Matt Kurvin

I first met Matt Kurvin when I was recording at Paradise Recording studios and needed a drummer for the album I was recording. Little did I know that what I would actually end up getting was THE most talented drummer I have ever known with such a good heart, super funny personality and on top of that, he takes gorgeous photographs? Matt’s list of talents does not end there. He also has extensive knowledge and knack for website building and design as well as photo editing and can also surf better than most people I know. He travels all over the world and takes his camera with him; making is his diary of sorts to chronicle his trips and his happenings along the way. He is well known for his surf photography but also produces beautiful landscapes, portraiture, wedding photography and architectural photography.

Matt and I will be creating a piece for the show that involves me using one of his fabulous photos as reference to paint from. I hope you get to see what comes of this; it is going to be epic.

Kati Bays

Kym and Kati Bays started a company last year called "K Bling", which features handmade custom "blinged" out accessories. With time, patience and creativity Kati and Kym plot out a design for each piece and then glue each swarovski crystal into place. They take custom orders and sell to clients all over the world. Kati has been bedazzling everything from frames, to phone cases to even shoes. Once Kym and I had completed our piece I decided, why not work with both sisters separately? I invited Kati to join the art show and she happily accepted to which we planned out our piece. I can't give it away just yet but you know it will involve something fabulously sparkly! :)

Christian Mendoza

I can safely say that Christian is the most knowledgeable when it comes to anything in the digital media department at Cabrillo. That is where I met him He is a tutor in the computer lab and after having a few classes with him, we saw each others art and "poof!" we became friends.

Christian has a beautiful style of photography as well as a distinct style of editing that makes his work stand out. He not only has skills in photography but also in digital print, web design, flash and video production. For this show we decided to take on two projects. After we filmed some footage for the video that Christian is making for the multi-media portion of the show we decided we also needed to create something that someone can take with them. We will be making something involving photo and paint, check out the walls of MOTIV in May to see what we made !:)

Abigail Nelson

Abby is not only my niece but she just happens to be an amazing budding little artist in the making. Since the age of three she dressed herself in what she found to be fashionable, which is usually items from many different color and pattern palettes. I was always so astonished by her way of setting trends at such a young age and not liking to conform to the norm. Now at the age of 6 she is beginning to take her art skills to canvases and it is such a lovely sight to see. I already know that I must have played an influence on her art already as she sometimes likes to add "boobies" to her mermaids and girls and in this piece you can see her subject matter close to ones I am doing now. I am so excited to be collaborating on a piece with her as well as giddy to be able to watch her grow over the years as a person and as an artist.

Update from Sarah Jane :)

It took me a while to get started and get all my invites accepted so I am only about half way done with the show. The process so far has been so awesome. It has opened me up to exploring new mediums and trying new ways of creating work that I had never thought of before. As an artist I am usually closed off to working with other people due to the fact that we must rely on each other to make the work happen. I feel like I have opened up and let go of trying to control everything all of the time and in turn it has taught me something about myself. It is okay to let go, it is okay to open up. Good things and good art may come of it. :)

Brianna Biddle

Brianna Biddle always had a knack for artwork from a very young age. It is only in the last five or six years that she has honed her skills and pursued an art career. Her work mostly consists of black and white portraiture created with acrylics or watercolors and ordered from clients on a custom one of a kind basis. We started painting together when we became neighbors in 2006, and while we have painted side by side before, we have never actually painted on the same canvas. After accepting my invitation into the show, Brianna and I decided that for this project we would utilize her skills with shading combined with my love for color. We are sure to make something gorgeous! Come check it out May 4th.

Matthew James Powell III (CLOWN)

 When I met Matthew James Powell the Third, I only knew him as "CLOWN" and was over the moon to be in his presence. I had always studied the graff mags and his work was regularly featured in a lot of them. I guess you can say he was kind of like a celebrity to me. Over the years our friendship grew and I was able to spend time with him and his crew making art, painting wall murals and getting to learn so much a long the way.

Matthew is a genius of many styles in the art world. He has mastered the art of graffiti, used his skills on the sets of films and commercials, created many beauitful works of fine art with acrylic on canvas, and now is a full flegged Tattoo artist in Tarzana California where he is making his mark on the art world a little more permanantly.

Matt and I have decided to create a small detailed work of art for the show, please come out on Fri. May 2012 to see it and all the others that will be on display.

Kym Bays

photo by Naomi Chavaro

Everyone who knows the Bays sisters,  knows that they love themselves some "bling." With that said, Kym and Kati debuted their gorgeous custom line of hand crafted phone cases in 2011 "KBling" and cannot create enough to meet the high demand. I myself own a few of these beautiful creations and I cannot say how many times a day I get comments on how sparkly and eye catching my phone case is. 

With this in mind, I decided to ask Kym if she would like to possibly create a work of art that involved her love for all things sparkly with my painting skills. We came up with a framed and bejeweled piece of artwork that honors another special someone who we both adore and who we hope would be proud of our piece. May 4th 2012 will be the debut of this work, hope you can make it!

Drew Milburn

Drew Milburn the prime example of how the choices you make can directly reflect the path you walk along in life. He has chosen to use his talents in positive ways and to take life seriously as a gift and to live in every moment presently. It took time and some hard battles for Drew to see this, but now that he has, he is living life to the fullest.

I first met Drew when we were both painting, drawing and hanging with members of the TITS crew. Now a full fledged member of the crew, he has been painting for 13 years and developed his skills as an artist. We painted a large mural together at Bill Wheels legal wall in 2003 and haven't painted together since. This collaborative project will give us the opportunity to once again come together and make a beautiful piece of artwork, one that someone will be able to take home and make a part of their decor.

To some, graffiti may be misunderstood or looked down upon, but I assure you it takes a lot of skill and artistic talent to be able to create letters and characters with aerosol cans of paint. I would say Drew is not only a graff artist but a true typographer with the way he bends, shapes and colors the letters to make eye pleasing words to display. Stay tuned for what we come up with, it is sure to not disappoint.

Jodi Lyford

I met Jodi as a youngster growing up in Santa Cruz. Her being the cousin of one of my best friends, we had a lot of group activities together, but only now have we found out that we have so much in common involving the arts.

 She surprised me years ago when I discovered that she was an amazing artist with not only watercolor or ink as her medium, but taking it to a whole new level with the art of tattooing. Tattooing is something that takes great training and skill as well as dedication to your craft. She has an eye for how a piece will wrap around the curves of a persons body and how things will look best integrated with other work. Jodi is part owner of Red Room Tattoo in Chico California and will be making more time to tattoo here in Santa Cruz California.

Our piece for the collaborative show will involve the detail orientated work of Jodi along side my cartoon-style women. We hope to make something that will be loved and cherished by a special someone in their home, office or business.

Lynsey Baker Stone

Lynsey Baker Stone is not only an artist, but also one hell of a mom, a devoted wife and a successful business woman. She may come from Santa Cruz but she is truly an island girl at heart, which is where she resides now.

Drawing a lot of her inspiration from the Hawaiian islands is what really made me want to collaborate with her. Her art depicts bright colorful sunsets and lush flowers as well as thought provoking portraits. She has a real feel for the paint and where she thinks it should go. She paints with what I call "instinct" and "emotion" over "technique" or "precision." When you see her work you can tell that she loves painting and creating and puts her heart into each and every piece.

I am excited to make an island inspired painting with a combination of her painterly style and my cartoon-esque edge. Make sure you make it to the May 4th opening at Motiv to see what comes of my and Lynsey's work of art!

Trisha Turner

Trish Turner, AKA Dorothy Von Fink, is a woman that epitomizes the Rockabilly Culture. She dresses in 1950's fashions, drives a hot rod, reps old school inspired tattoos and last but not least- knows how to use a pin striping brush to make the most simple items look beautiful. I love the fact that the art of pin striping relies so much on symmetry, free hand and impromptu design. Since Trisha was 8 years old she was very much into the freedom of creating cartoon characters with no sketching first and just going for it. Free hand work takes a certain kind of mind set. Most artists rely on the ability to go back over mistakes or imperfections with paint or another click of the camera but pin striping allows for very little error and sometimes finds a new creation or idea in those errors.

 This art is mostly associated with custom cars, hot rods, motorcycles and using the lines to accentuate the curves in them. Needless to say, it is a male dominated craft I have always been inspired and curious about it. I myself have been associated with the mostly male world of graffiti and always love to meet other females occupying those types of arts.

Trish has been honing her skills for the last 5 years and adds details of striping to anything from cars to fashion accessories, instruments and even the BBQ pictured above. For this show we will be working on a wall mounted custom surfboard which will embody both of our talents on one metal flaked piece. Hope you can make it to the show to see this and many more pieces with other artists!