The Zen Bullies are a group of Bay Area artists who've joined forces to break free of the typical art-making roles and restrictions that painters often find themselves adhering to and working within. The original goal was to inject the art-making process into non-traditional environments and expose segments of an unsuspecting public to a range of up-and-coming painters and their talents. At the outset this meant performing in nightclubs, at private parties, and in storefronts. Since 2005 — year of the groups inception — the collective's footprint has expanded into new and unexpected arenas. You’ll find Zen Bullies painting in diverse locations ranging from urban street-corners and rooftops to clandestine, late-night, guerilla-sessions tucked into luxury suites hosted by anonymous collectors.

No grand theories or ideologies here. We administer artist and practice into unpredictable environments. The venue and audience as substrate, the painter as catalyst. In many ways Zen Bullies is an experiment. One where the artist is forced out of his or her comfort-zone (typically the environs of a studio or class-room) and out into a variety of challenging settings, while working under intense time constraints, and up-close-and-personal with the public. Conversely, the viewer is exposed to the creation of a large-scale piece of art start to finish. From blank canvas to final stroke. Bullies founders Ford Minton and Todd Donahue refer to these efforts as a type of democratization of the art-making process, indeed, by removing the command-and-control framework of the gallerist and their white cube — the omnipresent altar of modern-day art consumption. The facade of the artist-as-a-creative-alchemist is quickly stripped away. The results of this deconstruction can be profound on both sides of the fence. With each performance, new layers are brushed away to reveal unanticipated facets. This type of model creates a relationship between creative producer and consumer rarely experienced in a public art-making setting.

Sidewalk pastels of celebrities and uninspired watercolors of Coit Tower this ain't. Zen Bullies artists are trained painters, all of whom are products of well-respected art programs both public and private. Their styles range from brash colorful abstracts, to industrial strength figuritives. Zen Bullies are constantly seeking out new talent. With an ever-expanding roster of young and emergent painters, each Bullies performance can — and usually does — offer a fresh, unadulterated experience to even the most jaded sophisticate.

Though the artwork is for sale, commerce is not the prime motivator behind what we do. In all frankness, it's not about the money. It is the experiential elements, the unanticipated take-aways, and unforeseen interactions derived from these spectacles that impel us. A Zen Bullies perfomances will consistently raise more questions than provide answers. This provides a moving target for the artist — and moving targets are more interesting by definition.

With that said, if you see a piece that you relish, or just think it will go nicely above your knock-off Eames Chair in that corner of your new loft — which is sure to be convenient to public transportation, shopping, and restaurants — then by all means buy it! After that comment earlier regarding 'gallerists and white cubes', we'd better figure out an alternate route to cover our overhead. Gesso and canvas are not getting any cheaper and lets face it, art school these days costs more than Yale.

End of palaver, now go out and see us paint or better yet, dust off that PayPal account and buy a painting!