Meet Tristan Eaton, an artist from Los Angeles

Tristan Eaton | Art-PieTristan Eaton is an American artist from Los Angeles. He is a graffiti artist, illustrator, toy designer and also a street art muralist.

Eaton was born in 1978, in Los Angeles, California.

Going from places to places

When he was 8 years old, his family moved to London, England. At age 16, they moved back to the United States but this time to Detroit, Michigan. While Eaton loved the city of Detroit, he always wanted to live in a big city and thus, moved to New York when he was 20 years old.

During his teenage years, Eaton painted everything, from dumpsters to billboards, wherever he lived. He had a troubled childhood and was arrested many times for shoplifting and making graffiti.

He used art as an escape from reality and also to escape from legal authorities by providing artistic evidence to judges, principles and police officers.

Tristan Eaton | Art-Pie

“I am not a graffiti artist”

Eaton became interested in graffiti when he was in London and upon moving to Detroit he started doing a lot of graffiti, mainly due to lack of police regulation. He doesn’t consider himself a graffiti artist but more of a muralist.

His graffiti work does not consist of letters but mostly characters. For his graffiti work, he never focused on using just spray paint but painted with whatever he could get his hands on. According to him, good graffiti is painting something big and beautiful but illegally. Everything else is mural work for him.

Tristan Eaton | Art-Pie

A keen interest in comic books

His interest in comic books also peaked during his time in London. He was inspired by the 2000AD Magazine by British illustrators. He would draw characters from comic books, such as Jack Kirby, early X-Men, Silver Surfer and even the anime film, Akira. At 18, he made his first toy for Fisher Price, which was the beginning of many to come. His creativity led him to becoming a leader in advertising.

He was a regular consultant for many clients, such as Hasbro, Pepsi and Nike.

Tristan Eaton | Art-PieEaton was approached by Kidrobot designer, Paul Budnitz, who offered him to work as an art director on an animated film called Kidrobot. Kidrobot became so popular they stopped working on it and started producing designer toys, mainly action figures.

The action figures were made on a limited edition basis and were inspired by the work of famous graffiti artists and hip-hop culture. Eaton believed these toys allowed people to purchase something which tied fine art with consumerism, because fine art is extremely expensive while consumerism is affordable and available to the masses.

This idea gave birth to these limited edition designer toys that led Eaton to become internationally famous with a huge fan base.

Eaton wanted to showcase his art to the lower-class of the urban cities he visited. He believed everybody had the right to have access to fine art and they did not just had to see gray buildings and big billboards. With this intention, he created remarkable murals all over the country.

Inspirations and where to see Tristan’s works

Eaton claims his artwork is inspired from Os Gemeos, Mode 2, Takishi Murikami and many others. His creations can be viewed at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and some of his collection at the Museum of Modern Art is permanent. On his website, Eaton states “outdoor, public art is the most important to me. Public art has the ability to inspire and transform our communities.” It is obvious how important it is for Eaton to share his art with the rest of the world.

Tristan Eaton | Art-Pie

Currently, Eaton is the President and Creative Director at Thunderdog Studios Inc. Thunderdog is a prominent brand for designer toys and a creative agency based in New York. Thunderdog is the backbone of all of Eaton’s work. His team at Thunderdog helps him put together big projects, such as toys and video collaborations. Tristan Eaton happily resides in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

More on Tristan Eaton’s website

‘Brushes’ iPhone app: painting at the touch of your finger

If you read my post about digital painting, you may have got that ART-PIE believes in the ‘get your hands dirty’ approach when it comes to make art. Get your brushes, pencils, spray paint cans, anything and everything and get physical with the whole lot to get that unique feeling of satisfaction when finally the idea that was stuck in your head for a while is now right there in front of you and ready to be seen by others. Continue reading ‘Brushes’ iPhone app: painting at the touch of your finger

WX Street Party: the rise of the non-conformists

Summer time and outdoors urban art exhibition sound like they are made for each other so you imagine my excitement when I heard about the Whitecross street party.

I am lucky enough to work quite near the area and had unfairly some might say went a few days earlier to get a sneak preview at the artworks which were starting to pop up everywhere on the walls of Whitecross street. The huge piece from Burning Candy had definitely open my appetite for more.

I turned up then early afternoon on Saturday and was happy to see that the street was fairly busy with heads going up and down the surrounding walls and fingers pointing at will. I was quick to join and enjoy Burning Candy, EElus or Best Ever pieces.

I was disappointed though by the lack of live events. I perhaps should have turned up earlier and could have attended the giant knitting event or was I expecting too much? Anyway, it was good to see some artists at it at least stenciling and spraying away.

Good day out overall and definitely some awesome pieces to go and see. The street exhibition runs until the 5th September.

Featured artists:
Best Ever | Burning Candy Crew | Carrie Reichardt | David Bray | Dead Leg | Dotmasters | Dr.D | Eelus | Filthy Luker | Gavin Turk | Giles Walker | Small | Mysterious Al | Mr.E.Dawe | Paul Insect | Peter Dunne | Ronnie Wood | Shepherd Fairey | Teddy Baden | Will Barras | Wreckage | Xenz

Related links
> WX street party website
> WX street party on Flickr

ART-PIE

When do you take warning from your habits?

Parc_del_Laberint_d’Horta_-_Hermit’s_cabin_-_The_monkI’m a terrible creature of habit. I like my routines because they free up brain space for more important stuff – the stuff where I can be really creative and unpredictable. Mostly, I live in harmony with my habits, enjoying their usefulness and the comfort they bring, but there have been times when my habits have given me cause for alarm.

This is the topic of the latest RECURSIVE post: Where does it turn?

Discussion topic 3: WHEN DO YOU TAKE WARNING FROM A HABIT?

Pop over to RECURSIVE to find out about a fascinating study from MIT which finds that habits are formed in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and not in the subconscious. Then join in the discussion by leaving a comment.

Banksy new pieces in Los Angeles – part2

This is the follow up of the first set of new pieces from Banksy spotted in Los Angeles last week, read about it here

Two more pieces can be now seen in L.A. One is located not far from the USC campus and depicts what looks like a family running with a kite, understand here the comparison with the illegal immigrant caution signs that can be seen along the Mexican border.

Another quite quirky piece has been done on an abandoned oil tanker. A simple message says on it – This Looks A Bit Like An Elephant

JEALOUS POP UP STUDIO AT HEAL'S

We all enjoy pop up shows or events so learn about the Jealous gallery pop up studio which will be held at Heal’s, the notorious “home of modern, designer and contemporary furnishings & fittings“.

The guys at Jealous gallery will take over the windows of Heal’s on Tottenham Court Road from the 30th January to the 5th February. It will be a not-to-missed opportunity to see a working screenprint studio as you stroll past. Definitely make a stop and meet with the participating artists – Jayoon Choi, Damien Weighill and Ceal Warnants and many more.

You will even be able to have a go at creating with the Jealous Studio Experience and produce a masterpiece.

Jealous gallery
27 Park Road, N8 8TE, London

JEALOUS POP UP STUDIO AT HEAL’S
30/1 till 5/2

The Stitch project, raising environmental issues awareness through art

Stitch is an organisation that raises environmental awareness through the arts. Stitch does this by hosting events that use art to inspire and engage people with environmental issues. The guys at Stitch will use a variety of different events such as art exhibitions, photography competitions and short film festivals to appeal to people in different ways.

The next Stitch show is right upon us: “Focus on Nature” Open Photography Competition Submissions. It opens this Monday 5th March and will run until the 23.

They ask for a £5 donation per image you submit. These funds go towards contributions to these two fantastic organisations listed below. Find out more information about the show from the Stitch Facebook event page or on the Stitch website.

http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/
http://www.back2earth.org.uk/

A video of a previous show held at The Diary is included below

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Jimmy C does David Bowie in Brixton

To coincide with (another) David Bowie exhibition, namely “The many faces of David Bowie” opening tonight at Opera gallery, Jimmy C unveiled a large scale portrait in Brixton, where David Bowie is from. You will have recognised the the iconic Aladdin Sane image here.

David Bowie by Jimmy C | Art-Pie

Now on to the show at Opera Gallery. We hear that a bunch of artists including street ones will share their visions of the iconic singer. Some of the artists includes Paul Alexis, Joe Black, C215 and Nick Gentry

What – The Many Faces iof David Bowie
Where – Opera Gallery (new bond street)
When – 21 June to 21 july

The exhibition that opens at the New Bond Street gallery on Friday (June 21) will consist of contemporary visions of ‘Bowie Mania’ with one-off masterpieces and tributes with street artists including Mr Brainwash, Joe Black and The London Police.

STREET ART