interview and pictures posted by Honey
sweet-station.com
San Francisco-based street artist Victor Reyes is well known for his vibrant, aesthetically beautiful, free-flowing handstyle that are highly coveted and admired by many artists in the world of art and design. Looking at his work makes you want to re-learn how to hold a brush and spray can. REYES is a force to be reckoned with in this world.
Honey: What’s on your mind right now?
Victor Reyes: I have drawing on the brain currently.
Honey: You have a very recognizable style that can’t be mistaken for any other artist. How did you come up with this style?
Victor Reyes: My style has been distilled through many places, graffiti, illustration, contemporary art, and pattern making, however I would say classical reference is a constant inspiration.
Honey: I’d love to learn about your creative process. What goes through your head when you are about to start a new piece? What can you share?
Victor Reyes: When starting new work I usually dig for reference and make decisions on composition and palette. Once I have some guidelines I usually abandon part of the plan and let improve take over.
Honey: Have you experienced fluctuations in your productivity through the years?
Victor Reyes: My productivity has gone through some phases, sometimes I loose my way or get down about an aspect of art and I take a few to reset, however that’s part of being me, so I roll with it.
Honey: What other media have you tried or wanted to experiment with?
Victor Reyes: I have tried a range of mediums which include illustration, pattern making, paper making, painting, print making, wood sculpture, apparel design ,adobe suite, Photography, and Graffiti. In the future I am looking forward to studying book making and auto cad with CNC output.
Honey: What brought you to where you are as an artist today, what decisions that you made created the opportunities that you have at this time in your life?
Victor Reyes: I made the decision to make art and paint Graffiti when I was fourteen. Since I started early, there were great opportunities to meet people and build networks with other artists. I also got to sell large works and attract big name clients, and travel to exotic locals.
Honey: Does the impact of your work change when it is being viewed in a gallery as opposed to in the streets?
Victor Reyes: The impact of my work in the streets is based largely on taking over large space and painting on the fringe where I am always breaking rules. Graffiti requires athleticism and cunning. All these elements communicate to the viewer and there is a credit you earn with people from doing this regardless of their prejudices. However a gallery show is more of a cerebral methodical process where viewers glorify or scrutinize the work by purchasing or criticizing what they see, really these worlds are at opposite ends of the universe and the economy is more the judge of the sacred.
Honey: Is there anyone you’d like to work with creatively in the coming year or so?
Victor Reyes: Yes. I want to work with Martin Scorsese, do you know him?? I give good type, I am thinking some opening titles.