The cover for Hi-Fructose Magazine Vol. 41 comes from painter Greg “Craola” Simkins, an artist based in Los Angeles. In this post, you can take a look at how he created the piece that would become this cover. See those photos and a video below. Simkins was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlp4bxdY_qE&w=600&h=415]
In a statement on his website, the artist clarifies how he comes up with his imagery: “As our imagination takes over, we tend to leave what is ordinary and go outside of ourselves to visit these places. This is why I paint and what has inspired me over the years to grow as an artist. It is the constant search for what else is on the outside.”
Before embarking on a career as a full-time artist in 2005, Simkins worked as an illustrator for clothing companies and other brands. He also worked on video games like “Tony Hawk 2X,” “Spider-Man 2,” and “Ultimate Spider-Man.” Among his early influences, as a kid growing up in Torrance, Calif., Simkins cites cartoons, animals, stories, tattoos and “mind-numbing trips to grandma’s house.”
Serbian artist 
Italian artist 
In his current show at Honor Fraser in Los Angeles, Kenny Scharf shares wild new works that include new mixed-media paintings, sculptures, assemblages, and more. “Optimistically Melting!” takes over the space through Nov. 16, and in it, viewers find an veteran artist who maintains his graffiti sensibilities yet constantly pushes his interests into new arenas.
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman's "Heavy Water" brings new paintings from the surrealist to La Luz de Jesus Gallery, inspired by the substance created from tap water for nuclear energy research in the 1930s. Using oil and egg tempera on aluminum panel, the artist’s works have a particular glow, implementing centuries-old techniques for the effect. The show runs Oct. 4-27 at the space.