PAINT WAS SPILT!

Wow.

I'm still reeling from the buzz that was Secret Walls this past Friday. My introduction with this artistic beast has been overwhelming & I've officially caught the bug that makes me want to participate in these events over & over again. Let's see what the future brings...

Recollecting & going back a few days, however, Secret Walls x Houston hosted their very first live art battle in the older, now empty Post Office in downtown Houston. This was a perfect venue for this show as it provided a large space filled with never ending corridors leading to dark, eerie corners reminiscent of a horror film which was especially perfect for the date (Friday the 13th). After I arrived & met the amazing artists I would be either teaming up with or going against, the building quickly began to fill up with ticket holders & supporters. The enthusiasm & excitement was contagious & infected everyone who stepped through the entrance.

The ten artists drew straws & I ended up on the "Short Straws" team alongside Nicky Davis, Pilot FX Crew, Colers Oner & Alex Arzu:

The "Long Straws" had Mez Data, Ruiz, Briks, Wiley & Gelson Lemus:

The teams were picked, each of our 20'x8' blank walls were staring us in the face & we were ready to begin the 90 minute, black & white, art battle.

To say those 90 minutes went quickly is an understatement. It was a whirlwind of spilt paint & cracked beers. We all started on our sections at the beginning of the battle & within 30-40 minutes, our team was moving all over the wall adding to each other's pieces & becoming a unspoken, collaborative monster naturally filling in areas with reckless abandon.

After the timer went off, we stepped back & simply smiled at our creation. Both teams created an awesome, spontaneous wall with all of our personal touches scattered all over it.

The time to relax & come down from this quick, intense, art session wouldn't come just yet, as organizer, Noah Quiles, jumped on stage, grabbed the mic from DJ Anthony Craig Long & started the voting process. There were two guest judges who each picked one of the walls, leaving the tie breaker up to the crowd. The eruption for the murals was the best part of the show, but realizing that it was much louder for OUR wall was the best feeling ever. All artists high fived & hugged it out as the battle came to a close. We spent the rest of the night reminiscing & talking art & wanting to do it all over again.  It really was something special. I've always heard about Secret Walls & even attended a few of the art battles, but to actually participate in it was an amazing feeling. Creating art LIVE in front of people & feeding off their energy & the inspiring energy of all the other artists invloved is my favorite thing ever. That's why I loved San Antonio's old, live art event, ARTSLAM!, so much. As i mentioned, after having this experience, I now want to do this as much as I can! Which bring me to more exciting news!....

I'LL BE PARTICIPATING IN THE SECRET WALLS ART BATTLE AT AUSTIN'S X GAMES!!!

Yessir, I'll be hitting even a BIGGER stage & this time doing a 4 on 4 art battle against some MAJOR paint slingers in the art world. I'll share more info on this later, but us Austin artists who are coming together to take on these four contenders hope to make our city proud!

Finally, I want to thanks EVERYONE who made this Secret Walls x Houston event possible: BRIKS for the invite, Noah & Elia Quiles for the organization & amazing care they took of us, ALL of the AMAZING artists I mentioned above, the volunteers & especially all of YOU who showed their support & made this event a massive success! ALL PHOTOS on this post were taken by David Miyauchi & Joey Jojo. See a LOT more photos from this night on Facebook HERE & HERE.

I'll be seeing you again VERY soon, Houston as I'll be there with my brother in a month for Comicpalooza! I'll also have more info on that later regarding our Table # & the goodies we'll have on hand!

Thanks again for all of your continued supper & love.

xo.