Long time friends and fellow Pittsburghers Ben and Andy Kehoe are two amazing artists.

They never stop impressing me with their attention to detail, use of color, technical skills, characters and all around imagination. Both of these guys have shows opening on October 14. Ben’s show opens at WWA Gallery in LA, Andy’s show opens at Roq La Rue in Seattle.

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Most people look at the life of a musician and think it’s not conducive to the family man. I have met many musicians in my native town, Seattle, and all across the US that would beg to differ. Many musicians are family-people and even bring their families with them, like I do. One great find for the traveling family is the B.O.B. Stroller.

We call our B.O.B. ‘the Cadillac of Strollers’. It’s the only way for a kid to get around these days and I’m sure our son, Henry, would agree. While it looks like a small car, dwarfing your child in it’s massiveness, it takes any rough terrain you can throw at it. Because, let’s be honest, in the midst of the car-invasion and our bad economy, the sidewalks across this country have, sadly, been forgotten.

The Killing is a new show on AMC. It’s set in Seattle and revolves around the murder of Rosie, a beautiful young girl whose mysterious secret life continues to unravel as the plot thickens.

Almost every character on the show is a suspect right now. At times there are some similarities to Twin Peaks, my all-time favorite show besides Quantum Leap. Let’s hope The Killing gets better and better.

Not a lot of architecture firms think a lot about the demolition of old houses unless it’s as a means to make way for new buildings, but Hutchinson and Maul of Seattle drilled holes in condemned farmhouses, sometimes inserting tinted acrylic rods in them, creating beautiful displays of light as the sun streamed in and giving the structures a flourish of renewed life before their ultimate destruction.

Amazing and slightly crazy outsider art-ish work by Portland artist Ryan Bubnis. Check out his new work at Flatcolor Gallery in Seattle from this weekend until February 27.

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The AP Tour brought metalcore music heavyweights and a convoy of sponsor vans head-first into a stormy Seattle last night. The Hurley denim reps were rattled; they’d endured a long drive from Utah through what they described as the worst weather they’d ever experienced. Joking around with them before the show I realised how shaken up these guys actually were; hands were still shaking and their laughter was racked by nerves.

Shooting a metalcore show is tough work. It’s a sweaty affair punctuated by rocking floorboards, flying kids, steamy lenses and subjects who refuse to keep still. It was the first time I’d seen songwriter JB Brubaker and August Burns Red play, and I was curious to see how Jona Weinhoffen (ex Bleeding Through and I Killed The Prom Queen) was settling in with new outfit Bring Me The Horizon. As expected, performances were charged, riffs were tight and ink was everywhere. Five solid bands playing a classic venue at capacity.

Electric Coffin opened the doors to a new space in Seattle’s 1020 Building last night, hosting artists and skaters for a Marginal Way art show benefit. Marginal Way is a successful DIY skatepark project. Previously the park’s location was public property in disrepair and skaters took it upon themselves to clean it up. With the support of local businesses and Seattle’s Department of Transportation, DIY construction began in 2004. It’s now a legal skatepark. Respect.

Local artists donated pieces for auction – most of them painted on slabs of griptape – with local favorite Matt Savage selling early before my arrival. Again. His pieces continue to escape me; next time he’s showing I’ll be there when the doors creak open. His work in intense, saturated and imperfect with honesty. Small deviations by a rushed hand and rough surface define his unique and truthful style. [artwork below by Matt Savage]

Whether tight-lipped local authorities are upset about this perversely attractive sight or not, there’s no question that it’s killed two birds with one stone: providing a refuge for tasteless gum that won’t end up on your shoe, and transforming a bland brick wall into a bit of an urban rainbow. I dig. [Photos via OddityCentral]

Since I’ve been anchored in Seattle, I’ve seen some inspiring art projects going on around here. The Cactus Cooler Project is another cool local art-focused initiative, and this behind the scenes video gives you a peek at the talent and effort behind the project. The video is by Jack Leonard, a film-maker I met a few months ago. The kid’s got talent.

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Do folk artists usually call themselves folk artists? Seattle-based Stacey Rozich does, but there’s not a hint of irony in her work. Her images look like illustrations from a forgotten Eastern European tribe that intermarried with the Native American tribes of the Pacific Northwest.

I love how Seattle-based artist Gala Bent gets some well-rendered texture and depth in her almost abstract drawings. She references recognizable forms (animals, body parts, hair) sometimes more than others, but all her pieces give a sense of space and dimension.

Attention all hipsters: Stumptown Coffee Roasters are setting up shop in the land where cafes rein king: Amsterdam. Adding to its Portland, Seattle, and New York locations, this all-too-trendy coffee boutique is due to open its European doors on 1 May.

Stateside, this independent coffee roaster has a massive reputation for pushing out copious amounts of caffeinated goodness to an ever growing, cult-like following. In Amsterdam, the bar is planning lots of espressos, a few tastings, and daily cuppings. It promises to be a great way to recover from those neighboring coffee shops.

Seattle’s Pill Wonder seem like the second coming of Elfpower to me. They’ve got the same fuzzed-out, ecstatic vibe, complete with jingle jangly sparkle and too-high-on-vibes-to-see-straight giddiness. Their orchestration and production is decidedly more lo-fi, but the overall anti-depressant effect is similar. Not sure how I’ll feel about these guys when the summer rays have replenished my vitamin D reserves, but for now, they provide some much needed sunshine.

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I hadn’t heard of Skelator until the name was excitedly murmured amongst metal-heads in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. I’m new in town, so was dutifully checking out the local metal scene, and the Galway Arms was rammed with leather and spikes. There was a decidedly medieval theme, and I spotted at least one real sword.

It felt like a DragonForce show, and chatting to a few punters I was promised something amazing. As Skelator hit the opening riff, my DragonForce hopes were cast aside and I was looking at a frontman who must admire Dio. Actually he must worship Dio. It was like watching Dio flanked by progressive thrash musicians. And damn were those skins being hit. The standout for me was misplaced drummer Patrick Scick; the only guy in the room (aside from me) who didn’t fit the leather-and-spikes took the talent prize in my book. Apart from that, a fairly typical show, complete with a reliable Angel of Death cover.

Seattle-based artist Justine Ashbee makes undulating, amorphous drawings by hand using paint pens to delineate the topography of imaginary forms and textures.

Seattle-based photographer Chris Jordan’s new work features astounding images of the carcasses and stomach contents of albatross chicks from a remote strip of land in the Northern Pacific ocean, 2000 miles from the nearest continent. The chicks are fed human waste by their parents, who mistake the garbage for food. Jordan notes his subject matter is reproduced as discovered, in the interest of accurate representation.

As autumn creeps in, the temperatures drop, and the days get shorter, I’m finding myself listening to more morose and introspective music. Tiny Vipers, a one-woman band from Seattle, has been doing it for me lately with her luminous, bittersweet folk.

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I still remember when I was introduced to Conceptart as a student and started devoting countless hours to the sketchbook threads, desperately trying to measure up to the most prestigious drawers around the world. I felt like I was part of an isolated underground club in which battles were fought on paper, using your drawing skills and creativity as a weapon. As the popularity of the site grew, so did my love and dedication to sketchbooks. [illustration above by Guy Parkhomenko]

Drawing in my sketchbook was not a simple exercise routine anymore. Each page was a reflection of my surroundings, my daily activities, and even my attitude. It was a visual journal of my life.

Unfortunately, as I graduated and started working as a commercial illustrator, my focus shifted towards fine tuning my portfolio and my sketchbooks started gathering dust.

Slowly, as artist’s blogs started becoming a new trend and I was seeking out artistic inspiration each week, I started developing friendships with various sketch artists around the world and my passion for my daily visual journaling revived again.

In November of 2008, I received an e-mail invitation from Seattle journalist and illustrator Gabriel Campanario to join a new website called Urban Sketchers, where illustrators from around the world would contribute life drawings of cities they live in, or travel through.

Quickly, the site became a huge success. With hundreds of members from all over the world, people’s interest in the art field started gradually shifting towards this new phenomenon called Sketchbooking.

A year later, a book titled An Illustrated Life: Drawing Inspiration from the Private Sketchbooks of Artists, Illustrators and Designers by Danny Gregory was released. The popularity of sketchbooks was broadening quickly.

Illustrators are releasing more and more of their sketchbook work now and new hope is given to visual journalism in the more commercial industry as well.

Locally, sketchbook pages are exhibited in galleries. Art buyers and art hobbyists are seeking out sketchbooks and life drawings of artists far more frequently than before.

As a faculty in the Communication Arts department at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), I am enforcing the use of daily sketchbooking as a general rule and it has given me fascinating results amongst dedicated students.

The community of sketchbook artists is developing rapidly and it is becoming an extremely accessible area for illustrators, designers, painters, artists in various categories, to come together as one in a less competitive division of the art industry.

Definition of Sketchbooking
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: To draw regularly,on a daily basis in your sketchbook-preferably from life
Synonyms: Journaling visually, sketching, drawing
Antonym: Being lazy

[Illustration by Vikki Chu]

[Illustration by Sungkyung Park]

I Want You is a cool limited print edition, quarterly art magazine published and designed by the Dumb Eyes design studio in Seattle, Washington, Published in a beautiful, full-color, large format and expanded online, each page of the print edition consists of an image from a series of the featured artist’s work and a url that leads you to their profile on the I Want You website. [Illustration by Izzie Klingels]

Seattle-based design studio, Dumb Eyes, have some awesome t-shirt designs, logos and typography up on their website, all of which showcases their minimalist, brightly colored, and tightly patterned aesthetic.