Interview: Solomon Souza

 

I do make a healthy living off my work and it now flys me all round the world… my first gig came thru a friend whos friend had a wall they wanted painting… i receive a lot of my work thru word of mouth and friends but mainly i find the work i have done in the past leads me to new work.

 

 

Somehow over the years my passion became my business and i must say it is hard sometimes balancing them… so i like to separate myself entirely from my “work” when i hit the streets… using different names and styles out here, you would never guess it was mine!

 

 

For anyone looking to start painting large murals… start small… seriously.. work your way up, it a lot easier climbing a mountain if you have some experience climbing stairs first 🙂 sketching, like with any creative endeavor should be the first step. Everything starts with a good sketch, buildings, clothing, machines… although as time goes on you may find yourself so confident with your new found skills that you can comfortably freestyle… this is always fun as you never know what may come next, keeps it fresh! Finding your wall is another story… i like abandoned places for practice where i can fully focus on the task ahead and really lose myself in the painting… finding mural work can be hard, but i like to put my work out there, like throwing a fishing line out, and see who bites 🙂 large companies spend millions of dollars on advertising… painting a large mural can have a similar effect for yourself and your work… choosing to do work for free is entirely up to you. But you should always value your work, especially when working with businesses… i have done much work for free (although i like to think of it more as a gift) or barter, my largest project to date consists of 230 metal shop shutters in Jerusalem’s central market, it did not involve money (besides for the funds from donations spent on the paint), if it had, it likely would never have happened, but i have received much of my current work from the publicity it has given me…

 

 

Well, i am spiritually inspired by many things, mostly the world around me… it is a living, breathing piece of art, filled with light and dark, serenity and drama.. I believe we exist in a constant struggle between these contrasts and it is our job to find the balance between them… which makes for great subject matter… I paint the garden of eden to remind us of a lifestyle we left behind long ago for something else entirely… something distracting from what reality should really be.

 

I grew up in a family of artists, my grandfather, FN Souza is know as the father of modern Indian art, his daughter,  my mother is of an even higher caliber in my opinion and instilled in me the value of creativity from a young age, this showed me that this, unlike what you may hear sometimes: that art isn’t a real job, it will never pay the bills etc… was entirely unfounded and with the right motivation, environment and dedication you can support yourself quite comfortably from you work! Now, i fully understand that not everyone is so privileged to grow up in a house surrounded by art and artists but if you really take it upon yourself to truly live this life you can do so through pure determination and love for your craft, connect with other likeminded people around you and develop your own network!

 

 

I am inspired by many artists from all over the spectrum, classical renaissance masters to present day graff kings.. i am enthralled by Caravaggio’s brushwork within his dark and dramatic portrayal of biblical scenes, at the same time i appreciate the confident execution of a tag or throw along a busy highway! I listen to many different types of music from old school funk to the occasional modern mumble.

 

Success is a strange thing… and it comes at different levels… i believe the most important aspect of success is your own perception of it, if you are content with the work you are producing you are a success, to me this is most important… obviously this expands to being financially successful through your work and so on but we need to understand as artists that talent does not always equate success on a financial level… take a look at the world around you and I’m sorry to say you will see no end to the amount of (in my humble opinion) talentless success, a lot of it is good branding and networking which in itself is actually hard work and commendable in a way if done right.

 

 

Well my work has taken me round the world, from America to Australia and a few places in between, making lifelong friends and connections! Australia is beautiful and exotic, i saw plants and creatures there that seemed straight out a sci fi movie… America is a different game altogether… its cities are giant concrete beasts and every things seems to bow to the thunderous presence of the multi lane Highways… i met amazing and terrible people along the way and had a few close calls here and there, like one time painting with my boy Nymz in Korea town, Los Angeles we narrowly avoided being shot by a local gang who had decided to rob and shoot someone just round the corner instead, when the police cars and ghetto birds showed up they couldn’t believe we were still there doing our outlines haha

 

 

I have many names to shout, some of the loudest would be: DalesOne, Ouch, Logik, my sister Miriam, Onelove, DiDi, Crash048, Zaras, FGTS, Spine B7, Nymz, CabK2S, Atomik, Stans, LibreHEM, Denisthekko, Tomas, Bich, Inspire, Aroke, Keor, Trash, Blaze and Task! You can find me on my Facebook page Solomon Souza and Instagram @solomonsouza