Getting into the BIGGEST rooms in art and music 🚪

Hey friends. It’s almost Halloween and I’m swimming in scary movies and creative projects. I wanted to take a moment to share a little about what’s been happening over here this month. Check it out below and THANK YOU for being on the email list! Happy Halloween! - Darren (Artist and Dracula enthusiast)

Attending When We Were Young Festival 2025

This is the second time I’ve had the opportunity to go to the Las Vegas music festival. In 2023 I had art on display with Punk Rock and Paintbrushes celebrating Green Day and it was amazing to be a small part of a festival this big.

2025 marked two years since then and while I didn’t have paintings on display, I did create merch, admats and photo and video content for many of the bands that were performing at the fest. I had some great conversations with singers, musicians, managers, graphic artists and other industry folks which made me feel like the hard work I’ve done over the past 4 years is being noticed. I get to be in the room where it happens and that is an incredible feeling!

I did have an awkward moment with the drummer of Simple Plan but that’s a story for another day!

The Vorel Eagle flies high backstage at The When We Were Young Fest

Admat and merch for We The Kings and The Plain White T’s “Delilah VS Juliet Tour kick off at When We Were Young fest is currently underway.

Punk Rock and Paintbrushes Holiday Show

Punk Rock and Paintbrushes is a business that travels the world and puts on art shows featuring the best artists in punk rock and beyond. To date I’ve had art on tour with NOFX, The Offspring, Riot Fest, and When We Were Young Festival.

I got to be part of this incredible family by saying “yes” to an opportunity to be on the local artist day of the 2021 holiday show. The local shows are great, but never as featured as the day before when the BIG show happens. For 4 years I have wanted to be part of the main show and that day has FINALLY ARRIVED!

I will be a featured artist on December 6th 2025 at the tenth annual Punk Rock and Paintbrushes Holiday show along with many other artists and musicians that I’ve looked up to all my life. Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio), Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy), Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Eric Melvin (NOFX), Chris Shary (The Descendents Milo logo designer), Mark Desalvo (Heavy Petting Zoo Cover Art!), are just a few of the artists I get to be in the room with on 12/6/25 where I’ll have brand new art hanging alongside theirs. DREAM STUFF! If you’re in Los Angeles, you can RSVP to attend the show for free.

Painting a portrait of Mama Yuca’s with a segment on KTLA news and writeup in The Eastsider LA!

Community is the reason I moved to Los Angeles. It is important to me to be included and immersed in the place where I live and work. That means connecting with the people and places that have been here way before I dusted off the Chicago snow and made my voyage to the California sunshine in 2021.

Over the past 4 years I have fostered a relationship with Dora Herrera of Yuca’s Tacos and she invited me to live paint a portrait of Mama Yuca’s (The founder and matriarch of one of the oldest standing businesses in Los Feliz) for national taco tuesday!

KTLA and The Eastsider LA were on hand to capture the event! You can watch the segment here and read about it here.

Darren and Yuca’s owner Dora Herrera with painting of Mama Yuca’s in front of “The Hut” in Los Feliz

5 Years of painting for a living!

Like many of you, the pandemic changed a lot of things. For me, I made the decision to become a full time artist after losing my job as an art director in Chicago after 17 years. I put together this video to celebrate some of my favorite paintings in that time period. I hope you’ll enjoy it!