This new press release just landed in my inbox from the hard working Anderson family down in Carpinteria. You really have to give it to these guys for coming up with interesting and clever ideas. Complete with canvas, stencils, brushes and even glitter this new street art kit seems like a nice gift an young art-loving friend or family member.

I’ve posted the press release below. The opening reception is this Friday the 25th of September at 5pm. Make sure to stop by the Andersons’ beautiful gallery the next time you are in Carpinteria.

————————————————————————————-

New Art Kit makes artists out of EVERYONE.

Ever fancied yourself an Artist? Now is your time to shine. Brothers and accomplished contemporary artists Benjamin Anderson and Sean Anderson have collaborated to create the first ever d-i-y “Street ART Kit”. Now this is no blank canvas. They give you all the tools and more to create a true masterpiece of urban art.

M-E-Y-K {made to – express – your – kinetics} is a creative platform empowering individuals to find their own creativity. {Kinetics – your energy or movement}. “It is our belief that through encouragement and guidance anyone can create a masterpiece…” claim the Anderson Brothers.

M-E-Y-K, born a year ago as a simple concept on the 405 hwy in traffic has been through the rigors of design to ensure that the idea of enabling all individuals to become artists and to be proud enough of their creation to hang it in their own home, has become a reality. A year later the brothers are releasing the all-inclusive “Street Art Kit”. A choice of 3 custom canvases, paintbrushes, paint, glitter, pens, and 15 stencils (sexy skulls, crowns, filigree and zebras to name a few) are certain to bring the Artist out in you. If you are looking for a more personal flare M-E-Y-K also offers custom stencils from their website store.

‘Because of the nature of street art and it’s many layered compositions, we felt a kit oriented toward urban art would allow for self-proclaimed ‘non-artists’ to create something that has no boundaries or limits’ states co-founder Benjamin Anderson

M-E-Y-K’s Street ART Kit will be released on Friday 25^th September at the Anderson ART Collective. With their father, veteran fine artist Ron Anderson, the trio opened Anderson ART Collective, a contemporary gallery located in the historic Henry Fish Seed Company in Carpinteria, CA [http://www.andersonARTcollective.com]. The show involves not only respected artists but also doctors, lawyers, teachers, students and other self-proclaimed ‘non-artists’ in an attempt to dispel the notion that if you’re not left handed you’re not an artist.

The show M-E-Y-K opens on Friday 25^th September at the Anderson ART Collective, 410 Palm Avenue, Carpinteria, with a celebratory launch party from 5:00pm onwards. The brothers are committed to giving back and are donating 5% of sales to children becoming involved in positive art projects. “Our aim is to provide these children a canvas and tools with which to create positive street art that gets kids OFF of the street and into a creative and safe environment.,” said Sean Anderson.

The kits can be purchased online through M-E-Y-K.com and through the Anderson ART Collective beginning the 25^th September. For more information and inquiries please contact the gallery at 805 684 8783 or drop a line to info@m-e-y-k.com.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

The article below was sent to me from the Anderson Art Collective. The article features local artist Blankeney Sanford who created the sculpture that currently welcomes people into the “Rogue Wave” show at Anderson’s Carpinteria gallery. Blankeney’s work was also seen in this year’s Rumble Art Fair.

To learn more about the artist check out here website here.

Rogue Wave Sculpture Barrels Attendees

Santa Barbara, CA – It takes Mother Nature only moments to form the perfect wave at Rincon Point. It took artist Blakeney Sanford two weeks to install the twelve-foot-high wave she recently created for Anderson Art Collective’s contemporary surf art show entitled Rogue Wave. The wave, which arcs over the entrance to the historic Henry Fish Seed Company building in Carpinteria, appears to break through the wall into the gallery space beyond.

Sanford created the sculpture using her signature materials of rebar, fiberglass screen and pigmented epoxy resin and was guided by her knowledge in mathematics. “I want these sculptures to be as close to nature’s perfection as possible. We are each innately a part of nature, so what is nature appeals innately to us,” she explains. So the schematic for the work and her initial architectural sketches were based on her mathematical depiction of an actual wave. “It’s primarily geometry, circles and ellipses, circumferences, radii, and surface areas.  This gives me a general concept of the measurements for the piece, and in theory it should work, but it is after all art and it changes sometimes as the creative forces flow.”

In her work Sanford is inspired by her love of nature, particularly the ocean. “It comes from time spent above and beneath the ocean surface. When I dive through a wave and open my eyes and I see the way that the water spins around me or if I’m diving deep and then look up at the surface, the translucency of the water and the light inspires me.  Similarly, I am inspired if I’m riding on the face of a wave, with the wall next to me.  This piece evokes that viewpoint. I want the light and transparency and color to have an effect on the viewer without their having to do anything. They turn blue and become part of the wave as they enter the show.”

Gallery director Leigh-Anne Anderson notes that the response to the sculpture has been outstanding. “Depending on the time of day that you enter the gallery, your experience of getting barreled by this unique work of art will vary. The show is open from 1-6 Friday, Saturday and Sunday so you get the spectrum of direct sunlight and shadows. At night, with the lights on in the gallery, it casts shadows on the exterior wall that look like a set of waves coming in. Remarkable.

“The sculpture looks so natural here that people are surprised to learn that they can take it home and install it on any wall. While this particular Blakeney Sanford “blue wave” was constructed on site, it is not site specific and is in fact two separate sculptures that can stand alone, dramatic in any setting.”

The Rogue Wave contemporary surf art show runs through September 1st and features the work of twelve artists including surfing notables and the family of artists Ron Anderson, Benjamin Anderson and Sean Anderson, who founded the collective.

Anderson ART Collective (http://www.andersonartcollective.com) has six shows on the 2009 Santa Barbara art schedule, all of which will contribute a percentage of sales to non-profit organizations admired by this unique family of contemporary fine artists. The current show is donating 5% of sales to the Santa Barbara Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

For more information go to http://www.andersonARTcollective.com or call 805.684.8783

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

The Anderson family has put together a show of contemporary surf art, which opens at the end of the month. The opening reception is an all day party from 10am to 10pm on June 27th. This is another great chance to see their beautiful new space in Carpinteria. This is also the last weekend to see the Anderson Art Collective’s inaugural show. For more information about either show, check out their website by clicking here.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

It’s been a while since I reported back after attending any of the exhibits that I’ve tried to publicize on this blog. Today, I’d like to fix that.

To begin with, I couple of weeks ago I headed down to Carpinteria to check out the Anderson Collective Art show. The exhibit was housed in one unit of a beautifully remodeled old Henry Fish Seed Company. Apparently, there was a new kind of Lima bean developed there and up until recently these beans were the chief agricultural product of the area. Who knew? Anyway, I was happy to see that the exhibit was very well attended. The space was beautifully utilized and gave ample space to each artist’s varied output of work.  While the brothers, Benjamin and Sean, worked the crowd, Ron was hard at work gluing together the odds and ends that attendees were asked to bring in. The first of four of these collaborative pieces was on display that night and was a wonderfully, chaotically beautiful thing. Each of the four collaborative pieces is being auctioned off and the proceeds will be used to help victims of the Jesusita Fire.

The generous nature of this family makes them hard not to like, but if you needed more convincing their art only adds to the appeal. This family is obviously brimming with talent.  In particular, Ben’s epic “7 girls”, which I first saw at the Rumble Art Fair, reaffirmed it’s position as one of my favorite paintings in recent history. The young Sean and Ben have also obviously benefited from the wisdom and experience of their elders. Their motivation, organization,  and ambition  make it easy to believe that successful art careers (however they choose to define that success) is just a matter of time.

The show runs through June 14th, as does the silent auction for the four collaborative pieces. The gallery, located at 410 Palm Ave, in Carpinteria,  is open three days a week, Friday/Saturday/Sunday from 1pm to 6pm or by appointment.

The second show I wanted to mention was the juried show at Westmont College’s Reynolds Gallery, but that will have to wait for another post. So stay tuned…

Lastly, I discovered earlier this week that the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has a new blog. It currently only has one post, so it remains to be seen how often it will be updated. But for those of you who keep up with what goes on at the museum, it is worth keeping an eye on. You can find the blog by clicking here.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite

Because of the Jesusita Fire we have all understandably had our minds on things other than art. The fire forced the cancellation of this month’s First Thursday, so I can’t report about any of the new exhibitions around town because I haven’t seen them. I would, therefore, like to encourage everyone to make the short trip to Carpinteria tomorrow to attend the opening of the first annual Anderson Art Collective. As I reported in my last post, this family of talented artists has been part of many exciting art happenings around town. Tomorrow nights show is also a benefit for a non-profit school for underprivileged youths in South Africa.

You can get all the details at their website by clicking here.

Don’t forget that they’ve asked people to bring something smaller than their hand to contribute to a art project that will be created during the event.

I hope to see you there.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite