I write Nerk/Nerks
I began to do graffiti when I was 12. As soon as I started tagging and painting after one year everything just clicked and I know that graffiti was already a very strong feeling for me. One year later in 2013 I painted my first piece and went from there on in. It’s really important to remember where built you and respect where you came from not only the location but the people too.
I grew up in Bournemouth, South Coast of England, however I am from London but moved when I was very young. However I moved away back to London on my own one year ago to start working and living there and my general and graffiti life changed instantly without knowing in some cases.
I have tried to travel as much as I can. Whenever I get a chance to go somewhere I will take it as an opportunity for something new, meet new people and see different things that motivate me to get new ideas for my next piece. Ever since I was young I’ve always been drawn to Wildstyle. As soon as I had a pen, some emulsion or can of paint I would just write on anything, that’s just nature of what graffiti is. However Wildstyle is the style that for me I can experiment so much with. However it is the same with every style I try to paint. I like to paint as many different styles so I don’t get bored.
As for influences with my graff, there’s many things that influence me. Obviously different graffiti artists like fellow wildstyles. Writers I’ve grown up with in Bournemouth. Kings of London. Script artists in graffiti and Tattoos from America and Latin America because I’ve been drawn to these kind of styles too since I pretty much began painting too. There’s so many people I’ve met and seen that inspire me it’s crazy. However going to different places influence me, such as different languages. So if I meet someone in London who speaks Portuguese it may trigger a memory of when I’ve been in Portugal painting and then I start thinking about those pieces and see what I can bring back to my next piece. It’s the same with France, Austria, Spain and everywhere I’ve been.
For me graffiti is a very strange thing and it takes years and years to understand but I won’t understand everything because that’s why most of us still paint, there’s still something new to learn. Every now and then I will paint a piece and it’s hard to walk away from it because I feel that this piece worked, but most of the time I take a photo and don’t think too much of it until I see it months down the line and then it’s grown on me and I will try to recycle parts of that piece. Sometimes it’s the quick things I appreciate more or rollers, street dubs ect, that’s just the way it goes.
However in 2019 I’m still quite new still but I just want to continue painting and sketching, coming up with ideas and see where that takes me.
In graffiti I feel you have to every aspect of it. Paint all the time. Try as hard as you can to make each letter spot on and try progress each time because I hate seeing potential by someone else wasted.
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