We caught up with Sahra Vang as she was finishing a large scale woolly mammoth piece at The Love Shack in Venice. Or should we say WU-lly mammoth, as the furry blue Ice Age creature was iced up with a Wu-Tang chain. She worked with layers of blue hues to create a fuzzy woolly mammoth, and at the last minute decided to throw on the Wu-Tang chain. After our interview, she returned to the scene of the crime and added two adorable wooly mammoth babies to keep the original one company.
Vang has been painting elephants for a while, but the woolly mammoth is taking it to its ancestry. “It’s the next step, bringing it back to its prehistoric cuzzos!” says Vang.
Vang learned to spray paint in her hometown Boston. Her mentors were graffiti artists Problak and SWAT, “they taught me everything I know about graff.” Boston graffiti artist SOEM was also an influence to her, encouraging her to go painting, “he’s one of the best graff artist out there,” she says.
“I love doing spray paint, its fast and its fun for me…I love painting large.”
But spray paint work is not her only talent; she recently completed a series of vibrantly colored elephant paintings using a pallet knife technique. A painting from the series was included LAB ART Gallery’s “Miss Danger on the Loose” all female street art show earlier this year. LAB ART is the largest home to street art off of the street, and Vang’s elephant hung among an impressive roster of female artists who practice their craft on the street such as Los Angeles sweetheart Sand One, and female street art veteran becca.
What’s next for Sahra Vang? Lets just say keep an eye out for more furry friends popping up on a wall near you…
Check out more of Sahra Vang’s many creative endeavors and personal reflections on her bloggy-blog and follow her on twitter!
-Alexis W.
Photos by Alexis W. and Sahra Vang
Follow
