Posts Tagged ‘spray paint’

Yesterday, I uploaded a video to my YouTube Channel. Not a big deal when you consider the fact that 60 hours worth of video are uploaded to YouTube every single minute. That’s a pretty staggering number when you think about it. With that much video to choose from it seems virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get anybody outside of your direct circle of friends and family to watch anything you put on YouTube. In fact, it’s even hard to get those people to watch a video. Anyway…that’s a whole other post that I will probably never write.

So, this video I posted took me forever to finish. It’s the editing and my inner struggle with overthinking, which I guess is not really “inner” since I’m talking about it. I bet there is a lot of people out there that struggle with overthinking, but that’s such a broad term. To really get down to the heart of the matter I’d say the real issue is choice paralysis. You might be familiar with that term already, but if not here is what Wikipedia says about it: “Choice paralysis is the state of over-analyzing (or over-thinking) a situation so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome. A decision can be treated as over-complicated, with too many detailed options, so that a choice is never made.”

I take pride in my spontaneity and often think of myself as the type of person that jumps off a cliff and builds his wings on the way down. Despite that philosophy, there are some things that creep in under the radar and wreck me. Editing this video was one of those things. Allow me to take you on a journey inside of my head. This will be a glimpse of the inner dialogue I have with myself. Of course, I have it with myself. It’s not like you can have “inner dialogue” with others, but you know what I mean and since I already typed that I don’t feel like crafting a new, more appropriate sentence. Also, the last three sentences were just a way to prepare you for what’s coming ahead. Ok, here we go. The inner conversation I had (with myself) about this damn video.

Just make a video about spray painting the floor. Plain and simple. No, there’s an opportunity here to make a “how to” video and “how to” videos can get lots of views. What am I going to title the video so it gets the most views? Should I talk in the video or keep it strictly just a video of me painting the floor with stencils? Maybe this could be about Instagram. Am I supposed to include a slideshow of what used to be painted on the floor? I should probably not talk. I sound like a total douche nozzle when I talk to the camera. Why am I so awkward in front of a camera? Ok, no talking. Just turn this video into something that is 60 seconds long so I can put it on Instagram. Or toss it into some sort of compilation video like I did at Christmas. Who is this video for anyway? If it’s only painting the floor then maybe only fans of my artwork will want to watch. And if it’s more of a how to video then fans of my artwork will probably have no interest in watching, but it might get some views from people that are totally outside of my circle. Shit, man…I really have no idea what to do with this thing. It’s not like I can upload 4 different versions of the same footage just so I can attempt to please every possible person that might click the play button. That would be stupid. Why can’t I just decide?!?! ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

So, that is what was going on in my head every single time I sat down to edit this thing and it reminds me of this painting I made back in 2001.

(This dude’s head is about to explode with all that stuff going on in there.)

I’ve been attempting to edit this video since February. Despite how long it’s taken me you would expect a masterpiece, which it is clearly not. If I could just manage to harness the spontaneity I have with painting and apply that towards video editing, then this would have been uploaded months ago. In the end, it worked out fine and that delay in editing gave me the opportunity to collect photos on Instagram that people tagged Viva Paso on. Because of all of those IG tags and shout outs something really cool ended up happening and that became the deciding factor on what direction to take this video. Well, if I haven’t bored you to tears yet here is what this blog post is all about…sharing this video with you. Enjoy!

If the video doesn’t play for you then try this link.

This is the part where I ask for a little favor. If you know anybody that might find this video interesting or helpful in someway, please share it with them. You can copy and paste the following link into a text message, email or even paste the link onto their Facebook page.

https://youtu.be/y-dQ8ZrAr0w

Any of those things will help spread the word.
Thanks for watching! And reading.

– Jeff

As you might have noticed, I’ve been exploring and experimenting with YouTube the past month. It’s been challenging because I’m not a fan of being in front of a camera and it feels really awkward for me to talk to a camera. You could say I am overcoming my fear and connecting with you in a new way. Also, if you’re not willing to embarrass yourself from time to time how can you ever grow as a person? At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed the videos so far. Like I said, I’m experimenting…trying out different ideas for videos and checking my statistics to find out what gets the best response. With that said, I recently made my first tutorial. The white background behind the character in this painting is called a starburst.

(This piece is available as a limited edition print.)

I’ve been using this effect since 2004 and it’s so cool and fun to do that I have to limit myself to how often I use it because I don’t want to overplay it like a new favorite song on repeat.

This video doubles as part tutorial and part “making a painting time lapse”. Enjoy!

If you like the video please give it a thumbs up or leave a comment. Making these videos take a long time for me and any interaction will give me a good idea of what types of videos I should focus on. If you have any ideas for future videos or questions you’d like to ask let me know. It just might be the inspiration for a new video.

Thanks for watching!
– Jeff

Hello All!

Here’s a peek at what is currently available in the gallery. I’ll be open tonight from 6-9pm during Downtown SLO’s Farmer’s Market.

SPRAY PAINT AND MARKERS:

We are down to 15 colors of paint. Here’s a breakdown for you.
MTN 94 – $6.50
– orchid pink
– tokyo pink
– magenta
– erika
– phoenix orange
– coffee brown
– fluorescent orange
– vespa green
– barcelona blue
– single pink (which is actually a shade of purple)

MTN Hardcore – $6.50
– intense red
– gold
– bronze

MTN Maximo, The Tall Cans – $9.00
– chrome

MTN Pocket Cans – $4.50
– chrome

Along with spray paint we also have various caps as well as markers and ink available.
Krink Squeeze Markers: Regular $10. On sale now for $7 each, available in:
– blue
– red
– green
– orange

We are down to one green Sakura Solid Marker, also known as a “streaker”, $4.50.
One Krink K-71 in red – $8.00.
One MTN 94 marker in yellow – $8.00.
One Jumbo Pilot in blue – $3.80.

DVD’s:

All of these are on sale! There are a couple of used ones, which are on sale for $6 each. The few that have never been opened are $12 each. This included “Bomb It”, which retails at $27.

PAINTING PANELS:

If you haven’t started painting on wood, now is your chance! We have a lot of these super awesome high quality wood panels available right now.
4″ x 4″ – $4.00
6″ x 6″ – $5.00
5″ x 7″ – $5.00
8″ x 8″ – $8.00
8″ x 10″ – $9.00
12″ x 12″ – $15.00
11″ x 14″ – $18.00
14″ x 18″ – $25.00
16″ x 20″ – $28.00

SKETCHBOOKS:

Of all the sketchbooks I’ve tested and used over the years these have the best quality paper I’ve ever come across. For reals.

– 3.5″ x 5.5″ (pocket size) landscape – $10.00, on sale now for $7.00
– 5.5″ x 5.5″ – $13.00, on sale now for $10.00
– 5.5″ x 8.25″ landscape and portrait available – $15.00, on sale now for $12.00

WALLETS:

These are all handmade and super cool.
$16.00 each.

SHIRTS:

All shirts are on sale for $10 each!

FANCY SCHMANCY ARTWORK:

This wall is all original work. The “blockhead” pieces to the left of the big round painting normally sell for $40-$65. Tonight, they are all on sale for $20 each.

This corner is a mix of original paintings and limited edition prints on wood.

Well, that turned out to be a pretty informative “sneak peek”. I hope you can swing by tonight to say hi and pick up some goodies.

See you soon!
– Jeff

It’s been a long time coming, but I finally installed a nice testing area in the gallery.

Already, the wall no longer looks like this. It’s getting covered quite nicely.

If you have trouble making a choice or are hesitant to buy a marker you’re unfamiliar with now you can test any of them out…Krink, OTR, Pilot, Sakura, whatever. If we sell it you can test it.

Finally try out that Astro Cap before you buy it. Or any cap for that matter. Also, see for yourself just how runny and watered down Krylon and Rustoleum are in a side by side comparison with the original Spanish Montana Spray Paint. It’s no contest, so come by the gallery and see for yourself.

This is probably long overdue. I made a flickr set dedicated strictly to all the MTN products I sell in my gallery. Check it out! There are even color charts to help you out with your special orders.

MTN has made some changes to the Hardcore line. All MTN Hardcore 400ml cans now come with a spray nozzle and a clear protective cap. This is great because you can safely stack your cans without having to take your spray nozzle off.

Announcement:
The Claassen Gallery has been very excited about selling MTN for the last two years. And who wouldn’t be? Afterall, it’s the best spray paint on the planet. We’ve had nothing but great feedback about what a quality product it is. With the introduction of the new Hardcore can we are making a transition with the pricing. All new Hardcore cans will be priced at $6.50. We still have a lot of the old style cans that we will continue to sell at $6.00 until they are all sold out. It might take a couple of months for us to have the new can in all the colors we like to keep in stock. Now is a good time to snatch up the remaining cans at $6.00.

A word from Jeff:
Having the opportunity to offer artists in SLO the best spray paint ever made has been an awesome experience. I’ve met so many artists and creative people and feel very fortunate to be in a position where I’m surrounded by creative people on a daily basis and for that I am thankful. I know fifty cents isn’t much, but I’ve literally lost sleep over this. The final conclusion is that if I’m going to continue selling MTN it’s just not possible to do it at $6.00 a can. One of the many things that makes MTN paint so awesome is that the quality speaks for itself and I’m willing to stand behind that.

Halloween. Daytime. Phone Rings.
“Claassen Gallery.”
“Hey Jeff, it’s Pat.”
“Hey Pat, What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you can help me out with my Halloween costume. I have a giraffe mask and am going to be The Giraffiti. So, I was wondering if you can do some spray stuff on a shirt for me.”
“Hell yeah!”

Oh yeah, Patrick is awesome with a video camera in his hand. Check it.