Sad Monster

We recently spotted a familiar face while walking around the Fremont East District, it was Yerman the Sad Yeti. Those unfamiliar with the brainchild of Las Vegas artist Ryan Brunty, it is his artistic creation "to depict the face of depression in an approachable way to alleviate the stigma surrounding mental health". Recently coming off a win at Secret Walls LV, a 6 person art battle royale. It is cool to see his artwork in the streets and not on the usual clothing. A lot of artists miss opportunities to real people in the streets or sometimes they just have no desire. But lucky for us, that isn't the case with Yerman. It is however the first thing we have noticed from him on the Vegas streets but hopefully we will get to see more and possibly larger pieces as well. This guy is interesting with its inverted stenciled image, its like someone actually held Yerman up to the wall and sprayed painted brown... More than likely not, but its still a fun thought. No idea how long this piece has been riding, but it looks like it might have been a good while. Then again, the desert can age pieces here to dust in weeks! How long will he last?!

She Can Do it!

Another trip and yet another new find from Milk The Bunny in the 18b Arts District. It is the familiar face of Rosie the Riveter, the Wolrd War II cultural icon used to represent the American woman working in factories. Just like in the J. Howard Miller Westinghouse version of this poster, we have Rosie showing her muscle and moxie with the words "We Can Do It!". An inspirational image taken over by Omayra Amador and given a MTB makeover of sorts with this smaller print on the Coolridge building. Little things like her bunny ear logo on Rosie's bottom make us smile, cuz sometimes to us the subtle details can make a way bigger picture and we like that. Staying true to her almost psychedelic color pallet, we have her using yellows and pinks to make this piece really work and really her own. Omayra Amador has really let us all know that "She Can Do It" by being so visual with many new pieces updating old spots around town, she makes us feel lazy when we see all the new pieces and spots. Keep it up, cuz you ARE doing it Milk The Bunny!

Found Bottle

Back in the 18b in the parking lot of the Coolridge building, we found this bottle surrounded by tags and pasters. This unknown artist piece caught our attention, but just barely! With all its colors and paint drips, it almost blends right in with the environment. We wonder if the artist intended to blend in somewhat with the background and for that matter, we wonder who the artist is?! We have seen a few different artists use re-purposed bottles as artwork in the Las Vegas streets, but this one is unsigned and was left without a clue as to whom it was. The glass bottle has been painted white and then splattered with a few different neon colors, then literally topped off with a black spray finish running down the sides. This wall has really been the site of a lot of work being done as of late. From local artists painting huge murals, to a whole other set of artists sneaking over at night and getting up with tags and burners. This addition of a tiny bottle installation and a welcome change from the norm, we enjoy that a few artists are using techniques other than spray paint and/or wheatpaste. Variety, that is what we are talking about and that is thankfully what we get! Can't wait to see what this spot offers up next artwise.

18Bern

This past February saw a Bernie Sanders themed event happen at the Eden Gallery in the 18b Arts District full of local Las Vegas artists. The larger of these pieces is actually the ad from said event, and its another one of those temporary stickers like Recycled Propaganda used in this post. So we are assuming it was him that put these up on his last run? Hmmm, could be? Either way these four colorful pieces are holding this spot down past the run of the show. We dig all the different styles between the artists, the main Bernie image is rather striking with its painted gaze meeting yours. We wish we knew who did that main poster image, anyone? From bottom left to right, we have a patriotic Begsonland design with his trademark multiple image tiled pieces. We've actually seen knockoff versions of his designs around town, yeah they are that good! Next to him we have an artist unknown image but the message is certainly known with this one! Dump Trump with a....well a big stinking dump on his head, and using the infamous "immigrants crossing" image for a background is rather effective. Then last but not least, we have Dekoe with his trademark image done in purple and green. We aren't too sure if this piece has anything to do with the others, but it fits in the corner making it all feel symmetrical and we dig that. We admit we aren't that political, but we love these politically themed pieces and hell we even made it out to this show!

Totem Tagger

We found another leftover from last year's Life Is Beautiful festival, and it is another D*Face! We can't believe how much work he did last year, we are still finding previously unseen pieces of all kinds. This time we found a tag on an electrical pole in front of his huge "Peace Gun" mural off Fremont Street. Using the same gray color can he used in his drop shadow in this piece, he took a moment too keep it street by catching an illegal tag in the middle of painting a paid mural. Which is how a lot of high profile artists do it, get a paid gig and get up on the side. We've seen D*Face do 4-5 street installations around town when he'd have a show at a gallery, and we mean good sized pieces ranging from wheatpastes to 5 foot tall headstones! This artist is pretty much fearless when it comes to his artwork and his range of styles, an artist that bridge the gap between street and galleries like it is nothing. We hope we can keep finding more pieces as the days pass, I doubt we will have a problem.

Pink Bunny

We found another piece from the ever-present Milk The Bunny on the streets of downtown Las Vegas, this time we get a pink uni-bunny with a bright yellow hat. The artist also known around town as Omayra Amador has been getting up more and more, and doing some solid work in the most visual places. This piece we found on the edge of some construction on Fremont Street and across from the The El Cortez is a damn good spot to be seen my locals and visitors alike! From what we can tell she seems to be using more color prints more so rather than hand painted as of late, and we can't even hate on that. Well since we caught her gallery show at Twisted Artist Gallery in the 18b Arts District. She had some of the original pieces that she has used for the street and they are like quadruple the size of what she is using in the street, fairly impressive. But back out on the streets, she is still doing work and doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. Keep it up and stay up!

Psychedelic Lamp

Well it has been awhile, but on the other side of this post we find Avantarded with a piece that we can only describe as some sorta psychedelic lamp or some piece of surreal furniture. This building has only had a few street art pieces on it and actually even less advertisements, if you can even believe that! Avantarded uses his trademark black ink on Kraft paper here once again, but completely going off in a cosmic direction this time. From what we've seen over the years, there has always been elements of space and cosmic themes in his artwork and we always enjoy peering into these small windows into other worlds. When looking at this piece, it almost has a form and identity of its own that it is trying to convey to you as you pass by. Is it trying to look as human as possible to get you to move closer til it grabs you in its clutches mentally and possibly psychically?! Better stay a few feet away just in case! Found on Las Vegas Boulevard, between the Strip and Downtown.