Who Is DBO?....an updated interview with the artist behind Spindecks latest creative endeavor

At last Spindeck Skins - our amazing new deck graphics - have launched thanks to an awesomely talented young artist called DBO. We first brought you an interview with DBO when the project was in its infancy but now that we have finally got Spindeck Skins available we thought we better catch up on all the latest happenings in DBO World. So grab yourself a cold cup of tea and read on....

So in one sentence who is DBO and what do we need to know about him?

DBO is a nickname I managed to get stuck with at Uni, when I first started doing my art I used this name, I guess it was more about branding myself than anything else.

How would you describe your art and does it have a label?

I think when you try to define anything, it becomes constrained. The fundamental thing for me behind creativity is freedom, my art is driven by a desire to be free from the constraints of modern society and just do what I want. I get lumped into a sort of ‘Street Art’ category, which in reality is far removed from what my art is, well at least to me.

When did you first realize that you were an artist?

Only recently, which when I look back is ridiculous! I have always created stuff and designed stuff. But ‘DBO’ as an artist is only a recent incarnation, it was when I truly realised that art can be whatever you want it to be, and in turn you can be free during its creation that I uncovered something which seemed to fit, and not much had fitted before that point. I studied art at college but I wouldn’t say I felt like and artist then, I just went through the motions because it was something I was good at, I used it as an ends to a means. But then that all sounds like Bollox, everyone’s an artist, somewhere inside. Most people are too scared to speak their mind, let alone pour it out onto a piece ofpaper so everyone can judge it.

Which people and what experiences in your life have influenced you and how?

Everything I guess, what’s mostly influenced my art lately is agreeing to do stuff be it events or exhibitions, running out of time, and then having to churn out sh!t I’m not happy with for the sake of fulfilling the brief or some other commitment. For that reason I’ve taken a step back from getting involved in the more public side of art, and keep it for myself without the corruption of external factors and commercialization.

What other interests do you have besides your art?

I do a lot of open water swimming in my spare time, last year I swam the channel as part of a 6 man relay team, and this year I’m going to attempt to swim the 16.8KM that make up Lake Windermere. Other than that I enjoy cycling and reading.

Which pieces of your work are you most proud of and why?

Don’t know at the moment, it’s been a long time since I did something that’s gone public that I was happy with. I did some drawings around Christmas time last year. I sat down and drew for 3 weeks, got totally lost in it and it was a joy, but then I came back from it and haven’t done anything since.

When I look at your art I am mesmerized by the detail and complexity of the various elements. What inspires your work and where do you get all your new ideas?
My work is about looking for new shapes and forms. It’s not an abstraction of something real. What most inspires my work is the work itself, the spark of something new that leads you on a journey.

Do you mull over new ideas for a long time before putting pen to paper or do you just go with the spur of the moment?

The idea’s I keep in my head never get put down on paper, all my new stuff comes from itself. I’d like to be able to put my idea’s down on paper but I’m always underwhelmed by what I achieve. The idea’s that live and die during the course of a piece are the ones that make it to paper.

How long did it take you to solidify your style and how did it evolve?

I find questions like this tricky, for me my style isn’t solidified, its in its infancy its growing and developing. I can pin point a point in time around 2 years ago that I sat down and thought I’m going to start drawing, what you see of my work now is a point in a journey. I think the problem with the idea of a ‘Style’ sometimes is that artists spend more time running away from other people’s than trying to find their own. I find that time spent away from actually creating art is perhaps more valuable to its progression than the hours spent actually executing it.

What media do you work in?

My work always starts out as a pencil sketch, which I then ink in. This leaves me with a nice flowing uncorrupted black and white drawing, which I can either scan in to colour or do by hand with acrylic. Often I miss the black and white image after I’m done.

For my day job I do a lot of 3D visualization using a computer, I’m thinking about trying to apply this to my artwork, so we’ll see what happens with that one. But still for me its always important to start with a pencil sketch, something that comes from me and my body.

A lot of graffiti inspired artists are driven by the desire to get their art on something and get a political message out – is that a big drive for you or do you have another motive?

There are a lot of clichés out there with the political art scene and I will always try to avoid them. Society’s a mess, everyone knows it, were all too confused I think, like we started chasing an ideal way back when and now we just carry on in the same direction without questioning where the f*ck we are going.

There are ideas that are forming in my head for pieces relating to politics and the subjects that surround it, but they're in their infancy, the questions I subtly pose in my work have more of a psychological or philosophical foundation. Basically I either focus on myself, or on something beyond the grasp of human comprehension, it’s the in-between that I struggle with, but that will change as me and my work mature.

What attracted you to the Spindeck Skins project?

Well when you said to me, ‘you can do whatever you want’ that was a definite selling point. But I guess what was important for me was that when I spoke to you guys I felt like I wanted to do something really good for you. Companies like ‘Spindeck’ are what Business should be about, people doing something related to something they love, utilizing their relevant skills and enjoying it!

Were there any challenges in getting your style onto a skate deck?

The ‘Spindeck’ project was the first time I have taken the opportunity to digitally illustrate my work. Although I love the results I felt a certain detachment from the piece, it was more of a mechanical process than I’m used to with my artwork.That was a challenge for me, to feel so detached from a piece. But I really enjoyed working in this format, its quite a dynamic shape, and I think my work lends itself to this kind of thing.

Where would you like to see a piece of your work sitting one day?

Sitting in front of me on a wall , in the house that I built amongst the trees for me and my family(non of which exist yet), I’d like to look at it and go, yeah I’m happy with that.

I guess this question has certain commercial connotations really, Like do I want to be famous for my work and sell it for loads of money etc. Although the commercial side of art I feel corrupts its intent, I would rather sell my art for a living that slave away for ‘The man’ nine to five, and that’s my ultimate goal, the financial value that other people attribute to my work will always be secondary to the value I gain from it!

In the future I would like to get more of my stuff out there, both in the form of paintings and commissions from people like yourself. I'm having a great time withit all at the moment, I’ve met some cool people and had some great experiences, so hopefully it will carry on in the same vein.

Which other artists on the scene do you respect at the moment?

Artist like ‘Will Barris’, ‘Mr Jago’ and ‘Steff Platz’ stand out for me, they have all achieved a level of skill which amazes me. There strong individuals who’s work manages to stay unique amid a scene where there’s a lot of similar stuff being produced.

On a personal level artists who I’ve met and formed strong relationships with are guys like ‘Kev Munday’ who runs ’Under the Hat clothing’ and a night called ‘Visual Tourettes’ as well as the guys from ‘Two Pence.’ They are all doing their own thing and trying to make their own way through life. I have a lot of time for people who actually get out there and do stuff rather than leaving it to other people.

Where next for DBO? What projects are you working on and what can we look forward to in the future?

I’m designing a paper dog thingy for http://www.lazerian.co.uk/ which will be shown in an exhibition later this year.

Other than that I’m not committing to anything, hopefully towards the end of the year I’ll have some time to draw again, beyond that I’m not fussed.