PUMA CLYDE DEDICATION WALL SHOWING SOME OF THE HISTORY BEHIND THE MUCH LOVED PUMA CLYDE.
(ILW), Maine, Mage and CBR. That was who I hung out with, and they influenced me in a big way. I still paint with Bonzai after some 30 years! Other big influences were from trips into London. We were seeing writers like Elk, Diet and Zomby on the lines, and Mode2, Zaki Dee, Astek and Rough in the halls of fame. We traveled a bit to Paris and Amsterdam on graffiti trips as well, checking out artists like Lokiss, Bando and Delta, etc. Was there a big street art scene when you guys were coming up? Bombing, trains? Ha! No, not at all really where I grew up. It’s a pretty shit small town on the outskirts of Southampton, next to the forest. Nearer into Southampton the scene got better, and over towards Bournemouth, but it was pretty small. Most of the people I hung out with were into hip-hop, but they were mostly DJs and MCs or skaters. This was before the internet, so the only influences from outside came from a handful of books, mags, and photos collected on trips. Also, because there wasn’t a huge bombing scene, we focused more on pieces and trying to get the best out of the crappy paint available. It’s amazing if you compare the scene these days. It has become so much more acceptable, and loved by so many different types of people from all walks of life. For me, these are exciting times. Allowing graffiti to branch out, change, and evolve. Keeping it from stagnation is really important so that it doesn’t die out. Obviously the downside is that every kid out of design school is having a go to become the next Banksy without any real understanding of the culture, or without spending the time to develop their skills or style. But the way I see it is that this allows the genuine talent to continue and evolve without the usual hassle and beef. At the end of the day, these are the guys who will be around in another 10 or 20 years. 30
LEVELEDMAG.COM
Did you ever get arrested for painting? I’ve come close a few times, but luckily no. I wasn’t too focused on the illegal action unless I was drunk… and that’s when I’m invincible anyway!! Haha! What gave you the idea to bring your talents to the marketing/ advertising arena? It was really to try and combine my work with my passion, but also I felt that marketing and design was becoming overly polished and totally soulless. I think graffiti or aerosol art offers the perfect antidote to this. It is unique, one-off, hand crafted, and can speak to people outside of the usual marketing channels. I was left feeling numb with the bland over-worked design and advertising that was being churned out, and I think a lot of people are craving a more hand made and honest aesthetic. This is where Paintshop is coming from, and we are applying our art to as many mediums and medias as possible. From advertising to events, interiors to animated films, we’ve even done digital animations for PlayStation using just spray paint artwork that has been photographed, chopped up, and brought to life on a computer. What’s in store for the future, upcoming projects, events and campaigns? We just had a dope new mix done by the amazing DJ Format. You can download this for free at www.paintshopstudio.com, please go check it out. We’re also currently talking to a big NYC MC legend about creating a graffiti promo video for his new album launch, so please keep watching this space! Oh yeah, and we want to come out to see what’s happing stateside sometime soon, and of course hook up with the Leveled crew… We’re just waiting for the excuse!