Ironlak team writer Does LoveLetter’s striking work with sharp lines, mad colour combinations and strong forms and shapes makes his work up there in my top ten writers. I recently caught up with Does for a quick interview.
Where are you from originally? Where are you based now? How long have you been writing/painting for? When did you first notice graffiti around you?
I was born and raised in the south of the Netherlands and I just got back from a year of living, working and travelling in Australasia. I always loved to sketch, it was my favourite thing to do when I was not paying attention in the classroom. When I was fifteen I started taking my sketches to the wall and play around with graffiti a little bit. I mainly did tags and throw ups back then and it was more about vandalism than anything else. I even started a mini crew with my best friends and we had lots of fun together. I did my first real piece in 1997, my best friends was patrolling for me. I then stopped painting in 2000. This was mainly due to my first and most severe injury as a soccer player. The cruciate ligament in my right knee was torn during an important game. I slipped into a dip after this and I focused solely on getting back to my old athletic level. Another event that influenced my drive to go out tagging was my and my girls’ arrest after bombing a wall near the tracks. A few years later, in 2003, I found a new interest in graffiti and I started to get serious about developing my skills. It was also during this period that I met Nash, Tumki and Chas.
What’s the graffiti scene like in where you’re from? What’s the hip hop scene like there? Are you involved with any of the other elements of hip hop?
Nowadays the graffiti scene in our town is quite small. There used to be a famous painting spot in Sittard though. The Campina factory was a place that many writers from all around Europe visited to leave their mark. I never experienced this unfortunately; it was before my graffiti days. In surrounding cities these used to be quite a big scene, but from what I know about it the scene died down after a major arrest. Nash, Tumki and I are all from Sittard, so although the scene might be small, we are trying to make the best of it! As for the hip hop scene, I’m not really into that. I have a lot of friends that are involved in hip hop and I do visit hip hop music events because of that, but I like many types of music. In my younger years I loved going to hardcore festivals in Rotterdam and other big Dutch cities, quite a different cup of tea.
What crew do you write with, how many members are in the crew, how long has the crew been painting for?
In 2006 Nash and I initiated LoveLetters. The name, quite obviously, refers to our love for letters. The crew is a creative collective of ten European writers from Germany, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands. We started out with 4 members – Tumki, Chas, Nash, Does – and expanded by inviting individual writers to join the crew: Dare, Dater, Ozer, Sean2, Rusl, Biser and Puaks. Puaks recently joined the crew and we are very happy to have him on board. Dare’s passing is a great loss; his work will continue to be a great inspiration. All the crew members have evolved from graffiti writers to creative artists. Their current activities include, amongst others: graphic design, web design, tattoo and clothing design, photography, gallery exhibitions. Each writer has his own expertise and talents, which makes for a truly unique and diverse crew. Being involved in this crew and seeing people around me grow inspires me. It keeps me motivated to work harder and to improve my personal style. The fact that everyone of us has a different focus besides graffiti is interesting as it helps you generate new ideas. During my stay in Australia I also joined the F1 crew, a crew with mainly Australian writers, such as Sirum, Vans The Omega and Perso. Monster from Paris is the only other Europe an crew member. I feel honoured to have been asked to join this crew and it provides me with a good excuse to visit Australia again.
Where do you travel to paint?
I would travel anywhere to paint. The last couple of years I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit and paint in many cities around the globe. Travelling is one of the best things of my life right now. The great thing about travelling within the graffiti scene is the fact that you keep meeting new, interesting and passionate people. Also, you get to know new cities differently from just visiting as a tourist. You sort get to be an insider for a little while as the local writers show you around. From vegan bars in New Zealand, to ghetto’s in Bogota, to needle overflowing tunnels in New York , to earthquakes in Christchurch and bicycle carnaval in Yogyakarta, you get to experience it all!
Have you studied art in any form? and if so, does it have an effect on your current style?
I am mostly self-thought. I did an introductory course for the art academy, but I never pursued a full study. That choice was due to my soccer career to which I devoted a lot of time until three years ago.
Is this a hobby/passion for you, or do you earn a living from it? If not, what’s your 9 to 5 job? Do you have any other interests and do they influence you work?
It is my passion and I am privileged to be able to earn a living from it. I was a professional soccer player until recently, but I was forced to give that up due to several big injuries. This drove me to focus more and more on graffiti. The initiation of my own website now generates enough work to be able to live from it.
Graffiti and street art has been more sociably acceptable and recognised in the last 5 years, what do you think this is down to?
The fact that big companies and the music industry have been using graffiti more and more as a way to promote their products has certainly helped to increase recognition. And, in my opinion, the enormous and still growing influence of the web and social media has given the presence of graffiti another boost.
What are the other writers like in your home town/city? Are there many people getting up there?
I live in a small city and the scene isn’t very big. As I mentioned before, Nash, Tumki and I try to make the best of it. Of course there are always a few younger guys that are trying to get into it, we try to support them as best we can. Nash belongs to the global masters of technical can skill, in my opinion. The level of detail that he is able to include in his walls is just amazing. Tumki is great in coming up with creative concepts. He is incredibly gifted and has been focusing on the art academy the last few years. His style is very graphic, very different from Nash, although his ability to paint realistic images is mind blowing as well. Although they don’t focus on letters, they are both an enormous inspiration to me.
What inspires you and what creative influences do you take from when you paint?
I am inspired by letters. Letters offer a strong basis from which you can experiment freely and discover many different forms and shapes. Although I like to experiment with forms and shapes, I do try to stay true to the basic form. The notion that every single person has a unique hand style that can offer insights into someone’s personal traits is appealing to me. It enforces my belief that the form and shape of letters embody a certain emotion.
Freestyle or sketch?
I like to freestyle on paper before I go to a wall. Sketching is an important tool for me to develop my style.
How would you describe your work?
Gradients, fill-in, cleanliness, balanced and readable forms, strong lines. My style develops very gradually and my improvements are in the detail of the work, the more refined colour combinations, the flow and the balance of the letters.
Which writers inspire you at the moment? And what makes your work stand out from the crowd?
I am inspired by energetic writers that push boundaries, such as Toast, Delta and Staynice. I am especially inspired by Dare’s work. I bought one of his canvasses a few years ago and this piece never gets old, I can still discover new elements or interesting shapes.
Who do you like to paint with? Have you got any favourite spots? What music, if any, do you like to listen to whilst painting?
I like painting with my crewmembers and members from the Ironlak family. My favourite place to paint is still Basel in Switzerland. I don’t listen to music when I am painting. I prefer to hear the paint escaping from the can when I’m doing a piece.
What projects, if any, are you working on for 2011?
During the first half of 2011, I did two solo exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne and I participated in several group exhibitions in Australia and Europe . I travelled through Australasia and dropped a few pieces. During the second half of 2011 I will be painting at Europe an festivals, working on commissioned designs, working on designs for my own web shop and preparing for an exhibition in Italy.
What piece of yours are you most proud of?
One of the pieces that I did in Melbourne: What Goes Up Must Come Down. It basically marked the end of my stay in Australia and the end of my exhibition in Melbourne, we took the artwork down on the day that I finished the wall. One other piece that is special to me is a big canvas that I did for my exhibitions in Sydney and Melbourne. It is called the Great Escape and it represents my escape from the prejudices ruling my hometown. Lastly, there is a piece I did with Sigi on the Basel lines. It was the last piece we did together.
The Internet, good or bad for graffiti/street art? Does it encourage plagiarism and/or laziness for up and coming young writers?
The internet and growing use of social media sites has given me and I think many other artists a really good platform to show the world what we are about. The traditional and established media are usually biased towards graffiti. Of course there will always be some negativity, but I try to stay away from that. The only thing that I miss at times is the surprise effect of seeing a new piece when driving or biking through a city. Nowadays, new piece are available on the web instantly. As for plagiarism, the web does encourage this phenomenon, but I try to look at it as an honour when young writers use my style.
There must be some downsides to the graffiti/street art scene, what are they?
I am not sure if there are. If there are, I haven’t experienced them yet.
Is there anyone you would like to thank for helping you get to where you are now?
My girl, LoveLetters crew members and Ironlak.
What’s your perfect day?
Waking up to find it’s sunny outside, having a good cup of coffee, working on a new drawing, reading up on my emails, checking the match results that show my home team – Fortuna Sittard – won.
Any shout outs?
I would like to thank all the Ozzie guys down under for the great time and their hospitality! Cheers mates!
And of course… remember to love your letters… pay me a visit at digitaldoes.com
See the full article here.