It’s been awhile since I last wrote about George Vlosich III, one of the most unique artists working today. The medium he works in, more often than not is the Etch A Sketch. And yes, it's the same plastic, red-framed Etch A Sketch kids everywhere play with for a while before cracking it open to see how the hell it works.
Since ten years of age, Vlosich has been Etching. At eighteen he was commissioned by the Topps Trading Card Company to produce a series of Etch-A-Sketch drawings for their 1998 baseball card collection. Since then he has been commissioned to Etch many an athlete, musician and celebrity.
I still can’t get my head around the technique or the amount of patience someone has to have to complete one drawing. And all of it is worked out to such perfection; unfathomable to an Etch A Sketch hack like myself. Most of Vlosich’s original work takes between 70-80 hours to create. Some, like George’s newest masterpiece, Michael Jackson, took 150 hours! That’s a full time job for a month! 
The details are insane. The images are spot on. And remember, an Etch A Sketch drawing must be done in one long line ... one continual unflinching, unforgiving friggin’ line! Legendary artist Paul Klee once described his own work as simply taking a line for a walk; yeah, but it ain’t nothing like George Vlosich’s trek. Once finished, the piece is then preserved to stand the test of time -- I hope! -- every drawing is unique and cannot be duplicated.
The details are insane. The images are spot on. And remember, an Etch A Sketch drawing must be done in one long line ... one continual unflinching, unforgiving friggin’ line! Legendary artist Paul Klee once described his own work as simply taking a line for a walk; yeah, but it ain’t nothing like George Vlosich’s trek. Once finished, the piece is then preserved to stand the test of time -- I hope! -- every drawing is unique and cannot be duplicated. George is hoping to use this Michael Jackson piece for charity, possibly blowing it up to extra large size and then having the performers at the September 26th Michael Jackson Tribute Concert in Vienna autograph it. The concert, which was announced a few days ago, will feature some of the world's top entertainers performing MJ's greatest hits on a crown-shaped stage being constructed outside the 17th-century Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna. The tribute will be broadcast live and is expected to draw an audience of one billion.
Check out George and his brother Greg’s website.
