Trial and error is part of the game in everything; you try something, don’t like the outcome and try again. For those who work in the commercial art world, revision/”can you change it, one more time” is the name of the game. In the following interview, I ask Mark Penxa about his experiences working for a variety of clients from large shoe companies to local bands that pay in bags of change, beer and Winger tour shirts. His illustrations and paintings of the non-commercial are classic examples…

For the release of Paul Rodriguez’s fourth shoe with Nike, I was given the opportunity to head east to New York to partake in the festivities, and learn some more about Paul himself and the story and creation process behind his new shoe. The following photo essay documents the truly epic experience it was. Photos and video courtesy Gordon Nicholas & Nike SB.

Last week I had the distinct pleasure to sit on the judging panel at Le Taz skate park in Montreal. For those of you who weren’t able to make it out, here we have a good sampling of some of the amazing skateboarding that went down that day. Crowning champ Paul Trep was definitely in the running from the start, along with Micky Papa and Brandon Del Bianco. What was really cool was to see all these amazing skaters, some of which I’ve seen before, but for whatever reason, maybe they don’t have a photographer…

It’s been over two months since the tour ended but I can still see the road when I close my eyes. I can see the blue bag that contained all of our camping gear fly off the roof of the van, the zeal in Pnut’s eyes after singing Party in the USA for the 1st time, and the exhaustion in Todd’s after his near drowning. The mini-adventures that made up the larger race against time and the struggles of making sure each show looked good.

Exclusive bonus photos and insight into Mike Fyfe and his SHAZAM interview in Color Magazine 8.3SE.

Recently, Clare Rojas had a show at the Museum of Craft and Folks Art in San Francisco. Those who stopped by the opening night were treated to not only some amazing art but also Ms. Rojas playing music as her alter-ego, Peggy Honeywell. As far as I know, this was the first time she has played at one of her openings.