For our first Artist Showcase of 2018, we will be featuring the bright and surreal work of Kasper.

Kasper is a traveling artist, originally from Australia, calling Vancouver his home since 2017. We are thrilled to have Kasper's art on our walls from January to April 20, 2018. All works of art will be for sale.

Artist interview:

You mentioned that living in Vancouver made your dream of life as an artist become reality. In all your travels, why Vancouver? Was there a pivotal moment that stands out?

"I spent the past year traveling around Indonesia painting murals everyday with money out of my pocket. Indonesia has always felt like home, it's so free when it comes to being primarily a mural artist financially it's only a matter of time until you need to move on and Vancouver had always been a place I wanted to visit... I had no idea what was ahead, no plan, no preconception, no friends, and it turns out I stumbled across the best year of my life.

The most pivotal moment came while I was painting a mural at a Mexican restaurant in Gastown, I got a tap on my shoulder from Jill, a woman working for the city of Vancouver, one week later I found myself teaching a mural program, painting piano's, alley ways, interactive live walls and coming up I'll be doing some more fun projects with them. It just goes to show it's all about chasing your dreams and being patient, before I found art my life was so bland, ever since it's been a worldwide rollercoaster."

Have you always been into painting such bright works of art? Or did your style evolve to be brighter and more psychedelic over the years?

"Coming from graffiti I've always had a fond respect for colour and vibrance, when I was starting out I was just a little shit kid painting with whatever spray can he could get his hands on. Now when I have a huge mural project there's nothing more satisfying than seeing an explosion of paint colours in front of me. It's strange to see this psychedelic feel come out of nowhere, art/graffiti/streetart was subconsciously a therapy for me, and as my mindset and place in the world changes so do these psychedelic characters."

When you are creating the imagery for your paintings, do you start with a sketch or is it an organic process of paint to canvas?

"It's always different but majority of the time it's just made up on the spot, that's one thing I find a detachment from with painting canvas rather than walls, predictability is poison for me. Before I went on this insane journey predictability was a part of everyday so it's relieving to go the polar opposite."

When you are inspired to create a new piece, do you have any rituals that help bring these ideas to life?

"No not really, ideas and concepts are always flooding around my mind, if anything the closest thing I get to a ritual is writing lists to keep my mind straight. I'm a pretty sporadic dude, writing everything down keeps me straight enough to keep pushing forwards controllably."

What's next on the horizon for you? Do you have any specific things you hope to accomplish in the next 5 years?

"As the snow and rain clears I'll be getting up on some big walls again, hosting a few exhibitions and having my stay in Vancouver finish with a bang! As for a 5 year plan, nothing is set in stone but I'm hopeful things will keep moving in this direction, it's weird when you chase what you love how things naturally come together and opportunities you've never dreamt of come and go... I just want to keep on riding that rollercoaster."