#artofchase

As a tribute to Rip Cronk, the master muralist of Venice Beach, and his huge walls often painted while hanging many stories in the air—most notably his self-portrait painting “Venice” 5 stories above the boardwalk—Chase painted himself hanging from the side of this building on Hollywood Blvd. in Thai Town. Belgium-born Chase moved to Los Angeles in the 90s, largely drawn by his love of skateboarding, but he continues to do work around the world. He has now completed more than 250 pieces globally and in 2006 Italian Vogue named Chase as one of their favorite street artists along with Banksy, Shepard Fairey, and Space Invader. Wherever you find his quirky paintings they’re usually easy to identify from the signature eyes most often included.  @theartofchase​  @scenesfromthesidewalk

Tired of repeatedly repairing an old Long Beach work that was perpetually tagged, LongBeachize reports that “when the City had called Chase to ask him how much it would be to (once again) repair the mural, he gave them another option: provide him the supplies and he would do an entirely new mural.” In one 7-hour session Chase got the space cleaned up and the new work up. LongBeachize goes on to say that  “the easy postmodern commentary of Big Brother and panopticism could easily be applied to Chase’s obsession with eyes, he views them as nothing of the sort. ‘They’re all individual consciousnesses, y’know?’” While the two-handed heart symbol is popular in all kinds of contexts, Chase says the piece is also “a small wink toward the Crips and Bloods.” Each of the cupped hands also forms a Crip sign and the color scheme shouting Bloods adds an interesting historical reference. @theartofchase​ @longbeachize @scenesfromthesidewalk

6-8 minute practice sketches using reference photos from http://senshistock.deviantart.com/art/50-Hand-Challenge-Pack-244-Hand-References-348847368