Ai : Tell us a little about you, your life, school, what subjects did you study? What helped   you to become the artist that you are today?
Neil :  At school I wasn’t necessarily an outcast but I was a weird kid. I managed to find my own little groove which I felt safe in. I have studied all sorts of subjects, at the end of high school I fell out with art and went and studied English language, media and psychology, before feeling ready to get back into art education. I then studied illustration and visual communications which I finished this year. I was a typical skate punk, my life at the time was based around throwing myself off high ledges and grinding massive rails. When I wasn’t skating I went to local ska and punk gigs. I guess the main influences on my art have come from seeing graffiti art in skate parks and the old style gig posters and being amazed by it all, then trying to apply it to the general emotions that fly round my head. Later in life I tried to incorporate the massive influence nature and complex emotions and weird beliefs play on my life. The biggest influence on my art is life and the various walks of life people lead and trying to understand the greater scheme.

Ai : Why did you become an artist?
Neil : I don’t think I became an artist, it was never a conscious decision I believe some people where just born a certain way. My way is drawing. Whilst my parents worked through the summers I was stayed with my grandparents, they used to joke that if left without pen and paper for half an hour I’d start to suffer withdrawal symptoms. I laughed when I was younger but I think they may have been serious. I think I was born just to draw and I’d be useless without it.

Ai : Where do you get the inspiration for your art?
Neil : Good question. Nature often takes me by surprise and appreciate how beautiful the world is and the small things that just work and culminate into this planet, its amazingly strong and scarily fragile and we’re lucky just to move around all this and try to find a way we can move with it and add to the beauty. Music is a major influence a lot of pieces of mine are from song lyrics or poetry. Also I find overheard conversations, philosophy, culture, death, life, media, typography and graffiti a massive influence, there’s many others but it would take a life time to explain, as it will maybe take a lifetime for me to produce a piece I like.

Ai : How do you go about creating? Where do you start? What goes through your mind?
Neil : Normally the insanity of sleep deprivation and the fear of my own mortality cause me to produce work, a sheer futile kick and scream against the simple way life works. But also a less morbid view is how I romantacise trivial things.
A million things inspire me, and I start by scribbling out about 100 sketches before I find something I’m happy to fully illustrate. And normally weird shit goes through mind whilst i'm working.

Ai : What is a normal day for you?
Neil : Wake up, roll a cigarette, have breakfast, check emails, draw or go paint a wall, eat, drink and socialize, sleep.

Ai: What projects have you done in the past, and what are you working on now? (if you can tell us)
Neil: Various murals and semi professional work, nothing to boast about. I’ve done some exhibitions I’m proud of, but to me it isn’t about projects, it’s simply about the work you produce, and keeping your core intact. I’m going to be launching my own clothes soon, and that is a project I’m looking forward to. I feel a lot of clothing has started to neglect design and I intend to inject a lot of that back into my clothing and produce something with integrity that people can be proud to wear and know it’s original. Also the possibility of a short stories book, as well as putting on a proper exhibition in Leeds with Dj’s Vj’s, booze, live painting etc with long walk home studios as it doesn’t ever happen here, but we’re going to change that.

Ai : Who are your favorite artists? (The ones who inspire you the most.)
Neil : To be honest I don’t find much art inspiring, that may seem bad but even the greats seem to sell out or have the wrong ethos even though their art rocks. I’m more inspired by music, life and the events happening in the world. I am inspired by John McDonough, Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, the new York subway movement and the people I paint with as the all seem to have the right attitude towards art.

Ai : What is your favorite part of being an artist? What is the most fun/difficult parts of the field you have chosen?
Neil : The unemployment is a hard thing to deal with, to work 16 hours days for no pay or no respect is a hard deal, people underestimate how hard you actually work. The best part is the expression, it keeps me form doing crazy things, and also the nice emails from people who genuinely understand your work make it all worthwhile.

Ai : What kind of art do you enjoy most? What is your favorite thing to draw? And why?
Neil : I enjoy painting big graffiti murals as they are so satisfying, I enjoy it because it is so open to the public, everyone can see it regardless of background, artistic knowledge or anything, its just so open and full of good old fashion instant gratification.

Ai : What favorite websites do you frequent?
Neil : I’m a sucker for the Internet but I’d say myspace and mojizu are my favorites, but I have been known to sit and watch random things on google video for ages as well.

Ai : Do you have any tips for the “Amateur Illustrators/character designer” out there?
Neil : Unless you are in it for pure love then just quit, go find a proper job decause it’s hard work with minimal rewards. If you genuinely love it then I have no advice because you are loving it and that’s all you need, anything else is a bonus.

Ai : Could you talk about your process “how do you create a character from start to  end?”
Neil : I try to exercise the demons from my head by incarnating them as harmless characters, using fairly simple forms and techniques to convey complex emotions. Then I start scribbling and try to balance out the image. The end product is a character i'm happy with painted on a wall, or digitized.

Ai : How long does it take to complete a character?
Neil : Depends on medium, if it’s a wall it has to be done within the day, but otherwise anything from a day to a few weeks depending on time and importance. I prefer to work as fast as I can because I feel raw energy and emotion are important, I’m not too fond of overdeveloped and technical work as it takes all the expression away, it may look awesome but it loses its soul, and especially in character design I feel it is crucial, characters should have character.

Ai : Finally, what would you like to say to Studioaiko?
A million things. Mainly keep up the good work and keep the world smiling. Oh and of course a massive thank you for the interview.

Interviewer: Sikan Techakaruha, Thailand

<< Back