Los Angeles-based illustrator Sterling Bartlett was born in North Texas, moved all around the country during his childhood, and spent his early years cutting his teeth in the DIY art scene of Phoenix, Arizona before landing in LA. Over the years Sterling established a penchant for loaded imagery rooted in his early love of skateboarding and heavy music. Gang graffiti, hip-hop, biker culture, occult figures, and psychedelia also figure prominently. His painstakingly rendered graphite work usually combines two or more of these elements into blithe, layered visual pranks. Sterling’s work never fails to portray his interests; they create intimacy for those in the know, and carry the unadulterated cool of adolescent discovery for those who aren’t. His high regard for technical mastery offers a detailed examination of the relationships particular subcultures have with society at large, as well as with each other. www.sterlingbartlett.com

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