_{Growing up a poor white trash kid from Alabama, Grant Cobb was always "that boy that can draw." It wasn’t exactly a term of endearment in Birmingham. If noticed at all, it was ranked socially somewhere between the autistic savant that had a knack for card tricks and anyone with a recently installed suspension lift on a 4wd. After what seemed an endless adolescence, and the realization that his art scholarship didn’t really pay for much, he used an enlistment in the Marines as an escape.}

_{Even though he had given up on the idea of art as a profession, he hadn’t given up on art. Grant still found time, amidst the running, screaming and random trips to the pit for pushups and crunches in the sand, to draw and sometimes sneak away to do a painting somewhere it didn’t belong, usually with a boot brush, shoe polish and CLP (gun oil). The first time he got caught, what he thought would land him in the brig, actually led to the painting murals in different buildings and offices on three different military bases over the next five years. Of all people, the drill Instructor that caught him painting had given him new hope that essentially reset his course.}

_{Two years before the end of his enlistment, having picked up rank fast, Cobb found himself with a lot of spare time, and an opportunity to learn a trade that he had always been fascinated by. At 21 years old he new exactly was he was meant to do! So every night and every weekend was spent at his second job in a tattoo shop in Virginia. There he apprenticed to learn a craft that’s allowed the freedom to travel, study and work with an often motley, yet diverse and uniquely talented group of artist and illustrators. Grant’s now been tattooing for the last 13 years and still learning.}

_{With no formal education, just an inherent ability to draw, an affection for literature and the need to create and understand, the local library and the overbearing influence of mass-media has rooted it’s way into that void. Combine that with the good fortune of working with some of the best tattooer/ artists in the business have helped him find a unique style of painting that continues to evolve.}

Find out more about Grant Cobb at: knowngallery.com/grantcobb

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New artist profile : THE WITNES

October 04 2009 . 04:19pm

The Witnes is a California based artist born in Saigon, Vietnam during the peak of the War. After being raised in Toronto, Canada for 8 years, he was re-rooted once again to be planted in Southern California. As a product of the environment, The Witnes became familiar with subcultures such as skateboarding, graffiti and cryptozoology. During the mid to late 80s, The Witnes took notes on the art of graffiti written on the streets, freeways and various walls of the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles. His older brother tagged Sumet and introduced him to key elements needed for a growing vandal. These ingredients were the book Subway Art, other local graffiti writers (Krush KSN, Eklips AWR and TCF members) and graffiti yards. Twenty years later, The Witnes is still absorbing these same elements. The Witnes is a member of the Los Angeles’s infamous AWR crew, as well as the NASA crew of Cerritos. He currently resides in Orange County, and works as a freelance artist and also works on his own company/project called "EyeWitness". The EyeWitness Brand produces collectibles and apparel. As a hobby, The Witnes partakes in sasquatch searching expeditions and other paranormal activity investigations.

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Interview with Mike Shinoda by Andrew Michael Ford

August 17 2009 . 03:27pm

Mike Shinoda will be opening his second solo exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum on August 29th, entitled "Glorious Excess (Dies)." If the success of his first solo at that Museum is any indication we are all in for quite a treat. Shinoda was gracious enough to take a few moments out of his busy schedule to talk about his upcoming show, his music career and the exciting things which lay ahead for this gifted artist.

Read the rest of the interview on Juxtapoz.com

Find out more about Mr. Shinoda at: KnownGallery.com/Shinoda

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andrew michael ford, artist, interview, japanese american national museum, juxtapoz.com, linkin park, mike shinoda

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