While working on hit records as a music executive/producer has played a driving force in his career, it’s Vakseen’s (born Otha Davis III) passion for the arts that has served as his key to sanity in the fast paced entertainment business. The self-taught, museum-exhibited Floridian has developed a distinct collage-influenced painting style (VanityPop) that fuses elements of cubism, photorealism, fashion design and pop surrealism into vibrantly alluring, abstract portraits. While most viewers assume they’re viewing collage or mixed media art, each #VakseenArt creation is in fact meticulously hand painted directly on canvas. Drawing distinct inspiration from our fascination with popular culture, his gallant paintings are a celebration of women, beauty, duality, insecurity and self preservation. Currently based in Los Angeles, his paintings have been featured by Adidas, Vans, Playboy, Complex, Bombay Sapphire, Juxtapoz, Hi Fructose, and Tupac Shakur’s estate, amongst others. In addition to being sold to collectors and art enthusiasts, his art has been shown in museums, countless gallery exhibitions and featured in over 100 magazines worldwide. To view #Vakseenart visit
VakseenArt.com
Sean Banister is an artist from Riverside, CA. While growing up in So Cal as a young painter and envisioning an adult life in the art world, Sean’s early years in college steered him from a life in the arts and towards a degree in English and a career in teaching. As he approached 15 years as an English teacher, Sean began working his way to earning a second credential in teaching Art, coinciding with a return to painting as a main priority in his life. Sean’s art education has been a self guided patchwork of sources: foundational classes at Riverside Community College, various workshops in Southern California, along the wealth of online resources have all been woven into his
approach to his paintings. Sean reprioritized art in his life in 2019, and by the end of the year he had garnered the attention of gallerists and collectors alike through juried open submission shows and portfolio reviews. This opened the door to working with Thinkspace Gallery in 2020 for his first solo show, and several group exhibitions. Sean continues to refine his skills and vision while getting ready for several 2021 exhibitions and his next solo show with Thinkspace in early 2022.
Born in Los Angeles, 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 zin the United States and abroad. He currently lives and works in the City of Los Angeles.
Amy Smith is a self-educated contemporary artist. Born in New Jersey, but not built for the cold, she moved to Los Angeles where she found inspiration, mentors, and support in the Street Art community surrounding L.A. In her Collage Portrait Series, Amy Smith uses photography, hand cut stencils, and torn recycled fashion magazine pieces to simultaneously represent her love of fashion and her contempt for excessive consumerism. Her intention with the series is to offer viewers the opportunity to choose one’s own path of empowerment, leaving behind what society demands. Amy Smith’s work has been featured in a number of private collections, residences, businesses, and in popular tv/film sets including shows like Dear White People, Key and Peele, Casual, and many others.
Phil Santos is a Los Angeles based artist with nearly 2 decades of experience. He paints murals, Fine Art, portraits, architecture, stage props, and sometimes performs as a Live Painter with the Night Owl Players. Santos has painted professionally for many different companies throughout LA including Bacardi, Famous Birthdays, Cinedrones, Plan Check, Annapurna Pictures, Musik Box, Kitchen Mouse, Fabric Media, the city of Mar Vista, and more. He is always taking on new commissions and growing as an artist and painter.