Mural - First Project in Indy
In August 2019, I was commissioned by Square Cat Vinyl to create a mural in the alley behind their shop as part of their Back Alley Ballyhoo psychedelic music festival that September. This was a really cool experience to create a fun piece of art to live alongside murals created by other talented indy artists!
UPDATE #1: In June 2021 the entire wall in this alley way was painted over with what was aptly described as prison beige. There was an uproar from the community, and the building owner claimed it was a mistake. There was a community effort to get most of the artists back out to repaint their murals as well as some new artists to bring the alley back better! It was a great connective experience. Let the Space Rockers Rock ON!
*UPDATE #2: In the summer of 2023, most of this alley way was painted over again, leaving only a few murals. Unfortunately my Space Rockers doorway was painted over. This was very difficult to accept since I have received so much love and support for that mural over the years. After a second paint over, I decided to recreate the piece on canvas since it was a special project that gave birth to my whole Space Rocker galaxy that includes a now annual series release of canvases. I am humbled by how much enthusiasm these whimsical paintings get from the art loving community. Below is a picture of the painting, next to the original mural. The series paintings can be found on my gallery page.
UPDATE #1: In June 2021 the entire wall in this alley way was painted over with what was aptly described as prison beige. There was an uproar from the community, and the building owner claimed it was a mistake. There was a community effort to get most of the artists back out to repaint their murals as well as some new artists to bring the alley back better! It was a great connective experience. Let the Space Rockers Rock ON!
*UPDATE #2: In the summer of 2023, most of this alley way was painted over again, leaving only a few murals. Unfortunately my Space Rockers doorway was painted over. This was very difficult to accept since I have received so much love and support for that mural over the years. After a second paint over, I decided to recreate the piece on canvas since it was a special project that gave birth to my whole Space Rocker galaxy that includes a now annual series release of canvases. I am humbled by how much enthusiasm these whimsical paintings get from the art loving community. Below is a picture of the painting, next to the original mural. The series paintings can be found on my gallery page.
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Use Your Imagination Revisited
"Use Your Imagination" was a significant painting that helped usher in a new era of my artwork back when i first moved to San Francisco. It was one of my first loose caricature style paintings. I ended up doing a large series of these, striving to work fast and loose. They were heavily influenced by my new surroundings, especially the people you encounter living in the city. This particular piece was special not only because it was one of the first ones i did in that style, but because it was about me as an artist and as a person. It is about the struggle involved in pursuing one's journey as an artist.
Eventually these paintings opened the door for my crossover into pastels. I had always emphasized working in paint, and usually oil. Most of these caricature paintings were done in acrylic however so i could work fast. Pastels allowed me to continue working fast and spontaneously while gaining more control and being more connected to my surface. Pastels took me over for years, and i still love working in this medium. But as the years went by i began missing the journey of oil paintings, and to some extent struggled with them when i attempted to do one as i had become more out of practice with the medium. I felt a strong urge over the last year to get back into painting, but with the goal of creating work that is more similar to my pastel drawings.
I decided it a fitting project to give "Use Your Imagination" a makeover. It was a fun experience taking a piece from a different era of my life, and re-doing it in a way that attempts to stay true to what it originally stood for while updating it to apply to my current state of being. And so, as i try to re-introduce myself to the world as an artist, i find this piece standing as a symbol of my rebirth..."Imagination Reborn"
-Mike Meares (September 2017)
Eventually these paintings opened the door for my crossover into pastels. I had always emphasized working in paint, and usually oil. Most of these caricature paintings were done in acrylic however so i could work fast. Pastels allowed me to continue working fast and spontaneously while gaining more control and being more connected to my surface. Pastels took me over for years, and i still love working in this medium. But as the years went by i began missing the journey of oil paintings, and to some extent struggled with them when i attempted to do one as i had become more out of practice with the medium. I felt a strong urge over the last year to get back into painting, but with the goal of creating work that is more similar to my pastel drawings.
I decided it a fitting project to give "Use Your Imagination" a makeover. It was a fun experience taking a piece from a different era of my life, and re-doing it in a way that attempts to stay true to what it originally stood for while updating it to apply to my current state of being. And so, as i try to re-introduce myself to the world as an artist, i find this piece standing as a symbol of my rebirth..."Imagination Reborn"
-Mike Meares (September 2017)
Progress shots:
"Dig up the Soul"
Cityscape Time-Lapse Animation video
The stop animation video above was filmed in a studio in the mission district in San Francisco during the summer of 2009. The drawing was done in one sitting and took about 4-5 hours. Peter Adriel photographed the whole process, taking over 1500 shots on his digital camera. Those shots were then edited by David Watson into the video you see above, enjoy!