Hey Beasty. How are things?
Life is good these days… Been trying to paint and skate as much as I can… I usually get sidetracked by some boring design work though which sucks… But I am getting closer to my dream of being able to support myself without having to do any work I don’t want to do, and just focus solely on my own artwork and other projects.

For the people who aren’t familiar with your work, how would you describe it in a short sentence?
Bold outlined, scaly skinned, beast-like characters living in a symmetrical world gripped with fear, stress, anger, lust and jealousy.

How did your characters evolve? Was this something you tried to achieve, or did it come naturally?
My characters evolved naturally, throughout years of drawing. I am now starting to incorporate a lot more elements, symbols and underlying themes into my paintings, which is something I wanted to achieve.

Has your approach to making your work changed much since you started?
Yeah of course it has. At first I was just drawing and doing loose paintings which didn’t really have any meaning or particular style… but now I am very focused on maintaining and progressing my style, and am now very particular about keeping my work extremely neat and if possible… flawless.

Lately you’ve been painting larger scale murals and working outside more. Is this something you’re interested in doing more of?
Yeh of course… I love painting large scale characters… The bigger the better. And painting with spray cans is very different to my smaller acrylic and ink on wood pieces… I enjoy working with different scales and mediums, its challenging.

What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on some new works and installations for an exhibition I am doing with Numskull, Phibs and Yok at aMBUSH Gallery in Sydney opening on 4th December 2009. Also getting some shots together for a photography exhibition coming up soon with Tristan Still and Sam Stephenson. And I am also working on getting my backside tailslides back on lockdown.

You seem to have your hand in a few paint pots around Sydney. How do you manage to run multiple websites and exhibitions at the same time as painting?
I work my arse off and stay dedicated… Working from home everyday enables me to share my time painting, doing design work, running [weAREtheIMAGEmakers], curating exhibitions and whatever else. Sometimes its hard to stay focused on one thing though, I am always getting sidetracked by clients and multiple deadlines… But I don’t mind working hard because at the end of the day I am doing what I love everyday and don’t have anyone telling me what to do.

Anything else you want to shout out before this ends?
Check out my websites:
www.beastman.com.au
www.watim.com

Chuck a flip in… Yeah lad!