fire.

Fortunately, Kelly and her family survived and most of their pets were saved too.  However, basically everything Kelly owned--including her camera used to snap street art photos, was lost in the fire.  Kelly and her family spent a week at a Red Cross shelter after the fire, and are now trying to get back on their feet.  But after such an unexpected blow, it is difficult in every way to get re-established.

Kelly was a big supporter of LA's street art scene.  She has a natural talent as a photographer, and Kelly contributed photos to M&F as kells_bells1_ru.

In an effort from the street art community to try and give back to Kelly, Ethos Gallery/Street Art Sactuary/Jennifer Korsen are sponsoring a pop up art show fundraiser.  The art show goes down on June 22nd at a pop-up location, 7020 Melrose Ave.  The line-up features an impressive selection of artists and the art is reportedly priced to sell.  All proceeds go to supporting Kelly, so its win/win to get a cool piece of art, and help support a good cause.

For those who cannot make the art show or are not in the area, there is also a web page set up to take donations for Kelly and her family.

Support and Stay Up!~

Love Saves the Buff

This beautiful piece by Random Act has already got buffed.  But the piece of 'love' gets a second life forever online because M&F contributor John Wellington Ennis grabbed these pics and sent them in.

Stay up and stay lovely~

Random Act of Fuckin' Awesomeness

Random Act's flowers are fucking awesome, and here is a brand new beautiful new yellow daisy(?) getting pasted on La Cienega.

Dig it.  Keep making the world more beautiful~

Random Dance of Life

Random Act gets up with a fresh hand painted piece featuring the silhouette of a dancer in front of a sunflower.

Painted on a map from one of Random Act's travels.  Beautiful work

Shasta is also a friend o Random Act and her dogs, and perhaps Shasta smells her friends were here as she marks territory next to the box.

Dig it.  Stay up~

The Silver Lining to a Broken Arm

Here are pics of the latest rendition of the art on Random Act's cast.  For those who don't know, Random Act broke her hand in two spots while fighting with a pit bull--and she won~

Of course, no one wants to receive a broken arm, but when an artist like Random Act does, the silver lining is the opportunity to turn the cast into a canvas.

This is round 4 of the ongoing body art.   Click the jump for more

Random Act's Work of Art Arm Round 2

And here is Round 2 of Random Act's ever-evolving art on her casts.

Here she starts to incorporate little wheat pastes, maps, and a little saying that says 'Smile - it makes your day brighter as well as those around you.'

Dig it~

Random Act Work of Art Arm

Random Act's broken hand, with injuries sustained fighting a pit bull, is currently in its 3rd stage (Check it out HERE).

But here are pics of the first rendition, with hand painted flowers, painted by Random's left hand and a tag from War 'n Buffit saying 'You can break my bones but not my faith'.

Cool how Random Act has 'redeemed' her broken arm, turning an ailment into a work of art.

Random Act - Fighting Pitbulls, Kicking Ass & Breaking Bones!

Street artist Random Act is one of the most peaceful, spiritualistic people we know.  Ironically enough,  she is also the only person we know right now with a broken hand for getting in a fight.  Her claim to fame is that she kicked a pit bull's ass!

What happened is that Random Act owns a lovable and feisty 6 pound dog named Buckley.  Buckley was tortured and abused by its first owners, and with a story that should inspire animal lovers everywhere, Random Act initially confronted the owners about the abuse.  She eventually contacted the authorities, and then, one night out of the blue the abusive owners showed up at here door saying they could not take care of the dog and so Random Act started taking care of it.

Even though this poor little dog was only 6 pounds, it brought with it a mountain of baggage from the abuse.  Once Buckley started living with Random Act, the dog did mellow out quite a bit and he has a lovably engaging personality.  However, even though Buckley loved and flourished in his new home, he was still angry with the rest of the world for the abuse he had gone through.  Buckley might be 6 pounds but he has teeth and he is not afraid to use them, on people or pets (After we were friends, Buckley even nipped the heel of Greg from M&F's shoe!).

Well, one morning Buckley ran out of Random Acts house at 5 in the morning, where an unfortunate and otherwise well-behaved pit bull was walking on leash.  Buckley went straight for the pit bull and started a fight.  Buckley did get a few bites in on the bigger dog before he ended up clamped in the larger dog's mouth.  Worried for the life of her companion, Random Act forgot about her safety and jumped into the fray.  She personally fought the pit bull so hard that she broke her hand in two places during the battle.  The good news is that Random Act did manage to free Buckley from the pit bull and Buckley is alright.  He survived, and hopefully is a bit wiser for the experience.  Buckley did earn an emergency hospital visit with some deep puncture wounds from the pit bulls bites, but the wounds have mostly healed and he has almost made a full recovery by now.

Its a pretty cool story to say that you got in a fist fight with a pit bull--and won!  However, Random Act is still stuck with a broken healing hand--and it is her right hand which is her painting hand!  The recovery process is slow.  She is now onto her 2nd cast, and will probably be in a splint for another month or more.  However, Random Act takes a lot of pride in 'redeeming' the bad parts in life, and making them good.  She has done just that by taking her broken arm, and turning the cast into a work of art.

This is a beautiful piece of art on Random Act's arm.  Enjoy the pics of her cast.

Stay up and keep kicking ass!

Best Street Artist of the Year 2012

LA boasts some of the most active streets for art in the world.  We have quantity and quality.  It was a great pleasure clicking through old blog entries and traveling down memory lane in a search for the 'Best Street Art, Graffiti, and Sticker Artist of 2012'.  As M&F was filing through every single post and picture from 2012, there were 3 names that kept coming up.  Although their methods differ, these artists share some key accomplishments.  All 3 artists have been active on LA's streets all year long.  All 3 artists, each in their own way, have used their art to do new things and push forward the street art movement.  But paramount to all this, M&F believes that these 3 artists will be the champions and spokespersons for the next generation of street art--Community Oriented Street Art.  So, who is the top street artist in LA for 2012?  Well, LA has so much street art activity, that there couldn't be just one.  Each of these artists deserves the award in their own right, but together it just shows how strong LA's scene is.  The Best Street Artist 2012 is awarded to Snyder, Teacher and Morley.

Teacher

Teacher is the returning and repeat champion.  Teacher was crowned 2011's Street Artist of the Year after a stellar year hitting the streets.  However, just like Spinal Tap, when you think 10 is turned up all the way, Teacher cranks it up to 11.  Flat out, Teacher is one of the most talented and productive artists anywhere--and we're not just talking street.  Teacher is so talented he can hold his own against any artist anywhere street or not, being a street artist just means that he has bigger balls.  

Teacher produced dozens of new and original designs for street art pieces this year, and each of those designs has then had multiple street applications.  To put that in perspective, Teacher's productivity this year is more than many artists accomplish in a lifetime.  In 2012, Teacher has hit the streets with wheat pastes, stencils, wooden cut outs, coins, plastic molds, custom signs, miniature billboards and even more mediums of getting up.  

A large part of Teacher's work this year was aimed at tributing his favorite artists.  Teacher has done street portraits of Gustav Klimt, Shepard Fairey, Revok, Saber, and more.  What is most remarkable about Teacher's work is that he has developed his own signature style of stencil without using a computer.  Teacher is able to do something that has never been seen done before or elsewhere--he creates the stencil effect himself out of his own mind without using any graphic tool.  Speaking of 11, this is next level stuff.  

. . . And pushing the meter up to 12, Teacher is currently engaged with an amazing series of paintings where Teacher paints actual street scenes in his fine art style.  The paintings are embellished with Teacher's artistic vision of wild animals in the modern urban jungle.  It is truly incredible and visionary work that we believe one day will be fully appreciated by the fine art world as such.  

Teacher has also lived up to his name and spent time volunteering and painting at Fairfax High School in 2012.  His work is always highlighting progressive social causes, like with his 'Teach Us Too' campaign championing 14 year old women's civil rights activist Malala Yousafzai.  Teacher even travelled to Sacramento to visit the California State Capitol building and put up multiple pieces on the property itself to sway the politicians and policy makers to provide better funding for education and 'Teach Each Child'.  Indeed, Teacher practices what he preaches, and the world would be a better place if more people were like him.  Teacher loves to incorporate lions into his work, which is fitting.  Teacher is a lion among men, and just like the lion is king of the jungle, Teacher remains king of the streets.

Snyder

Snyder is a great artist.  Not only is he a great artist, Snyder is aware of the conversation he is having with other great artists in the history of the world.  In fact, Snyder cites Jackson Pollock’s drip technique, Banksy’s stencils, Van Gogh’s palette and texture, Cezanne’s meticulous attention to composition and Warhol’s iconography in contributing to Snyder's inventing his very own method, the drip stencil technique.  

Snyder has gotten up all over Los Angeles, and this year he also took his show on the road around the globe.  Snyder travelled to Australia, Costa Rica, and China to put up his street art in 2012.  Snyder also made a trip to Miami for Art Basel, but you wouldn't find Snyder's art inside any of the stuffy galleries. Instead, Snyder put the art from his ever-evolving 'Urban Street Art Gallery' on the streets.  As it should be.  Snyder also got caught up in some of the biggest street art dramas from 2012.  First off, when he retaliated to Austrailian and self-proclaimed 'adventure artist' Anthony Lister going over one of his pieces on Melrose.  Snyder got the last laugh and became a hero in the community when he responded by painting a monkey throwing bananas at the piece from Lister.  Even if Snyder's art is fun and approachable to all types of people, he is not a pushover.  When a less popular street art blog took an unfair swipe at Snyder's art by incorrectly suggesting that Snyder had bitten some work, Snyder was able to produce images dating back 20 years of how he developed his own personal style.  

Snyder's art is special because it connects with all types of people from all ages and walks of life.  His work is accessible to the youngest children, yet it can also be enjoyed by even the surliest adult.  Which is perfect, because Snyder is the most community oriented street artist we have ever met.  Snyder is hyper aware of the role that is art will play on the streets and how street art serves to engage the community.  Snyder takes the street involvement even further by sponsoring art giveaways, public art takeovers, and community art events.  

The community has responded and Snyder is something of a local celebrity when he paints in Los Angeles, although he lives a couple hours south in Carlsbad.  We hear he has rock star status there, and we are not even half joking.   Even the county planner where Snyder is from is a fan of Snyder's work and complimented him on his illegal pieces at a local site.  Snyder's art is so approachable, that even if the piece is illegal, like Snyder's 'Dunce' which has been riding on Melrose for all of 2012, the building owners want it on there and will preserve that piece by buffing the tags that go up around it on the wall.  Snyder is one of the few street artists who has been caught doing a wall illegally, and then offered a wall by the business owner, or have the city buff the art around his piece, while leaving his piece untouched.   

Snyder has a special talent and is one of the top street artists for incorporating the natural environment into his pieces.  

Snyder's art game is complete.  He excels on the streets and on canvas.  Snyder is aware of the position and power as an artist, and he uses his influence to reach out to the community.  Snyder had a stellar year in 2012, and M&F believes that Snyder is building one of the most successful art careers the world has ever witnessed.  Snyder lives his art. Snyder earned Best Street Artist of the Year 2012 and history is happening now.  

Morley

Morley is LA's Poet of the Streets.  Those are our words, not his.  Morley would probably find a better way to phrase it~

On the streets, Morley has essentially created his own type of street art. Whereas most street art is image based, Morley's is word based.  Morley pairs his word based art pieces with a disarming sketch of himself to successfully solicit and tap into the street reader's nostalgia.  Morley has a unique gift for what he does. When it comes to artists on the streets, nearly everyone uses words, but no one uses them so well.  Morley's street poetry is poignant enough to cause a person to think, and packaged short enough to be consumed in a moment.  

Beyond the words, Morley has a gift to tap into the larger life themes that all modern humans grapple with.  Morley modernizes and personalizes the search for self identity with his dapper word smithery.  As Morley promises, 'you won't always be just a waitress'.  

Morley has even created a unique aesthetic for his art, inventing his very own 'Morley Font'.  Morley will repeat pieces, but rarely and infrequently.  Most of the time, whenever you spot Morley piece it is a different and unique street poem, which makes each spotting special in its own way.  

Morley has also experienced a lot of success with his indoor work and with prints, and he has been signed to the esteemed Lazarides' Outsiders division.  The Outsiders sponsored Morley's first solo art show in London in 2012, and it was a smash hit.   Morley connects and communicates with the community at large the best way a street artist can, on the streets, and therefore as the unofficial street spokesperson for the genre.  

Special shout out to all the many artists doing amazing things on LA's streets this year.  Honorable mention for Best Street Artist of the Year goes to You Killed Me First, There She Is, Random Act, All the Girls Love Earl, Ramiro Gomez Jr., Cyrcle, Thrashbird/TBD Photography, Plastic Jesus, Chod, Bumboy WC, Bandit, Kiosk, and RS70.  

Happy New Year from Random Act

Random Act wishes everyone a New Year filled with goodness, health and prosperity~

Dig it.  And Stay Up!~

Random Bird

Random Act is best known for her flowers, but that is not all she does.  Here is a bird stencil from Random Act.

Stay up!

Random Act - Americana Art Show

One of M&F's favorite street artists, Random Act, opens her new solo art show 'Americana' tonight at Lab Art.  Here is a story that was originally posted on the Huffington Post.  In the meantime, enjoy these words about and art from Random Act.

The show will also feature impressive collaborations with fellow LA street artists, Snyder, Lydiaemily, KH. no 7 and more.

Random Act

The Revolution Will be Lived

In this day and age, there is almost a digital buffer between people and the lives we live.  Nearly every interaction is filtered through some sort of screen or technology.  However, Los Angeles based fine artist Adrea LaHue a.k.a. street artist Random Act, uses life to break free from this technology cave that we each live in.  Her latest solo art show 'Americana: The Revolution Will Be Live' travels back to pre-digital times, and capture the essence and the glory of what it means to be American.   

Andrea is perhaps best known as her alter ego, the street artist Random Act.  Random Act is how Andrea signs her pieces when she paints gorgeous larger than life flowers on abandoned buildings in dilapidated urban areas.  Random Act is based in Los Angeles but took her show on the road last year when she drove across the entire United States during a journey she entitled 'Cross Country Random Act of Flowers'.  Andrea painted over 150 flowers in 49 cities, from LA to Harlem.  Along her journey, she accumulated the experiences that will comprise the body of her upcoming art show, Americana. 

If exciting lives lead to exciting art, then this show will be a thriller.  Just as Vincent Van Gogh lopped off his ear, Andrea has her own epic battle stories to tell.  For instance, her painting hand is currently bandaged in a plaster cast from her knuckles up to her elbow after she broke her hand in two places in a fight trying to free her feisty 5 pound puppy dog from the clamped jaws of a pit bull.  Its stories like this that have inspired Andrea's fine art for her show, Americana.  One of our favorite pieces is a painting of her same puppy dog, Buckley.  Andrea's heroism did get save Buckley from the pit bull, and her painting pictures Buckley smiling as the Texas wind blows through his hair.

Andrea's paintings look great on plywood on the streets and on a canvas hanging on the wall.  The paintings for her upcoming show are beautiful pieces of work that stand on their own, each as something aesthetically strong and pleasing.  Beyond that, Andrea says her paintings seek to 'redeem' and 'reveal'.  Redeem because the energy of the pieces is hopeful and bright.  Random Act says that she is aware that everything in life has both good and bad elements.  Her goal is to 'redeem' the moments that make up life by taking the bad and re-mixing it into something good.  She succeeds in doing this, and the pieces are not static.  Rather, the mixed medium materials keep revealing themselves in new ways.  Like a narrative with many sub-plots, each painting has many parts contributing to the whole and Andrea's backgrounds are loaded with subtle tangible recollections from Andrea's travels across Americana.  

The tag line for Andrea's Americana harkens back to Gil Scott-Heron's famous declaration, 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised'.  Indeed, the Revolution won't be found on any screen, because each person's true revolution cannot be broadcast, it must be lived.  Walk away from your computer.  Set down your cell phone.  Keep an eye out for Random Acts of flowers on the streets, and come experience Andrea Lahue's revolution for Americana.

Practice and Preach Random Acts of Kindness

Random Act is one of M&F's favorite artists on the streets.  Not only does she paint gorgeous flowers around LA, but she also practices what she preaches and is an inspiration as a source for kindness.

A beautiful thin leafed daisy from Random Act blossoms in the heart of Hollywood.

Get Better and Stay Up!~

Flowers on the Flower Store

Random Act paints a beautiful flower on the vacant remains of an old weed flower shop in West Hollywood.

Dig the purple popping off the yellow canvas.

Stay up and stay beautiful~

Yellow

Random Act paints a gorgeous yellow flower on Melrose.

It looks like a rogue spot plant that grew off from the the yellow bouquet that is the building next door.

Dig it~

I Own You

New piece in Hollywood saying 'I Own You' with the spray paint interacting with a wheat paste of the guy writing it.  Not sure who the guy pictured is?

Next to a pretty white flower from Random Act.


***Thanks to John Wellington Ennis for the pic!***

Street Flowers

Some beautiful luscious red flowers painted by Random Act along Pico.

Looks like Red Calla Lillies up top, and what are the ones down below?

Random Act of Flowers

Always love seeing Random Act's random hand painted flowers around Los Angeles.

Random T Shirt

Picture of Random Act wearing a Random Act t-shirt, which she says is "the only one".