I was asked “What made you first pick up a can?”
Personally I don’t think that is the best question to ask, being as it's not about picking up the can, it's more about expressing how your childhood moulded itself and how the passion developed. For me, like other artists it all started at school, the children I hung around with and the programme's on TV. “The Fresh Prince of Bell Air” amongst others probably had a subliminal effect on me. Along with street sounds electro 1 (do the packman). When I was at school I remember my friend and I coming up with tags, thinking we were cool and in our own secret gang. Needless to say that was short lived when the teacher singled us out, I can still remember that embarrassment vividly.
New school and new friends introduced me to a different genre of music. I remember my school bag which was covered in tipp-ex and permanent markers, tagging the names of the music we were into like Sweet, The Merton Parkas, The Who, The Jam, Secret Affair and untold others. My favourite to draw was the two tone tag of The Specials with that porkpie hat and tie. I was writing on the school toilet walls and sticking toilet paper to the ceiling. Sitting upstairs at the back of the bus, writing on the seats and smoking cigarettes. My bmx was sprayed and re-sprayed many times with old spray cans, that had little amount of paint left in them.
Life takes over, before you know it exams have been passed. Further education has gone by, then suddenly your working, in relationships and years have passed by. My brain takes me back with flashes of intensity, reminding me of my hobbies and things from my childhood that built me into the person I am today. So now I have the money to buy my paint and my knowledge has grown, after all the internet is a fantastic tool when its used correctly.
In 2013 heronheron took off. With a bag full of stickers, a black spray can and just one stencil. I went around Cambridge placing the herons in various places, hidden but spottable if you knew where to look. Slowly as they emerged more and people started to notice them. The power of repetition had started, there’s probably hundreds of rumours why herons were around and if asked it seemed everyone had a different answer.
I've always thought of how to progress my work and have tried many different aspects, few have taken. I have enjoyed them all, my most recent movement is exploring the boundaries of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco era, bounding the old with the new. I will always have a heron somewhere, as a signature to my work.
It is always hard to be accepted when you display art in public view, as many will judge it as vandalism or mindless graffiti. I try to be careful where I place my art and hopefully one day general public and councils will be more acceptable to street art and the beauty it can portray in the right location. I said back in 2015, Cambridge needed its own mascot. Something graceful and that represented the feel of the city. I really hope after so long, others will agree it now has that.
Happy Heroning
Personally I don’t think that is the best question to ask, being as it's not about picking up the can, it's more about expressing how your childhood moulded itself and how the passion developed. For me, like other artists it all started at school, the children I hung around with and the programme's on TV. “The Fresh Prince of Bell Air” amongst others probably had a subliminal effect on me. Along with street sounds electro 1 (do the packman). When I was at school I remember my friend and I coming up with tags, thinking we were cool and in our own secret gang. Needless to say that was short lived when the teacher singled us out, I can still remember that embarrassment vividly.
New school and new friends introduced me to a different genre of music. I remember my school bag which was covered in tipp-ex and permanent markers, tagging the names of the music we were into like Sweet, The Merton Parkas, The Who, The Jam, Secret Affair and untold others. My favourite to draw was the two tone tag of The Specials with that porkpie hat and tie. I was writing on the school toilet walls and sticking toilet paper to the ceiling. Sitting upstairs at the back of the bus, writing on the seats and smoking cigarettes. My bmx was sprayed and re-sprayed many times with old spray cans, that had little amount of paint left in them.
Life takes over, before you know it exams have been passed. Further education has gone by, then suddenly your working, in relationships and years have passed by. My brain takes me back with flashes of intensity, reminding me of my hobbies and things from my childhood that built me into the person I am today. So now I have the money to buy my paint and my knowledge has grown, after all the internet is a fantastic tool when its used correctly.
In 2013 heronheron took off. With a bag full of stickers, a black spray can and just one stencil. I went around Cambridge placing the herons in various places, hidden but spottable if you knew where to look. Slowly as they emerged more and people started to notice them. The power of repetition had started, there’s probably hundreds of rumours why herons were around and if asked it seemed everyone had a different answer.
I've always thought of how to progress my work and have tried many different aspects, few have taken. I have enjoyed them all, my most recent movement is exploring the boundaries of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco era, bounding the old with the new. I will always have a heron somewhere, as a signature to my work.
It is always hard to be accepted when you display art in public view, as many will judge it as vandalism or mindless graffiti. I try to be careful where I place my art and hopefully one day general public and councils will be more acceptable to street art and the beauty it can portray in the right location. I said back in 2015, Cambridge needed its own mascot. Something graceful and that represented the feel of the city. I really hope after so long, others will agree it now has that.
Happy Heroning
