More Awesome City

I am asking people how they make their communities more awesome - and to draw a picture of themselves in action. These ideas and drawings will be collaged into a paintings of those communities - starting with the neighborhoods of San Francisco. How do you make your city more awesome? More about this project at TheArtDontStop.com.

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Awesomeness from John Brody Salon

Visitors to the art show at John Brody Salon in Spring 2013, drew pictures of themselves making San Francisco more awesome. Take a look at all their awesomeness in this slide show.

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Detail of 'Awesomeness on Market Street'.

Here is a list of artists who helped create 'Awesomeness on Market Street' (full painting in the City of Awesome gallery). Follow the links to see what awesomeness each of these people are promoting in the world -

Fernando Calixtro, Robynn Takayama, Diego, Ronnie Rhodes, P.S., KD, Dialo, Aaliya, Carnley, Benjamin Packard, Alexandra Wilder, Juan Juan Li, Rosa Cruz, Bike Li, Maya Moksha, Nova Avon, Karina, Doug, Cheyenne, Sharpio, Abi Takahashi, Alta Moore, Hoyt Walker, Liz Ordway, Becks, Eric Woo, Gabs, www.phbalancedfilms.org, Paula,  Yasi, Estefani Marquez, Tom Hundt, Brenda Sotelo, Matt Hairfield, Ari Frink, Vaughn Davis, Brigita, Billy Fucking Miller, Yessy R., Alison, Soo, AL, Dastagir Husain Kanga Splendy, Carla, Wayne, aKarmicvibration, Viarce Lawson, Maria Allocco, Jessica Aebi, Doug, Tavo, Daron, Ola Carlvik, Veronica Rose, and Hospitality House artists, Mega, Fig, Toben, Adolf, and Rick.

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City of Awesome at 2 Blocks of Art

Thanks to the San Francisco Arts Commission for sponsoring the City of Awesome at Urban Solutions' 2 Blocks of Art festival in the Central Market neighborhood.

More than seventy people made a drawing of themselves making San Francisco more awesome that will be included in a painting of the intersection.

Join us a the next 2 Blocks of Art on October 19, 2012, 4-8pm to see the finished painting.

Take a look:

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Ivy and Bruce show off their awesomeness

I met Ivy and Bruce at the Yelp Beerwalk Empire event.

Ivy takes "tooo many pictures of tooo many things." Bruce picks "up cigarette butts!!!"

But I can attest to the fact that their awesomeness extends well beyond those words.

Thanks to Photo Studio 29 for taking the photo of The Art Don't Stop in action.

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Awesomeness in Jack London Square

I brought the city of awesome project to Jack London Square to be a part of Yelp's Beerwalk Empire event. As usual, I asked people what they do to make the Bay Area more awesome and to draw a picture of themselves in action.

I had the pleasure of being set up near Joey the Cat who makes the bay area more awesome by spreading the skeeball love.

You can get some of that skeeball love yourself at http://joeythecat.com/.

Take a look at the rest of the awesomeness self-portraits in the slideshow below. Jeremi feeds the poor, Mercy reduces pollution by using public transportation, Jennifer mentors at-risk kids with the San Mateo Youth Foundation, and Alex W plays music.

Then take a look at The Art Don't Stop on Yelp.

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Melanie is extra awesome

Melanie Cervantes drew a portrait of herself making San Francisco more awesome. She is a graphic artist for community organizations and her work is extra awesome.

I looked her and found out that she's really not kidding. You can follow her work at  http://dignidadrebelde.com/ . 

You may still be able to see some of her work in an exhibit at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - as featured in this video.

Find Melanie's drawing in the painting, 24th St. Awesomeness.

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Bob's awesomeness

While asking people to draw pictures for the City of Awesome project, I get to make many truly extra-awesome people.

At the July 2012 Sunday Streets in the Mission, Bob drew a self portrait of himself making San Francisco more awesome. He chose to represent himself doing needle exchange work in homeless camps, but he also told me that he is active with Occupy Bernal.

Find his picture in the 24th Street Awesomeness painting.

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Awesomeness from the World Domination Summit

When my special-lady-partner-person, Lauren, went to the World Domination Summit in Portland, I went north with her and spent my time making a painting with the Portlanders I met around town (see below). 

Lauren's excitement about the conference was infectious, and she quickly wanted me to be a part of this community she found (she is much more eloquent about it in this post).

So I went with her to the after-party and then to a meet-up back in San Francisco, and, as I am want to do, I asked people to draw their awesomeness.

Take a look at this collection of awesomeness self-portraits by people dedicated to living unconventional lives. They will be combined together into a painting of the world.

For instance, Nicole, with the "Leap Fearlessly" sign says that she makes the world more awesome with, "Empathy and Understanding, Positivity and Adaptability, and JOY!"

City of Awesome: Portland

$450, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, with accompanying booklet, 2012

The people in this painting are self-portraits drawn by people in Portland to represent what they do to make Portland more awesome. It is currently on display at the Independent Publishing Resource Center.

Artists who drew their self-portraits for this painting include: David, Phanny Longbaught, Brian Bost, Shana Lane-Block, Anne, Rachelle Koivunen, Maya Grace Todd, Katie, Mitchell DeShazer, Sarah, Michael Haluska, hawkk, Sol Cloudancer, Kevin Nichols, John Ciampi, Heather DeShazer, Sharon Rowland, Jenni B., Tami, Sofia Adisin Linde, Liz Nichols, Rolia Manyongai-Jones, Mara Haeri, Chad Essley, Taylor S., Judy Crockett, Matt, Le Badgier, Beth, Angela, Mama, Hooty McBoobity, Julie, Crystal Henington, Akira Peterson, Megan, Sarah Buchanan, Johnny insanity la Mosley, Karen Looney, Susan LeMaster and Steven Bailey, Aaron Schmeckpeper, Mary B., Leslie Foeller, Pete Landers, Ashton Verburg, Alex, Sammi Knudtson, Alex Churn, Indigo Kerr-Harding, Marcy, Amaya Gustave, Fred from Brussels, Angela Haluska, and Collin Elliot.

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Tanya runs the The Button Club, where the art is way greater than the some of the buttons. Really, check it out. Look for her self-portrait in the "City of Awesome - Soundwave ((5)) at the Make-Out Room" painting.

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Awesomeness uncovered

A couple weeks after putting some City of Awesome self-portraits up on the public art (de)Appropriation Wall, I found that the art had been covered up by some sort of movie soundtrack advertisement. See how it looked originally here. 

So I peeled some of the ad off:

And then, I scraped away the poster to reveal Travis-D, a roller derby referee:

Chaotic public art:

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Take a look at all the awesome entries and decide which will best make the community come alive with art.

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Lea-Anne draws her self-portrait at the Mission Community Market during the Good Eggs opening celebration. 

What does Lea-Anne do to make San Francisco more awesome? "Buy from small businesses and farmer's markets; raise an environmentally conscious child."

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City of Awesome when it was at Mission Pie

The first of the City of Awesome paintings was created during an exhibit at Mission Pie from December 2011 to January 2012. See more pictures of the Mission Pie experience in this album on facebook.

I left instructions, markers, and paper on the wall at Mission Pie.

People draw pictures of themselves making San Francisco more awesome.

The drawings are cut out and collaged onto the canvas. 

    All the drawings are incorporated together into the scene.

The painting is finished!

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The interns and I installed a City of Awesome collaborative painting on the (de)Appropriation Wall - right near where these awesomeness drawings were collected.

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Progression of a Painting

Watch the evolution of the City of Awesome: Portland painting.

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Praler expresses here awesomeness by smiling. A lot! - as drawn at the July 1 Sunday Streets.