INTERVIEW: SILENT HOBO
Back at the beginning of the year, we scouted Bristol’s painted streets for an artist to bring something inspiring to our modest little office, and consequentially stumbled upon a small guy with a huge heart. His wild, free spirited murals bring wall’s to life here, where he lives with his wife and since this interview, his brand new little baby girl! Surfer, BMX lover, Artist and now super rad Dad... Silent Hobo has pretty much got life figured out.
Breakfast gets you in the right mindset for a good day. What’s for brekkie?
I eat whatever the wife has which is some sort of smoothie and toast… in an ideal world it would be lobster and steak! Before I was with her, I would go a whole day without eating and just have a feast come dinner time.
Meat sweats before the day has even begun!? What does the day ahead look like?
Every day is different depending on what work I've got going on and what the surf is doing. Work takes priority, but if I have no deadlines I’ll kind of shift work around. Sometimes I will get a dawn patrol in, and get back to Bristol for a 9am start or do a whole days work and go in the evening.
If there is no surf it is simpler: wake up, have/make breakfast with my luvly wife, feed the cat, sort through emails, do a bit of sketching, go out to my local BMX spot , get a sweat on, come home, draw some more, do some job hunting... maybe even fill out an application or two while watching films. I do what needs to be done, and welcome my Mrs back from work and live happily ever after!
Sounds pretty wonderful... how would you describe the means in which you express yourself then?
I think for me it's to do what you love to do and to keep getting better at it until you’re like … did I just do that? Then do it some more because you can't help it. I do it for most things… Artwork, BMX, and Surfing!
Doing it for love it... when did the love for illustration begin?
I've got two older brothers who collected and read a lot of comics (2000ad, Heavy Metal), and we had volumes of complete comic collections and since my bothers both had them, I just read them. I got into drawing by copying what I liked, I used to draw stuff I wanted from the Argos catalogue as I would always get hand me downs are rarely got new toys. I was wearing flares at school in the 90's as that was what my brother wore in the early 80's! So I was kind of exposed to more adult orientated comics which had proper dialog and emotions.
Did you always plan to work big as a fresco painter?
I dabbled a bit, got arrested for tagging a school and so stopped for a good 10 years. It was definitely in Bristol it picked up; I met Demo, Erner and Turbo and they pretty much got me into the scene here. They were stoked on my drawings and wanted to see me paint walls! I learnt a lot from them, especially about painting fast. Turbo was notorious in London so I felt well privileged to be painting with him and Demo was super chill and raved about my stuff non stop... makes you feel good you know. I later hooked up with Mr Riks through our love of surfing rather than painting and became part of the KTF.
The network in Bristol is so diverse and inspiring for artists like yourself, and now your murals are scattered all over city! What would be greatest personal achievement with your work?
I think doing the flyers for Brisfest was a big deal for me, it wasn't international or big ££ but I was proud to represent locally. I remember seeing Andy Councils stuff the year before and thinking to myself how much I would love that gig, and a year later Cheo hooked me up with that job as he was too busy….stoked!
You’ve been so busy this year too, tell us about your current focus?
Current focus is the baby girl my wife is about to have, the little one is coming in a few weeks so I haven't long to figure out how best to influence her so she does everything I love to! I’ve also got the side of a listed building to I’m painting on a cherry picker so it's gonna be big... can't give anything else away as it is top secret!
So exciting man, we're pretty sure she'll fall right into your footsteps of many talents! Where do you find you are most at home, the streets, the sea or the mountains?
I’ve always been a bit of a street urchin, I love the sea and the outdoors but there has always been something about city life that gets me going, the noise, the diversity, the lights, the places to paint and ride... there are always possibilities in a city that you don't get anywhere else. Bristol has everything I need; countryside nearby, beaches nearby, great pubs, great people, great culture.
I’ve also been to a few places in the world and they are not the paradise you see in the brochures, and you're often left thinking ' I bet this place used to be nice'. I like to travel about and see places, but more often than not I get that feeling of being a spec of dust in a desert - overwhelmed by how big the world is and how many people there are. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a good time where ever and enjoy and get excited for experiencing new things but in the end I know how to get things working in Bristol. If it gets a bit much, then the sea is a short trip away.
Your Finest Hour?
Meeting my wife… it's all about love... it is what glues the fabric of life together.
Check out the time lapse of the Finest Hour office mural, imagined, drawn and painted by Silent Hobo