Interview with thirty60

+mar: Tell me a little bit about your arts practice, what are your concerns within your work? Thirty60: I have been working as an artist and designer in some way for as long as I can remember. Most of my work is animal based, where I splice or merge different elements together. I also work on a commission basis, and they’ve mostly been portraits and animals. A lot of my work is based on a continuous theme; for the most part I’m not really focused on being profound or political within my work. +mar: Your work is beautiful. Now, you work with stencils, but it’s also watercolour yeah? Tell me about your processes: Thirty60: My process is a bit tricky. I firstly sketch what I plan on stencilling, based on reference material that I gather. I break down that drawing to make a single layer stencil. Each stencil is single use, so if I do repeat a stencil, it will be different each time. The stencil is then painted in one pass, with either ink or watercolour. Depending on what surface I use (timber or paper) the results can vary making each piece unique. I really like the unpredictable element in my work, creating the stencil in a controlled precise way, but then the painting is completely random depending on how the ink reacts together and with the surface. +mar: Tell me about the colour in your work and the use of colour. Thirty60: I mainly use two to three colours in each piece. Sometimes the colour is influenced by the subject matter but I think a high level of contrast creates an interesting effect with the stencils. I really like to make my work appear soft. Sure, I could spray it in one colour, but the way the colours mix and react can really change the mood of a piece. +mar: You also do skate decks, do you skate? Does skateboarding influence your practice at all? Thirty60: A frustrated skater. I love skateboarding culture and there are some amazing artists that work on decks that really inspire me. When I work on a skate deck I create a stencil specifically for it, working on that shape is real a challenge. +mar: What is your workspace like? Do you have a studio or work from home? How does this affect your work? Thirty60: I have a studio space in Northcote that I share with another artist. It’s nice to lock yourself away and work on ideas. But I usually find that the bulk of my work ends up being created on the kitchen bench, there are ink splats all over the floor. It is a good thing to share your workspace with someone, it helps to bounce ideas around or push pieces in a different direction. +mar: You have been involved in a good number of exhibitions and prizes – (and represented by Signed and Numbered) would you describe yourself as an established or establishing artist? And what does that mean to you? Thirty60: Definitely establishing. I like to take any opportunity if it arises, whether it be group shows, collaborations or art prizes. Every time I meet new people and artists that have been doing this for a lot longer than me, I learn something new. You have to be open minded when it comes to establishing yourself, getting your work out in the world is what it’s all about. If people react to it in a positive way, that’s a bonus. +mar: What has been the stand-out exhibition/prize you’ve been a part of, why? Thirty60: The first year I was shortlisted for the Stencil Art Prize. It was the first time I put this style of work out in the world so it was great to have it received so well. I actually had both pieces I entered shortlisted (Marshall and Otto). I travelled up to Sydney for the opening night and got to meet a bunch of Stencil Artists and talk to them about their work. The stencil art community is a small one but very supportive of artist taking it in different directions. +mar: Who, or what, at the moment is your biggest inspiration? Thirty60: There are two artists that I am obsessed with at the moment, Jeff Sotto and Conor Harrington. I really admire artist that work on murals, the scale of some of these things blows my mind. I saw Jeff Soto speak at a Semi-Permanant conference a few years back and it’s something that has always stuck with me. I watch a lot of movies and listen to a heap of music. +mar: What music are you listening to at the moment? Thirty60: Deafheaven’s album Sunbather a lot and also Arcade Fire. I will be checking Arcade Fire out at their Big Day Out sideshow soon which I hope will be good (I may have built it up a bit much). +mar: What’s your next project that you are working on? Thirty60: At the moment I am working on a new screen print for Signed and Numbered for Supergraph in February. I also have two pieces in issue three of Six Years Later Magazine with the originals featured in a group show coming up in the next few months. I have been playing around with some paste ups and large scale works. I really want to get into some murals and collaborations this year. You can see more of Thirty60’s works on his website here & like him on Facebook here.