Coming up this Saturday (Feb 20th) is a very cool group show with El Kartel and Oakley Sunglasses called El Lente Loco x Oakley!

40 El Kartel artists come together for a one night only show at El Kartel on Robson St, right in the middle of the Olympic festivities.

I don't have the full list of artists involved but I do know for sure that you will be seeing works from Peter Taylor, TiFdyL (Taka Sudo), Matt Andres, Pirecco, Alfredo El Garzita, Cory Stewart and Neal Nolan. Of course there are many more but you'll get that list and photos after the show.

In the mean time, here are some shots of my custom glasses that you will see at El Lente Loco x Oakley!

I love the challenge of working in such confined areas and though I managed to get a lot of pattern, I didn't get to add any of the characters I was hoping to, like birdbeard.

Kind of a funny, not so funny but worked out in the end story, I spent about a week and a half working on these and all the little details. I got word from a friend that I should seal them so the ink doesn't smudge so I went to an art store in Vancouver and asked for help on the best sealant for these little guys. I explained the project and the kind of ink I was using and since I have never worked with sunglasses before, I was in the mercy of the best advice I could get.  The lady at the art store suggested I use a Krylon Clear Glaze to coat it and it would work fine.

So I am done with the glasses on Thursday night and call for a postal pick up with expedited delivery for Friday at noon. I got up early to take some photos and put the clear glaze on and make sure they had enough time to dry. Ready for the drama? Well, I took them outside to spray and following all the careful directions, I shake and spray. In seconds, I watched all my little patterns flow down the arms of the glasses. Well, HELL!

Cancel the postal pick up and break out the paint remover. The weekend was then spent removing the clear glaze, sharpie and paint pens. 6 hours to re-do the whole thing. Not bad actually and I think I like the results of the new ones more than the original design I did, though it's only slightly altered.

I was really looking forward to designing the box and though I went into it with  completely different idea in mind, I'm pretty stoked about the final product.

I'm not sure if I can make it to this show but if any of you end up going, I would love it if you could take some photos of all the talented work that will be there.