Squid vicious and other gelatinous gems sprayed to life by Steve Ehret

Have you ever seen a young kid packing nothing but a can of spray paint and a snicker, knowing the defacement on his mind, and thought to yourself, “you little shit.”

On behalf of rogue spray enamel artist Steven Ehret, bite your tongue.

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Despite the lonely, esoteric and languishing spirit that infects much of his work, Steve’s work is infectious. And even when he’s painting on walls, I’m left thinking thank god for this “debasement.”

When Steve says that he draws inspiration from the people and places he encounters each day, one can hardly believe him. At first. But somewhere among the dilapidated, dingy hovels and the frenzied fiends that populate his pieces, it doesn’t take too much imagination to connect the hyperbolic dots.

Steve’s work imbibes the feeling of a merry riot. His isn’t a style that leaves you at the canvas edge. It’s an entire existence, happy in its gritty, sinister promenade. The creatures he creates, ones he lovingly calls “phontasmal,” are sometimes beleaguered, always beguiling, and often belligerent, but each surges with its own life – without moving an inch they are animated, stirring and memorable, to say the least.

If you’re looking for Steve’s work, you can look online at his site or blog, at the William Rupnik Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio, or you can look around the city. He exhibited at the recent Stark Naked Salon exhibit at Massillon Museum of Art, and got rave reviews.

Whether with a can of spray paint or the more refined tools of the trade – with Steve, it’s not his work that is obscene, but his talent.

For more about Steve, be sure to click over to his permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Steve’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating his portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

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P.S. You’ll never be cool like Steve if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!