Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda hosted the first public event showcasing his artwork titled Diamonds Spades Hearts Clubs on Sunday night, November 19. The event took place at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, California. The pieces of art were snapped up by fans and art connoisseurs, and all the proceeds go to the Michael Shinoda Endowed Scholarship Art Center College Of Design.

Shinoda talked about the event.

"I've got a few paintings for sale, and it's hard. I've never sold paintings before, and it's a hard thing to do to part with those. With music you can write it and you share it, but you still keep it. It's just a song. It's all over the place. It's everywhere at the same time. But with a painting when an original moves from one person to another that person sees it all the time and the other people don't get to see it anymore. The way I deal with that and cope with that in my mind is I'm actually giving a portion of the proceeds from the show to my scholarship. I started a scholarship at Arts Center, my alma mater, so it's a college scholarship to help a young designer/illustrator get through school, so I can part with the paintings knowing that the money from that sale will go to the scholarship."

Shinoda is also busy with the rest of Linkin Park, hard at work finishing up work on the follow-up album to Meteora.

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