Relabeled

The mysterious artist we call Skull Capper has made another wheatpaste run downtown in the Fremont East District. We aren't exactly too sure who this person is but we definitely know their artistic agenda. They like to cap people! Seems like this artists mission is almost solely covering other peoples art, so we kinda figure there must be some artwork covered up on this can. We are pretty much going with the law of averages on this one, and you can't really blame us. Always using the same bad copied image of a white skull, sometimes with an added X and sometimes not. The one thing you just can't deny, is that you can always count on Skull Capper getting up around town. This guy never lets up, and you gotta admire that right? I don't know how capped artists feel about it, but we are enjoying the action on the streets and walls. Joined by a large piece from Anilyz Something, and that one must be new too cuz we see its on top of those others. Nice!

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?!

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!

Blackened Bones

Anilyz Something has been going back and forth with different artists on this spot, and for some time now. But he is the one that is up and holding this spot down right now, amongst the tags with his trademark skull logo. We really like the inverted skull look with these larger pasters, it really pops and looks great on top of that dark red door. The surrounding tags somehow help this look like a finished piece or something, they almost make it symmetrical. We always enjoy when pieces interact with each other, and especially when its unintended as it is here. This spot on the old Western Hotel exterior is a great spot, but it also gets a quick art to buffed turnaround which makes it a great place to check for new artwork when you are downtown. So make sure to add it to your list, artists and street art enthusiasts alike.

Can Cap

Damn! Just a few steps away from our last post, we find Poer has been capped! Someone or some crew named B16 did their utmost to cover Poer's name, and any clue to what was on his piece. As much as this looks like a cap, we can't help but wonder if this is just your run of the mill spot jack. Cuz it seems like more than a few artists in town only use this technique. It is always humorous to us when people do that crap, cuz it feels like whomever does it feels their art or whatever can't stand on its own. 9 times outta 10 its just that, someone with weak ass work that is begging for attention without working for it. Is that the case here? Who knows and honestly, who the hell cares? We all get to benefit watching the art war happen here in the Vegas streets, and its all about new art and who is getting up and where. So keep it up, cuz at this point its more interesting than most artists in the galleries. 

The Hateful 8

The battle between wheapaste and aerosol continues downtown with An!lyz Something adding fuel to the fire with these new pieces. We aren't sure if this is a response to the "don't cap real bombers" message that was painted over Drsc0's piece that lasted less than 24 hours, but it sure feels like it when looking at it. These 8 pieces are tiled pretty solidly, which you would think doesn't merit a mention but on the contrary. Tiling seems to be a tough thing with other artists and pieces, so we really appreciate it when art isn't all haphazardly pasted up. It'll be interesting to see how this wall outside the Art Motel develops in the near future, will these new pieces be answered with another capping session? Will it spiral into a art war? I guess we all have to wait and see what'll become of this spot, but we are excited to keep checking its progress.

Leftovers Are Beautiful

This past Life Is Beautiful festival brought numerous street artists through town, including high profile artists like D*Face. As the months go by we keep finding different versions of his poker chip character around town, and we just spotted this one downtown at the corner of 7th and Stewart. This was just one of many pieces D*Face placed around town during his town here, but the thing that we can't figure out is. When did this Teacher piece go up and how the hell did we miss it?! It actually looks pretty recent and looks in better shape than D*Face's piece, so maybe we got the chance to catch this one before it was taken and/or buffed. What a great find, as we are big fans of both artists and we are more than happy to see them in the Las Vegas streets.

Citrus Skull

Anilyz Something is back downtown with a new piece off Fremont, and you can't help but notice it all the way down the street! This stencil of a skull is so damn bright, these photos just don't do it justice but trust us. it is BRIGHT! It looks to us like the artist laid down a neon orange with a brush and finished it off with a black stencil image of his skull character. On the cloudy day we were out looking for artwork, this popped off the wall from a full block away. We love eye catching pieces, especially when they are strong images like Anilyz Something uses. As usual this piece is no different, only this time the added color pops to almost immeasurable amounts and really works. Especially against the layers and layers of stickers on these slammed doors, great stuff from Anilyz Something!

There She Was

While heading downtown we spotted the Skull Capper (that is what we are gonna call him from now on) hit another hand painted piece. This time There She Is gets her hand painted Houdini piece capped with those bad photocopies of an even worse image, four of them to be exact. We still don't get it, why the hell someone is capping hand painted pieces?! Is it envy? Is it jealousy of other artists skills? Are you trying to make some point, cuz it is completely lost on us and anyone that sees them. This person seems hellbent on trying to make some point, but the only one we are getting is that you are a bad artist and an even worse street artist. Only time will tell if this person will cap the wrong art and/or get caught in the process, the clock has been ticking for awhile on this one.

Backward Gaze

Drsc0 meets up with some older LaRON Emcee and D*Face pieces on the electrical box on Fremont and 8th. The third of his trilogy of pieces put up on his latest mission around town, we really enjoy this image. A black and white print of a topless woman, with her back exposed and what looks like a yellow material wrapped around her bottom half. Finished off with bright red lips and an over the shoulder gaze to catch you while you stare at her nakedness. It feels like such a delicate image next to the rips and tears from the Xerox skull guys leftover pieces, which aren't helping anyone's artwork besides his own. We like how all the different styles are coming together in this one location, from hand painted to tags to graphic design. This one spot has it covered, and we look forward to new pieces joining in on this Fremont Street location.

The Doorman

Over this past New Years holiday weekend local artist Drsc0 got up with some new pieces in and around downtown. This first one we spotted off Fremont Street of a life size medical print of a man without skin and his muscles exposed, finished off with a hand painted border and logo on the chest is an interesting piece and we dig it. Seems like a few others did not, with it already being tagged and other artists sticker's on it. Indecline, or at least someone with some Indecline stickers went right across the eyes. We aren't exactly sure if this was a diss, cuz well to be honest it looks kinda cool to us. Then finished off with some run of the mill bubble letter slaps from someone named Gotti, placed above the chest and under the hands. This spot is a damn interesting read, if you have the time to stop and take a look. Do it, its worth it!

Poer Paint

With only one of the concrete spray cans left standing downtown, its fast becoming one of the perfect spots to hit. Every time someone hits it with a new piece, it usually comes off looking slick. Especially if its a larger and solid piece, and that is just what Poer has brought to this spot right outside the Art Motel. These unusual logos pieces that have been tiled sorta look 3D to us and gave us a bit of vertigo while trying to photograph them. An unexpected buzz usually comes with good art, so we are cool with that. We are excited to see Poer hitting highly accessible and visual spots, but we can't help wonder who will be the next to take this spot over. This is just one of many Las Vegas spots that is hit quite regularly with street art, we hope other artists are encouraged and/or outraged enough to pick up a wheatpaste brush and join in.

Happy Holidaze

More new pieces downtown in the Fremont East district from street art duo There She Is and You Killed Me First. There She Is with a huge handpainted Hunter S. Thompson piece, complete with cigarette and his every-present filter. We really love the drips coming off his glasses and the addition of gold paint when hit by the right light makes his sunglasses look mirrored. It makes the whole piece elevated with this special touch, a great idea and look brought to the streets! You Killed Me First joins his partner with pieces on either side of the electrical box, on one side a return to the "Indexing" street sign takeover seen previously. As well as a new image of the classic Girl Vampire Halloween mask ad but just a little more "fabulous", with added drag makeup and finished off with a bunch of tiny text following the border. When we first spotted these images while driving we could have never guesses that there was another There She Is image still riding on the box! A Suicide Robot that must have been there for months and months, sun bleached and a little torn but still riding strong....well for a dead robot that is!

Defaced

Retuning to the corner of Fremont and 8th, to where D*Face left us this piece from this years Life Is Beautiful festival. This little guy is still hanging in there ok and still broke and hell, but seriously what is the deal with the skulls image capping LaRON Emcee? We've been seeing this artist's stuff everywhere lately, apparently their "art" is covering artwork that isn't their own with a crappy print of a skull. We aren't one to really talk shit on other artwork, well actually that is all we do, but! This is pretty damn ridiculous, why someone would cover a handpainted piece is beyond us. Our guess is that they are trying to make some sorta artistic point, but then again are we just elevating it to a higher level of art theory or something? Well anyway, there are plenty of pieces covered now with these skulls and I'm sure we'll see more.

Double Feature

Street Art duo There She Is and You Killed Me First get up on an electrical box on the corner of Fremont and 6th with some movie inspired pieces. There She is with a pair of images, on one side we have silent movie star Buster Keaton with his signature blank look on his face. While most artists try to paint color and life into their pieces, its interesting to see someone paint the man known as "The Great Stone Face". Her use of black and white paint just solidifies the overall feel of this piece, and that look is just perfect. Joined by some sort of wood nymph of sorts on the other side of the box, maybe we should know this from a movie but, hmmm we can't place it! On the front we have You Killed Me First with a complete movie poster takeover with this tribute to Frankenstein, but now the Monster is in Las Vegas and terrorizing the streets complete with the Vegas skyline, paste bucket and pieces under his arm. We like how he has included with original credits from the film poster, we love little details like that. Cuz honestly, we are just as big of film nerds as these two artists apparently are.

Extended Stay

More additions are being added to the boarded up Art Motel from this years Life Is Beautiful festival, this spot has more out of town artists than local at this point too! Kinda cool! First up, San Francisco based artist Strider gets up with a diamond shaped piece of a praying woman in front of flowers. The image of the woman is interesting as it looks like some sort of digital stencil placed on a vectorized flower image, it has sort of a retro feel without relying on nostalgic imagery. Hinting within art is sometimes way more effective, at least to us. Also showing up late to the party, You Killed Me First and There She Is get up with their new pieces. YKMF with paster of the old Life Is Beautiful logo re-appropriated to remind us that in Sin City evil is also beautiful, I'm sure people will love that one. Lastly There She Is who likes to use the same colors to match her partner with her street pieces, she gives us a redhead with purple lips and blue eyes that will meet your gaze from way down the street. As this year comes to a close, the 18b is slowing down with street art and downtown is gaining speed as the location to get up. We wonder if it'll flip again, or will both spots start to even out artwise. We are guessing that only time will tell, and we can't wait!

Stuck

We spotted this cluster of tags and stickers in an alley right off Fremont street, right across from this spot to be exact. The tags here aren't anything other than the ordinary, its the stickers that grabbed our attention. This is a cool find to us with this selection of different artists using different techniques, we always enjoy seeing the difference between styles on spots like this. You can see a range of people all wanting to get up, all with unique styles and that is what we love most about street art. A huge selection of artists with different work, skill and technique, all for the love of art and getting it up and out there.

Keep Vegas Weird

Portland, Oregon artists Voxx Romana, Skam and Drsc0 came down for a mission recently and hit quite a few good spots. Like this one between Fremont and Ogden on Las Vegas Blvd is a damn good new spot and we hope it keeps growing with artwork like this. Voxx Romana with an image of Albert Einstein with headphones, swirly eyes and an exposed brain, fun stuff! Keeping it creepy is Skam with one of his detailed stenciled images of a skull complete with an inverted cross. Lastly Drsco with an image that can best be described as a halftoned volcano with different colors shooting from their peaks, the side almost looks like text but is illegible but interesting enough for us to keep staring at it. Three different artists working together with one mission in mind, to get up and stay up! More artists are making a point to stop and hit Las Vegas and its great! Especially when the artwork is as varied and solid as it is here.

Deep Covered

That unknown artist with the shitty Xerox skull images is back and now capping Deep Cover, what is up with that? Deep Cover got up awhile ago on the Western Motel with four of his large "Darth Duck" images, yeah we don't know what else to call them ok? Anyway, killer large black and white pieces from DC that had been riding for a bit now have this amazing addition to them. Four crappy digital images that look like they were made in Microsoft Paint, but hey we'll at least give them props for finding that hue slider bar! Either they don't know the rules of street art or they just started a capping war with Deep Cover, best of luck to ya with that!