Los Angeles based artist, Ivan Don, got into art without ever thinking about the affects it would have on Earth. After years of putting out his craft, he joins many other artists in believing that there is no art without “eARTh.”

As our knowledge of the Earth expands, more artists stand up and participate in recycling efforts and keeping things green when it comes to the art that they create. Don is a graphic designer in Los Angeles and owner of the clothing brand R&G. He spoke about the awareness of the green movement in California, which is becoming popular among artists.

He said the rise of technology helped limit the physical waste in art and when it comes to scraps, there is a new movement of artists who are creating pieces completely made out of recycled materials.

“With so much more digital art these days, there is much less toxic materials like paints and wasted paper,” Don said. “And on top of that, there are a bunch of artists that use recycled materials and make some really cool stuff.”

Don said when he creates clothing, he doesn’t like to waste any material and that he knows how important it is to stay environmentally friendly so he tries to use every little bit of anything. He went on to point in the direction of another Los Angeles based artist who has done eco-friendly work, Mr. Brainwash.

Mr. Brainwash has had success in his career by using broken vinyl and creating them into famous musicians like Carlos Santana and KISS. The French-born artist was interviewed by Recycle Nation in 2011 and said that life is beautiful after all and he believed in benefiting the environment. His work can be seen on Mrbrainwash.com

Another Bay Area artist who commented on the green art movement was 22-year-old Erick Gutierrez, also known as SteezEdits. Gutierrez, a Skyline student, is a graphic designer who has had clients since he was in high school and says he has seen a jump in the number of clients who want graphic designs instead of physical pieces.

“Even when I was right out high school, I still had clients who would want physical pieces but I do realize a recent jump in the request of graphics,” Gutierrez said. “Not only is the art easier to get around but it’s just way cleaner. There is no mess or leftover stuff to even worry about recycling. I could imagine it would have to do with the the new wave in technology but you can’t miss the fact that it is helping our ecosystem.”

When speaking to a couple of Bay Area artists, they had the same awareness. “DroCee,” a Skyline student, tattoo artist, and canvas painter, spoke about what he does.

“My style of art doesn’t really circle around recycled material but I have a few pieces that do,” DroCee said. “Outside of art, I try to recycle and make sure that I am not littering anything.”

DroCee spoke about his canvas paintings of San Francisco that have recycled pieces of fencing that were cut into the shape of a heart and laid them across the canvas. The paintings display the San Francisco 49ers’ and Giants’ logos with a silhouette touch. He sells these pieces as well.

Reyes, a tattoo artist out of Sweet Dreams Tattoo Studio in San Francisco talked about recycling the needles that they use.

“We recycle used, contaminated tattoo needles which we keep in a sharp container and have a medical waste disposal company come pick [them] up,” Reyes said.

He mentioned that recycling needles is important because the needles shouldn’t be laying around outside.

With a lot of artists being environmentally conscious, some of them do their best to hit home with their messages. Eluxemagazine.com released an article with several eco-friendly artists who are touching people across the world. One of the artists talked about was Jeff Hong from New York.

The magazine labels the artist’s work as warping Disney’s motto of “where dreams come true.” The pieces portray Disney characters suffering in real life settings. One of them has Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” sitting in puddles of oil on a beach as she is washed up ashore. Another painting shows Mulan covering her face with a mask so she doesn’t breathe in the very polluted air that roams the streets of China.

Don thinks Hong’s art is important for our future. He said that [Hong’s] body of work is important because Disney is a happy place for a lot of people from kids to adults. If we are able to show some of their favorite happy place characters in a negative setting, which is a setting we live in today, then the art could really hit home and steer some change.

“Art will tell a story [and] is a universal language that will never change but go on [to] tell different stories,” Don said. “We must take it seriously.”

The world is gaining more awareness every day in what people need to do in order to keep Earth healthy. The eco-friendly artists movement is growing from recycled needles to artists who completely revolve their pieces around recycling and it will only continue to expand from there.