Last week, Sauce visited Calvary Christian College for the fifth year in a row for the school’s ArtsFest. Sauce has been a regular feature as the Artist in Residence, where he creates murals for the school, facilitates workshops with the high school students and runs lunchtime demonstrations for the wider school community.
Last Saturday Destination Tweed held their annual event Tweed Fusion, which promotes arts and culture in the Tweed. As a part of the celebrations, we joined the cool crew at Caba Creative at Norries Headland for some aerosol art demonstrations where Sauce painted a mural on the amenities block. Cabarita is an amazing beach, and it was the perfect day for markets, live music and interactive art. We met some great people, and hope to work with the community again in the future.
The Snail Racing Van received a re-vamp when a Sydney mate Jugs, said he needed some time out to get away from the city and breathe some fresh air. Sauce had plenty of paperwork and designs to keep him busy, but he still managed to get out for a paint or two while Jugs was in town.
For a professional artist, finding the time to go for a paint can be a real challenge. Especially when there are many clients waiting for their works to be completed, but Sauce managed to squeeze a sneaky join up with Kosie1 last week. Sauce and Kosie1 have a ritual of painting on or around their collective birthdays in January, and they always plan to get together during the year and paint more, but with both lads juggling numerous jobs, it’s tricky to get them both to have time off!
For this wall, Kosie1 had some overseas guests who were studying photography, so they sharpened their camera skills while Sauce and Kosie1 painted.
Sauce is currently working on the chrome effect with his pieces, and Kosie1 is sharpening his can control and colour combos.
The Emerald Aquatic Centre was the first gig Sauce had waiting for him in Emerald, and he was there for six days completing the cartoon murals for the children’s area. Sauce met the manager of the centre on his previous trip to Central Queensland, as the manager was looking for something to smarten the place up before the busy summer season.
The manager was so impressed with the children’s area, he commissioned Sauce to paint an entrance mural too.
The Central Highlands Multicultural Festival which is in it’s tenth year gets bigger and better with each festival and this year was no exception. This time, Sauce facilitated a series of workshops incorporating aerosol art and hip hop culture leading up to the festival with the young people of Emerald and Blackwater. On the evening of the event there were more workshops and Sauce created several canvas pieces which the festival will auction off at a later date to raise funds for future festivities.
Sauce also caught up with Ethic Ill, an Emcee and DJ from Emerald who performed at the event. The festival was definitely a highlight of the tour, as Sauce was able to meet so many varied members of the public and by painting at these types of events, it allows Sauce to break down any stereotypes associated with aerosols. It was also encouraging to see another generation of young people learn and grow from the experiences of the workshops. Not to mention the management of the festival. It takes a mammoth effort to create this type of festival and it would not be possible for the event to flourish without all of the hard work from the management team or the volunteers, so a massive thanks goes out to all of them.
We hope that next year is bigger and better again! To stay up to date with all of the festivities, you can follow the Central Highlands Multicultural Festival on Facebook.
The might fine folk at MTN Australia featured Sauce on their blog! As an independent artist, it’s always exciting to receive recognition for your efforts.
Sauce has always used the best quality paint he can source. Since his artwork is his best form of advertising, he can’t afford to be associated with poor quality, which is why he made the choice to exclusively use MTN 94.
In the Sauce Studio, we also think it’s a perfect match since Sauce started paining in 1994, which was the same year MTN was created. It can’t be a coincidence!
Welcome back to #ArtThursday!
A & C, aerosol on canvas. Sauce, 2014.
This week I want to about graff and galleries. For some time now, Sauce has been painting smaller graffiti pieces on canvas. Some of these works have won awards and hung in fine galleries, and others now live in suburban lounge-rooms, which strikes the question: Does graffiti belong in the gallery?
The short answer is yes. Graffiti, aerosol art and street art are legitimate art forms and are definitely a part of the urban expression and deserve a place in our galleries, museums and cultural homes.
De-stagnate, aerosol on canvas. Sauce, 2013
But… What is this doing to the art form and culture of graffiti and what about it’s rebellious roots in railways and razor wire? By removing the art form it’s ‘natural habitat’ are we devaluing and watering down it’s effects and messages? What is the state of the wider culture of hip hop, when a piece of pastiche and derivative stencil art piece can command a small fortune*?
There is no short or easy answer to the problems of gentrified graffiti, however it does allow artists to expand their repertoire and practice their skills. Essentially, this cultural shift of graffiti in galleries commands artists to delve further into their arts practice and hone their craft, and at the very least, it allows the graffiti artist to escape the authorities one more time.
Something Sweet, aerosol on canvas. Sauce, 2013
*I could delve further into this and explain it in terms of Bourdieu and maybe even Simmel but who’s got time for that?
We’ve released a new series of dates for our ridiculously popular stencil art workshops. Now is the time to book in for a workshop (or three!) in the studio in Murwillumbah since they book out fast. See you in the studio.
Are you a Blockhead? Sauce and I have to admit, we were sucked in hook, line and sinker when it came to The Block Sky High (and past series!). Maybe it’s because our house is in desperate need of renovation, or that as a public artist Sauce is always looking at new visual ideas and trends. Maybe it’s the scripted drama and the (non)reality t.v. Who knows why we’re glued to our set; Sauce and I watch The Block, like there is no tomorrow. So, when last night’s episode aired, of course we watched it.
The excitement was high and drama was promised, but Sauce and I noticed in the background of the factory, something which was distracting from the chaos of renovating. There was ‘graffiti’ in the background which looked prescribed. We couldn’t help but noticing it looked more of a mock up of what graffiti might look like if producers had commissioned a few kids to paint a wall. Which essentially, isn’t the biggest crime of the century. It even makes for exciting t.v. but… As the episode continued it was clear, the artwork was going to be exploited, and was used as another trendy statement piece.
Again, the exploitation of graffiti art is not the end of the world, however when you make a living from the industry, it can be frustrating at the very least to have major corporations and brands taking over a subculture for their own financial gain. If graffiti art was required for the styling of the room, there are plenty of aerosol artists who could have painted the couple’s walls. How much more interesting would the room look if the artwork was seamlessly blended throughout the entire room?
On Facebook, we have stared an album, where we have images of graffiti gone wrong. We’ve called it #bangontrend since it is all about looking good and not about the art, not about the artists. Next time you see a pretty girl modeling the latest fashions in front of a graff piece, send us a flick! Not only are we standing up for the graffiti culture, it’s about the moral rights of an artist.
Handcrafted Artwork Since 94 - The Sauce Studio
We respect the Bundjalung People as traditional custodians acknowledging continued connection to country and culture.
