Over the last couple of months, I have been working on a secret project.

I shop at CASS ART Islington regularly; there's always something I want/need for my art (as any artist can tell you, that line gets really blurry between the two sometimes).

In March, one of the leaflets they put in my bag was for this competition:http://www.pebeo.co.uk/competition

I considered entering this piece, that I have called "Too Much/Not Enough" for a while, but then one night (admittedly, after a few cocktails)I decided that, what the hell, I should.

I'm very excited to announce that it has been selected as one of the finalists to win £500 worth of art equipment, and will be on show in the A&D Gallery from 7th June to the 11th June!

But why was I hesitant to enter?

Because this piece (along with two others I am/will be working on) is for a friend of mine*. It is part of a project that is about friends of mine who live in NYC/NJ, and their interests and identities.

I was originally going to finish the paintings and simply mail them to each person without telling them that this was even in the works. This opportunity makes the work public, so I am sharing the story of this painting.

This piece is for, and a tribute to, my friend Kay Ohta (also a great artist; check her out http://www.keiota.com/) Kay is Japanese, but has lived in America for most of her life. She has told me on several occasions how difficult it can be to stand with feet in two different cultures. I won't say too much on the matter, as it is her story, not mine, to tell; suffice to say it stuck in my head.

Most people I know have stories of multiple ethnicities, of layers of culture and history that are at times opaque and tangible, and other translucent, transient. These stories interlock and interact with friends, neighbours, experiences, education, and creation, and I am honoured that I can share the richness of their lives and selves with them. This is why I create, why I write, and paint, and dream; this is why I created this painting. To maybe give back something real and tangible, something you can hold or hide, treasure or discard.

So Kay Ohta, this one's for you.

New School 3 at Graffik Gallery

It’s a rather soggy night in West London and my shoes are soaked by the time I arrive at an uncharacteristically empty opening night at Portobello Road’s reliable Graffik Gallery.Maybe it’s the cold, maybe the rain, but it’s certainly not the artwork.

It’s the third installment of the New School series of exhibitions and although not the usual throng of excited chatter there are still several enthusiastic and chatty artists and punters milling around. With more room to manoeuvre than normal, there is more space to admire the work on display.

The first set of works are by Aberdeen-based Scott Mackie, a masterful display of portraiture created using ballpoint pens, a medium that almost entirely escapes my personal attempts to tame it. Marilyn depicts the screen legend in an iconically coy pose, the delicacy of the drawing contrasting with glittery black of her one piece, the solid pink of the acrylic background and stencilled wings adding to the ethereal nature of her character, or at least the cult idea of it that has lasted long beyond her death.

De Niro also plays with these ideas; the shirtless image from Taxi Driver (1976) is drawn expertly against a stark yellow background, the blood spatters and gun depicted in solid black, perhaps separating the figure of the human from his inhuman actions, the actor from his character and film.

Marilyn by Scott Mackie 

Jason Poremba’s geometrically-informed portraits are an engaging jump from the soft playfulness of Mackie. King Samo at its core nods to traditional graffiti stencilling in the form of its subject, but enriches the simplicity with overlaid complex patterns in rich golds and greens flecked with nods to pop culture and language. Lady D portrays the late royal figure in more muted colours, perhaps befitting her need to blend with ordinary people.

King Samo by Jason Poremba

Some of my favourite work in the exhibition is also some of most immediate. Ant’s work is just as enthralling as his neighbours; grey scale portraits in mixed media are dashed with streaks of colour blazing across the darkness of the canvas as the lines between classic ideas of art and graffiti are scrawled over in neon brilliance. Icons appear again as Twiggy peers out with Bambi eyes as different eras of pop culture collide.

Twiggy by Ant 

Other clashes call out playfully from their frames; Streetplay’s The Last Super depicts the famous Biblical scene, Christ’s disciples comic book characters across Marvel and DC, even including Popeye and Bananaman. Simply tongue in cheek, or a nod to shifting ideas of the hero? Only Streetplay knows, but it inspires a lot of laughter as people drift by.

The Last Super by Streetplay

Zoe Moss’s carefully and sweetly rendered coloured pencil images are often used or referenced by corporations, and it is easy to see why; well loved sci-fi figures, Star Wars’ Stormtroopers hold “I’m with stupid” signs, a Transformer holds a bag from Hamleys toy store. The Joker from Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy poses with a football carefully balanced on his neck, and I can’t help but picture him tearing down a football field with a terrifyingly cheerful irreverence for the game.

Joker by Jenny Moss

Transformers by Jenny Moss

Lee Henderson’s works stand out as stencilled figures glow from starkly black backgrounds. Paul Weller sits serenely next to more ghostly figures drifting in nothingness, each carefully executed.

Floatation by Lee Henderson

There are too many pieces and too many artists to discuss individually; but if you do make it out into the cold in the next week, make sure you hit up Portobello Road and see for yourself.

Source of Life by Tref

Top: For Travis

Bottom: Native New Yorker by Daemon Priestley

Free Soup by Daemon Priestley

Don't Stop Bomb by Marco Polo

New School 3 runs until 4th March at Graffik Gallery, 284 Portobello Road 11am-6.30pm daily.