As mentioned in a previous post, I will be holding my first solo gallery exhibit in July and just wanted to post an update: The dates and times are officially set in stone and the show is on the way! There will be two receptions (see above flyer for all info), which means at least 2 chances to meet the artist in person! So if you are in the New York area or visiting the area during the week of July 4th, feel free to come by and see the Ecentrik Artistry solo exhibition at the Orchard Windows Gallery, which is located on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Ecentrik Artistry Featuring the works of artist Elom Bowman
Monday, July 4 - Sunday, July 10 Artist Reception: Mon, July 4 (6-9pm), Gallery Reception: Fri, July 8 (6-9pm)
Orchard Windows Gallery 37 Orchard Street New York, NY 10002
Recently, my good buddy Nizos from Sweatshop Clothing approached me with the idea of doing an SB dunk based on the Jordan Bordeauxs:
Usually i'm not into re-creating designs that were already released by sneaker companies (I only did it once before when I remade the Playstation Air force ones, which truthfully looking back at those i'm not really happy with and would've done something different with that base shoe if I could), but the idea of doing the bordeaux design on a pair of SB dunks did sound appealing.
Even though i've done dunks countless times before (including these Sweatshop Dunks), this is my 1st project with some SB Mids, specifically the SB Griptape mids. Since most of the shoe is suede, I kept the design rather simple by just working with the leather panels on the swoosh & toes.
Most people know me strictly for customizing sneakers/footwear and toys (which by the way, to those who've only been familiar with my work over the past year, I DO customize other shoes besides Nike...more on that in a future blog), but another thing I tend to play around with is graphic & logo design.
Now I don't have a degree in the field..it's just something I've been doing just as a hobby over the past few years. And being as though I've found myself doing it more often lately as well as having done some logos for friends, in the back of my mind I have been thinking about expanding more on the possibility of making it a regular thing and accepting commissions.
This in no way means that I plan to retire from doing custom shoes..that's still my number one passion and I feel I still have so much more to offer in that arena. But i'm also enjoying tinkering with logo ideas and doing different picture effects (by the way, I designed the Bizarre Visions logo for this blog). Now my logo work may not be as unique as the stuff Sweatshop Clothing does, but I think it's pretty decent. A few samples:
Here's two commissioned logos I did for a friend in the UK:
Recent business card design:
And a random piece followed by a design done for the facebook page:
Like mentioned before, this was mainly a hobby but i've been thinking about taking this area of my art experience to that next level (which is exactly how things started with the custom footwear). I would love to hear people's feedback/opinions, especially from people who may have experience in the area.
Summertime is my favorite time of the year. So many cool things to do: Fun at the Jersey shores, the beaches, the boardwalks, cotton candy & funnel cakes, amusement parks, ocean surfing, cookouts, outdoor concerts/events, I can go on and on...so what better shoe theme to do this time of year than a summer theme? There's no better time than to come up with a set of shoes based on the fun of summer, so I present the Summer Love Series:
1. "Island Cocktail" Custom Air Max 90
Now although i'm not really a drinker (don't much like the taste of alcohol) I always had this fascination with how cool a lot of those fancy drinks look..Mai Tais, Blue Hawaiians,Strawberry Daiquiris (a non-alcoholic one for me), etc..
So I wanted to do something that interpreted the colorful mixes that a lot of these drinks have, and here's the result:
The color blends represent the different fruits and flavorings that bring out brightness and taste of these different drinks (btw, the color blending/fading is done by hand and not with an airbrush). Now all that's missing is a cocktail umbrella and a straw!
Now i've never in my life been surfing, but the idea of hitting the cool waves on a hot summer day does seem appealing & I can see how it would be a nice adrenaline rush:
So I took the surfing idea and combined it with the idea of this cool surfboard design I came across:
So the idea of the "Surf's Up!" shoe was born:
The mix of blues on the lower panel represent the sparkling blue ocean waves while the aqua & orange pattern in the upper area was inspired by the surfboard design. There's even a silhouette on the rear panels of surfers catching some waves!
Did I mention all the sand I got in my shoes while I was taking these pics? :-)
There's nothing quite like the beauty of a nice sunset...especially one from the view of an island or beach:
So I wanted to bring out that vibe with the "Tropical Sunset" custom Air Force Ones:
The shoes have the perfect shading to represent the sun setting on a warm summer night. Complete with silhouettes of palm trees, beach sand, and seagulls (another one of my favorite reminders of summer), this shoe captures the perfect feel of a summer sunset. This shoe idea was actually conceived about 2 years ago & i'm actually glad I didn't do it then as it gave me the chance to revisit and rework it perfectly (along with inspire 2 other pair to make it a collection!).
And there you have it..the Summer Love Series! These shoes are available throughout the entire summer in both men and women sizes in the online shop (ecentrik.bigcartel.com). Both US and UK sizes will be listed. If you are ordering from any other area of the globe and need to know size availability feel free to contact me at info@ecentrikart.net.
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