While New York had Zephyr, Blade and Lady Pink defining the local street art/graffiti aesthetic, Los Angeles had Mister Cartoon working the trenches to encapsulate LA's look. It all began innocently enough -- from airbrushed T's as a youth to painting lowriders -- but quickly morphed into a hustle creating art for musicians. Soon, he found a calling in the form of "fineline-style" tattoos that came to be known as quintessentially Los Angeles. Per Lily Moayeri at LA Magazine:“We wanted to take Chicano art as far as we could take it,” says Toons. “Show our art to people that weren’t part of our culture and didn’t have access to it, let them see how we draw and what our style is. We didn’t expect to take it to the red carpet in Hollywood or major brand collaborations. One minute we’d be in the housing projects in Watts and East L.A., then we’d be having lunch at Fred Segal. It’s a hard to cross from one to the other. But the beautiful part that comes out of street culture, which could be connected to violence, poverty, incarceration, is the art form.”
