How did you begin?
Aside from being born on the east coast and seeing graffiti in the city when I was young, my first direct contact with graffiti came when my sister started hanging out with “gang banger” kids. I use that term very loosely, of course. I saw what they were doing with tagging and that really interested me. Eventually I started to see pieces from them and that’s when I really fell in love with it. I started to mimic their hand styles and tried to add my own flare to it. It wasn’t until much later in high school that I started to meet writers personally. A writer named Jedi took me under his wing and started showing me some techniques. I also owe it to a cat named EASone who first took me out bombing.
Who what where inspires your designs?
Old school East coast writing is what got me going in the beginning. Writers like Cope2 and Zephyr had styles I could really embrace. I was really big on European subway bombing as well. Many European crews have a “go big” style that I really embraced in recent years. I like knowing that when someone sees a piece of mine they know exactly who it is.
How do you choose your colors?
I’m fortunate enough to be a paint distributor in the state (Requests Music myspace.com/requests check us out) so I’m also blessed with a room full of Belton Molotow spray paint (some of the best as far as I’m concerned). My process of picking schemes is sitting in the middle of that room and pulling out any colors that happen to catch my eye. I tend to pick my fill in color first then base my main shadow color off of that. From there I find lighter tones that will compliment these main layers. I also think it’s important to find a force field color that will make ALL of your other colors pop.
Did you start off as a writer?
I started off, like most, with a strong appreciation for the art and an imitator of the style.
Which graffiti artists influence you?
I could name a bunch of big time writers right now but honestly it’s about those that personally helped me out. Arise TR FTL, Demiser OSH PT, Scope, Hev One KOA, ELF QTK, Toure TR QTK, Fate KOA, Kept FTL and BLUR AMP.
How long have you been in Honolulu doing this?
City life is not for me. Maui no ka oi. I don’t hate, though. I’ve been painting on Maui for the past 5 years or so under a few different aliases.
Are you part of a group of graffers or is it just you?
I write with FTL crew.
How often do you get to do a piece?
Weather pending, about once a week.
What prompts you to do it?
It becomes a natural impulse over time. I just love doing it. It doesn’t always matter how great it comes out. The feeling of having anything you want as a canvas and doing your art as large as you want to go is great.
Whats the ideal environment for a piece?
The simple answer would be a cop free-America. Since that doesn’t exist I enjoy large open walls that can be easily painted at night but will slap people in the face during the day. I like beautifying broken down buildings, too.
Is it about the high risk factor?
When I was a little younger it was more about the risk factor than it is now. I’m lazy and don’t like running that much. Now and again I’ll still go do some risky business here and there.
No comments:
Post a Comment