Why ADNATE?
I choose Adnate out of a dictionary when i was a teenager, i liked it more for the structure of the letters than what it actually meant. I loved painting “wildstyle” and this 6 letter word gave me the possibility to make some seriously wild tags and pieces.
When did you start painting?
The first time i remember putting pen to paper was about 10 years old. I was sketching letters and characters from my favourite movies such as Aliens and Terminator. But i was about 13 the first time i played with spray-paint and i was hooked instantly!
Tell me more about your creative process.
My current work mostly consists of spray painted portraits. Because I’m painting realism, theres a lot to remember in terms of lighting, tones and structure. So its important i have a good image to reference. Sometimes i photograph faces of people around me, but mostly i just choose an image that has similar emotion and facial structure that i want to paint. Incorporating my surroundings is a huge part of what i do as well. Whether its jamming on a wall with other artists, or painting on a mould covered wall in abandoned building, i always to place the right image that fits with the emotions of the surroundings and how I’m feeling at the time.
How many times a week are you painting?
This year has been very hectic, I’ve had 2 solo shows and painted walls in 7 different countries. Its always comes in bursts though, some months i might paint 6days a week and then i might only paint twice a week the next month. One things for sure is that I’m super stimulated and motivated since I’ve moved into painting faces.
Do you prefers painting on walls or on canvas?
Growing up i painted 100 walls to every 1 sketch or canvas. For some reason, i feel more intimated buy a blank canvas in my quiet studio than a blank wall in a busy street. If i could, i would spend every day painting my portraits on walls.
You are part of AWOL crew. Are you working on something now?
We are 6 members strong, including one french and one canadian. So its hard for us to all be in the same city, let alone the same country because we all have a passion for traveling. Currently we have four members in melbourne and things have been going crazy here! We’ve painted a lot of big murals in the past month plus live painting at different festivals around Australia. We are all in a really good headspace at the moment, all we want to do is spend the summer painting outside together and not stuck in our studios.
What are your main inspirations?
Travelling, Music but mostly the people that i see around me. I get inspired by lots of different faces, people i see on my travels. I like to read people’s faces. Young, old, stressed, peaceful, i try to reconstruct these emotions and personalities in my paintings.
Any dedications ?
Mainly just for my crew, AWOL. Im very lucky to be part of such an innovative and creative collective. We really bounce off each other in a way that compliments each individual style, making them my favourite artists to paint with.
If you had to create a Cirque du Soleil show (with absolutely no money restriction) what would you create?
Wow. My mind is going crazy right now… It would be to have a traveling group of artists that would follow the Cirque du Soleil painting in each city that they set up. The artists would ultimately be an extension of the show, painting promotional murals and doing live painting outside the tent while performers do there thing around the artists painting. Or, while the show is happening, you could have an artist inside painting live, huge quick portraits of the performers on stage. Either way, it would all be amazing!
