CultureFphiles Interview

 Hey there. The homie comrade Boyuan runs an awesome website that features really good things like films, artists and just plain cool stuff. She recently did an interview with me about my work and such, check it out and let me know what you think. Click link below. 

Interview on CultureFphiles

Recent Handstyles & Such

Stuffed

I just finished making my first stuffed animal for my 17 month old daughter. She loves the bird already. But I didn't take note that the eyes are a hazard for her, being so young she might take them off and eat them. So I started a new bird, this time a Queztal bird, with fabric eyes. I'll post once I'm done. Yeah craft time for men.

:: Brown Love ::

Making this new year of 2013 a year were I illustrate more. I bought myself a stack of watercolor paper and some new ink so I am on my way. I hope I can keep it going when I get back to grad school next week. 

Anyways here's a new one, not sure if I am done but I had fun doing this one. Kept adding more and more layers of ink and pencil, I'm digging the outcome. I call her "Brown Love". 

Dia de los Muertos Brooklyn Structure 2012

Dia de los Muertos installation in Sunset Park, Brooklyn November 9th 2012. 8' ft high and 3 sides totaling  24' ft. Charcoal and ink on plywood sheets. Created and built by Adrian "Viajero" Roman and myself. The altar installation I will show as another blog post. 

DDLM Brooklyn Friday the 9th

DATE CHANGE FOR OUR DIA DE LOS MUERTOS SHOW! Due to subway conditions (that are now getting back to normal) we moved our show to this coming Friday the 9th. Bring the family, bring flowers or any item you want for our community altar! 

Dia de los Muertos Brooklyn
Friday 9th
7-11pm
Parking lot of Trinity Lutheran Church
411 46th st between 4th and 5th aves 
Sunset Park Brooklyn
Performances by Ase Music
Dress warm! It will be chilly but we will have space indoors at La Casita Comunal. Food, drinks will be served and art will be for sale! 

email me if you have any questions: minchovega@gmail.com 

Dia de los Muertos Show & Community Altar Nov. 2nd 2012

Dia De from Barrio Media on Vimeo.

Don't miss our 2nd Annual Dia de los Muertos Installation show Friday Nov. 2nd in Sunset Parque (Park) that I'm doing with the homie Adrian Viajero Roman this year. Please feel free to invite your loved ones (alive or not) and please bring something for our community altar for your people that have passed away. Watch the video for details. Love and Muertos.

Ink, Pencil, & Charcoal on Watercolor Paper

Self Portrait Knives

I've been taking this drawing studio class at NYU (got into the Arts Education Masters program) this summer and this is one little project they had us do. For the class I've been illustrating a lot of knives, both because I like them and I just needed objects to practice drawing. Enjoy.

Big Grass

Painted some big grass at this elementary school here in Brooklyn. I might go back and paint some more grass in the room, I liked how it turned out. The teachers there are planning to make this classroom into some green house to grow plants.

Hey people, so I recently took part in this fundraiser for the NY organization Urban Arts Partnership. They had partnered with a shoe company, Canvas Shoes and had hella famous people make shoes. People like Cee-Lo, Lee Quinones, Mariah Carey, etc. Since the arts org works with youth they contacted the high school I work in and got some of my students to design some shoes. They threw me in there for kicks and I made this. I named her "La Dina". You could see the shoe as they looked before and when I finished them. Hopefully someone put some money down to help out that organization and bought my dino.

New Large Illustration

Hello friends, it has been a minute since my last post. I am more active on my Instagram account, you can find me by my name Ben Rojas. Look me up and check out my images. 


Other than that waste of time app, I am slowly working on some new stuff and some stuff I haven't finished. The new stuff is on some dark red paper, all pencil and charcoal. Based on the native homie Red Dawn from Arizona. The whole piece is pretty large, 40 x 26 inches. A costly frame would have to bought when I plan to show this piece. I have another sheet of this paper, so I'm going to illustrate a partner to this one. Let me know what you think. 

Current Research/Influence Books

Current books I am using. Just sharing to highlight importance of using research materials for your craft. Also, to not rely on the internet so much.

Spears, Hands, Cross: Rough Draft 1

Last Week Sketches

Collecting some ideas for prints that I want to do in the near future. These would be great sellers at shows.

Elegy Logo Sketches

Digging these sketches I did today. A little brainstorming on a new look for my Elegy series that I've been doing for the last few years. I'm liking the top one more.

More Practicing Letters

A Page From The Sketch Book

Did this a few weeks ago, planning ahead on some new altar installations. There is a specific style of art that was created by the great Fernando Llort (Salvadorian folk artist) in this town in El Salvador, entitled "La Palma". Look it up. Anyways, my idea here would be to create cardboard houses in that style that would surround the altar or make a kind of village in front of the altar. This is also a play on the famous song "Casas de Carton". On the ground I am planning to lay down a layer of white rocks or white cornmeal, or both. Creating a four directional path in front. Looking forward to making this some time in the future. Below is a study I did of the cardboard homes.