Spaghetti Project: Grand Opening in Fredericksburg

Saturday, August 8 is the grand opening of "Spaghetti Project" (1025 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg). Spaghetti Project will be a store unique to this region in that it carries the stuff that all the kids search out and drop whole paychecks on when they visit New York City:limited edition vinyl toys, exclusive clothing and sneakers, as well as a healthy array of contemporary art books and periodicals which will keep my Christmas List long this year.
After meeting with the owners, I had a feeling that their efforts are similar to ours in some respects - they want to share and exhibit all the things that give them their joy and inspiration. Whether it's stemming from hip-hop music to contemporary urban and street art to youth culture and fashion, it's what they love.

I'll be exhibiting some of my work in their shop for the upcoming months - and I'm excited to help them usher in a fresh idea to the downtown scene. In fact, they'll be open for this month's First Friday Art Walk - so make your way down there and check it out!

July 2008: Studio Work

July came and went faster than ever. Throughout the month, I managed to kick out three new pieces on canvas. These paintings have been lingering around in my head for quite a while. I've always wanted to paint a portrait of Diego and it's been an ongoing exercise to do a plan study of downtown Fredericksburg. The "Babylon" series is actually a continuation of a number of studies and paintings I initiated back in New York and it's pretty exciting to return to that way of "constructing" a cityscape. Anyway, click the images to enlarge the view and enjoy:

"Portrait of an Artist as a Young Boy", Mixed Media on Canvas, 18"x24" Sold

Diego collaborated with me on this one. He painted the blue background and I used pages from his sketchbook as collage material to build up the texture on his hooded sweatshirt."The River Is The Portal", Mixed Media on Canvas, 30"x30" $700

Seen up close, you can read the history of the city of Fredericksburg and Stafford, Virginia. It was pretty interesting to learn how the Rappahannock River played such a crucial role in the early exploration of this area and how it guided the development of the city's planning, commerce, and trade. It's funny how today so much of the city's architecture seems to turn its back on the river rather than integrate it into the public sphere.  This painting won First Place in the Mixed Media category at the Bi-annual "Uniquely Fredericksburg" Juried Art Exhibit.  The exhibition will run for the months of August and September at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library (1201 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg).

"The New Babylon #2", Mixed Media on Canvas, 24"x12" $450

This series stems from my studies in Architecture initiated over fifteen years ago and was inspired by our view from our apartment in Brooklyn back in 1999. Although this composition is "fictional" it embodies the density, complexity, and inherent beauty that only an urban environment can offer.  This piece is also on exhibit at the "Uniquely Fredericksburg" show.

Piece selected: 2008 Mid-Atlantic New Painting

I'm pleased to announce that the piece above, "In The Coliseum", was selected to be shown in the juried 2008 Mid Atlantic New Painting Show.
This exhibition will be held at the University of Mary Washington's Ridderhof Gallery from January 24th to March 2nd, 2008. The opening reception is Thursday evening, January 24th from 5-7pm.

Check out some of the progress pics (circa exaclty one year ago) below:

More MONO Lion....

MONO Lion (mini) by Gabriel Pons, spray paint on wood, 16"x10" $75

I just finished a small series of these 16"x10" paintings on plywood. For me, this series was inevitable - I slaved over getting the vector art for the T-shirts done last month, so why not play around with the composition a bit and layer up some color...One of these is on exhibit until January 2nd at Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.

PONSHOP in December

December 14th, 2007. We've recovered from last week's "First Friday" excitement and our studio is now filled to the brim with work. Below are some pics from the studio taken this week as well as some of the new work from Scarlett and I. Visit us at LibertyTown Arts Workshop this month for the Small Works show in the main gallery. I also have paintings on exhibit at Art First Gallery, (824 Caroline Street) this month as part of the Holiday Gala Exhibit.

Scarlett expanded her ceramic fabrications this year to include earrings ($18-$21)These hand-made scarves include ceramic buttons. $32

Back by popular demand, Scarlett has also made dozens of lightweight, elegant snowflake ornaments.$10 "New Nefertiti (mini) #2" by Gabriel Pons, spray paint on wood, 16"x10" $75 "Judith (Before) #2" by Gabriel Pons, spray paint and collage on canvas, 12"x12" $95"Judith (After) #1" by Gabriel Pons, spray paint and collage on canvas, 12"x12" $95

PONSHOP: How We Make The Art....

It's a very tough market in the art world today. To stay ahead of the competition, we've modeled our practice like other American corporations. Why spend all that time, material, and money making stuff that won't put you on easy street? We've decided to outsource our production overseas and across borders where the labor is cheap - in fact, our "intern" literally gets paid peanuts (and cheddar cheese goldfish and juice) to kick out hot designs for our shop.

On the serious tip, now that Diego's two, it has been a joy to see him develop and explore on his own. For those of you that have seen him in our studio, you'll know that from the minute he arrives, it's time to paint.

PONSHOP: Commissioned Painting

We Will Walk This Path Together (2007) 15.5"x15.5" Collage, Acrylic, Spray Paint on Paper

I've had the pleasure of meeting a great couple that happen to be big fans of both my work and Scarlett's ceramics. Needless to say, one thing led to another and I was commissioned to make a collage/mixed media piece for the wife to give to the husband on their second anniversary in September.
The piece, titled "We Will Walk This Path Together" incorporates a variety of images that the wife had passed on to me to include in the composition. Maps, song lyrics, and photos taken on their first hike together were put through the PONSHOP spin cycle to cook up a new imagery that evokes intimacy in the past, present, and future that this young couple will share for the rest of their lives.

For inquiries into commissioned paintings, contact me at: gpons@ponshopstudio.com.

Works in Progress: August 2007

We are hard at work making new and interesting art for the fall. In fact, in October, Scarlett and I will be teaming up with fellow LibertyTown artist (and good friend) Rob Landeck for a show at Bistro Bethem in Fredericksburg, VA. Below are some recent snapshots taken late night in the studio:

Commissioned Work

I wanted to share these pics of a commissioned painting that I completed a couple months back. Titled "Resonator (Out of Chaos Comes Order)" this painting now resides at the Fox Clocks studio at LibertyTown Arts Workshop. Once I hung the painting, the client and I were both excited to see how it meshed in with the rest of the shop.

If interested in a commissioned painting, simply contact me at shop@ponshopstudio.com.

Scarlett continues to make functional bird houses and bird feeders for clients. Her bird feeder, pictured here, is designed to accent any garden as well as accommodate the local birds. For more information about Scarlett's recent work, click here.

Summer 2007: New MONO Lion Decks

Summer is officially here and what better way to usher it in than with a new line of shop decks ready to skate. The MONO Lions are actually a second generation of a painting titled "King of Concrete Jungle" (below).
A lot of people ask me where the ideas come from for the skateboard deck graphics. Long story short is that the graphics are a result of hours and hours of generative studies including drawing and painting. The deck graphics are an extension of my painting explorations, with subject matter inspired from mythology, architectural monuments, and classic figure drawing.

MONO Lion Decks come in 3 different widths (7.5",7.75", and 8.0") and are $45 with griptape. Decks are available at the PONSHOP Studio (916 Liberty Street, Fredericksburg, VA) and Fred Skates (604 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA). Decks may also be purchased via mail-order, simply email me at shop@ponshopstudio.com.

PONSHOP on YouTube

As a way to keep our blog postings new and fresh, I've incorporated a channel on YouTube to display videos featuring PONSHOP activities such as Art, Ceramics, Skateboarding, and if you're lucky some video of our son, Diego, bouncing around. The "Videos" section of our website will likely be updated with more (and different) content to compliment the site too. Basically, YouTube's videos will be more like news clips, while the PONSHOP Video Page will be our feature "films" so to speak.

Below are some of the videos that you can view on our YouTube Channel , enjoy!



This is a virtual flip-through of the latest sketchbook I've been working on. Initiated after we left NY in 2005, "Equilibrium: freshman chemistry problems and how to solve them" got hit up with all of my art artillery: acrylics, collage, spray paint, etc. I'll continue to work in this book until all 570 pages are filled.



Shot in April of 2006 and left unedited until March 2007, These clips are of Mark Eyestone of Fred Skates and me skating Brooks Park in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Party For Charity Event, March 30th

Gabe Pons and Rob Landeck followed up their Hyperion Art Show by pitching in for the "Party For Charity" event that took place on Friday, March 30th at the Third Floor Studio (810 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA). Gabe and Rob painted two large canvas murals while bands Boy/Girl, The Gay Blades, and The Transmitters kept people rocking. Organized by Eric Bruner Yang of Pash, this party brought out alot of the young and creative party goers for a good cause. The evening included a collective art show, live music, live painting, and a showing of the recently released Fred Skates/Magic Bullet video "City By The Battlefield." At the end of the night, the canvases were raffled off and much money was raised to benefit the Thurman Brisben Homeless Shelter. More more info on the Party For Charity, click here.

"Mother and Child" by Rob Landeck and Gabriel Pons

"Staring at the Sun" by Rob Landeck and Gabriel Pons