STEVE LOPEZ

(Los Angeles, US)

Born in Los Angeles, Steve Lopez was heavily influenced by hip hop culture and graffiti art. He is a painter who has emerged from the graffiti subculture and academic influence. While attending the University of Oregon Lopez studied under the guidance of master sculptor, Dora Natella and design theorist, Leon Johnson. Lopez absorbed attention to form associated with Natella’s sculptures, while refining his conceptual vocabulary through Johnson’s critique on visual continuity.

In 2000, Lopez Received his B.A. in Fine Art. His work can be found within a myriad of corporate and private art collections both in the United States and abroad. He currently lives and works in the City of Los Angeles.

ROB ABEYTA JR.

(1972, US)

Rob Abeyta Jr. is painter, designer and art director living in the harbor area of Los Angeles. Currently, he is working with NIKE as the senior designer on a new line of sneakers & apparel to rollout later this year. In addition, he is a member of SA Studios creative team with Mr. Cartoon and Estevan Oriol. 

His past works have included collaborations with Spike Jonze, French Director and Academy Award Winner Michel Gondry and numerous music packaging designs ranging from the seminal punk band LOS CRUDOS, to The Transplants, to LA hip hop legends MACK 10, Cypress Hill and DJ Quick. 

Other works include the design of numerous skateboards and apparel while working as an Art Director for Fourstar Clothing at the Girl Skateboard Companies. While design and art direction take up his days, the nights are taken up by learning the process of tattooing with Mr. Cartoon.

RETNA

(1979, Los Angeles, US)

RETNA (Marquis Lewis) is a contemporary artist, primarily recognized for graffiti art. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, and started his career in the early 1990s. 

He cites eclectic artistic influences, such as illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance imagery, and contemporary text-based art. Religious architecture and décor have long been a focus of his. He has mentioned Degas, Klimt, Basquiat,Haring and the Art Nouveau movement as historical references. Particular to his graffiti writing, Saber and David Choeare cited as influences, among others.

Retna has developed a constructed script which he uses in much of his work. Each block of text is a system of hieroglyphs, calligraphy and illuminated script that has been influenced by Arabic calligraphy, Egyptian hieroglyphs,Hebrew, Blackletter, and Native American typographies. Retna's script communicates personal messages and poetry which are not immediately decipherable to a pedestrian audience.

Watch this video interview by MOCA:

MISTER CARTOON

(Los Angeles, US)

Mark Machado, better known as Mr. Cartoon or more commonly just Cartoon, is a Mexican American tattoo artist and graffiti artist based in Los Angeles, California. Since the age of eight, Mr. Cartoon realized he was an artist and went on his first paying art job at the age of twelve. Having grown up in the Harbor area of Los Angeles County, young Cartoon began airbrushing t-shirts and Lowrider cars before adopting the legendary "Fineline Style" tattoo art, which was developed in the California prison system.

Machado designed the logo for Cypress Hill. He has tattooed the bodies of Kobe Bryant, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Eminem, Method Man, Xzibit, Prodigy, Travis Barker, Scott Raynor, Bow Wow, Fredrik Ljungberg, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé Knowles, Danny Trejo, Adil Omar, Mena Suvari, Jules Jordan, Emilio Rivera, Kurt Sutter, Redman, Lewis Hamilton, and Gabriel McDonald as well as Snoop Dogg. 

In addition to tattoos, Machado's work has been used by Nike, Toyota, T-Mobile, MetroPCS and in Grand Theft Auto. Machado appeared in the documentary Scarface: Origins of a Hip Hop Classic and is a contributor to Mass Appeal Magazine. Together with friend and frequent collaborator Estevan Oriol, he owns Joker Brand Clothing. He is affiliated with Soul Assassins.

Watch this interview by Young & Reckless:

MIKE MILLER

(US)

Famed photographer/director Mike Miller has worked with some of the most iconic 90’s supermodels, photographed over 500 major-label album covers from all genres of music from Tupac, Nick Cave to Herb Albert. Recently photographed and directed YG, A$AP, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Jeezy.

Currently working with Ferrari and collaborations with Retna, Shepard Fairey among others. Clients include Angelina Jolie, Jack Nicholson, Cameron Diaz, James Franco, Sony, Nike, Puma, MTV Video Awards, Coca~Cola, Stussy, etc.

In his recent book, West Coast Hip Hop: A History in Pictures, he presents just what the title implies. A reportage of his iconic images coving the golden age of rap.

Watch this video of his hip-hop photography by KCETOnline:

ADAM HARTEAU

(1977, Los Angeles, US)

This self-made artist, Adam Harteau, works adroitly in a flurry of mediums, each informing the other, and serving its creative purpose as the project presents itself. An imaginative artist, designer, draftsman and problem solver, he moves with ease between painting, photography, drawing, collage, printmaking, sculpture, graphic and fashion design. At 18, he moved to Los Angeles to attend Otis College of Art and Design, where he received a scholarship for fine art painting. He has remained in Los Angeles since then, balancing his diverse and eclectic artistic endeavors with grand explorations of the world, which have all brought great inspiration to his life and work.

Watch Adam, Emily and the rest of the Harteau family take a break from their endless travels to join us as the next in our Dreamers + Doers series. See what it really takes to start a life of adventure, a family and an exciting new business from the open road: