Today we’d like to introduce you to Mastro .
Mastro, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I started writing graffiti in 1992, however the influence of graffiti has been around since my early days of childhood… trains in NY, highways, roll down gates etc… they were completely covered everywhere growing up in the Bronx. It started with doodling in notebooks, however I didn’t catch my first street tag in the summer of ‘92- that’s where it all began street tags; markers, sprays, mean streaks— the works. Then came throws, straight letters, & pieces … cutty locations, tracksides, abandoned places. Pretty soon I started honing my craft even more and taking what was just fun to me & applying it as a business—murals, custom airbrushing, custom canvasses, type jobs. Pretty soon I didn’t even feel like I was “working” anymore, just creating & getting paid for it. Work? I haven’t “worked” a day since 2003… it is all enjoyment.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
What I do now is paint large scale murals on & off the festival scene. I also body paint people on a regular basis.
As for a message or inspiration, I’m typically hired to write anything the client wants— this stemmed from customizing hats— the more I did this, the more I kept landing freelance clientele that would ask for specific criteria to be written with stylized backgrounds/fonts/etc. it’s like I’m a. DJ playing all the requests. In addition to this, my body art is temporary artwork, and my festival murals are for a weekend-week for people to enjoy in the moment. This ranges from builds, pint jobs, or a combination of both.
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
The challenge of always having to deal with potential clients shopping around for price. Good work isn’t cheap, cheap work isn’t good… there’s always someone around the corner that’ll devalue themselves by lowering their price point just to get the job. Most ppl that hire you out have no eye for quality, they just see a price tag… and will go with a person nowhere near your style set just because it’s cost efficient.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find my work all up & down the east coast. I have pieces in a lot of major cities, a majority of these are hidden from the public— faraway places that are only crossed if you come to a very specific location… this is where you’d find my personal work— buried treasure.
For my festival work I tend to post schedules of where I’ll be at weekly increments. This is how you can find temporary work for the week and find me bodypainting.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @pineapplepaint @mastronyc
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