Old lad painter by Mike Watt

Eshay! Mike's new mural is somewhat a testament to our lad culture.

Mike shared with us this old lad painter- he is really cool and the story behind how he came to be is really interesting! Have a read below and make sure you goto Mike's instagram handle to follow more work from him @mike__watt

"I made this guy up as I was painting him but he turned into something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Not trying to get too deep but people seem to hate change and want things to keep going like they have been. You see it in art quite a bit, people get annoyed when someone changes up their style or does anything commercial. It’s like you have to be painting the same thing in the same way until you’re an old man. It was fun painting him, I think I’ll do a series of old lad painters when I stop being a hermit. " Mike Watt

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cheeky observer

We asked Cheeky Observer if her work has a consistent tone or message?

This has been a big focus of mine for the last 12 months; I’ve spent a lot of time meditating on what it is that I want to communicate through my work. Conceptually, I’m playing more and more with the idea of cultural consciousness, particularly in my less ‘commercial’ pieces - I want my creative output to be the kind that makes people feel something, inspires them to think differently, to see and act consciously.

I want my work to be a force for good.

Art in Public space is important to a community because it offers up a world view, or story of someone without political motive. Made by the people, for the people.
Also, I find that our world in its current state is over-saturated with digitally polished and pixel perfect, and there is a growing need for handcrafted, raw, visceral creativity to put people back in touch with themselves.

The last few months of 2016 were jam packed with a lot of large scale murals for me.
The most rewarding commission was one I did in Cape Town - my client wanted a piece reflective of South African culture, which was a challenge, as the nation’s history is quite sticky. I drew inspiration from the faces of the native people, the Afrikaans language, and the current drive and imperative so many of the people carry with them - to try and bring about social change through creative means.

Looking towards the future. I would love to work more on large scale pieces with a purpose. Those with an agenda to better the world, through sustainability, awareness, or the general distribution of positive vibes. 

Mike Watt

Mike Watt shared some words on creativity and public art...check it out!

What is it in your mural work that is truly you? - something about the the subject matter, process or thinking that speaks to your personality or story!

I think it's when I have complete freedom and am able to find work that best suits the space. The subject matter will normally be my characters but if it's the right space and I think a city scape or something different would work well, I feel like it will still be truly mine even though it might be something quite different than I would normally paint.

Something a lot of people don't know about Mike? My feet are pretty messed up, they're always covered with cuts and bruises. I'm really clumsy so I'm constantly kicking things on the ground and half falling over. I've got to remind myself to be extra careful when i'm painting up a ladder.

I'm not sure if my work has much of a message but my personal work normally revolves around characters, I try to get some story in there even if it's just in their faces.

I think public art makes people happy, it stops them looking at their phones for a minute and gets them looking at something in front of them which can also create interaction with other people around them. I don't understand why anyone would choose a blank wall over a mural, it created happier, brighter places.

Grizzzle bringing still-life to life with movemenT

to describe myself, would be where I start being site specific and working with the elements, subject that surrounds me in that moment. My colour palette is black/white and gold, and as a base I love working with those for boldness and reactions of light on gold, rare as it is I might introduce a colour palette if needed and communicates with the site. My process is bringing still-life to life with movement, to create a talking point and question, or even to sit back and enjoy the elements within the work.

I got kicked out of my kids art class when I was 7 or 8 because I was bored and couldn't comprehend why the other kids couldn't complete the tasks needless say I was well frustrated, I was placed in the adult life drawing class and fit in. A little nod to my work being site specific I guess.

I always keep to a body of work and stay with that until it's time to evolve, my canvas process and larger mural works are always connected as they're an extension of one another. As for the message, they adapt to the space though may be a hidden message in there for the viewer to find.

Public Art purely serves to evoke emotion, communication and thought. If placed in the right location it will reaffirm the message the artist or curator is wanting to convey.

My latest personal body of work is the production of still life's, bringing a stripped colour palette and my line work to a new level if being on their own or as a collage of elements to tell a story or draw attention to somewhat meaningless elements mixed with meaning elements to the foreground.

Commercially I'm working tightly with Bacardi, more specifically 42below to create a sustainable brand for 2020, everything we create from the bottle to the byproduct, t-shirts, cups and even painting bars to tell the story of what a cheeky yet thoughtful brand can do.

Mulga wants to make rad pictures that make people smile.

I love the beach and summer and this comes through a bit in my paintings especially when I am painting characters which are mostly always wearing sunglasses and looking like summer creatures. I like to paint beards as well because beards are magical, I've been growing my own one for a few years now and people often ask if my characters are a self portrait and I think that they all are to some degree. Before I was doing art for a job I was working in a finance job and I think a lot of the things I paint now are the complete opposite to that, lots of bright colours and rad characters just having a good time which is what wasn't happening in my office job.

 

We asked Mulga what is something a lot of people don't know about him - "I've never had a drink of grog in my life."  Cheers to that!

The consistent message in my work is mostly about being fun and not taking things too seriously and being childlike at heart. I want to make rad pictures that make people smile or that brighten up their day.

Public art is hugely important to the community because it adds a lot of character and interest to a neighbourhood. It can make ugly areas into beautiful areas. What could be a plain boring grey wall can be one of colour and vibrancy brightening up the place making everyone happy. It's like the makeup for a neighbourhood.

I recently worked with Slurpee and Coca Cola and that was really cool because it was a way for me to get my art out in front of a lot more eyeballs than normal. The highlight of my career was being able to do some art for the Coca Cola billboard in Kings Cross. It was up for the month of December last year and it was pretty crazy. Both those projects where really cool because I was able to see my art animated and that is something that I would be super keen to see more of. If you are an animator and reading this get in touch for sweet collabs!

If you are interested in having a wall painted get in touch with us below.

Zeke's Lunchbox bringing to the world pure joy, wonder and escapism.

Julia Rich AKA Zeke's Lunchbox shared with us some insight into her creative process and what makes her tick.

I used to live in Laos as a child for three years. I think the culture, art and fauna have influenced me greatly. 

I think micro details is kind of my specialty so having a larger scale means I can get really in there and focus on those tiny details I love so much. Being able to just spread some colour into the world is also quintessentially me.

I think the overall tone has always been subverting what we consider attractive, sexy and/or cute. The future message I'd like to bring to the world is just pure joy, wonder and escapism. The idea of bringing that to people gets me really excited!

Art in public spaces creates unified discussion. All having a common ground and jumping off point brings strangers together, irregardless of whether the talk is positive or negative. 

I was recently asked to make a original artwork for a marketing agency called Wild Minded. We came up with a night scape filled with texture, plants and insects. This artwork was later printed into greeting cards for the business and it's been one of my favourite commercial projects because I didn't have to compromise my aesthetic too much. Any collaboration where my work is taken to a practical form is always exciting and something I'd definitely love to do more of in the future. 

Check out the vid below - an interview with Zeke's Lunchbox

Are you interested in commissioning a mural by Zeke's Lunchbox? Fill out the form below and we will be in touch.