In the lead up to WATIM’s 12 x 12 exhibition opening, we are selecting a few contributing artists to sit down with and get some more info about what they’re up to and what they are producing for the show. This week we have chosen Troy Archer from Queensland. Originally from Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Troy now lives and works out of the Gold Coast, producing work that has both intricate meaning and line work. Check out the interview with one of Australia’s best biro bandits.

Firstly, for our readers who aren’t aware of your work, tell us where you’re from and what you’ve been painting lately.
I’m from Sydney originally, born in Mona Vale and have lived on the Gold Coast for the past 20 or so years.
I’ve been making works for this amazing show called 12 x 12, you may have heard of it through the online grapevine.

Do you think where you live has an effect on your work?
Yeah, it’s kind of hot up here so most of the time i’m drawing in boxers and no top, which means I draw lots of sexy old people because I feel sexy myself. Apart from that I spend a lot of time travelling with work so I get to see other peoples amazing stuff every now and then which is perfect, that way i’m not too influenced style wise, but inspired enough to keep pushing my pen and brush around the page.

You predominantly use biro and watercolour. Why have you chosen these tools?
To be honest it wasn’t intentional, it was just something that happened over time. I messed around with watercolour, indian inks, acrylics and whatever else for a really long time but I kept coming back to biro for something unique, or so I thought. I did a series of 4 big biro drawings a few years back and had them framed, I liked how they made me feel and my wife liked the look of them so I settled on that style for a while until the rest faded out and that was pretty much all I did. It’s just recently that i’ve added watercolour via this little triangular pattern because all the blue was slowly making me depressed. I really like that biro is so unforgiving, it’s such an accomplishment when a piece doesn’t go astray. Actually it’s a bit of a nice-nightmare sometimes.

Are you formally trained?
I did a diploma of graphic design about 12 years ago which I dropped out of 2 months prior to completing. I was falling asleep in class all the time so I gave it the flick. I had started a new job which was kind of the dream job at the time so that took my energy. I randomly do freelance graphics jobs and I have graphic artists working with me at my day job, so my experience with graphic design has still been really helpful.

So, we heard something about your dog chewing on your 12×12 artworks. What happened there?
Yes, his name is Olly and he’s rad. But this one day, after 5 months of drawing nights (I was two pieces from being finished) Olly noticed that someone had left the spare room door open. I had the 10 finished pieces out on the bed so I could keep checking them out and staying motivated to finish the set, and he thought it would be fun to hop up on the bed, have a play, do some ripping and tearing, some puncturing with his doggy teeth, creasing every piece with his little doggy feet and just generally having a good time. I couldn’t believe he’d done it and I was fucking gobsmacked, all I could do was have a long shower in the dark until I was calm enough to go and get some chocolate. Life goes on hey, really what can you do, worrying is poisonous you know.

Maybe you’re dog could sign them and it could be a collabo? Collabrador?
Oh man, haha, that’s amazing! He’s a Spoodle which is a Cocker Spaniel crossed with a Poodle. I found out yesterday from my sister that there is a type of dog called a Golden Doodle. You can have a lot of fun with that one, “i’ll be there in a second, my Golden Doodle is doing a piss on your car”, “I’m going to take my Golden Doodle for a run”, “my Golden Doodle got out yesterday and it chased an old lady down the road”. Really you could just keep on going with that.

Do your portraits have stories behind them?
I’ll try and keep this simple. Life is fragile and I always feel like i’m going to die before i’m old or ready, I know it’s silly but it’s how I feel because i’ve been close before and it’s not that awesome. Because of that dire feeling that hangs around the back of my head I have this overwhelming appreciation and respect for the elderly and I try and keep my level of seriousness to a manageable volume. So, you’ll notice that all the portraits for 12 x 12 are of the elderly, these people have made it through. Whether they are homeless, eclectic, kooky, asleep a lot, a little disgruntled or whatever, they’ve survived, enduring the test of time and the turns that come with each day. The colourful watercolour is youth, enjoyment, lightheartedness, optimism, pranks, jokes and that kind of shit, old people do that stuff but you don’t always notice it. Hopefully I get to be an old funny guy one day, i’ll try my best to get there.

Do you have any plans or projects coming up you can tell us about?
I’ve started working on a solo show for Retrospect Gallery, hopefully I can get that done in the next 6 or 7 months. I’m also working on a whole different project that involves the old and awesome crap I find every day at the tip but that’s going to be a longer term thing. Make some nice pictures at night, try and stay healthy, I can’t ask for much more than that.

More info on Troy here. Check out the 12 x 12 website for more opening night and exhibition details.