Interview: LikeLewis

First the basic introduction – can you tell us who are you, what are you doing, where are you coming from?

My name is @LikeLewis. I am from Cape Town, South Africa and have been living and working in £ondon for the last 6 years.

Your approaching is incredible hectic and raw – how did you started to do what you do?

I started making stuff to get attention when I was very young. It’s been a long, slow progression since then but the premise is still basically the same.

Did it take long to find your own style/level you were comfortable on?

I have a general feeling for what that thing is, I guess just enough to go ahead and make stuff. I’ve kind of given up on trying to ‘find my style’. In my opinion, your style naturally ‘finds you’ as long as you’re always trying out new techniques or concepts and constantly producing new things. Sometimes I look back on everything that I’ve done and it is clear to me now what ‘my style’ is even though I had no idea what it was at the time. Make sense?

What are you trying to communicate with your art?

That @LikeLewis is the freshest most relevant painter in the internet right now.

What or who are your biggest influences as an artist?

@lilbisgod

When you start a new piece, do you have a clear vision of the outcome?

Never with paintings. More so with street installations and stuff.

In your art works words/texts plays a big part – do you build the visuals around the textual idea or does the texts follow the visuals output?

They all influence and inform each other. But the better works are the ones where the juxtaposition of these different elements creates something new, a new thought or expression of some kind.

How critical you are about your works? When or how do you know that the piece is ready?

I am most critical about finding new and innovative ways to do the traditional things. My works are ready when adding anything more to them would make them worse.

What drives you forward?

My constant search for cultural relevance.

What else is going on?

I currently give away free paintings on Instagram almost every day @LikeLewis. I started #GiveawayGang (giving away painting for free on Instagram) as a way to get my work onto the walls of those that are genuinely into what I do.