Dodging Knives and Throwing Bullets is the hot new art book being spun off the presses by BlueBlood. This one is a doozy, folks. An Amelia G interview, in Barely Evil Magazine, introduced me to Vaughn Belak’s work. As you know, I am a firm believer of anything Amelia G likes, thumbs ups, and whatever the heck that Pinterest thing is (I think it’s a self-gratifying dolphin, but I digress). If she likes it, I’m there.
Vaughn is a fantastic artist. He has worked on his craft and on the business end of things. It’s a rare talent to combine both sides of the art world–the art and the business–without losing sight and Vaughn navigates those waters perfectly.
His style, to me, is punk–it’s true grit. He makes art with a message and takes on a lot of the established misconceptions of what art should be. Takes on? Heck, he smashes them into atoms and then paints with their blood. I love his style and I love that he has a head on his shoulders.
If you have at all looked at the world since 2016 and thought, ‘man, this is one messed up brutal planet’, then you need Vaughn in your life. It’s still a messed up brutal planet, but at least with Vaughn you will be able to Dodge them Knives whilst Throwing Bullets.
Don’t take my word for it, check out this Kickstarter for his book. When you do, make sure you click on that Pledge page (you know that I am in for one). The world needs more art and this book packs quite a punch.
Creating something out of nothing helps me stay focused and now that I am not actively poisoning myself on a daily basis I have a lot more time to do what I love. I teach two series of classes in Florida on doing this. One is Art Always Sells, focused on the business side and the other I host is Oddlando Sketch Kvlt, which focuses on underground burlesque pop and fine art creativity. I am by no means an expert, just a guy on a path a few steps ahead of others that wants to help light the way and do whatever it takes to pay it forward. I hope this book will help in the same way.
