It's always exciting to see our DBH Collective Artists involved in art exhibitions where they can show off their art outside the DBH platform. It's a great way for them to showcase their work and build their fan base.
We're very excited that Design By Humans Collective Artists BioWorkZ and MDMNLA were selected to compete in this year's Red Bull Canvas Cooler Project in Los Angeles. MDMNLA is brand new to DBH, but is already off to a great start. You can check out his Collective Store here.
BioWorkZ has an impressive illustration style that entails a complicated process with a ton of detail. We had the opportunity to get some process shots and will be following up with some photos of the event. To see more designs by BioWorkZ and MDMNLA visit their DBH Collectives and follow @BioWorkZ and @madmanart on Instagram.
More Information About the Canvas Cooler Project Via the Red Bull Website:
"The Canvas Cooler Project pairs up-and-coming artists with local venue owners in major US cities to create custom and functional pieces of art. Hand-picked artists are given the challenge to transform a blank canvas-wrapped Red Bull cooler into an inspired work of art. The masterpieces are unveiled to the public in a one-night only local exhibition where gallery patrons and a panel of judges vote for their favorite pieces, awarding 2 artists in each city an invitation to exhibit in Miami during Art Basel Week."
We were able to grab some behind the scenes photos from both BioWorkZ and MDMNLA, whose designs blew us away. We also squeezed in a talk with BioWorkZ this week about his unique process. Both of their completed coolers were displayed along with 20 other participating artists on Thursday, March 6th at Mack Sennett Studios in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
MDMNLA
BioworkZ
Q: How did you transfer your sketch onto the cooler?
A: I transferred the sketch onto the cooler by enlarging my sketches and printing them on tabloid size sheets of paper. I would then use an all graphite 6B pencil and cover the entire backside of the paper. Once it has been thoroughly covered, I would then tape the paper onto the cooler and start tracing. I should mention that I print out the sketches in non-photo blue so when I trace it, I can see what lines I've gone over.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Q: Was it difficult working outside of your studio and within a time limit?
A: Yes, it was very difficult to work outside of my studio and having limited time. I like my work to be very refined and polished. So working in a rush took me outside of my comfort zone. I was well prepared, so working outside my studio wasn't nearly as bad as having only 8 hours to work on this cooler. Keep in mind that we had to work on 2 side panels measuring 13" x 16" and 1 top panel 13" x 13";. I was encouraged to work on the front and back of the cooler, but since time was limited, I did what I could and kept it simple. I can easily spend 8 hours on a sketch, so covering 5 sides of a cooler was quite a challenge. I originally wanted to paint everything in acrylic, but after 3+ hours of tracing, I knew painting was no longer and option. I rushed to the local office supply store and purchase lots of sharpies. It was a definite life saver. Not my usual medium, but it did the trick.
Q: Were all 19 other artist painting at the same time? how was it working in close quarters?
A: The event was broken down into 2 days. About 1/2 the artists worked on Sunday (Mar.2) and the other 1/2 worked on Monday (Mar. 3). The space we worked in was pretty nice. Lots of vintage movie memorabilia and props. They gave us plenty of space to work in.
 |
 |
