Here on Urban Art Monster, It has always been our goal to feature upcoming artists, as well as established artists, in order to eventually make their work available to the public. Although, we aren’t able to offer authentic Banksy artwork just yet (we’re hoping he’ll contact us any day now and offer us some originals to put for sale), we are happy to announce that the very first print we are making available through the site is this limited edition print by Banksy himself.

The original “Donuts” piece went on exhibit in a Bristol City Museum exhibit, titled, “Banksy Versus Bristol City Museum.”

In July of 2009, Pictures On Walls (POW) offered a “Donuts” print which measured 30 x 22 inches in chocolate and strawberry. Each print was limited to 299 and a special lottery system was implemented for the print where buyers needed to register before hand in order to be chosen for purchase.

About this print:

Here on Urban Art Monster, we’re offering you another chance to own your own version of “Donuts” print by Banksy. This high quality print is a replica of the 2009 “Donuts” print offered on Pictures on Walls in 2009, complete with the Banksy signature on the bottom, right-hand corner (Note; this is not an original). This edition of “Donuts” is a limited edition of 100, printed on 45 lbs. Matte Litho-realistic paper. The print was created using archival ink and is a large 36 x 24 inches in size.

It’s long overdue that we feature Shepard Fairey here on Urban Art Monster. He is easily one of the most popular urban/street artists around and after the creation of his Barack Obama “Hope” Poster, he is practically a household name.

Recently, Fairey released a print featuring Cope2 and Martha Cooper which sold out within minutes of being posted on ObeyGiant.com. The print was a 18” x 24″ Screen Print which was signed by Shepard Fairey, COPE and Martha Cooper. The prints were a numbered edition of 450 and like most of the prints on Obey Giant, the prints were limited to 1 per household.

If you still want to buy an Obey X Cope2 X Cooper prints, it may not be totally impossible (as long as you’re willing to pay out of your ass) on ebay.

Amidst an Academy Award Nomination for the street art documentary, “Exit Through The Gift Shop” and a best selling coffe-table book, “Wall and Piece,” the faceless urban artist Banksy has underground followers wondering whether Banksy has “gone Hollywood.”

Several new Banksy pieces have popped up in and around Hollywood, California just a couple of weeks before the 2011 Oscars where, “Exit Through The Gift Shop” is expected to win the statute in the category of Best Documentary. The new pieces that have appeared in the upscale California area have again sparked the never ending discussion of whether Banksy’s creations are the epitome of subversive, public art or just plain vandalism.

There is no doubt that the new pieces which have appeared in Hollywood are just as unique and communicate the same level of social commentary as all of his past work. One piece depicts a child soldier standing in a child-like, crayon garden while shooting an over-sized gun. Upon closer inspection you see that the ammunition in the machine gun is actually crayons. His other piece depicts Charlie Brown pouring a tank of gasoline on the ground while smoking a cigarrette. At first, the Charlie Brown piece may not seem to work as well with it’s environment as past Banksy pieces, but the piece takes on new context once you know it was created on the side of a burned down building.

However, the never ending question of whether Banksy’s creations should be considered fine art or just vandalism has given way to an entirely new question, “has Banksy gone commercial?” This isn’t Banksy’s first trip to Hollywood, California. Back in 2007, he held a gallery exhibition where buyers included celebrities like Bradd Pitt and Angelina Jolie among others. The show was said to be extremely lucrative for the artist and since then, Banksy’s art has only grown in popularity.

His latest trip to Hollywood also comes with a storm of criticism from underground art fans who say Banksy has “sold out.” It just so happens that the Child Soldier piece was done on the side of an Urban Outfitters clothing store. The same store sells Banksy’s best selling coffee-table book, “Wall and Piece.” Coincidentally, it is also the only Banksy piece in Hollywood that hasn’t been removed or covered up.

You can check out tons of Banksy art and other west coast street artists on Melrose and Fairfax.

With no real documentation on where or when Space Invader’s mosaic were placed in and around Miami Beach, it is difficult to say how many are in existence. The fact that urban art thieves have joined forces with city maintenance workers in removing these pieces makes it difficult to even document where they are.

This piece by invader is currently located just steps away from the Miami Beach convention Center, where Art Basel 2010 was held. As you can see by these photos, the mosaic was placed over 10 feet high and above a crosswalk signal. Unlike other invader pieces, this one may have some longevity just because it is directly across the street from one of the biggest schools in Miami Beach and frequently patrolled by police.

Read more about Space Invader in Miami.

UPDATE: Just read what I wrote about this piece having some sort of longevity… As of mid-February, this Space Invader Mosaic has been removed.

There’s no doubt that Invader’s (also known as Space Invader) popularity has skyrocketed after the release of “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” However, this French artist is by no means new to the Urban Art scene. Born in 1969, Invader has been using small colored tiles to create mosaics of the Tomohiro Nishikado designed, “Space Invaders” video game since 1998.

Invader’s “Invasion” began in Paris, France and has spread to over 31 cities around the world. He is known for choosing locations for his mosaics that are both highly visible, yet inconspicuous. Invader made a visit to Miami during Art Basel 2010 and although his “Invasion” hasn’t been documented on his website, there is no doubt he was there.

However, as you can see from the last photo in the gallery, the “Invasion” in Miami Beach is quickly fading. I joked with friends on the phone about taking down the Space Invader Mosaic under the Alton Road bridge and keeping it for myself but it seems that someone beat me to it. Looking at the way it was taken down, two things seem pretty obvious. One, the piece wasn’t taken down by the city or else they would’ve cleaned up every tile. Two, whoever took down this Invader mosaic didn’t just go through a tough time to take it down (needing at least a chisel and ladder) but he or she also destroyed the piece in the process.

Space Invader does sell authentic Invader Mosaics in his Space Shop. They usually go for around 200 Euro (300 Euro signed) and sell out fast.

The Planetary Misanthrope by Suckadelic Bootleg Company NYC released in May 2010.

Designed by The Sucklord and in association with SideKick Lab, the Suckadelic Action Art Cards are the first of what Suckadelic fans hope will be a long-lasting series of art cards. The cards are created in classic card stock and packed in vintage wax wrappers.

Each pack contains 7 cards and boxes of the art cards contain 36 packs. Special inserts in the SuckPax include distressed cards, original artist sketch cards, splatter cards and more. However, the ultimate insert is the “Golden Ticket” which is redeemable for an exclusive Suckadelic action figure. Grab the Series 1 Suckadelic Action Art Cards while they still last at the Suck Store.

Like it says in his Bio on Mad Toy Design, MAD, aka Jeremy Madl, has been illustrating and designing toys professionally for over 13 years. MAD’s clients include Kidrobot, Mattel, YUM Brands, Pepsi, Scion, Wild Planet, NFL, Upper Deck, Playmates Toys and more. He has been producing his own toys under his label, Mad Toy Design, for the past 7 years.

His online store always has a great selection of unique and interesting characters available and most importantly, MAD is a very gracious artist which openly states that he would gladly sign any pieces bought from the Mad Toy Design store. His toys and prints are more than reasonably priced and his work is top notch. Mad Toy Design is a definite must-see for any urban art or toy collector.

It’s no mystery that Kaws is one of the top Urban Artists in the industry. In addition to being one of the top names in the urban art world, he has also created one of the most sought after brands of urban toys in his partnership with Medicom Toy.
His latest run of art toys (also produced by Medicom Toy) consists of four new pieces.

The KAWS OriginalFake Companion Be@rbrick 1000% in Grey (29” tall) sold for $280 and was sold out within 15 minutes on KawsOne.com

The KAWS OriginalFake Companion Be@rbrick Set in Grey included a 400% Bearbrick (11” tall) and a smaller 100% Bearbrick (2 ¾” tall) sold for $102 and was sold out within three hours.

The final two pieces are the KAWS WonderWall pieces (available in grey and another in a redish/brick color), which are said to have been inspired by an earlier Kaws character, featured on a t-shirt some time ago. As of now, the KAWS WonderWalls are the only toys still available for purchase on Kaws One, if you hurry.

Kaws is a legend in the urban art scene. All of his pieces are extremely limited and sell out at the blink of an eye. You can always find his art and toys on Ebay.com, but if you want the best deal on an original Kaws toy, visit his site at www.KawsOne.com